I'm going to try and keep this post relatively short, as I don't have a whole lot to say. First of all, I'm absolutely over the moon that it's our single digits day. This means there are only 9 days standing between Bryan and I and our Disney vacation. It's so hard to believe that we're at this point; we've been planning this trip since May (and by "we", I mostly mean "me"). For each of my park posts, I talked about what I'm looking forward to the most in each individual park, but now I'm going to talk about what I'm looking forward to the most as a whole. There's not too much for me to say, as I've gone into much more detail in each of my individual park posts.
First and foremost, I'm super excited about all the food, especially in Magic Kingdom and Epcot. To be honest, the food at Hollywood Studios hasn't really called to me, but I'm sure there will be delicious nonetheless. Since I spoke about the Peter Pan float in the Magic Kingdom post, but I'm also looking forward to the spring rolls in Adventureland. Most people opt for the cheeseburger ones, but since I don't like cheeseburgers, I'm super excited to try the pepperoni pizza ones, because I love both pepperoni and pizza. I am a little bit disappointed they won't have the macaroni and cheese ones, but I did find a place that has bacon mac and cheese french fries, which sounds like nothing but carbs, but carbs are delicious and amazing. Speaking of carbs, there are also french fries with cheese and pulled bbq pork in Animal Kingdom, and I definitely want to get some of those.
There are so many rides I'm looking forward to, and I talked about each park individually in the four posts I did (one for each park). Disney has opened so many rides since the last time I've been there, and there are so many classics that I can't wait to visit again.
As a whole, however, despite the food and the rides, what I'm looking forward to the most is spending time with Bryan. We've been on a few vacations together in the past, but nothing like this. In the past, we've gone away for a long weekend or even as much as five days, but this trip will be ten whole days, including travel days on either end. Our previous trips have always been incredibly laid back. We know where we're going and maybe one or two activities that we want to do, but we don't really have any sort of game plan. Instead, we just wing it and play it by ear each day. When it comes to Disney World, however, you can't really do that. You have to know what you're doing, make dining reservations 180 days in advance, get FastPasses either 60 or 30 days out, and go in with some sort of plan or attack. This has been a huge shift for Bryan. While I'm the type of person who likes a vacation full of activities and things to do, he's the type of person who likes a vacation where you relax. This is going to be a huge shift for him, but I know we're going to make it work. I know this may sound mushy, but the only thing I really care about is the fact that we're going to be together. We always have fun together, and this trip is going to be no exception.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but next week is going to be my last Walt Disney Wednesday post before we leave for our trip! I'm going to talk about what I'm packing, and what I plan on carrying in our park bag.
It's hard to believe I'm doing my last write up on a specific Disney park. It's also hard to believe it's only 30 days until our trip (but who's counting?). The irony of this post is that while I'm writing about Animal Kingdom last, it's actually the first park we're going to on our trip. A lot of that came down to where we wanted to eat our first day of vacation (more about that later), along with when Disney has Extra Magic Hours.
First, a tiny bit of history about Animal Kingdom. The idea for an animal-themed park originally came up in the late 1980s after Disney opened MGM Studios (now Hollywood Studios). Since this park involves large amounts of living, breathing animals, there was extensive research necessary. Additionally, Imagineers traveled all over the world observing animals and collecting artifacts that could be used throughout the park to create as immersive an experience as humanly possible. The majority of this planning, research and travel was spearheaded by Joe Rohde. If you've ever seen a documentary about Disney World, he's the one with the huge earring (you'll know who I'm talking about as soon as you see him). It took a little over ten years, but the park finally opened in 1998.
