Mental!
Big, gigantic yikes! I wouldn’t want to be slogging through that!
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And tonight we find out how many travel mugs it takes to build a raft
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I love this and am very nervous about all the changes with our upcoming trip also, but have decided to take on your advice also! I just had this discussion with my family, you cannot see everything and I really just want to enjoy what we can and not feel rushed to see it all.
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This trip was definitely less rushed than the ones before, but we ended up being able to do a lot more than I had expected. I realized quickly that the kids didn’t have the same aversion to waiting for something we wanted to do that I did–no one wanted to wait a long time, but they just understood that it was going to have to happen.
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Tuesday, March 8
Hello, Sunshine! The rain had moved on, and it was sunny and warm this morning! My plan was to book an LL for Peter Pan at 7 a.m., but the return time was already 1:30-ish when I looked, and that didn’t work with our plan to take a break in the afternoon, so I booked HM for 10:10-11:10 instead.
We left Windsor Hills at 7:42, parked at the TTC at 8:01 and went to security, where I was pulled aside again because of my glasses case. We walked to a waiting ferry that left about 2 minutes after we got on. So far, so good! I didn’t make a note of what time we got to the gate, but since the ferry ride is 8 minutes and we were among the first people off, it was probably close to 8:15. We went through the tapstiles with no issues and were allowed into the park as far as the castle. We stopped for a couple of photos and just soaked in the atmosphere before making our way to the bridge near Liberty Square to wait for the rope to drop. We were held briefly again in Frontierland, and at 9:00, I was able to book an ILL$ for 7DMT at 7:15-8:15. Score!
BTM had a 5-minute posted wait when we got there, and there was a slight backup getting into the queue, but it sorted itself out quickly and we didn’t stop walking until we got to the loading area. We went down the loading area to the left, and I swear the ride always feels faster from that side. Maybe it’s just me? Anyway, we laughed all through our wild ride and had to stop for a group pic at the exit; BTM is my favorite ride, and I was glad for a family pic! We got in line for Pirates and waited about 15 minutes. At 10:05 we tapped in for HM and started looking for another LL. Peter Pan’s time still didn’t work, so I asked the kids and DS21 immediately said, “Buzz, of course, Mom!”. Buzz it was for 11:20-12:20.
After HM, we started looking for snacks; DH, DS18 and I ended up in Tomorrowland for cream cheese stuffed pretzels and DS21 and GF went off on their own for a bit. After our snacks, the 3 of us went on the Carousel of Progress, and we all met up to ride Buzz with our G+. I booked a G+ for Jungle Cruise for 7:40-8:40; DS21 and GF went off to shop for pins, and the 3 of us went to the Tea Cups. The wait was posted at 35 minutes but we waited about 20. When we all got in the same Tea Cup, I knew I was in trouble. DH and DS love to spin the thing until I get sick! D had mercy on me and stopped when I begged him to, but we had a good time. When we were off the ride, he told me I had turned a pale green color and he was afraid I’d throw up and it would hit him.
DS21 and GF ended up riding the Little Mermaid while we were on the teacups, and the 3 of us decided to take a spin on the carousel while we waited for them. We met up and all watched Philharmagic together; I liked the additions! We all were ready to go back to the condo for a bit. I booked a G+ for Peter Pan for 7:30 to 8:30 as we were walking towards the front of the park, and we went back to the TTC by monorail. We were in the car at 1:52 and back at the condo at 2:08. We didn’t have a lot of time to rest, but we managed to relax a bit and it was nice just to be out of the park and away from everything and recharge.
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(Still Tuesday, March 8)
At 4:00, I booked an LL for BTMRR for 8:15-9:15, and we left the condo shortly after that for our dinner at Whispering Canyon. We were a few minutes early for our reservation, so we checked in and walked around the lobby, and the kids went into the gift shop, of course. We heard the opening dinner bell and then our buzzer went off shortly after that. I can’t remember our server’s name (I want to say it was Dahlia?), but she was so much fun! Four of us ordered the original skillet and DS21 had the NY strip. The food was really good and there was plenty of it! DH dropped his fork on the floor and he was given a giant fork that he may be able to hold onto a little better 
There were some other antics, but nothing crazy. It was still early and I think they have toned it down some, but we had fun. I did “forget” to mention to the server that we were celebrating our 25th anniversary that trip.
The WL is beautiful!
