I’m a little bit less than 24 hours back from Disney World! And ready to start this trip report!
My name is Ann and I’m from LA area (which is pretty obvious based on my user name. I have no idea how I got that name - I wish there was a way to change it without losing history, so Ann-CA it is.)
You can read much much more about me and the trip plans here in my PTR.
But in summary, I’m a 42yo mom to a soon to be 4yo and a just turned 2yo. I work full time at a fairly demanding job as a pastor, where I also take care of people often.
I wouldn’t say I’m a crazy Disney fan but I’ve always loved the parks since I was a teenager. My friends and I would play Disney Trivia and I’d whoop everybody on the parks section - everything else not so much.
I’ve been to DL many times being an AP when I was in college and then again about 8 years right when I met my DH. In fact, our first month of dating, I bought us Mickey and Minnie TsumTsums, and we started collecting them while dating! They became such a thing that we had custom tsum tsum cake toppers at our wedding!
Another Disney theme for our family is surrounding Up. When I met my husband,
I thought that he kinda resembled Carl from Up, both in facial features (with his glasses and square-ish head) and in demeanor. So when my son was born, I knew I wanted to dress them up as Russell and Carl. We got all the costume ready when he was 20 mo old, only for him to get sick that Halloween, and then the one following! I had abandoned the idea, especially since the 3yo now had opinions and wanted to be a firefighter. But he wore his firefighter outfit to school and we managed to convince him to choose the Russell costume for trick or treat that night. I had thought about making a Kevin or Dug costume for my daughter but I’m not crafty like that, so Belle it was (there’s a slight link to her name).
So now that I’m writing this, I guess we are kinda Disney fans! Or at least Disney influence has affected my family.
This trip came about because in 2019 when I was pregnant with my son, my best friend and I talked about bringing our babies and doing a DW trip in Dec of 2020. Her husband was stationed in NC and we thought it’d be fun to take advantage of her discounts and go check out the park. I started researching and revisited learning about the parks. Well, we all know what happened in 2020, and she moved back to West Coast.
I’ve continued to learn about the parks, and most of my entertainment these days are theme park and cruise vloggers, so I’ve accumulated a bunch of theme park info in my head.
Around my birthday last September, I came up with the idea of possibly going to the parks on my own, and my husband blessed and encouraged this idea! So that’s how this trip came about.
It’d be a short three nights (one of those on a red eye) and three days, with two days in the parks. That’s as much as I thought I could reasonably leave my kids…
And so the planning began! And I changed plans a bunch of times over. What started with plans to do 2 parks and mostly relaxing trip, turned into a 4 park, I’m gonna try to do everything trip, staying at All Star Sports for 2 nights.
This Trip Report
So here is my attempt to recap what actually happened! Excited to share with anybody who’d like to follow.
A few notes, since I was on my own, I took a bunch of pictures that I’ll share. I’ll also likely to be pretty detailed in sharing what’s in my head since I didn’t have anybody to share with that would get it!
Also, the title! I originally described this trip to friends as a chance to get away from being mom for a while, or needing to worry about anybody else. Which was true. But along the way, I realized I just wanted to experience the parks as best I could! So as I was going through this trip, I had many moments where I was thinking of how different this trip would’ve been without kids. Do I actually have 10 reasons? I’m not sure I do, maybe I have 8 or maybe I have 15, but I’ll document areas where I found myself glad to not have my kids, as well as places where I wish I did. I’ll give some observations of doing a trip solo too.
Secondly, I’ll also share my thoughts about Disney World coming from somebody who’s done Disneyland a lot. I realize my experience of what I like and don’t like at DW comes from the fact that it’s a supplement to my life with DL rather than an entity of its own. That’ll play out in what I really enjoyed there and what I don’t as much.
Hope you enjoy helping me relive these past few days.
3 months of planning and the day was finally here! After working half the day Saturday and all day Sunday, I woke up on Monday knowing that I’d be in the park the same time the next day! That was kind of a crazy feeling.
I ended up working a half day in the morning. While I do mostly pastoring work with people, I also run HR for our church. January is when salaries and tax info are updated (and ours is quite complicated), so I was finalizing our payroll numbers for the month and having our admin submit it before I left. We’ve had a number of issues the last year so I wanted to make sure it was done right and people got paid!
I spent the morning sorting those things out. I did end up taking the afternoon off, which my husband encouraged me to do so I can prepare for the trip. It ended up being a great idea. Since I’d be gone from my kids for a few days, we pulled my son from preschool (my daughter usually is at home with us on Mondays) before their nap time at noon so we could spend the afternoon together.
While my daughter went to nap, I took my son to his favorite store in the world, Target, or according to him “Circle Store”. We live walking distance so we go at least twice a week. I told him God loved him so much he put us so close to his favorite store!
It was raining so we just drove over. He shopped in the toy aisle a while, and I had him choose his Valentine’s Day classroom exchange card/candy.
Guess what this kid chose?
He likes pink more than princesses, so I’m pretty sure that was what drew him in. But those ring pops look pretty awesome!
We checked out and I had a little issue before paying as there was a sign underneath saying they were 20% off classroom exchange boxes. When I scanned it up on my app, it didn’t show it. These were $10 so $2 was quite a bit of difference. I went to Guest Services and she couldn’t get it to pull up, so I ended up explaining/arguing (very nicely) that they should honor the 20% off. She ended up giving it to us for that price.
My son said he was hungry. Mom guilt was setting in so decided to get him a treat and went to Starbucks next door and got him a cake pop. I hadn’t been going to Starbucks as of late, so I had some points I kept losing so decided to just empty my account.
Starbucks knows how to get parents… they make these tiny tiny balls that are colored with sprinkles and made beautiful, and then they charge $4 for them! They must make a killing off of kids eating these!
It had been rainy on and off throughout the day, but when we came out of Target, it was not raining. Our Target is connected by stairs to the parking lot to Costco.
My son had his rain boots, and I was wearing some Vessi shoes that had bought to bring to WDW in case it rained! I had been following the forecast, and it looked like it might at one point in the 10 days before I was leaving, so I got a pair of Ebay for $40 (as opposed to $120).
