DAY 5 – Saturday 4/17/21
Who: Sue (62), DVC Member
Chris (34), son
Amanda (32), daughter-in-law
Ari (4), grandson
Plan: Magic Kingdom, Skippers Canteen lunch
Actual: I tried a couple more bites of the Gideon’s cookies last night. The orange pecan chocolate chip also has some pieces of salt. I know most people like the sweet/salty thing, but I hate salt. The last thing I want when eating a cookie is to
have a piece of salt on my tongue to ruin it. The cookie would be perfect without the salt, but mine may be a minority opinion! The pistachio toffee chocolate chip is excellent – no salt, so just chocolately goodness.
I slept well again last night and had set the alarm for 5 but got up at 4:30. I made my cappuccino and took it back to bed and followed the usual morning routine. Amanda texted around 5:15 to say they were on the road, and just before 6 I got up to get
showered, dressed, and have breakfast. Shortly before 7 I went outside and saw a bus sitting at the bus stop. It only said Saratoga Springs, which made me think it was an internal bus, so I didn’t run over. As I was almost there it pulled away &
left, and the sign became Magic Kingdom! I yelled for the driver but he couldn’t hear me, and I tried to get his attention to loop back around to get me but that failed too. What a PAIN these buses are this trip!
I sat on a bench, and eventually another solo lady joined me. When the next bus came (about 12 minutes later) only 2 of the sections with 2 seats were empty so each of us got one of those. At the Springs bus stop people were waiting, but the bus was
now full so they had to wait for the next bus (and hope that wouldn’t be full). If I was staying in the Springs section (which is NOT likely to ever happen), I’d walk my butt down to the Grandstand and get on the empty bus there at the first stop.
It was almost 7:25 when I arrived at the Magic Kingdom, and had a short wait at each step of the entry process. Once on Main Street I noticed the lights were still on, as it wasn’t light enough for them to go off yet. That was weird having them on at
the start of the day! I decided to try Mine Train, so I walked through the castle and saw the Mine Train queue was roped off. Plenty of people were in line, but they weren’t going past that point. I asked the cast members what time the line would
open and they told me 8am! They said Main Street opens up early, but the attractions start at 8. That made no sense, and was very disappointing. In the other parks we get on attractions right away.
Since the line was long at Mine Train I decided to go check out Space Mountain, and it’s a good thing I did. This was also closed, with the line formed outside, but it was a much shorter line. Later after the park opened when I checked the app, Mine
Train wasn’t even operating – it had a late start. At Space Mountain they let us into the building about 7:45 and it was a steady walk all the way to the loading area. They still put 1 party per rocket, so if you have 2 solos you have 2 people
riding the pair of rockets. I ended up with the front seat, which was cool – I prefer last seat or first seat.
Chris & Amanda were at the parking lot entrance so I headed back down Main Street and waited for them across from the train station. For some reason I forgot the parking lot is a long distance away, until they texted to say they were waiting for the
monorail! Eventually they were in the park, and we met up around 8:30. It was great to see them, and Ari was excited to see me. Most of the time he walked instead of riding in the stroller, because he said he wanted to hold my hand <g>.
We went to Big Thunder first, which had a 10-minute wait. We got the last 2 rows, which Amanda & I love but Ari prefers the front where it’s a bit slower going down the hills. For all the attractions today Ari & I rode together, and Chris & Amanda
rode together. He was a bit scared on Big Thunder, even though he’d ridden it multiple times last trip, and he said it was the faster speed.
Next was Pirates, also with a 10-minute wait posted. We were given 2 rows, so nobody had to sit on the sides of the boat where you’re likely to get splashed. But, both seats were very wet – not a good sign. We didn’t get splashed going down the
hill but when we were almost out of the first scene a cannonball did cause water to splash on us briefly – it was a shock because it was cold and we thought we were in the clear, lol! The rest of the ride was uneventful.