We saw part of a rainbow as we were walking to the boat dock
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(Still Tuesday, March 8)
At 6:02, I booked a G+ for Space Mountain from 10:10-11:00 (I’m noting times for people who are curious about availability and booking). We returned to the MK by boat and were on Main Street by 6:35; we looked through the shops from the Emporium to Casey’s. The lights on the buildings were coming on, and Main Street was SO pretty!
We had been stacking LL to use that evening;
7DMT for 7:15-8:15
Peter Pan for 7:30-8:30,
Jungle Cruise for 7:40-8:40
BTMRR for 8:15-9:15
Space Mountain for 10:10-11:00
I made all of them, and I had screenshots and had looked at my Genie, but I hadn’t thought about the overlapping times and getting from place to place; it ended up working out just fine, but we didn’t have any spare time to shop or get coffee (this became a running joke on the trip). The fireworks were at 8:00, and wait times were noticeably lower during the time leading up to the start time, as people were (obviously) trying to find a good spot.
We tapped in for 7DMT at 7:19, Peter Pan at 7:30, and Jungle Cruise at 7:48; 7DMT and Peter Pan saved us time compared to the posted wait time, but Jungle Cruise was posted at 30 minutes and had exactly one family of 4 in the line when we got there. Oh well! We saw some fireworks as we were walking towards BTMRR, and it was right then that GF mentioned had wanted to watch them. Oops. I apologized and told her we would make a point to watch them on Friday when we were at MK again. The kids stopped across from BTMRR and watched some, so we did too. It was kinda nice over there, definitely not crowded, and a different view than we are used to.
As soon as the finale was finished, we tapped in for BTMRR and rode; I like BTM in the dark! We had some time between BTM and our G+ time for Space Mountain; IASW was posted at 25 minutes, so we got in line. I don’t think we waited that long, but we may have. DS18 wanted to ride Astro Orbiter this trip, so he, DH and I got in line at 9:21. I don’t remember where DS21 and GF went, maybe the People Mover? Anyway, they met up with us near Space, and DH, DS18 and GF went to ride that while DS21 and I hung out. He wanted to go look at something in the shop at the end of Buzz Lightyear, so we did. I don’t remember what he was looking for, but he didn’t buy anything that time.
We left the MK at 10:40 tired and content with the great day we had, and we walked onto a waiting boat; everyone else was fine walking to the car, but my hip was hurting quite a bit, and we had parked further away (Jafar lot, I think) when we came back at dinner time, so we took the tram to our van. We were in line for the tram at 10:55 and on the tram at 10:59; we were in the van at 11:06 and back at Windsor Hills at 11:18.
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Gorgeous!
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Thank you!
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Wednesday, March 9
EPCOT!!
I love all the parks, but Epcot has always been my favorite, and I had been looking forward to our day there. I had tried to find a way to have a second day there, but because of the kids’ flight and school schedules it just didn’t work out.
I was on the app at 7:00 a.m. (no atomic clock this time) to book an LL for Test Track. I knew we probably wouldn’t use G+ much today, but I definitely wanted Test Track because Isaac has always loved it. It popped up for 8:35-9:35, and I should have grabbed it, but I didn’t know if I wanted it quite that early. I refreshed and it went to 11:35-12:35, which I thought would work well for us. My big mistake of the day; I should have taken the earlier one.
We left WH at 7:40, made the short trip to Epcot and parked in the very first spot of the third set of rows in standard parking. We were looking at the little booklet about the Flower and Garden Festival, looking forward to the food and the topiaries, and before we knew it, the Jammitors were out and then the park opened. I was trying for an ILL$ for Remy right at 8:30, but they were gone. GF and I both wanted to ride it, she asked if we could just wait in line and I told her we would. I was the only one still having an issue waiting for anything, but I was trying hard not to!
I probably should include here that I have arthritis in one of my hips that causes a lot of pain when I walk a lot, any impact on my leg bothers it (like my foot hitting something hard like pavement). I knew I would have to be careful this trip and pay attention to what I needed to do, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do.
We were in line for Soarin’ at 8:32 with a posted wait of 10 minutes, but we went all the way to the staging area before we stopped. I forgot about asking for B1 until we were already on our circles in A2, and I decided it didn’t matter. As we were leaving, DH asked DS21 (motion graphics minor, digital media/broadcasting major) about the graphics and how he thought the film had been done, and GF and I decided we would go get in line for Remy now; the wait was posted at 45 minutes, and it wasn’t going to get any shorter. By the time we made it to France, the wait was posted at 60, but we got in line anyway. We waited in front of the Crepe place for a bit and we all decided that would be our next stop. We were in line for Remy at 9:10 and got to the loading area at 10:05, so the posted time was pretty close. Such a cute ride!