So it felt like a good time to test them out in the puddles as we walked over. It so rarely rains in LA. He had a blast walking over! I went in and grabbed some berries to help stock our fridge so my husband wouldn’t need to make unnecessary grocery runs when I was gone. I picked up a few extra food items to make his life easier!
20 min later, we went outside and it was POURING! Fortunately I was wearing a water proof jacket I had also gotten for the trip when the weather was looking like it could be 30 degrees for a low. (I ended up not packing it since the weather had turned). Fortunately, when we went to Target, I had last minute decided to grab the umbrella even though I didn’t think we’d need it.
My 3yo insisted on carrying the umbrella himself and he splashed himself silly as we went back to our car. My stuff was wet but my feet and body were dry! Success, everything was waterproof.
We got home and my daughter was up, and I finished packing my stuff. The Vessi’s were really comfortable (i had done some extended walking a few days before), so I made the call to wear them for my flight that night and possibly for the parks the next day.
My husband and I discussed, and decided we’d go out (which we rarely do with kids and $ these days) for our last meal together.
Which I’ll have to come back to. Son is up and I need to attend to them!
Since it was a cold, rainy day, I suggested to my husband we get something warm and soupy. He agreed and we drove nearby to a place called All That Shabu. We usually go for special occasions, but our last meal as family together for a few days felt like a worthy reason to go. Plus both our kids are free right now, which changes in a few weeks when my son turns 4.
If it’s unfamiliar to you, shabu is Asian style fondue. It also is known as hot pot. Shabu is specifically Japanese style but this restaurant is actually Korean owned. We live in San Gabriel Valley, and have probably some of the best and most plentiful Asian food in the US. We have 4 hot pot places within a few blocks of each other.
We like this one since it’s buffet style (some just give you a pre-filled mini pot). There are lots of seafood and vegetable options on the buffet and then you order meat from the servers (3 plates at a time). The kids have lots of options here plus ice cream for dessert.
We had gotten there around 5:15 and the restaurant was half full. By the time we left at 6:40 or so, it was packed! Guess everybody had the same idea to eat something warm on a cold day.
After we had our fill, we decided to head over to Five Below to walk around a little and let the kids look at stuff. Well, it ended up being more that my daughter sat outside ever so slowly finishing her tiny ice cream while she begged to go inside (food would’ve been allowed but I knew she’d spill), and my husband went inside with my son. Eventually I took it out of her hands, and we went inside where she found some fun things to wear and I found a little puzzle to pack in case I had some free time on the trip (spoiler alert: I didn’t).
We headed back around 7:15 as my goal was to leave the house by 8. I got back home and finished up making sure my stuff was packed. I thought my kids would say goodbye more, but my husband had offered for them to watch Bluey when I left so my son was eager for me to go… I can’t compete with Bluey and Bingo.
I needed to make a small stop along the way. My MIL had gifted me some cash for this trip, which was very sweet of her, especially since she’d already be coming over to help extra with the kids (she already watches my daughter 3 days a week). I also needed to get some smaller bills (Asian parents love the big bills).
I pulled out my Chase card (I don’t usually use but I’m glad I brought it since it’s a Disney Debit which has some perks but I also forgot to use a lot!). I tried to unlock the door and it wouldn’t. So then I downloaded the mobile app, and again the door wouldn’t open. Then, I looked at that little paper that was posted on the door.
It was 8:05 at this point. I always thought ATMs were accessible 24/7! Guess not. While there was a Wells Fargo across the street, I didn’t have my card and while I had mobile app, I decided not to bother. But I didn’t want to carry that much cash on me, so I messaged my husband to come out of the house so I could swing by and give him the money for him to deposit later. And I was on my way!
I decided to drive myself. I had originally thought about getting dropped off by my husband. My departing flight for sure could’ve been done but I got home so late on the day I came back and I didn’t want him needing to bring the kids.
LAX is a beast of an airport, but one amazing change they’ve made is the construction of their Economy Parking lot. Many of the flights we take are early morning or late night, so it’s a hassle to get a driver for us, and with car seats, it’s even more. We discovered this for a Hawaii trip we took for my 40th and it was so convenient! Plus, I get deals all the time if I pre-book. So I managed to book the parking lot for the 3 nights for about $60, which was both cheaper and safer than if I did Uber or some combination of FlyAway with Uber.
I parked my car, walked over to the shuttle stop, and waited for about 5 minutes before a bus came and promptly drove right past us. A family getting ready to travel asked me if we were in the right place, and I said we were. Fortunately, another bus was right after and this one stopped to get us. I got in right away and this family took time to fold up the stroller and move everything in while moving their toddler daughter into the bus.
Which brings me to Reason Number 1 Not to Bring Kids to WDW: It’s much easier to travel when you don’t have kids!
I was finally on the first of many buses I’d end up taking! LAX has 7 terminals, and I was flying out on United (I had enough points to book a one-way with them, and then enough to book my return with Delta). United was terminal 7, so I had a bit of a drive.
At 9, I ended up purchasing my Genie+ for the next morning. I had originally intended on buying it for Epcot only but decided at the last minute to do Multiple Parks for a few dollars extra. I was planning to do Epcot and hop over to MK to do Tron and watch Fireworks. I’d only be there a few hours so I wasn’t sure I’d actually use it, but read online that to upgrade to multiple parks once you bought one park required going to Guest Experiences so I bit the bullet and bought it.
I finally arrived at Terminal 7 at 9:27. It took a full 30 minutes from when I boarded which was longer than I expected. I usually fly Southwest which departs Terminal 1. But I still had plenty of time for my 10:55 flight, especially since I had no bags to check and I had TSA Pre-Check.
I went through security and got flagged! In this case, the culprit was my Kirkland wipes I had brought. I find them so handy so decided to bring a partial bag (and they did end up super handy!) But a kids item thwarted me!
Fortunately, line was super short and I got through by 10:33, a total of 6 min from when I got dropped off. I’ll give it to LAX - navigating outside and driving and picking up are terrible, but I’ve never had a long security line before.
After walking away from the main terminal (which most terminals are sort of shaped like spokes on a wheel), I continued to make my way into this second terminal area. Along the way, I found an ATM.
