I wondered if it would be noted. 
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We came out of HoP and stood on the porch because the parade has started. I had a good view of the fire-breathing dragon.
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It is a mandatory sit and cool off location and nap if you need it attraction.
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Another great installmentâŚand awesome photosâŚ
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We waited for the crowd to disperse and made our way toward our next FPP, Splash. That area of the park always feels jammed to me and I hate it. BTMM was not even open during our visit; when it is, itâs even worse.
We scanned through the tapstiles and made our way to where the line ended. I opened MDE and grabbed a FPP for JC for a bit later on. We moved along in the line for a few minutes, then stopped abruptly and did not move for a long time. I checked the app and sure enough, Splash was âtemporarily closedâ. People began leaving the line, but I told DH that I was not leaving the line until/unless a CM instructed us to since we had already âusedâ our FPP but did not ride. Sure enough about 15 minutes later a CM came by and instructed us to leave via a set of stairs/chicken exit? and instructed us to see the FPP entrance CM about our âused but not usedâ FPP. So we did. And this super young kid began chastising the lot of us (there were three or four parties talking with him at that time) saying, âThis is why we TELL you, once you scan IN, do NOT leave the line - because we will give you paper FPP.â I said, âWell, the CM up there DID tell us to leave the line, and did NOT issue us FPP but told us to come see you about it.â Another woman near us was much more loud in her protest LOL. I think he could see he had made a mistake in his approach and that he was about to have to deal with an angry mob. He went to his little CM stand and got us some paper any time FPP
We debated whether to hang onto them and use them for Splash later, but we were advised that while they couldnât tell us what had gone wrong it would be âa very long timeâ before it was up and running again (this turned out not to be true). We decided to use them for POtC and then have Dole Whips until our FPP for JC opened. On our way to POtC we passed the Pirate Adventure game. Having heard that you could get a POtC FPP for playing, we stopped and inquired. Turns out you have to play THREE missions, each about 15-20mins apiece, before you get the FPP. Seems a bit similar to the Dumbo standby queue - play while you wait 
We opted out and used the paper ones we had already received instead.
We rode POtC, had our Dole Whips, and boarded JC (while waiting I grabbed FPP for PP later on). During our ride it turned into an actual RAIN forest! It was pouring by the time we got off! And it never really stopped raining for the rest of the day after that. We took a ride on the rail road while we discussed our next move. Our plan had been to grab hot dogs at Caseyâs and sit outside enjoying the pianist, but in this weather we would end up with soggy buns and soggy buns if we tried that. We explored our QS options outside the park (I vehemently refuse to go to Cosmic Rays ever again, Pecos Bills was not appealing); the drawback to that was having to go through bag check again as well as the time it would take to exit, transfer to wherever (we were debating Contempo Cafe, Gasparillas, and Captain Cooks). Per the dining portion of MDE there were no tables available at any TS in park at that time.
We exited the train and made our way toward Caseyâs anyway but the rain was relentless. Since we were standing by the Plaza, a TS we had never been to, I suggested we ask if they had any availability. We figured if there was something later, we could go do some more touring and return. The worst they could say was no, right? Well guess what?? With a reported 20 minute wait (that turned out to be more like 10), we had a table indoors, dry and comfortable! Lesson: if you want a TS but have no reservation, ask anyway - they just might have what you need!
The Plaza is TINY! I had no idea how small a place it is. In fact, signage on the wall for fire code indicates they have seating for 94. Thatâs only about 20 or so tables! Our waitress attended to us quickly and we had placed our order within minutes. The menu is barely a step up from QS, and so Iâm not sure Iâd return here to use a dining credit, but for what we needed and given we were paying OOP, it suited us for this occasion. I had the club sandwich with fries; DH had a burger and the bottomless milkshake (he had 2 servings). The food was served quickly and was tasty. And we had unofficial entertainment in the form of the restaurant manager who was incredibly self-important. It was funny to watch him micromanage every single employee. Yet he never approached any guest to check in and ask how everything was. The one big drawback to this TS, IMO, is that there is no restroom located within. I was a little disheveled from being all ponchoâd up and wanted to freshen up a bit but when I asked where the restroom was I was directed to the ones located by the Tomorrowland Terrace. Since that would mean going back out into the deluge in my poncho, it sort of defeated the purpose.
