Today was our Hollywood Studios Day and was our last park day. We were there just a few minutes before rope drop but they let everyone in a few minutes early. We went straight to the Star Wars Launch Bay. It was so so sooooo amazing!! After seeing it, I cannot even imagine how amazing the Star Wars land will turn out! Once inside, we got in line to meet Chewbaca first and waited for about 30 minutes because we were waiting on his ship to land After Chewie, we went over to meet Kylo Ren who I was a little intimated to meet but we survived it and it turned out to be fun. Next, we went to do a little trading with the Jawas. Now this was the moment that was either going to make or break this experience for my daughter. We thought for months about what we should take to trade with the Jawas and never could come up with something clever enough. But on the night before we left for Disney, my daughter and I went to Walmart and I was determined to find something that would work. So, I found some super shiny party blowers with shiny streamers on them and knew that I found what I was looking for. However, my daughter was not as sure as I was so this was my moment to prove that I knew what I was doing lol! And boy did I get it right! The Jawas went crazy and both traded with my daughter. It was a huge success and I was the best mom ever ha ha. They traded her a shiny yellow sparkly Incredibles pin and a droid piece and my daughter could not have been happier. After the Launch Bay, we rode Star Tours, watched the Muppets 3D show, the Indiana Jones show and then grabbed something to eat at the ABC Commissary. Then we rode Toy Story Mania with a fastpass with very minimal wait. It was very hot and crowded this day and this park is just so hard to navigate with so little to do so we finally said we should move on to Epcot to ride Spaceship Earth one more time. Now, there were a lot of things still on our plan at Hollywood Studios but the lines were very long and the heat was crushing us so we just had to improvise. We took a bus over to Epcot which was very quick and would highly recommend if park hopping. At Epcot, the only thing we rode was Spaceship Earth and headed back to the Poly on the monorail after to cool down for a bit before dinner.
Our dinner was at Chef Mickey’s and it was very good and a lot of fun. We didn’t think it was too loud and the food was good. We would eat here again at some point.
After dinner, we walked from the Contemporary over to Magic Kingdom to finish our day strong. We rode Buzz Lightyear, the People Mover, checked out the Incredibles dance party, rode the tea cups and watched the electrical parade. We had every intention of staying to watch the fireworks but decided to get out prior and watch them from the Polynesian which was just as good of a choice that way we didn’t have to fight the crowds
It was a great last park day!
Next up, moving over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for our final night!
Chewbacca is one of the best meet and greets ever and he was so fun with my daughter and her Chewie that she brought with her. Definitely worth the wait!
We checked out of the Polynesian at 11:00 and took a cab over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge that way we didn’t have to switch buses multiple times and wait on our luggage. It cost around $20 for the cab. Once we arrived at AKL, we went to see if our room was ready. Again, we chose club level here as well. Once we got to the check in counter, they took us up to the 6th floor which is where the club level concierge is located as well as the lounge. The cast members here were by far among the best we encountered during our entire trip. The hotel and the lounge were both amazing! We requested a bunk bed room prior to check in and we did receive one which was awesome for my daughter! She was in heaven! Our room was ready around 12:30 which was great! We had a savanna view room and we saw so many animals from our balcony throughout the entire day. We did spend some time in the pool which is large and roomy and you never feel crowded. Plus there is a lot of shade for those of us that burn easy which was a nice touch.
After our pool time, we decided to eat dinner at Boma and it was so so good and a fun environment! After dinner, we lounged and relaxed in our room so our daughter could enjoy her bunk bed and we could all watch the animals. The next day, we had a 5:00 p.m. flight so we checked out at 11:00 and checked our luggage in at the hotel which is an amazing feature! We hung out in the lounge until it was time to board the Magical Express.
We loved the Animal Kingdom Lodge and would definitely recommend it. We also loved the Polynesian but plan on trying the other two monorail resorts next. Please feel free to ask any questions and thank you for all of the kind words and taking the time to read this trip report!
Thank you for this amazing report! It seems like you did a lot of planning and your family really enjoyed it! Can you tell me what the club breakfast choices were at AKL?
Thanks for the report! I love the picture of your daughter and Chewie. So cute that she brought her Chewie along.
Someday I’m going to do what you did and stay at AKL at the end of my trip. I want to sit on the balcony and watch animals all day.
Yes, definitely a lot of planning but it was so worth it! And for breakfast at the club lounge at AKL was quinoa, oatmeal with different toppings, bagels, toast, cereal, hard boiled eggs, fruit, muffins and yogurt. Plus an awesome espresso machine, different choices of juice and milk. Hope this helps
Thank you! And it was super easy once we decided to take a cab to switch resorts. Otherwise I think it would have been a little harder. And my husband wasn’t a fan of switching hotels during the trip originally but even he said how easy and fun it was to switch after the fact
And we will definitely be doing it again. We just packed up our suitcases so we only had to open one once we got to the AKL. This was a huge help as well.
Thanks. We did have a split stay, Poly and then one night at the AKL but I changed it months ago. Having a few second thoughts, however we would like to end with MK, and we have a relaxing week afterwards. Hopefully there will be a next time.
I completely agree with your thought process! We weren’t doing a park that day we stayed AKL so that made it a no brainer. But I wouldn’t either if we were doing MK that day I hope you have an amazing trip!!
Thank you for an amazing trip report and sharing all of your photos! Your daughter is adorable and I’m sure she had a 7th birthday that she’ll never forget!
I was also underwhelmed with the boathouse. My server was awesome, but the food - especially the steak - was lackluster. And the prices are really high for what you get - even by WDW standards. Glad I tried it, but with all of the other choices in WDW, I doubt seriously that I’ll go back…
After Chewie, we went over to meet Kylo Ren who I was a little intimated to meet but we survived it and it turned out to be fun. Next, we went to do a little trading with the Jawas. Now this was the moment that was either going to make or break this experience for my daughter. We thought for months about what we should take to trade with the Jawas and never could come up with something clever enough. But on the night before we left for Disney, my daughter and I went to Walmart and I was determined to find something that would work. So, I found some super shiny party blowers with shiny streamers on them and knew that I found what I was looking for. However, my daughter was not as sure as I was so this was my moment to prove that I knew what I was doing lol! And boy did I get it right! The Jawas went crazy and both traded with my daughter. It was a huge success and I was the best mom ever ha ha. They traded her a shiny yellow sparkly Incredibles pin and a droid piece and my daughter could not have been happier. After the Launch Bay, we rode Star Tours, watched the Muppets 3D show, the Indiana Jones show and then grabbed something to eat at the ABC Commissary. Then we rode Toy Story Mania with a fastpass with very minimal wait. It was very hot and crowded this day and this park is just so hard to navigate with so little to do so we finally said we should move on to Epcot to ride Spaceship Earth one more time. Now, there were a lot of things still on our plan at Hollywood Studios but the lines were very long and the heat was crushing us so we just had to improvise. We took a bus over to Epcot which was very quick and would highly recommend if park hopping. At Epcot, the only thing we rode was Spaceship Earth and headed back to the Poly on the monorail after to cool down for a bit before dinner.