My husband had given me some small bills for tipping but I wanted a little bit more. I meant to get it earlier that week but totally forgot which is why I had hoped to go to Chase - sometimes they have those fancy machines that give $1 bills). I have a Schwab debit account, which I highly recommend if you’re a frequent traveler. You can go to any ATM worldwide and pull money out and they’ll refund you all the fees. So even though I’m not with BOA, I didn’t need to pay that $3 extra. They distributed $10 bills in addition to $20s so I grabbed a few of those, which I end up only using 1 of.
I finally get to my gate with 23 minutes until boarding. The area is pretty crowded, and I knew the flight was pretty full. I had logged into the app and saw that my row still had an empty seat, which would’ve been great to have some more space.
As I waited, my husband called me to do a video call. Apparently it had hit my son that I had left and he was sad and said he really missed mommy! Just 1.5 hrs after he was ready to get me out of the house so he could watch Bluey. I consoled him the best I could and promised him special treats when I got back. I then cancelled a Southwest flight I had booked on points as backup. Since this trip was so short, if I ended up getting delayed, the trip was ruined so I had a backup flight in the morning and a backup return flight in case I needed it.
We boarded. The girl next to me sat down and I told her that she might be able to move since I thought the other seat was empty. I couldn’t hear what she said back to me. As the plane finished loading up, another guy came up and sat down in the aisle seat. I figured maybe somebody standby got in, but then she kissed the guy. It seems like maybe he had a middle seat in the back and saw the open seat and was able to sit next to her. I’m glad for them but was a little sad for me.
I knew I had to get some sleep on this flight. My flight left 10:55PST and landed 6:30 EST, which gave a window of 4.5 hours to get sleep and then I’d hit the ground running!
I had bought this on kickstarter a few months back, intending to give it to my husband to use on international flights we take. This flight gave me a chance to test it out.
Well, it sucked for me. The way it was designed wasn’t comfortable for me. I think being a side sleeper, it wasn’t able to support me in that position. So I abandoned it. The seats felt tighter than they should’ve been and I was moving around trying to find a way to sleep.
I was sort of in and out the whole first hour- I was aware drink service came by but I didn’t open my eyes to get any. I was convinced by this point I wouldn’t be able to get enough rest and my first Disney World day would be ruined!
But then, the next thing I knew, I was awakened by the captain announcing we’d be hitting some turbulence (there was a major storm in the Midwest). Somehow I dozed off, and next thing I knew, the captain was announcing we were preparing for descent! It was 3am PST at this point. But I’m feeling pretty good! I start making a game plan in my head of how I’m going to handle the morning.
I was going to take a Lyft upon landing. My original plan was that I’d get on Lyft and try to handle my 7am VQ/LL/ILL on the ride so I could get as quickly as possible to All Star Sports to drop off bags and head to Epcot for EE rope drop. I also needed to go to the bathroom.
I decided I’d try not to rush and would try to get my rides lined up first before trying to get a Lyft.
We ended up landing. I go to the bathroom and decide since I’m slowing the morning down slightly that I’d brush my teeth here instead of at the resort later.
I get on the terminal link train!
Then I finally see this!
And this!
I was finally here! Now I’d be eagerly awaiting 7am to see what my day would look like! Could I get everything I wanted at the times I wanted? Did I have fast enough fingers to do it? Was my brain awake enough to keep track of the four things I needed to get and in what order?
WOW, you are an amazing planner.
I would never have thought to have a back up flight at the ready, and even if I did I would for sure forget to cancel it hahaha.
WOW, you are an amazing planner.
I would never have thought to have a back up flight at the ready, and even if I did I would for sure forget to cancel it hahaha.
I don’t think I would’ve done it normally. But there was a huge SW sale, and I was searching for another trip (which didn’t work), and thought to try to look for that week I was traveling, and the sale applied. Since I had points, I figured no harm to have a backup! I was super worried about forgetting to cancel though. I might’ve except Southwest sent me e-mails reminding me to check in!
My first task before calling a Lyft was to get my VQ/LL/ILL lined up. I was trying to figure out the best place to do it. I ended up tasking the escalator downstairs and ended up in the baggage claim. I saw the area that rideshares picked up so I just sat on a bench there.
I wasn’t sure whether Wifi was working. I knew at WDW, many suggest getting off the wifi network, so I tried that here. Only to find I couldn’t connect to 5G and was on the LTE network. At least it wasn’t 3G but I was a little worried it’d affect my ability to get the VQ, but I didn’t have enough time to move again or try to get in WiFi network, so I just stuck with it.
My plan was to go for GotG VQ first, then get Remy’s LL (hopefully early enough that it’d be within first 2 hrs of park opening to have a chance at FEA later), then buy ILLs for Tron at night and another one for GotG.
Many sites suggested using a separate device for a world clock, but I didn’t really want to carry two devices (though now in hindsight, maybe I should’ve just done). I pulled up the world clock.
At 6:59:50, i switched over to the VQ and refreshed like crazy. I actually probably refreshed one too many times but I got the Join button to show up, clicked it, and managed to get one.
Then I changed over to Remy’s, and got an LL for 12:30-1:30. It wasn’t in the first two hours, but at least I got one. Those were the two time sensitive ones.
The ILLs were fairly wide open so it was just up to me to decide when. I got a Tron for 8:30 and then decided I wanted to try GotG earlier, so I got a 9:45 for that. If I liked it, I could use my VQ to go again. It was showing an estimated return of 1:29. If I didn’t, I’d just forgo the VQ. I did the VQ to give myself the opportunity to do it twice, especially knowing there were different songs. The 1pm drop would probably give me a time too late since I had plans to go to hotel and MK at night.
One of the reasons I had hoped to get Remy’s in the first 2 hrs was because I wanted to have a chance to get both Remy’s and FEA lightning lane in one day. With the 12:15 Remy’s LL, it meant I needed to wait for the 2 hr waiting period to get my next LL. For lighter days, it usually seemed possible that there’d be FEA still available at 11 according to thrill-data, but not for heavier days. I wasn’t sure what this day would be.
So this helped me make my game plan. I’d Lyft over to AS Sports (originally I was going to take Mears, but after I realized I was going to try for two parks in one day, which I’ll explain why later, I decided to splurge and Lyft instead). I’d drop off my bags and head over to Epcot, where I’d try to catch EE RD and book it over to FEA so I could try to get it out of my way and not worry about trying to get a LL later.
As we drive, first I saw this! I was here!