So much about Animal Kingdom has changed since the last time we went fourteen years ago (moreso than Epcot and Magic Kingdom but definitely not as much as Hollywood Studios). I also feel like there's a lot that there was there when we went fourteen years ago that we didn't do because we just did the rides. A lot of that comes from the fact that Animal Kingdom is so much more than a park, and in order to get the full experience, it's important to not only know that but also take advantage of it. Like I said before, we just did the rides last time we went to Animal Kingdom, and it sounds bad to say this, but that caused us to miss huge parts of the park that are absolutely amazing. On top of that, there are plenty of new rides and attractions that have opened in Animal Kingdom, including a whole new part of the park.
Animal Kingdom is broken into seven distinct areas: Discovery Island, Africa (including the fictional port city of Harambe), Asia, DinoLand USA, Oasis, Rafiki's Planet Watch and Pandora. Just like the lands in Magic Kingdom, each of these areas is unique and provides visitors with a different experience. Originally, Imagineers also wanted to include a part of the park that focused on fantasy animals, but this was eventually discarded, although Pandora can be considered an area that focuses on fictional creatures.
First, I want to talk about the few things I've done previously in Animal Kingdom that I can't wait to do again. First and foremost is Kilamanjaro Safari. This is what Walt Disney originally wanted for the Jungle Cruise in Magic Kingdom; a place for guests to real animals in their natural habitat. When Disneyland first opened in 1955, it was deemed an impossible task, which is why the Jungle Cruise has animatronic animals. Kilamanjaro Safari is one of the main reasons Animal Kingdom is so huge, it covers approximately 110 acres, or about 19% of the entire Animal Kingdom. The safari is set up judiciously where animals appear to be wandering around at their leisure, but they're actually separated by natural barriers (so you don't have lions attacking and eating zebras in front of small children) and are lured out closer to the path with things such as food and air conditioning. Guests catch a ride on safari truck where a cast member serves as your guide. Unlike the Jungle Cruise where the cast member (aka the "Skipper") feeds you cheesy jokes, this time you're told factual information about the animals as you cross them. The one risk with this ride is you never know what you're going to get, you might see a lot of animals, you might not. Disney does work hard to ensure you see as much as possible.
Another attraction I'm excited to see is housed in the main focus of Animal Kingdom: the Tree of Life. Pictured above, the Tree of Life looks like a solid structure. Up close, however, guests realize that all sorts of animals are carved in intricate detail into the trunk and branches, 325 carvings in all. It's absolutely gorgeous, and it's easy to spend ages just looking at all the detail.
While the tree looks like a large, solid structure, underneath the roots is actually a 428 seat theatre where guests can watch the 3D production It's Tough To Be A Bug! based on Pixar's 1998 movie A Bug's Life. At first, Imagineers struggled with how to build a large tree with a theatre underneath that could not only support the weight of the tree on an average day but also withstand the potential winds and rain from hurricanes. Eventually, they decided to use an oil rig, which was perfect to withstand the weight and stress.
Like I said before, It's Tough To Be A Bug! is a 3D show where the characters from A Bug's Life explain the hardships and struggles they endure being bugs. The point is driven home with special effects such as smells for the stinkbugs, air that feels like bugs crawling up your legs and even something that comes out of your seat and pokes you in the back to feel like a stinger. It absolutely terrifies children, and there's always children screaming who have to be taken to the back of the theatre of comforted. I remember the first time we went to Animal Kingdom in 2000, and I had heard that the show can be a little intense. I was a bit of a wimp at the time and didn't want to sit down. Disney is always wonderful and accommodating, however, and a cast member kindly stood in the back of the theatre with me. When we went in 2005, I did sit in a seat and enjoyed the show.
The last thing we did last time we went to Animal Kingdom I want to do again is Festival of the Lion King. I've heard this show compared to seeing Lion King on Broadway, but since I've seen Lion King on Broadway, I'm having a little bit of a hard time swallowing that. I remember it being a lot of fun and there being a lot of color and beautiful dancing. Unlike the Broadway show, however, Festival of the Lion King uses fur characters similar to the costumes used for characters around the park, not puppet-like costumes you see on Broadway. It's an abbreviated version of the movie that focuses mainly on the music, with four story tellers filling in the rest of the story as you listen to the music.