We paid our bill and made our way to Tomorrowland, taking the shortcut through the Terrace, where we could see them setting up for the Dessert party. Only the hub-side half of the pavillion was in use; the other half was wide open and available for guest use even though the restaurant was not operating (Iâve never seen it open, actually). This would be a good spot to take cover during a rain-out if you needed to.
We were going to ride BLSRS, but the wait was posted at 55 minutes and we didnât have a ton of time left before we would make our way back to CaliGrill for Wishes. We decided to skip it and headed to MILF instead. We texted our kids back at home to ask them for jokes to text in for use in the show. Each sent one, and my sonâs was used! That kid has a great time at WDW even when heâs not there!
We had hoped the rain would have let up between dinner and MILF but instead it was raining harder and we began to hear rumbles of thunder and see a bit of lightning. We braved the storm and began to make our way to PP and discuss our next move:
On the way over, since it was beginning to become dark (not sure why the above pic shows it so bright out - it wasnât!) the lights were beginning to come on around the hub. I didnât realize the pumpkins glow!
While in line for PP the storm really intensified. Lots and lots of thunder and lightning. Since there wasnât much of anything left for us to conquer on our wish list for MK, and since weather would be impacting some of that, we decided to see about a bit of shopping and then head to CR. Welllllllllllllllll⌠everyone else was doing their shopping too (surprise!). The floors were soaked and dangerous, and we didnât need anything enough to deal with the chaos. We hit up Starbucks for my MK You Are Here and a snack, and headed out.
We debated whether to monorail or walk. We figured we were ponchod up anyway and since the masses were exiting the monorail sitch was going to be bad. Besides, whatâs a few more raindrops??? LOL We walked as swiftly as we could but despite our ponchos we still got damp around the knees. We took a few minutes to sort ourselves out once we got into CR enjoyed our snack and (I had a) coffee and headed back to CaliGrill to present our receipt for entry to view Wishes (yes, this policy is effective for Brunch as well as Dinner) 
Just as we arrived, a table for four opened in the lounge area. We and another couple who had been waiting just ahead of us decided to share the space and we conversed a bit while waiting for the show to begin. We ordered drinks (pictured: cucumber fizz - fabulous!), passed on snacks (we had just had some) and settled in.
The rain had stopped so we could have gone out on the concourse but we were comfy in our seats and opted to stay put. We were in almost the same position as where we were at brunch, so if you recall our view couldnât be beat. Wishes from this vantage point is a different experience entirely and I loved it SO MUCH. That damn show makes me cry every single time, and this was no different. It was the perfect ending to a perfectly fabulous day at MK with my love!
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Sounds like a great day despite the rain.
I donât think the Plaza takes ADRs anymore, or maybe only between 12-1. Or am I thinking of Tonyâs? Pretty sure itâs the Plaza anyway.
Itâs the plaza. They are continuing to honor the reservations that were made before the change though. We have one for our upcoming trip.
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Yes I knew they were honouring them, just second guessing myself on the restaurant!
Point being, Plaza takes walk ups as a matter of course, you may have that luck elsewhere but itâs considerably less likely.
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Took me awhile to get that acronym. Probably since âBLSRSâ is longer than just typing Buzz! 
'Course you quickly topped it with your Monsters acronym of MILF. Well done.
I also learned that The Plaza restaurant is not in fact the same as Tonyâs. Glancing at a map I always thought where the Plaza is located was Tonyâs and they were the same place - âTonyâs Plazaâ or something I guess. Oops. Learned something new todayâŚ
Nice reportsâŚ
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My wife and I are doing a similar trip in Nov. for Wine and Dine weekend. Also staying at Pop. Also for our 15th Anniversary. We would like a king bed too, but willing to sacrifice it for a closer walk. My question is did you put any requests on your MDE online check in? I am wondering if I do this if it will mess with the success of a fax request. Right now the online check in only let me request a section, close to transport, or floor (two of those three). I put 60âs section close to transport and I am wondering if I put in a TP fax request for a king bed room meeting those criteria if everything will get messed up because of too many requests.
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Awesome, if soggy reportâŚloved the way you all just soldiered on in the rainâŚso many people bail out or hide outâŚ
Loving the photosâŚand I can just imagine the confrontation with the CM about replacement FPPâŚ
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I would definitely indicate in your fax that close location is more important than king bed. We said the reverse and regretted it.
