This is too precious! Sound like a great last day.
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Day 6 - Group switch!
Packed up our room at BRV, loaded up the rental car and headed to MCO to drop off DH, DD7 and DD3. Both DD’s promised to help Daddy out at the airport! DS11 and I then headed to the Polynesian to fulfill his craving for sushi while we waited for DS16 and his GF16 to arrive.
I didn’t feel comfortable going anywhere else in Orlando at present although I have always wanted a chance to check out the mall. At Kona Cafe, we were one of only 3-4 parties. He had the spicy tuna and California rolls and I tried the chicken stir fry, all very good! We headed back to MCO and found the cell phone lot. Just after they landed however a big storm broke loose. Luckily they landed 10-15 minutes early; apparently the pilot said if they had come in to land a few minutes later they would have been diverted. As we waited curbside, fortunately it was a slow time, security told us the ground crew wouldn’t be unloading baggage for awhile but they had not checked any, so we were off into the storm to the Contemporary. Checked into our room in the Garden Wing. It’s very different from WL! Very modern and sleek, but less practical in terms of storage and space.
The beds have a thick pillow top and are really soft, even the daybed. We are on the first floor so no wait for elevator, actually we hardly ever see other guests, and the kids can go out the patio door straight to the pool. Also we can park practically right out the door of the garden wing. However the humidity level seems really high and everything feels damp, much more so than at BRV. There are cool motion activated nightlights in the bathroom! The reason I chose CR for this portion was the daybed which seems more suited for a bigger kid/teen, since we needed at least 3 sleep surfaces, and it is nice. The kids swam briefly and participated in a hula contest at the pool (!) and then we headed to Beaches and Cream for dinner. This was the first TS where I really felt uncomfortable. Of course it is very popular and not very big, and the restaurant was as full as they could get it and still say people were 6’ apart - but just barely. DS11 who loves Reubens ordered that, but said theirs was pretty bad. It looked really greasy. The rest of us had the French dip and that was good. Then of course we had to get the kitchen sink!
We tried valiantly but still left a lot behind.
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Love the Kitchen Sink! We more or less finished it when it was the 3 of us but DH doesn’t come anymore and I’m not sure DS and I could do it justice.
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Definitely one to share…none of us could finish it!
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Yum!
Boarded our flight, then sat for an hour waiting for storm to pass before they finally deplaned everybody. Weather channel looks as though the storm is going to be parked for awhile. Could get interesting.
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Back on board now, hopefully out of here!
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If I recall you are headed back to Lambert? Safe travels this evening…it is HOT here in the Lou. Heat indexes up to 107 tomorrow! Enjoyed hearing about your trip.
Part 2: Epcot Day (8/6)
Had a slow start to the day due to Epcot’s late opening. I wanted to have DS16 and his GF practice getting boarding groups at 10 since we will have to do it tomorrow. At 10:00, none of the three of them were available in my list to join my group! Panicked a little bit but glad it wasn’t for today. Headed to Epcot a little before 11. GF16 had not been there in many years so it was almost new to her. Started with Test Track, Gran Fiesta Tour and Frozen.
Then we did something that was a first for me, and watched Reflections of China. Interesting exhibit of Shanghai Disney in the building there.
We then proceeded to seriously take on the Taste of Epcot in a way I’ve never been able to with littles! Such good food!
Had to include stops at the French patisserie and shopping at Mitsukoshi of course. Practiced boarding groups again at 2 and now everybody was on my list. Since DS16 had not yet ridden the Skyliner we took a side trip; Skyliner seems to be becoming an Epcot ride for me. About that time I realized I had once again lost my Magicband…the new one. But knowing that was a possibility given my history, I had an extra in my bag. I think it’s all the putting on and taking off of my backpack. For the rest of the trip, I only wore one briefly when needed.
One more booth stop after Skyliner for the delicious orange cream milkshakes (sans overpriced sippers) and we caught the remaining rides- Journey into Imagination, Soarin, LWTL, and The Seas.
Not hungry at all but headed to our ADR at Via Napoli anyway. Just had the family salad and shared a margherita pizza; we thought it was very good! Went for one more ride on Frozen and then picked up our purchases at Mitsukoshi (they won’t deliver to your resort now, but will hold items for you) and checked out yet more food booths in the building behind Canada. Took me awhile to figure out what that building was, but the Mac n cheese there was well worth the trip! By the time DS11 and I returned from another booth while DS16 and GF16 got the Mac she looked embarrassed…”um, I accidentally ate it all!” DS had gone to get another!
Finished out the night with SE and Photopass photos in front of the sphere.
No luck on my MB at guest services.
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Yes, ohh that is not what we wanted to hear! Were hoping for relief from the heat! But will be glad to be back regardless. May be actually leaving the gate now!