At one point, he started going off the Lyft directions, and I pulled up a map and realized he was going to AoA and Pop. I told him I was at All-Stars. In Spanish, he asked me if I spoke Spanish. And I realized he didn’t speak English. You’d think 7 years of middle school and high school Spanish, that I would. At least I understood what he said, and told him, “No, muy poquito.”
In any case, he seemed to understand what I said, flipped a u-turn and got back on track towards All-Stars. At this point, I was now curious where he was from. In LA, we have such close proximity to Mexico, so most Spanish-speakers are from there. But I sat in my mind trying to find the phrase and couldn’t remember the verb tense. All that was in my head was “de donde fue?” Which didn’t seem right. I just looked up now. I think de donde eres would’ve been right, but my mind had blanked at that point.
So I sat in silence.
At 7:34, we finally made it to All Star Sports! I did find it interesting they require the IDs of rideshare drivers. I wonder what that ensures.
I had two things I wanted to do before trying to get over to Epcot.
The first thing was drop off my bag. One of the men outside greeted me and asked if I was checking in that day, and I said yes. I went inside and was confused about where to go to drop off bag and realized it probably was the stand where the CM had talked to me. I went back outside and indeed that was the right spot. Except, he asked if I’d check inside yet whether my room might be ready. He said, many times, they were! Since I did online check in, I didn’t think to go to the desk. So I ping-ponged back inside!
The line wasn’t too bad but it was a little disorganized. There was a line, and one of the CMs tried to organize our line a little. But other guests would walk right up to a CM at the counter and wait there. Fortunately, the CMs were really good about sending them back to the line.
When it was my turn, I explained what Bell Services told me. He said that was the case, but it was super busy the night before so he didn’t think they could find a room ready (first sign that it might be busier at the parks than I had hoped) but he’d mark in my file that I was here and they’d try to prioritize cleaning that room. No big deal for me. I hadn’t intended on going to the room anyways. It was just the Bell Services who encouraged my to check.
Back outside I went, and got my bag dropped off. I learned here that they’d send my bag straight to my room later. But they did say to check in to make sure it was done when I came back. I wish I would’ve remembered to tip this guy. I don’t go a lot of places where people handle luggage so my tipping practice is a little weak. But this guy was helpful.
While I went back and forth a few times, it only took about 10 minutes, and at 7:45, I had accomplished my second task!
Mug acquired and filled with Iced Tea. I wasn’t originally planning on getting this. But then these new mugs came out and I thought it was really cute. I didn’t think I’d have enough opportunity to use it, but after finding out they had iced tea on tap, I decided to just buy one.
I personally would’ve chosen any of the other three colors, but I knew both my kids would love pink. So I filled it up with iced tea.
Rant: ok, I don’t think I regret buying the mug, but the drinks didn’t taste good. The iced tea was terrible, and my standards are really low. The Diet Coke always tasted flat! Is that just me? I was always slightly disappointed with whatever drink I got but I still drank it since I needed the cup empty. Rant over.
I briefly debated getting some food but ai wasn’t particularly hungry, so decided not to waste time now. I headed over to the transportation area where an Epcot bus was just arriving. Score!
I get on and am finally ready to be in the parks, less than 9 hours after I left my house on the West Coast the day before, and less than an hour and 15 minutes after I landed.
Reason Number 2 Not to Bring Kids to WDW: You can take a red eye and go to a park right afterwards.
The bus drops us off. It’s about 8am. It’s 5am PST but the adrenaline is helping me feel really good and excited about the day. It didnt seem crazy busy, but some of the security lines, particularly with strollers were getting a little long. They were trying to send people to the far side, but I decided to stay for a line that looked fairly short. I was pleasantly surprised to see security was super easy and without a stroller, I could just walk through (this doesn’t stay my experience…)
Reason Number 3 Not to Bring Kids to WDW: Avoid longer security checks without a stroller.
I enter in and I catch my first real glimpse at one of the park icons!
I head in towards where resort guests can enter in. I knew to try to get to FEA I’d need to go left. I follow the crowds and I see a few groupings of people in front of Connections Cafe and I get led over to the new World Celebration area for holding for RD.
I situate myself as we have about 10 minutes still. I started getting hungry so I pulled out a protein bar and a cheese stick I had packed from last night. I had decided to pack a few protein bars from Trader Joe’s breakfasts. I needed to watch my carb intake and I didn’t find many suitable things for purchase as I scoured menus. (PS, these TJ bars are the best!)
I think they make some announcement, and we’re off! The park is officially open.
I start walking with others to make the long trek back to WS. I see a bunch of families with strollers trying to get to the same place. There are a lot of CMs trying to tell people not to run. A dad next to me said, “We’re going to move fast but not by running” to his kids. I’m glad there were parents trying to set good examples for their kids. While I’ve read other people with horror stories of bad parenting, I didn’t realize see much on this trip. Since it was not normal school holidays, mostly, we saw little kids with their families around.
We enter into WS and pass by Mexico heading to Norway. Then, in front of Norway, I’m trying to see where the line is since I’m not super familiar with the area. There are lots of people milling around and some CMs standing out front. Uh oh. Indeed, I hear the bad news. “Ladies and Gentleman, Frozen Ever After has a delayed opening. We do not know when it will open.”
FEA was already had a planned maintenance the day before for one day. Perhaps they didn’t have it ready in time. I was a little bummed and thought why they would’ve let scores of people walk this direction if it weren’t open. But I was more sad for all these families and kids who had been waiting to ride but couldn’t.
One of the kids of a family next to us asked their mom what they were going to do. And the mom said, “I don’t know. We didn’t have a backup plan.”
Reason Number 4 Not to Bring Kids to WDW: Disappointment hits a lot harder when you’re little.
I had to make a pivot and decide what to do next. In hindsight, perhaps I should’ve checked Remy’s line and then switched my LL to Frozen. I’m sure it would’ve been super long but I could’ve ensured I had an opportunity to do both.
But I wasn’t ready to go that way in WS, especially with my GotG ILL in about an hour.
So I headed back towards the front of the park, and stopped at Test Track. The line wasn’t super long (posted 20 min) but I went Single Rider.
Sorry for sideways image. I’m on my phone doing this and think it’s too hard to rotate. Maybe I’ll fix it later.