Now that you say that I did remember hearing that! LOL
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This has been so much fun to read, and I am glad you so thoroughly enjoyed your trip!
âSoggy buns/soggy bunsâ and âwhen she is installedâ have been two of my favorite parts!
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Really loving the report @OBNurseNH! 
You and your DH are so adorable! Still giggling over the double soggy buns! 
Thanks for sharing all the gorgeous photos and your great writing!
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You have me trying to work out if we can fit a CG brunch in, your pictures look delicious. We canât but itâs so tempting. I didnât know that about the Dumbo queue, the kids would love that. Great trip report, I do love the details.
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Monday: Animal Kingdom
We âslept inâ again on Monday morning. We were headed to Animal Kingdom and our first FPP was from 0910-1010. No need to hurry.
We decided to grab breakfast at Pop. Breakfast is pretty standard, right, and hard to mess up. Well, breakfast at Pop defies this assumption. DH had the pancakes and I had the Bounty Platter. It was barely mediocre in terms of quality and taste. Another strike against this value resort.
The bus ride to AK was short and sweet and we got through bag check and tapstiles in short order. Our arrival coincided with one of my WDW bucket-list items - DâVine!
We had never seen her before and I was so excited! She is gorgeous and moves so gracefully 
A quick stop for the obligatory Tree of Life photo
and we were on our way to Expedition Everest! Thatâll wake you up in the morning 
Nothing like whipping around a roller coaster to make you feel alive before your coffee has taken effect!
Since we arrived at the tail end of our EE FPP window, our KRR window opened within a few minutes so we made our way there. We utilized the free-for-two-hours lockers for all our stuff except our ponchos. Yes, we were âthose peopleâ. But with a whole day of touring ahead of us, we didnât want to be drenched. The last time we rode this ride my daughter looked like she had jumped in a lake! It was a good choice. The way our raft was loaded, there was a tiny lady and her two little boys on one side, and then five adults - four being relatively hefty men - on the other. Naturally, our side of the raft, weighing more, hit the water first and we got the brunt of it! It had been a few years since we had last ridden, but both DH and I said we remember it being longer and more involved. Anyone know if they changed it up/shortened it at all?
We retrieved our things and took a walk on the Maharaja trail, since our KS FPP wouldnât open for nearly an hour. We had never managed to get on this trail during our past visits for one reason or another, and I was glad we had the chance today. The weather was the nicest of our trip and the animals were active. The tiger was pacing angrily, and it was near impossible to get a pic of him
We hit up the safari next using FPP.
It was, by far, our best safari in all our visits. Again, the weather was nice so the animals were out all over the place - weâve never seen so many! And it was the first time we saw the lion and his lionesses
We headed over for FotLK next. The standby line was long but already they were filing into the theater. You do not need to use FPP for this attraction - the theater is âin the roundâ and with stadium seats the stage is visible to all. This is by far the best show on property and it leaves me with goosebumps every time. Once in and seated I grabbed us a FPP for TSMM for the evening as our plan was to head to HS for the SW Fireworks. Then it was time to sit back and enjoy the show:
We decided to take in some lunch next. We LOVE Flame Tree and had been looking forward to this meal. As we headed over, I took note of where Tiffins/Nomad Lounge was, since that was on our agenda for a bit later. We ran into this guy over there:
The line at Flame Tree was long but there was a CM handing out menus for guests to review while waiting so that when you got to the register you knew what you were getting. This helped to keep things moving. We ordered and headed to the seating area. Iâm not sure what was going on out in front, but there were some construction walls up which initially made me worry that the seating area was not open, but it was. We got a seat down by the water. This is one of our favorite things about this QS choice - the seating area feels âtucked awayâ and is serene, an escape from the park within the park.
After a quick selfie we headed to do some shopping before the bird show. We saw Dug and Russel on the way to their M&G spot
And then we saw poor Dug in the cone of shame in the shop
I treated myself to the Vera Bradley bag I had been eyeing since before even leaving home. It was a little more pricey than my usual souvenir selections, but is one that will last a long, long time.