From here we decided to go to Fantasyland, and walked to Barnstormer. Chris, Amanda & Ari rode that while I sat on a wall to watch them. Those seats are so hard, it’s not a pleasant ride for me. Next was the Tomorrowland Speedway, which had a 10
minute wait posted but it looked longer. Amanda & I thought we’d ride Space while Chris & Ari were doing the car, but when we got there the line looked much longer than the posted 10 minutes and wasn’t moving at all. We skipped that idea, and
wandered back towards the raceway. After browsing through a shop we went up and sat in the bleachers to watch Chris & Ari drive by.
Buzz Lightyear still had a short wait (10 minutes) so we did that next. Ari was concentrating more on driving/spinning the car than shooting, so he only got 100 points to my 70,200. I’m surprised I got that, since I can never tell what I’m aiming
at here. Amanda ended up around 40k but Chris was the winner with over 800k. By now it was getting busy in the park, with most waits at 25 minutes or longer. Mine Train was finally running, with a 65 minute wait. The only short wait was the Little
Mermaid so we walked back over there and joined the queue. It’s a long queue now, and a very long exit as well.
It didn’t take too long to get in our clamshells, since the line was constantly moving. While in the scene with Ursula the ride stopped and we sat there for quite a while. Thankfully they turned her volume down so although we heard “you poor
unfortunate soul” over and over and over again it wasn’t blaring. Just when I was thinking they may end up evacuating everyone, it started up again and we enjoyed the rest of the ride.
While in the park we saw a couple cavalcades, and took some pictures of Chris & Amanda in front of the castle. Their 6th wedding anniversary was this week, and they were wearing their buttons – or at least Amanda was. She told me Ari had told her
recently that he wants them to get married again so he can go to the wedding because he missed the first one, lol! We also browsed through the Emporium and looked at a couple things from the new movie Raya. That’s the theme of Ari’s birthday party
this July, so I asked Amanda if she’d like me to get them for him & she agreed.
By now it was time to head to the Skipper’s Canteen (Jungle Navigation Company) to check in for our lunch. Amanda took care of checking in on her phone, and we sat in the chairs outside. The restaurant opened at 11:30 and we were called in about 5-10
minutes later for our 11:40 reservation. They’ve been here before & like it, but it was my first time. I like the looks of it, and it reminded me a little of the Adventurer’s Club at Pleasure Island.
The menu here doesn’t really have anything for me, which is why I’ve never come here before. We shared an appetizer that had 3 small corn pancakes topped with pulled pork & some other stuff. That was pretty good. I ordered the wedge salad and
added chicken breast – it was good, but I wouldn’t make a trip back here for that. Amanda got the sustainable fish, which was a corvina and she said it was excellent. It was a large portion too, and looked really nice. Chris got the Thai noodles w/
chicken, which he said was very good. Ari had kid’s crispy chicken – tempura fried pieces with a sweet/sour sauce for dipping. His came with green beans & carrots, and a volcano cake for dessert.
We ended up with 2 of the volcano cakes – a small mound of what tasted like warm flourless chocolate lava cake with some red (cherry?) sauce & little balls sprinkled on there. This was outstanding! It seems to only be on the kids’ menu, but I saw a
couple without kids get one too so it must be well known! Chris bought lunch, so once that was settled we headed back out. I left them to go buy the Raya stuff at the Emporium and then headed to the bus stops. They were going to monorail over to the
Grand Floridian so Chris could get the Honey Bee cupcake at Gasparilla Grill. He texted a photo of it and said it was really good – it’s definitely adorable, and nice when the taste is as good as the look!
The bus came in about 10 minutes and I decided to get off at Grandstand & walk back to the villa. The bus was already at the Congress Park bus stop when I arrived, so walking isn’t faster – unless the bus gets slowed down by scooters at least. I
changed into my swimsuit and headed out to the pool for about 2 hours.
It was hot out there when the sun was shining, but very comfortable when clouds would pass by. I did some reading and just enjoyed myself. The pool area was busy, with mostly adults. Several were in the pool, and not many chairs weren’t taken.