I chose a red car since that’s what my son would choose.
I’m in a car with two women and two kids. Not sure their relation, but they all looked like basketball players. The girl next to me was super nervous and I tried to assure her the ride was fun! Well, we start moving, and we get held up right before we’re supposed to start riding. That of course, makes her more nervous.
It only lasts a few minutes and we’re off! I did go on this ride the time I went with a friend maybe 10 years ago. We didn’t do much that trip since it was a school related function for my friend. But I do remember this ride.
While I do think it’s fun, it pales in comparison to Radiator Springs Racers, which I’m super excited to bring my son to ride next month now that he’s finally tall enough! This ride reminded me of a test drive I took of a Hyundai electric vehicle at the LA Auto Show over Thanksgiving weekend, which I guess means it did its job for theming!
The kids next to me loved it and said she wanted to do it again. I explained single rider and told them if they didn’t mind not riding together, that was the way to go. At this point, the line had already increased quite a bit.
Keeping with not wanting to zigzag (which I’m really grateful that I didn’t), I ended up at Mission Space. While I like thrill rides and I did take Dramamine the night before, this was one I didn’t want to risk getting sick for. So green side it is!
I didn’t know much what to expect. I ended up being the Commander.
I actually really enjoyed this ride! It was quite beautiful. I did see on a video earlier this week that there are some differences beyond just the spinning. Maybe one day if my kids want to go on it, I’ll check out the Orange side.
At this point, it’s a little after 9 so the park was officially open. While deciding what to do, I ran into the Jammitors! Yay, that was fun to have some unexpected entertainment.
I walked by Spaceship Earth and saw a posted wait of 20 minutes. I still had about 20 min until my GotG LL opened up, so decided to hop in even though I knew it could be shorter. I probably was on the ride in 10 min.
Now, it was perfect time to ride one of the rides I’d really hope to experience!!! But as I walked over, I passed by something that I decided to stop at.
I ran in quickly and found the crowds light. I can’t have much sugar, so I went to try some of the more unique flavors and just one sip rather than all of them. I know I tried Beverly and the Chinese plum one. I actually didn’t mind Beverly and could tolerate the plum one (considering I’m Chinese, that flavor is familiar) but definitely wouldn’t want to drink that one. I might have tried the cucumber one also and maybe one of the tropical ones.
Maybe 5 min later, I was out and on my way to GotG, ready for my first big new ride of this trip!
I normally don’t think I could, but one of the reasons I actually thought I might be able to is because of how many sleepless nights I’ve had over the past 4 years of being mom. I’m well trained right now!
Though you’ll find later on that the red eye definitely affected me a bit.
Since coming back, I’ve been wiped out at night. I end up laying down around 8 ready to sleep. Guess jet lag and the running hard caught up to me.
I’m trying to update daily before I forget my details, so just a short little one today since I woke up later than I have been this week. Hopefully my body is finally adjusting back.
Day 1: Epcot (cont.)
I finally headed over to GotG. The big statue in the front means you have to choose a side to walk around to get to the queue.
This is my ILL so I try to find the sign. I end up in a VQ entrance and the CM moves me over one. The signs were definitely a little confusing!
I scan in and enter into that large room where both VQ and ILL people see the same thing. But ILL branches towards the right and VQ circles around that room. I have no idea how long the VQ is, but I enter at 10:03 and am in pre-show by 10:04.
At this point, I notice FEA is reopen with only a 25 min wait. If this were any other ride and if I hadn't scanned in yet, I would’ve abandoned ship and headed that way. At this point, it looked like I wouldn’t be able to get a LL for Frozen except if I was really lucky, so standby would be my only way to ride… But I was in and committed for GotG (and I definitely wanted to do this over FEA). And I hoped maybe people wouldn’t notice and the line would still be under 45 when I got out.
I knew the ride spun and also had heard that to prevent motion sickness not to look at the screens and try to look forward. The ride started, and it totally surprised me! And there was no forward to look with all the turning! It was so unlike anything I’d been on, so I was laughing the whole way, but also feeling topsy-turvy through the whole ride. I got the song “September”.
When getting off, I had wondered if I’d feel motion sick, but I didn’t. Maybe it was the Dramamine, or maybe it wasn’t that bad for me. I only usually get motion sickness when reading on the car.
At this point I have a VQ for around 3 hrs later. I liked the ride, and think I wanted to try it again if it worked in the day, but was also satisfied with my one ride if that ended up being the only one.
I checked MDE and Frozen was up to 1hr+. And I figured it’d keep going up even if I walked over since so many people were waiting to ride it.
I ended up checking my ride photo later in the day and I got some total random strangers photos. I had not realized they use the MDE Bluetooth to sync photos. In any case, they messed up. I contacted the link through the app, and a few days later, they found my picture!
Yup, couldn’t see all of the women’s faces because it was flinging us around!
One thing I was excited about was the Festival of the Arts. Most booths (whether food or art) weren’t open at this point, but I did see this piece.
I forget the cost - but knew it was completely out of my reach… maybe in the thousands?
I still had another 30 minutes or so before I could book another lightning lane, so I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I decided to head up towards WS and went on the Gran Fiesta Tour. It was a walk on.
A few minutes into the ride, the music completely stops. We also start moving super slowly. The ride had broken down and we were just slowly drifting our way on the river path. It was a bit bizarre. The animatronics were moving but everything was silent.
We ended up doing that for a good portion of ride before they finally say they’re going to do a restart of the ride. The music comes up and we start moving faster again. We get to the end and there’s a large line of boat piled up waiting to unload. Eventually, we do. I looked and I think from getting on to getting off, the ride took about 13-15 minutes (I’m not sure how long unloading took), when normally it’s a 7 minute ride… The line had started building up and it was maybe a 20 minute wait now.
I looked again at MDE and it confirmed there were no more LLs for Frozen so I needed to decide how I’d use the rest of my day. I knew that I needed to be in France in about 90 minutes for my Remy’s LL. Did I want to explore WS now or do something else?
I did see that Soarin was at 90 minutes (wow, that’s long) but a LL was immediately available. That felt like a good use of a LL so with that, I decided that I’d grab Soarin’ LL at 11 and then try to use Genie+ to hit rides in that area of the park before Remy’s.