While we were shopping, the skies opened up. It was POURING. We dug out our ponchos again and made our way to the Flights of Wonder theater. The seats were under cover, but the stage was partly exposed. We wondered if the show would go on. No worries - it did. Now I could take this show or leave it - birds donât really do it for me - but DH LOVES this attraction so we see it every time 
It stopped raining during the show, thankfully. We had a while yet before the Nemo show so we decided to go round to on EE using the single rider line! We managed to get on the same train just a few seats apart. I rode beside this cute little girl who tells me that EE is her favorite ride in all of WDW. She talked to me the whole way about it! Too cute! She pointed out the hair ties at the top of the mountain which I had never seen before and which has panties in a twist on chat today I thought it was kind of neat, myself.
We were feeling a bit âthirstyâ after riding, so we headed to the old EE FPP kiosk area which has been turned into a cute little bar - the Thirsty River Bar and Trek Snacks. We got ourselves some drinks
I donât even recall what they were, but they were icy cold and yummy with just enough of a âhitâ factor. We wandered toward Nemo, enjoying our drinks and people watching. As we headed into the Nemo theater it began to rain again. Good timing.
It was just lightly misting when we came out of the show (another one you do not need FPP for) but that soon changed. If you want a pic of the Tree of Life without people in it, but canât get a pre-RD ADR, try getting one during a rainstorm! I snapped this one on our way over to the Nomad Lounge.
I also happened to catch a rare glimpse of the African Crane in its natural environment. Notice how the male is bowing slightly before the female in a display of the mating ritual:
Tiffins and the Nomad Lounge are tucked in the little side âstreetâ just after the Island Mercantile on the left. They are totally out of the way and there is nothing back there presently to bring foot traffic on by. All the reviews I had read were that the place was amazing but always empty. It was true on this afternoon, too:
It is super cozy and comfortable in the lounge. The seating is arranged to encourage intimate gatherings, and the furniture is so comfortable youâll never want to get up. It is the perfect escape. We ordered drinks. I had been looking forward to having my namesake, the Jennâs Tattoo
and DH had a Lamu Libation
The drinks were very, very good - some of the best weâve had on property. We enjoyed relaxing and talking about our trip. It was beginning to draw to its close, and this was such a nice way to begin wrapping it up. We looked at the menu for Tiffins while we chatted. We wondered if the pricing is keeping people away. Itâs a little steep for OOP and if on the DDP itâs a 2 credit meal. Itâs also a bit more adventurous, so those two factors combined might turn a lot of guests off. The lack of foot traffic might also be impacting this. The wait staff were all standing around looking a bit bored; I canât imagine they are earning very good tips with so few tables full. Regardless of why, we hope that the restaurant and lounge will do well and will not face closing for lack of business. It is really a special hideaway.
After finishing our drinks we headed over to Y&Y Food Cafes to get some dinner. We were heading to HS for the evening and there is practically nothing to eat over there on QS. I broke my QS down into 3 snacks and got the chicken fried rice, egg rolls, and a water. DH just got a burger. Everything was very good and quite filling. I would agree with many who say that the fried rice is an excellent use of a snack credit.
It was time to say goodbye to AK and make our way to HS. We made the endless trek toward the bus between parks; turns out this is the one time that there is a bus further away than the one serving Pop Century The skies continued to threaten, but once we were through bag check at HS everything cleared up and dried up. We had never taken the time to do ANY shopping at HS this trip or on any trip before, so we decided to do that. I found this super cute top at one place but of course they didnât have my size, none in stock out back, and not available through the Shop Disney app. Story of my life.
We finished our shopping and took one more spin on TSMM using our FPP that I had secured while at AK. I kicked his butt again
We grabbed some popcorn and secured a spot in front of the projection towers for SW Fireworks. There was a CM guy out there talking to the crowd, sharing all kinds of trivia about Disney and the parks and all. It was a neat touch, and made the wait pass quickly.
I am not a SW fan, so I did not always know what was happening during the show, but it was pretty incredible nonetheless. The lasers, projections, and pyrotechnics were pretty impressive and I was really glad we had made the decision to see it before our trip was over. As a SW fan, it impressed DH even more. I see itâs going away, and thatâs a shame. Theyâve got a good thing going on with this show and Iâm not sure why they wouldnât hang onto it.
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Is it actually going away or have they just not scheduled it yet? Your cocktail sounds great!
I saw on a FB post (by whom? Maybe Theme Park Tourist??) that it is one of three closures set for this fall: RR, SW fireworks and that SW stage show thingie.