Like I said before, there's plenty that's either been added to Animal Kingdom since we last went or that we didn't do last time that I would like to do this time around. Perhaps the biggest change to Animal Kingdom is Pandora, based on the movie Avatar. Now, it's important to note that at this point, I haven't actually seen Avatar, but it's on our list of movies to watch before we go on our trip (more about that in a few weeks). This Pandora includes the floating mountains, exotic plants and sounds. At night, everything lights up to look like bioluminescent plants.
There are two main rides in Pandora: Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey. Flight of Passage is similar to Soarin' in Epcot where it feels like you're flying through Pandora while in front of a giant screen. When you ride Soarin', however, you're simply sitting in a seat. On Flight of Passage, however, you ride one of the banshees from the movie. The banshees even feel like they're breathing as you sit on them! The detail is supposed to be amazing, and I've only heard great things about this ride. FastPasses for this ride are difficult to come across, but we're fortunate enough to have gotten one for our second day at Animal Kingdom.
The other ride in Pandora is Na'vi River Journey. I've heard this ride isn't as good as Flight of Passage, but I still want to ride it. As the name implies, this is simply a slow, leisurely ride through Pandora where you can even meet a Na'vi shaman. When I watched Imagineering Story on Disney+ (which I can't recommend enough), they talked about creating this shaman. When Disney parks first opened, the motors used in the animatronics were significantly larger, which is why you don't see a lot of changes in emotions on rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean. Now, however, the motors are incredibly small, meaning animatronics are capable of changing their emotions and having many more fine motor movements. In Imagineering Story, they demonstrate this by showing the shaman from Na'vi River Journey.
The realism in the shaman is beyond amazing. When I showed this clip to Bryan, he immediately got excited and started asking if we were going to be able to see the shaman up close. It also reminds me of the conversations we have about "Uncanny Valley", which is the concept that if something looks far too realistic, the brain pretty much short circuits as it tries to comprehend the fact that what you're seeing isn't real even though it's comprehending it as something that is in fact real.
In addition to Pandora, Asia has expanded in Animal Kingdom to include a new roller coaster: Expedition Everest. On this ride, you are traveling through the Himalayas in search of the elusive Yeti. Things go wrong, however, when they track you're riding on has been ripped up by the very Yeti you're looking for. As you zoom through the mountains, you even briefly encounter the Yeti. The building of this ride is absolutely fascinating. The Yeti, track and mountain are all so large they had to built in tandem instead of building one, then another, then the last one. This was, understandably, a logistical nightmare. The video below goes into more detail about this, including the research done to make the ride look as culturally accurate as possible.
I'm also looking forward to seeing Rivers of Light, which is the night show at Animal Kingdom. Unlike the other shows in Disney World, there are no fireworks in this show so as to not to scare the animals. Instead, gorgeous boats with colorful lights and scenes from Disney movies projected on them float along the water, along with fountains, all to music. It looks absolutely gorgeous and like a wonderful way to end a day in the park.
There are a few things that were available when we went to Animal Kingdom last time, but we skipped them. First and foremost is the ride Bryan's probably looking forward to the most: Dinosaur. I, however, have some much different thoughts about this ride. On this ride, you're sent back in time to retrieve a specific dinosaur egg. As always, however, things go wrong when you're there, and the meteor shower that killed the dinosaurs starts. It's a loud, intense ride that includes dinosaurs roaring at you while you scream in terror. I'm convinced I'm going to die on this ride. To make matters worse, this is the very first ride we're going on in Disney World, so I keep saying that anything we plan after that is useless, as I'll be dead. Bryan thinks this is hilarious (isn't he the best?). I did buy earplugs for this ride, so let's hope they work. The good news is you get a photo from this ride, so that should be amusing. I did watch a few videos of this ride ahead of time so I would know what to expect, and it's pretty much just darkness and screaming, which doesn't bode well for me at all. We'll have to see how this goes, although Bryan seems excited.
