Sue's Spring at Saratoga Springs - Day 2 of 5
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All on Wed Apr 14 17:48:09 2021
DAY 2 – Wednesday 4/14/21
Who: Sue (62), DVC Member
SB (63), my husband
Tiana & Jonell, friends
Plan: Hollywood Studios, Planet Hollywood lunch, Epcot or Animal Kingdom
Actual: Last night I went outside after dark, and could pretty easily see into my villa through the sheers. So, it’s drapes closed after dark. I also checked to see that Epcot availability was still there for Thursday, then canceled our Animal
Kingdom reservations and booked Epcot. I moved into the bedroom shortly after 9 and did stuff on the laptop until turning out the lights a little after 10. I ate part of the cookie, which was good but I don’t think I’d call it the best cookie I’
ve ever eaten. I might get it again, though.
I got up at 4:30 and made my cappuccino, taking it back to bed to enjoy while online. I like that the local news starts early here (I think 4am), so I can catch what’s going on before it’s time to take my shower even on a somewhat early day. My
computer said it had updates to run, so just before 6 I started that and got up to take my shower.
I called SB around 6:30 and they’d already done a McDonald’s drive through for breakfast and were on the road. Yay – they seem to be on schedule! I got dressed and then made my breakfast – egg, slice of bacon & half a blueberry bagel. I
finished getting ready after cleaning up the breakfast dishes and waited out in the living room for them to arrive. I’d received notifications that I can try for Rise of the Resistance, but didn’t bother. The likelihood of getting a really low
number is very small, and honestly the length of time it takes to do this attraction is simply not worth it to me. I don’t believe Tiana & Jonell are Star Wars fans, so it wouldn’t be a loss to them – I’d rather they get to do a few different
things during the time we would have spent in line and then waiting through each stage of the attraction.
I called SB again around 7:45 and they were on Disney Property. I asked if Tiana was using maps or a gps and he said no – they were looking for signs. I’d texted Tiana the resort name, section & room number yesterday and she replied back with “
thanks” so I don’t understand the confusion over where to go. While I was on the phone with him, she entered the resort name into maps or her car’s navigation system so hopefully they’ll at least get to the front entrance. The next challenge
will be finding Congress Park. The plan was for them to be here around 7:45, or no later than 8. That way they’d have time for a restroom break before we drove over to Hollywood Studios to be let in the park by 8:15. Clearly that’s not happening.
They arrived about 8:30 and when I asked Tiana if she’d done the online check in she had a blank look. That confirmed my suspicion that she’d never linked the reservation to her account, because when I canceled Animal Kingdom for Epcot for tomorrow,
it made me do each couple as a separate party because we were in different groups (resort guests for us, passholders for them). We found the reservation # and she was able to link it, but online check in would never come up. We tried several times, and
then I just assumed it was because today was their arrival day and they needed to check in online prior to today. Sure enough, when she called later she was told she’d have to come to the front desk.
We were out the door by 8:45 and drove over to Hollywood Studios. I hated that we were so late, as it basically prevented us from being able to do another attraction or 2. For me I didn’t really care, but since they’re not here that much and haven
t seen everything I felt bad for them. We were parked at almost the far end of a very long row in the Mickey section, and walked into the park. Temperature, security and entry were quick & easy, but the park itself was very crowded. I haven’t seen
it like this since before the pandemic!
We hustled down the street and joined the long queue for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, which was posted as a 20-minute wait (pretty accurate). I knew it would easily double and triple before too much longer. SB & I have done this once before,
but the others had never even heard of it. We ended up in the front row of the car, which was ideal (no obstruction). I enjoyed it much more this time – it’s really a fun little ride, and isn’t over as quickly as some of the kiddie rides. Tiana &
Jonell enjoyed it too, laughing their heads off through the various scenes.
When we came back outside we walked over to Toy Story Land but before we reached it we saw the end of the line for Toy Story Midway Mania, which was our next destination. Earlier while in line at the Railway I saw the line for Slinky Dog was backed up
to the Little Mermaid show! I checked the wait times and everything was long by now (around 9:30) so we decided to bite the bullet and join the queue. Or rather, Tiana & I joined the queue while the lazy guys found a bench further up and sat there
until they joined us <g>.