Next up, crepes all around! I was hurting quite a bit by now, so DS21 and GF waited in line for the crepes while the rest of us found a bench facing the water; we watched the boats and skyliner go by and relaxed for a bit. I had the crepe with zucchini, tomato and eggplant, and it was really good! The rest of my family had the hazelnut and chocolate crepe or the red berries crepe, and they all enjoyed theirs, too.
Our snack break took longer than expected (the crepe line was very slow), but I was glad for the break from walking. Every step hurt, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. Walking/impact on my leg is the problem, and we had walked more than 10 miles both park days so far. I was lagging behind the others, but I made it over to Test Track and we tapped in at 11:30 and then tapped in again inside. We went straight into the room to design our cars, and since the 3 boys were really into it and smack talking to each other, I left DH and DS18 to design our car and used the time to book an LL for FEA 1:55-2:55 while I waited! I was so excited to get it! We went out of the design room and through the queue to the loading area, and the line was very backed up in front of us; I had never seen it like that and didn’t think it was a good sign. We waited awhile and moved up a few feet, and they made an announcement that boarding would be delayed. At one point, most of the people in front of us left the line and went out the exit, then we heard that the ride was down completely. DH went up and talked to a CM who told him that our LL should convert to an anytime recovery LL,
We split up for a while and planned to meet up in Norway to do FEA. DS21 and GF went to the World Showcase, and DH, DS, and I went to Club Cool. It is always fun to try the different drinks, and the new(er) space seems much more open to me. We looked around for a drawstring bag to put our rain jackets in but didn’t find anything; we asked a CM in (used to be) Mouse Gears, and she said to try the twin gift shops at the entrance to WS. The day wasn’t really going the way I had planned and my hip/leg hurt, and I just wanted to sit down. Instead of coming clean, I said we should go ride Living with the Land. We didn’t check the app and walked over there and saw the wait was posted at 45 minutes and there were soooo many people in the queue and area, we decided to forget that. We went to Figment instead, and waited 5-10 minutes. We quickly scanned the gift shop for a string bag and then decided to hit some of the F&G Festival booths.
I got in line for Strawberry Mousse from the first booth we came to, while DH went to the Bee booth for some kind of a pastry and beer or mead, something. It had started to rain lightly, and DS went to the van to get our jackets. We went to the covered area near the jumping fountains and got there just as the downpour started. The lightning started right after that. DS called to say he was going to wait for the storm to pass in the van, and we told him where we were. Eventually the worst of the storm passed and we met up with Isaac and got our jackets. We made our way towards Norway, stopping on the way to look for something to put the jackets in.
We met up with the other two and did FEA with our LL; it is a very cute ride, but I still think I prefer the original version. DS21 got wetter than he expected when we went down the small hill, and I thought that was really funny! He did not. We split up again and went to see what other snacks we could find. Isaac got a huge pretzel in Germany, and we also found a bag that would hold the jackets in Germany. It isn’t something we will probably ever use again, but it served the purpose! As we were leaving the store, the other kids texted and said they were in Mexico and wanted us to come and ride the boat ride with them. We did that, and the family in front of us had a smaller kid who kept asking about a drop and getting splashed; I don’t know if he had been on FEA or Splash or Pirates or what, but he was very concerned.
We started back around the WS again, picking up some cheese wontons and frushi, and sat down on a bench in Japan just as it started pouring again. I was wet and cold, my leg really hurt, and I was just done. DH was over the people and DS just agreed with us, so we decided to go back to the condo for a little while. The other kids wanted to stay and asked DS to stay with them, but he wanted to go back with us. DS21 texted me because the Test Track LL wasn’t showing up, and I told him to go to the blue umbrella and tell them what happened and see if they could help. When we got back to the condo, we changed into dry clothes and I stretched out on the bed after giving in and taking the meds that would upset my stomach. At some point, DH and DS went back to Epcot, I think he said it was around 6:00. They tried to get me up to go, but I declined and went back to sleep. I woke up the next morning having slept in my clothes and realized I didn’t even hear them come back in. I know that DS21 was able to get the TT LL restored and they rode that together. I’m assuming they ate dinner, and they said they watched Harmonious from between Italy and the U.S. and that I really would have loved it.