Chris, Amanda & Ari were heading to Epcot after the Grand Floridian, so hopefully they’re having a nice time there and are able to get some of what they wanted from the Flower & Garden Festival.
At 4 I went back inside the villa and packed up a few things before sitting down at the table to update today’s report. I started getting hungry but wasn’t sure I wanted to walk over to what I was pretty sure was a madhouse at Disney Springs. I
checked the weather and the “feels like” at 5:30 was 89 degrees, so that pretty much clinched it. I’ll finish up the crackers and cheese.
There aren’t many photos from this trip, but they’re in an album on Snapfish at
https://www.snapfish.com/share?via=link&token=ucjdG1Px2x6Yk2qTFz5WcQ/SFO/27951940963060/SNAPFISH
Tomorrow I head home, and will most likely be on the road by 8-9am. That’ll get me home in time to have most of the day before returning to work Monday. There won’t be a report for tomorrow, since I won’t be doing anything before I leave (
cappuccino & breakfast in the villa, then loading up the car).
Overall this was a great trip. There were some negatives, though. The weather was too HOT – not anything Disney or I could control, so it is what it is. This time of year some days are beautiful but some are hot. Unfortunately I got the hot. The
parks are way too crowded for me, and when combined with the heat they’re very unpleasant. I don’t know how I did summers in the parks when Chris was a kid, if I can’t handle April today, lol! With all the people flooding the parks Disney needs
to reinstate fastpass – it’s a slap in the face to be expected to get to a park at opening and right off the bat be in a hot 50-minute queue for your first attraction. This trip was booked to be a solo trip, but it morphed into something else. That
was my fault though, and I did enjoy the company of others while at the same time wishing I wasn’t standing in these long lines vs lounging around the pool <g>. In the end, I’m glad SB, Tiana & Jonell came for that day & a half, and I enjoyed
spending time with Chris, Amanda & Ari. Finally, the buses were a pain in the ass, with frequent long waits. Missing our stop at the Springs was a major blunder, which cost us an hour to go to Animal Kingdom & back – thankfully the mobile order thing
let us reselect our window.
There were far more positives. Getting the upgrade to a 1-bedroom from my studio was a HUGE plus!!! It’s been happening to a number of people at this resort, as it must not be selling out. Still, DVC never used to really upgrade, so I am extremely
thankful for this villa. Our lunch at Planet Hollywood was outstanding, and we had a lot of fun there! I’ll definitely be willing to return there, and the others vehemently agreed. Breakfast at Artist Palette was really great too – especially for
a counter service where your stuff is in a bag waiting for you to pick up <g>. Once again, everyone raved about their food. To continue the food theme, Gideon’s cookies are excellent, but the queue is in the direct sun so it’s going to be miserable
from this point until it starts cooling off in November! My plan will be to arrive after the virtual queue is open and hope that it’s not 4-6 hours long. The Boathouse was also very good, and somewhere I’ll return (booked it for Holli & me in late
May – with a hope for Gideon’s virtual queue) for those sliders and a glass of wine.
Our next trip is in 2-3 weeks, at Disney’s Hilton Head Resort. I booked a 2-bedroom villa for SB & I, Chris, Amanda & Ari. Our friends Pete & Judy booked their own 1-bedroom villa, and my childhood best friend Linda & her husband Wiston booked a 1-
bedroom villa at Shelter Cove. We’ll be there for 5 nights – enjoying the beach each morning and eating at Serg restaurants.
The next Walt Disney World trip is a couple weeks after Hilton Head – over Memorial Day weekend. I had Jambo House concierge level booked, but we all know that’s not happening. I switched it over to a 2-bedroom at Kidani, since it has the 3rd full
bathroom. That trip will include Chris/Amanda/Ari in the 2nd bedroom and Holli will take the living room. She doesn’t have a park pass, and as hot as it’s been this trip I am not planning to spend any time in the parks either. Hot, humid & holiday
weekend = nightmare for me! I’ll look forward to it as a resort trip.
Until then, thanks for reading!
Sue/WDW1972
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