I started to head towards Soarin’ and passed by the Pop Eats booth. There was a line forming and I hadn’t eaten anything yet. I had 5 items from the festival that I had listed to want to try. This was one of them. So I ended up getting in line, even though it already looked pretty long.
This picture was from 10:57. They started taking orders fairly promptly, maybe a minute after 11. The line moved very fast, and by 11:06, I was at a table enjoying this:
Tomato Soup with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese - $6.50
I had read people liked the grilled cheese but a lot didn’t like the tomato soup so I set my expectations accordingly. I was pleasantly surprised! The tomato soup was really good! I could see how compared to maybe a Tomato Bisque people wouldn’t like it, but I like Tomato Soup, and found this to be like Campbell’s, but better! The grilled cheese was a good combination of flavors and textures to pair with the soup but I couldn’t really taste individual flavors of pimiento and fried green tomato. Because of the carbs, I ended up eating only half the bread and ate the insides but finished the soup. I even packed the can even though it wasn’t really as good of a souvenir as years past. Overall, a great first item and I remember texting my best friend that it was super yummy.
I was looking forward to the Festival of the Arts! One thing I really wanted to do was the mural. As I was walking to the Land, I passed by it.
I got in line. I had a light yellow and was number 11. The CM at the front seemed to be looking for spots where the number was available. The spot right next to her opened up but she seemed to miss that there were a number of 11s on there. So she sent me and wedged me between two of the designated squares on the ground. I painted my squares. I did them really poorly . I didn’t stay in the lines well. I hoped somebody could fix it later.
This was the final mural, which they handed a little card for us to take. Anybody know if they take photos of the finalized product?
I made my way to the Land and got in line for Soarin’, super grateful for my LL to help me skip that horrendous line! While I do love the Soarin over California, since I’ve seen it so much, I was a little bummed that I wouldn’t get to do the World one this time, but this one is nostalgic.
I almost thought about riding this first that morning. Maybe it was the red eye speaking, but I thought it’d be funny to fly all the way to Orlando to go on a ride about California.
In any case, I enjoyed it, but the smells weren’t really working at all. I kept looking for the orange smells, but none were to be had.
When we finished, this became my first moment I could see how this trip could be better with kids. There were two boys next to me, maybe 4 and 6, and as soon as we got to the ground, they screamed, “Mom, that was soooooo cool!!!!” The sense of magic for them was real and the excitement probably made all the hassle worth it.
In December, we took my son to a local amusement park after an amazing $9.99 deal for unlimited rides. For months, we’ve been trying to figure out if he was 40 inches yet but we never got a good measurement and we thought he hasn’t hit it yet. But surprisingly, he easily surpassed the 40 in mark and was able to go on coasters at this park. This made me so excited so we planned our next trip for Disneyland for around his birthday in March. My mind had always been around Radiator Springs Racer, but this experience made me realize I could take him on Soarin’ too! (Plus i realized a day or two ago that it’s be the World version.) I hope he enjoys it as much as those two boys.
I had made my next LL while in line for Soarin’. And this next one was one of my favorites from the past.
I hopped across the Land and ended up at LwtL. (Btw, I read some trip report where they said Garden Grill wasn’t rotating. It was rotating when I passed by).
This was one of my favorite rides from past visits, but my mind is a blur and I don’t remember much. I remember seeing a Behind the Seeds tour happening. I think as I think back, this is where I realize that the red eye was hitting me. Epcot has some great educational spots, but I don’t think I was in my right mind to fully take it all in. Perhaps Epcot wasn’t the best park to hit first since most rides were slow moving and required more concentration, and there were lots of shows, most of which I didn’t hit, probably because of my state or mind.
I did take a few photos and it was good to be off my feet.
Most people suggested doing the front half of the park later, but since I was already there, I just finished off that side and went to Figment next. I think that’s my first time riding that ride, since I didn’t remember much. I actually only knew who Figment was recently due to all the crazy hoopla over the merchandise!
Figment was available for a meet and greet and the line wasn’t that crazy, but I wasn’t that crazy about character meets. I know they could’ve used my phone, but I think had I had Memory Maker, I would’ve done more characters and photo pass stops.
And a few moments later, this door nearby opens, and out pops Joy! I do say hi to her as she comes out.
I skip through all the exhibits. Perhaps if I were in a better mental state, I might’ve explored more (like with the Seas later) but generally, I’d skip this on my own. This is where I see Epcot really shining for families. There’s just so much to explore and try out.
Finally, it’s time for me to start heading towards WS and try to make my way towards France.
But Canada first for a snack!
I stop at Gourmet Landscapes. There’s a short line, maybe 2 or 3 people in front of me. But there’s only one person at the registers. I see the people behind me getting really frustrated. It takes me a minute but I realize that the CM at the register is with a really chatty customer. And they keep chatting. On one hand, I wasn’t super excited about waiting longer, but on the other hand, I felt for the CM. She was trying to be a kind, responsive, cordial CM to a customer. It would’ve been difficult to just cut him off also. It was unfortunate she was the only checker though. Once I purchased, food came fast!
Verjus-roasted Beets with goat cheese, petite lettuce, blackberry gastrique, and spiced pecans – $5.50
I thought I would like this. I like all the ingredients in this individually. Most reviewers who didn’t like it mostly didn’t like it because they don’t like beets. Well, I do! And I wanted some vegetables in the middle of a meat heavier day.
But this didn’t work for me. They just didn’t go well together. The beets didn’t seem to complement the mushrooms and the goat cheese was a bit too strong to go with the other items. I still ate most of it but wouldn’t get it again.
I did begin to learn how subjective food was at these festivals. Everybody has their likes and dislikes, so I do appreciate vloggers who share their opinion and then encourage people to try things anyways even if they didn’t like it.
I make my way to France. I get lost a little bit ending up in the older section. I eventually find my way to Remy’s. I briefly looked at the merchandise since I have a colleague who LOVES Ratatouille and is about to have a baby, but they don’t really have anything small I could take back. The shoulder Remy would’ve been awesome but they were out.
I was excited to go on this ride and it didn’t disappoint for me. I enjoyed the tech for this ride and thought it was super cute. This was the one ride my best friend and her husband wanted me to go on since it wasn’t open when they went. I think I’m glad I chose to ride this over FEA.