At the time, I was really discouraged with our Epcot day in general. Nothing went the way it normally does or the way I had planned, I hadn’t been able to do Test Track with the kids, and I hated missing the fireworks. However, as I looked through my notes from that day (mostly made the next day), I realized it really was a pretty good day until the bottom fell out.
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I’m sorry it turned out to be a bit of a rough day. I’m glad you got some rest.
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I’m so sorry you had such a hard time. You certainly walked all over Epcot. It does sound like a good day until TT, though.
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I’m sorry you were in such pain!
I’m having trouble quoting, but I have to say j think the bottom falls out almost every time I try to visit Epcot. If I’m going to have a not-Great trip day - it’s there.
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Ugh im so sorry. My mom has a form of arthritis called DISH that causes her a ton of pain, but like you, she tries to push through because the meds put her to sleep. She is going to wdw for the first time in 20 years in april and i rented a scooter from scooterbug for her. She hates the scooter but she deserves to enjoy wdw without excess pain!! It’s hard on her and so i know it was really hard on you not to be able to do all you wanted. Hugs 
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Thank you all for the kind words. This was our first WDW trip since I started having problems with it, and overall it went better than I had expected, but I knew for the rest of the trip I would have to be more careful.
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Thursday, March 10
Disney Springs and Animal Kingdom
I love AK, but with Everest closed, our list of must-dos has gotten smaller, and this trip we only had 6 days instead of our typical 9-10 days. When the kids asked when we would go to DIsney Springs, I knew it would have to be paired with AK, and we were all fine with that. I am the master tour planner in our house, but I did run pretty much everything by all the kids, especially since GF hasn’t gone with us before and I had no idea what she would want to do unless I asked! BTW, we had only met the poor girl twice for dinner before she was thrown into a week-long vacation with us. They are at school 3 hours away from us, and her home is several states away. Thankfully, it went very well! We really liked her, and she still keeps in contact with me, so I’m assuming she liked us as well 
Anyway, our original plan for today was to start at AK at the 9:00 opening, and then go to Disney Springs when we were finished, but that went out the window when AK’s opening time was changed to 7:30 a.m. We have always been a rope-drop family, the kids knew this going into this trip, but 7:30? Not happening! I didn’t even ask them because I didn’t want to do it! Our plan quickly changed to sleeping in (for Disney, haha), going to Disney Springs for a few hours and then to AK in time to use the LLs we had been stacking. Our list of things anyone wanted to do was pretty short, and it made it easy to accomplish.
The 7:30 opening worked very well for getting an ILL$ for FoP! I was up at 7:30 and had my choice of times; I went with 4:25-5:25, and that became the time frame we would have to be at AK. DH made a good breakfast for us and the kids staggered out one by one; I think they all appreciated the chance to sleep in–this old lady wasn’t the only one who needed a long night of sleep! I had been watching LL times, and I was able to get Navi for 4:35-5:35 around 10 a.m.
We left for DS around 10:30 with everyone rested and well fed. Traffic was light and we made it to the lime parking garage with no issues, found a place to park and piled out. DH walked over to the next parking spot and just stood there, looking up, then he started laughing. DS18 looked up and started laughing, and I had no clue what was going on. Apparently, he was standing under the sensor that detects if a car was in the space or not; if there was a car there, the light would turn red so people looking for a spot would know that one was taken. Of course, both boys had to see if they could do it; I apologized to GF and told her I tried, haha. She laughed and said she is seeing why DS21 does a lot of the things he does now! Ugh.
We shopped together for a while, then DH and I may have ditched the kids (hey, they did it to us all the time!) So we shopped apart, we had lunch, and we had fun. We also bought pins. While we were eating lunch, I booked an LL for the safari from 3:25-4:25. We met up after lunch at the Lego store, where the kids shopped more. We have spent so much time in the Lego store over the years. I had to look to see if the lego dragon was still in the lake, and I’m happy to report that it is! We took some pictures with it, as we have on almost every trip. We went to the Coca-Cola store and the M&M store. As we were waiting for one to check out at the M&M store, it started to…….rain. Yep. Pour rain. Once again, we passed out rain jackets and made our way to the van because it was time to go to AK.
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I am enjoying your trip report so much! My kids are now 16 and 19, so I love to read reports of families with older teen and adult kids still enjoying time together. Hoping my family continues to have that kind of fun together as the kids get older!
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