The posted wait time was 40 minutes and I would guess were were on in less than that but didn’t pay close attention. It was a fun ride, and finally SB listened to me when I told him what he’d been doing wrong. As a result our scores were only 5,000
apart (I still won), instead of me wiping the floor with him. To be fair, in at least 1 room I was distracted by watching what he was doing so I could give him tips, so my score of 116k was low. Tiana and Jonelle enjoyed it as well – he beat her.
Back outside we checked wait times again and everything was even longer than before – no surprise. They really need fastpass!!! We decided since nothing was reasonable, we’d go ahead and wait for Slinky Dog. It was down to 60 minutes (and was
higher after we got off), so Tiana & I joined the queue while the guys went to sit. They noticed the Marketplace and went there to get a couple beers. When we got to the entrance of the queue area at the Slinky Dog building and we hadn’t seen them,
we started calling them. SB of course had left his cell phone at the villa, turned off. Jonell thankfully had his, and Tiana urged them to meet us at the entrance NOW. When we reached the cast member we were told to stand off to the side since the
rest of our party wasn’t here. We waited, and called Jonell again – they were at the entrance to the walkway so we told them to walk over the bridge! From there we still had quite a long queue area ahead of us, but we were off the ride about 45-50
minutes after joining the queue.
Our seats were near the back, which is the most fun. Everyone loved it, and they said that was worth the wait! Next up was Alien Saucer Swirl, but the queue looked longer than the 40 minutes posted. If we took a chance and lost, then we might not have
time for Rock N Roller Coaster, which was top on Tiana’s list. In the end we skipped Alien. Tiana had arrived wearing uncomfortable sandals and brought her sneakers to change into (why not just wear them from the start???) but she forgot to change
shoes. By the time she realized, we were on our way, so she took a chance and now her feet were killing her. They don’t care about Star Wars so didn’t want to walk through there. We walked back out of Toy Story Land and down to Sunset Boulevard.
I thought SB would ride Rock N Roller Coaster with them, but he wanted to stay with me. The posted wait time was 40 minutes, and they were back in 35. SB & I found a shady concrete slab outside Tower of Terror and waited there. With the shade and a
breeze, it was very comfortable.
Tiana called as they exited, and we met up & exited the park. It was a long walk down the row to the car, and we drove back to Saratoga Springs so she could change into her sneakers. The guys waited for us at the bus stop. Once again it felt like a
long wait for the bus to arrive, and then the driver was one of those guys who felt 5 miles under the speed limit was the maximum. It would have been faster to walk, but when a bus is an option, that’s what the guys go for.
Surprisingly there were no crowds entering Disney Springs and it wasn’t busy inside. It’s much busier later in the day and on weekends. While at the resort I’d been able to push our lunch reservation back 15 minutes, but when we arrived we could
have walked right in and been seated without a reservation. They were only seating the downstairs area (and an outside area we didn’t look at). It’s been decades since I was here and although the physical structure is the same, the interior design/
décor is all different. I liked the look of the bar area, and thought it would be a great option during a future Saratoga Springs stay.
Our server was good, and all the food was excellent. Tiana had a margarita and the buffalo wings appetizer. I had a glass of wine and the chicken crunch appetizer. The guys each had beer and a burger – Jonell the “plain Jane” and SB the “
Ringer”. Everyone loved all the food – and SB was thrilled with the restaurant. After lunch we sat at the bar for another round of drinks, then headed out to the bus stops. Here we had another wait – longer than before. This is getting really
tiresome!
Coming from Disney Springs the first bus stop is the Springs, so we all got off there to let Tiana & Jonell get checked in. Initially they had them in the Springs section, but she asked to be closer to us & got moved to Congress Park. They’re in the
building next door. We all walked back to Congress Park, checked out their studio, came to our villa so they could pick up their stuff, and agreed to meet at 5 (about an hour away) to drive over to Animal Kingdom.