My next task was to look for some ears for my best friend. She had called me so I called her back while I was walking around France. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any of the ears we had looked at online. I end up hanging up with my BFF since it was noisy and I didn’t have my AirPods handy.
I had on my list of foods to try the cold salmon dish in France.
Saumon Fumé Mousse et Aspic, Blini et Fromage de Chevre: Salmon mousse, smoked salmon, dill, and flaxseed biscuit, served cold - $7.95
The line was really long so I decided to wait a little bit to see if I could see it in person before deciding if I wanted it. I probably saw 10 orders, and not one person ordered that. Everybody was ordering the Brie bread bowl! Understandble! Finally, I saw one prepped and it looked very uninspiring, so I passed.
At this point, my feet are really starting to hurt. I had hit 8k in steps an hour into the park, and by now, I was upwards of 15. But I still have WS to see, and see it I will!
My boarding group for GotG VQ is called and I decide I don’t want to walk back yet again. I knew from my research that they were much more flexible in late VQ times, so I decide perhaps I’d try to go again on my way out. If they wouldn’t let me go in, no harm, no foul, I’d just go home.
I forgot to mention I stopped at the bathroom in France. I’m not actually trying to be that detailed but this was my second time using the bathroom. There was no hook to hang my bag in the morning, and it happened again! Did WDW bathrooms just not like hooks? Looks like it broke off? I think I just got unlucky those first two times in the bathrooms as it never happened again.
I will say that compared to Disneyland, I think the bathrooms at WDW didn’t seem to be kept up as well. I’m always quite in awe of how clean they keep bathrooms at DL, and there were a few times I felt they were not cared for as well.
I start walking around WS. I didn’t have much I wanted to do. If I had better energy, I might’ve stopped to enjoy the shows at the pavilions but I wasn’t there. So I mainly went on my task of shopping for souvenirs for my kids, finding the ears for my best friend, and checking out the various art booths.
I do think as I walked that I realized that WS is much more enjoyable if you’re going to drink and eat. I don’t mind drinking, but can’t handle all the sugary, carby drinks. I like that the festivals have smaller portions for beer but I never found one I wanted to get.
I start at Mitsukoshi. I didn’t expect to find much as I had been in Japan earlier last year and we have a number of Japanese stores in LA area. But it was more fun than I thought!
I found a pair of training chopsticks for my son, who recently has been obsessed with being a kitty. While I was in line checking out, I also found this little make your own candy set.
I did end up trying this with my son. Can you say “Nailed it?”
I check out the exhibits next door about Kawaii or “cute culture”. One of my other close friends lives in Japan right now and we often talk about some of the culture things in Japan. This cute culture is fascinating to me! We joke about Pokemon since her kids love it and she doesn’t get it! I think Tsum Tsum must fall under Kawaii though they didn’t have anything exhibiting with that.
I continue on to America. I saw Voices of Liberty playing inside so I caught them. Across they were doing an animation demonstration in the theatre area. I had missed it already, but it made me want to try to do it when I got to AK the next day.
Outside of Germany, I see the little train area and take a video and picture since I knew my son would love this!
I see the first set of ears that’s on my best friend’s list. These are the Germany Edelweiss Ears. These were her second choice, so I decide not to buy it and hope I can find her first choice.
I also stop at Karamell-Kuche. I decide to pick up my husband a caramel butter bar to take home. The CM packed it in a clamshell for me since I was taking it with me. Verdict: not very good- way too soft and way too sweet.
Also at Germany, I find another booth with an item I want to try. I go to Pastoral Palate. I believe there wasn’t any line for this one.
Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib with parsnip purée, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and balsamic glaze – $8.75
So I had seen a reviewer say this was one of her favorite from the year before. She got it on day one, and said it should shred with just a fork, but it didn’t. She was disappointed but predicted it was first day jitters for Disney.
I put the short rib I received to the test. The rib fell apart with the dinky plastic fork. That was good news!
This was soooo good. Way better than I imagined quick food could be. The short rib was really tender, the balsamic glaze provided some sweet and tart flavors to complement the beef. That parsnip purée was amazing! I’d love to make it, especially if it isn’t as high carb as potatoes (I’m not sure if they mix it).
This ends up being my very favorite food item of my whole trip! I’m still thinking about it today.
I probably could’ve taken WS slower but I was starting to get pretty tired. I decide I’d finish up walking around WS, try to do my GotG VQ and go to the hotel. I might’ve gone earlier but it was 2:30 and still no room so I pressed on.
One thing I wanted to see was if I could find a piece of art for my brother. My brother is a super fan of Disney. He has a tattoo of Oswald because he loves Disney so much. They’re currently constructing a new home so I thought it’d be nice to get them something. I couldn’t buy original art but thought maybe I could find a cool print.
I saw this print and thought this would be great. This was by McCullough Art. They had a paper print and then a canvas print. The former was about $50 and the latter $225. I decided to get him the canvas and have it shipped directly to his house, which cost about $17 for ground shipping.
I actually had a gift card (from Costco deals) I was using for the trip, and ended up pretty much emptying it.
One thing is my brother told me he has porch thieves. I’m not sure how to track the shipping. I just hope he gets it! I better try to find the receipt in case something happens. That is not a cheap print!
I head to Norway to look for the pair of ears my best friend really wanted. I was praying they’d be there, since my feet was hurting and I really didn’t want to walk back to Germany.
Thankfully, I found it, and I liked them much better than the Germany ones. I end up seeing these also at the store near Connections Cafe up front. I didn’t even need to go through all of WS to find all the ears!
Also to note, FEA was upwards of 100 minutes rest of day so I abandoned any hope of riding it this trip. I had tried to modify and refresh throughout the day but no luck either. I once pulled a 5:15 but that felt too late and I didn’t get it in time anyways.
Throughout this time, I had been stacking lightning lanes for the evening I had in MK. I ended up grabbing a Jungle Cruise first. I wasn’t particularly excited about it, but it seemed to be the LL most likely to sell out so I got it anyways. I also got a SM LL. So I’d need to be at MK by 7ish. It’s 3 at this point.
I decide to make my way to GotG. Unfortunately, it was down. So it seemed my second ride wouldn’t happen. I decide to head over to the Seas and check out JoW and give one more chance for GotG before giving up and going home.