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No more delivering your purchases to the resort?!?! If that isn’t the worst thing I’ve heard of being cancelled. That’s right, worse than cancelled fireworks, worse than cancelled meet and greets, worse than cancelled FastPasses (alright maybe not worse than FastPasses)
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Cute pics! Sounds like a good day.
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Part 2: HS (8/7)
Left at 9:00 to head to HS. Once again there was a huge backup at the tollbooths, but once we parked the admitting procedures went quickly. We entered the park around 9:40. Got in line for MMRR first this time. Was posted 50 minutes and we waited 40.
Got BG while in line, all necessary names were there and got group 33. I haven’t mastered the art of getting an early group, but happy to get a decent one both days! Rode TSMM and then waited for RNRC which was posted 45 but we waited about 30. Collected our lunches at Ronto Roasters and DB7 - somewhat frustrated by the new process at both, one entrance and exit but no signs to explain this, can’t find your own table, and don’t try to approach until your order is ready! Worked out in the end. Then tried blue and green milk and explored Batuu until our ROTR window opened.
Everyone really enjoyed the ride! Saw Muppets next and then caught a short line for MFSR. DS16 and GF16 were pilots and had a ball!
Our Oga’s reservation came up next. DS11 had the Carbon freeze which is an awesome presentation,
DS16 had Jabba juice, GF16 had the Hyperdrive and I had Oga’s obsession which turned out to be a jello-based dish with boba balls, and dried fruit and popping candy on top. It was good but very sweet! Round 2 on TSMM and then headed to dinner at 50’s Prime Time. The afternoon thunderstorm hit just as we arrived; we had good timing! Between the kids we had the fried chicken, meatloaf and pot roast and all were excellent. I went with the wedge salad and crab cake and those were likewise well done. However tables here were a little too close together also. After dinner we rode MMRR again, SDD as it was back up after the storm passed,
TSMM again and finished off the night with SDD. As we got on the coaster just before 8, they announced they were going to have to power down the ride and we all had to get off. However they did get it going again and the wait was worthwhile since it had gotten darker and the lights had been turned on! Love SDD after dark!
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Part 2: MK (8/8)
Walked over from CR around 8:30 and entered park at 8:45. Quick easy screens on the path.
Headed first to 7DMT and PP, then stopped for Sleepy Hollow waffles!
Next up were BTMRR and Splash. Both already had long lines and times posted, but they were shorter than advertised and we ended up waiting about 25 minutes for each, not too bad.
Headed to Pirates next around 11:10 and wow was it a long and slow line. My photo times indicate we waited about 35 minutes. Don’t recall ever waiting so long for Pirates, of course in past we would have found a FPP. This is when it began to sink in that the crowd level today was not going to be the same. At least the line was covered and coolish so we didn’t mind the wait so much. Caught the Tiki Room before dashing to Plaza for lunch. Lines were longish everywhere, so we went in search of shorter lines. 20 minutes at Pooh was about as good as it got. And there just as we got on the ride I recognized @ryan1 from his photo in his trip report! His family was getting to the front of the line as we got off the ride but it was nice to briefly meet! We moved on to Little Mermaid
and then noticed SM line was shorter, so headed there. GF16 had never ridden it but was brave enough to give it a try! Was so proud she had to get a T-shirt after! After my sound defeat at Buzz…
My score:
DS11’s score:
we headed over for Dole Whip
and Haunted Mansion. Line was wrapped along the riverfront but moved fast.
Rode IASW and then tried to see Philharmagic which was posted 20 min. After about that long of a wait they announced a cleaning pause. 20 minutes later we and others finally bailed as it had not yet reopened. We wanted to ride Splash again and were not going to have time if we stayed. Made our final Splash run and then headed to LTT for dinner. Our family had a rather lackluster lunch there in past that ended in food poisoning for one member, so I had not been back for dinner. But DS16 thought their dinner sounded good, so we ditched BOG for LTT the night before. It was so good! We all really enjoyed everything and we will definitely do it again.
We left about 7:45 so had a chance to get uncrowded castle photos
and then rode the Monorail back to CR. Kids had hoped to swim, but another evening storm had closed the pool. Shopped a little in the resort and packed up.
In retrospect it was a good day, but it was clearly more crowded and the absence of FPP made a real difference. For comparison, on 8/3 at MK we rode 22 attractions; today our count was 13. 40 min wasted on Philharmagic and 40 min less park time due to earlier dinner, so we maybe could have fit 2-3 more. But it was a much different day.
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Thanks for all the pictures! Your boys look very much alike, no doubt they are brothers.
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Great photos! Glad you are having a nice time!
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Thank you for the comments 8/3 vs 8/8 for crowds! I’m looking at MK on a Friday or Saturday and a 2nd day on Tuesday so it is very helpful to see the differences over a few days / on a weekend
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Your pics are gorgeous! Sorry it was so much busier.
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I meant to ask: did you ever use rider swap with DD3? I’m curious how that works now.