SB went in the bedroom to get online & watch tv, while I sat at the dining table and updated the report. I didn’t feel like dealing with much work stuff, so I put most of that off until after I return. We’d agreed to meet at 5 to go to Animal
Kingdom, so at 5 I texted Tiana to let her know we’d be at the car. She called after we got outside and said they were heading out (classic Tiana, which means maybe in about 10 minutes, lol). I told her we were already at the car, then we drove &
parked outside of her building where we would see them when they came out.
Animal Kingdom and Saratoga Springs are about as far apart as any 2 points at WDW can be, but it was an easy drive. The parking booths were unattended, so we were able to drive right in. The parking lot cast members were gone, so we easily found a
fairly close space just beyond the handicapped parking area.
Coming into the park we had no wait at temperatures, security or entry, and the park itself was much less crowded than Hollywood Studios was this morning! It was also good to see more people leaving than arriving. I’d checked the wait times and
Expedition Everest was staying at 10 minutes so we headed there first. Tiana wanted to ride this, as it had been several years since her last time.
Everest is something I’ve always skipped, and SB has never ridden it. We joined the queue with the others and in no time were in the boarding area and then were seated on the train. Overall, SB hated it and never wants to do it again, while I thought
it was fun and would most likely ride again. I wasn’t expecting so much darkness, and there wasn’t much to see in the dark. But, it’s a fun ride.
From there we walked over to Harambe since the safari had a 30-minute wait. By the time we arrived it was down to 15 minutes, so we basically walked briskly through the queue and boarded a truck. For much of the time we couldn’t see any other guests
in the queue with us, and when getting assigned to a truck there were no people behind us so we were able to take 2 rows instead of sitting 4 across in one row. Being late in the day and pretty hot still, there weren’t as many animals out as you’d
expect to see in an early morning safari. But, we saw most of them, and the female lion even got up and moved to a new spot.
The wait for Flight of Passage had been constant at 30 minutes since we arrived, so we walked over there next. Of course once we arrived it had jumped to 50 minutes. Once you get inside the building it still feels like forever, since the queue area is
so long. When we got to the loading ramps it looked like they’d recently moved to only loading half – I assume because the park would be closing in about an hour. We were on the upper section and both Tiana and SB insisted the ride was more intense
than last time. The video wasn’t any different, so it had to be the perspective from being up higher.
We were off the attraction around 7:20 (after joining the queue at 6:36) and decided we’d had enough of parks. SB’s legs were bothering him, and his shoulder hurt. Jonell was walking stiffly too – we were up over 20,000 steps today, which is not
normal for either of them. We headed to the exit, got the car, and drove back to Saratoga Springs. Earlier today the plan was to go to Turf Club Bar/Lounge for a nightcap, but I knew the guys weren’t going to be walking over there and we were all a
bit tired from being up so early. We made plans to meet at 8 to get breakfast at Artist Palette, and returned to our respective rooms.
SB pulled up a baseball came on his computer, but was dozing off and on pretty early. I joined him in the bedroom and finished up the report, and will probably watch a little HGTV before lights out – which will probably be before 10!
Today was a long but fun day – we’re having a good time with Tiana & Jonell. I’m really sick of the long wait times and bigger crowds in the parks, and need fastpass to come back. At times today it was very hot outside – unpleasantly hot, but
thankfully the humidity isn’t here yet. This trip will most likely be the end of me bothering with the parks until Food & Wine, especially if fastpass isn’t back. Planet Hollywood was a big surprise how much we loved it! We’ll definitely be back
there, hoping today wasn’t a fluke <g>.
Tomorrow we’ll do breakfast and then head to Epcot at 10 (opening is 11). They’ll want to do some attractions in Future World, and then we’ll do a loop of the countries for Flower & Garden Festival. Tiana said they wouldn’t be staying late,
which makes sense – once we do a few attractions and a loop of the countries we’re basically done. I may head to the pool once they hit the road!
Sue/WDW1972
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