Finding Nemo was fine. I don't remember much, but know it's similar but slightly different from the submarine ride at DL. I think I was just resting at that point, and checking things off a list. Journey of Water was great! I enjoyed it immensely and could see kids really loving this. I moved through pretty quickly, but thought they did a great job creating this area.
I finally get my room notification. Looks like I got a preferred room, even though I had paid for a standard! Yay, little bit of pixie dust. I decide it's time to try GotG and head back. I did debate whether to swing back up towards WS to get the Beef Wellington. That was the last thing on my list, but I wasn't particularly hungry at this point, so decided I could go back after GotG if I really wanted to.
It was open! I wasn't sure what to expect with the VQ. My ILL line was all of 1 minute before I got to pre-show. One of the most challenging parts about being solo and then being in a new park is having NO idea how close I was to the ride. At DL or CA, I can tell you how long to expect based on just looking at where you are in line, but that was not true for WDW.
So we started in the big spiraling room. Then, there was another smaller spiraling room above.
At about the 45 minute mark, we go to the pre-show. Yes, we made it! Except we didn't. The doors open, and we enter into a massive chaos of people. It's absolutely a nightmare. I can't even tell how we're all supposed to move forward and get into any sense of a line. I felt bad if somebody was claustrophobic.
We hear the music change into this ominous brooding sound, and a CM comes on and tells us that "Our stay on Xandar has been unexpectedly extended". She doesn't give us the option to leave the line. Rather, she says if anybody has any questions, to locate a CM. We see a CM, but she gives a look like, "I don't have any answers for you" so nobody bothers asking. Some of us back up a little bit into the pre-show room to have a little more space.
At this point, I'm debating whether to leave, especially if this ends up being an extended breakdown. Again, maybe 20 minutes later, the same announcement comes on. No option to leave the queue, which I would've taken. I knew I could leave, but they didn't say officially it had broken down, so there was still a chance this was temporary. So everybody around me figured we'd just wait and see if something came on. Every few minutes we'd move up. Another 15-20 minutes past, and we hear some applause ahead!
We finally start moving and enter into the final boarding area. I was going to get to ride this again!
I entered the queue at 3:25, and got on the ride at 4:50 --- that was 85 minutes, my longest wait of the whole trip.
This ride, I got "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." I had hoped for "I Ran" but this ride somehow felt dramatically more fun than the morning one. Maybe it was that I knew what to expect with the spinning, or maybe this soundtrack just made it work. I had read somebody describe this song as floating, which I could say was accurate. But I loved this second ride, and I'm glad I didn't leave the line early.
Because it took so long, and I was still hoping to go to MK by 7, I abandoned any plans of getting Beef Wellington. And I headed out of the park. I do regret not getting the Beef Wellington, as that's one thing I really wish I had gotten the chance to try.
I finished Epcot at 22,056 steps and 9.6 miles. I had gotten on 12 rides, and 1-2 attractions also. I ate 3 FotA items.
And I was finally going to visit my resting place for the next two nights and get some relief for my feet.
As I’m about to head out of the park, I see a push notification on Slack from my coworker. Apparently the issue we have with our payroll that I had hoped we could avoid happened again! I was annoyed at our payroll company. But I’m about to be at the hotel so I tell my coworker that I’ll call our rep in half an hour. I didn’t have a computer or any way to log in since I wasn’t working so hoped to resolve it easily.
I get to AS Sports and go to my room. It’s on the side further from the buses for Surf’s Up but it’s super close!
This is the view of the main building from the elevator banks for my room. So close! I so thankful for this little upgrade.
And my room is super close to the elevators. The elevators are right near the red exit sign. My room is the one hotel door you can see.
I went inside and put all my stuff on the table that is also a Murphy bed. First thing I notice is that they have a Hey Disney in the room. I wish I had played around with it more but I was so rarely there. At first it felt like just normal Alexa but now afterwards realized there was all these fun features. I wish I had tried the Soundscapes.
I really like these rooms. I know many don’t like the values but this room was pretty great and I could see my whole family staying in a room like this.
I used the table most of my trip but did pull down the Murphy bed on the last day. Super cute! I grew up watching DuckTales so it was fun to see Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
I first called Paychex and fortunately, it was an easy fix. My rep just wanted to make sure I had verified payroll since there were many changes. I told her I’d already done it 5 times, so she lifted the hold and we were done. And then I logged out of my Slack rather than turn off notifications as this was the only possible emergency worthy of reaching me for.
I sit down on the bed.
I had mentioned my feet were hurting. I had already decided a few hours ago I was going to try to change my shoes for the evening. These were the Vessi’s and they just didn’t have enough support for a full day of walking. A mile or two no problem. But not a full day. Always make sure you test out shoes!
I had also recently got a pair of ASICS also. This was the same model that I had run a full marathon and multiple half marathons in so I knew they could handle distance. I’d wear those that night.
Unfortunately, I found a blister underneath my big toe! Oh no! It was only the first of 4 parks and I had resorts to visit too. At the last minute the day before, I packed some bandages and moleskin, which I precut. Whew! I had some options.
I take a super short nap- maybe 20 minutes. Even though my day got pushed long because that super long GotG queue, I got about 90 minutes in my room before I needed to head to my evening plans.
I prep again for the evening. This time, I switch out my backpack for a loungefly a friend had gifted me. It was super cute and she gave it because our family’s first ride with her was Dumbo.
It’s super cute and I’ve always wanted a Loungefly, but they are so impractical! Even without my kids, they just don’t allow for very much room to carry stuff. I even got an organizer, but this ends up being the only time I use this. I’m glad I brought a slightly bigger backpack, but I probably should’ve just brought a normal size one, especially when buying souvenirs.
I also end up dressing my toe with moleskin. I had precut the moleskin into smaller pieces but I hadn’t fully read the instructions. Apparently, you’re supposed to cut a whole in the middle, otherwise you could rip off the blister roof! Well, I didn’t have many other options and didn’t bring scissors, so I just stuck it on, hoping for the best. I also put in two pairs of socks.
And off I go, to my second park of this solo trip! I continue great bus luck and hop right on.
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. I didn’t stay in the lines well. I hoped somebody could fix it later.