Recently, as in the past week or two, Bryan and I have decided to add Rafiki's Planet Watch to our trip. In order to get to this part of Animal Kingdom, you have to ride a train. This area includes a petting zoo, conservation efforts and drawing classes (which is the main reason we want to go). While it sounded interesting, it wasn't really a top priority for us, it seemed like something more geared towards small children. I recently saw a TimTracker video, however, that showed his visit to Rafiki's Planet Watch and the drawing classes they have up there. Just like Art of Animation, these are free, and they provide all the supplies. With the help of a Disney animator, you learn to draw an animal from a Disney movie. Now, I'm an absolutely terrible artist, but it seems like fun and a cool, free souvenir to take home with us.
Like I said before, Animal Kingdom is so much more than a theme park, it's also a way to appreciate animals in as close to their natural habitat as possible. There was a lot of controversy when this park first opened with accusations that live animals were being used simply to amuse people. That definitely isn't the case, however, these animals are probably treated better than if they're in a zoo, and extensive research went into creating the park. Even Jane Goodall gave her stamp of approval, which is good enough for me. In order to be more than just a theme park, Animal Kingdom has Gorilla Falls Exploration and Maharajah Jungle Trek. As the name implies, Gorilla Falls Exploration is an opportunity to see gorillas up close on a trail of sorts that winds through the park. Maharajah Jungle Trek is similar, although its main focus is tigers, along with other creatures from Asia (such as komodo dragons). Both of these seem like a great way to spend some time and to get some fantastic photos of some animals.
Compared to the other Disney parks, there aren't as many characters that I'm looking forward to meeting in Animal Kingdom. Even though Chip and Dale are available in other parks, I really want to make sure we see them in Animal Kingdom since they wear adorable dinosaur outfits. I think they're so cute, and Chip and Dale are always fun to interact with (although my mom would tell a different story). They're such flirts.
Even though I'm not a huge fan of the movie Up! (please don't hate me, I know most of the people out there absolutely love that movie), I do want to see Russell and Dug. Russell is quite a piece of work, and Dug reminds me of my dogs, especially his love for squirrels. Baxter's always chasing squirrels, even though he has yet to catch one. I also want to meet Pocahontas. We have photos of us seeing her and Meeko somewhere around our area over twenty years ago when the movie first came out, but that's the only time I've met her. I know they've updated her costume to make it more culturally accurate, but I still like her old one, as it was simpler and just like the movie. I'd also like to meet Tarzan. I've never met him, so I can't really speak to what he's like as a character, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Finally, I really want to meet Mickey and Minnie. While Mickey and Minnie are available to meet in many places throughout all four parks, this is actually the only place you can meet them together. I love their safari outfits, and I really want a nice picture of Bryan and I with Mickey and Minnie together. I don't want to talk a lot about what photographs I want, however, as that's going to be our topic for next week's Walt Disney Wednesday, our photo package that I insisted on getting.
Like I said at the very beginning of this post, this is the first park we're visiting. This decision came from the fact that we're celebrating Valentine's Day a day late and wanted somewhere nice to go for dinner. After doing some research and asking around, we decided on Yak and Yeti, which is an Asian restaurant. It's one of the two table service restaurants we're visiting (the other being Sci-Fi Dine-In in Hollywood Studios). From what I've seen and heard, the food is delicious, and the atmosphere is amazing. I did want to do a few more table service restaurants, but they're expensive and take up a lot of time, and I'd rather be on rides and experiencing the parks than sitting in a restaurant. I'll be sure to let you know how the food is and take lots of pictures inside the restaurant.
As always, I did ask Bryan what he's most excited to see and do at this park. He did say that out of the four parks, this is the one he's most excited to visit. Of course, he's extremely excited to ride Dinosaur, and we keep joking about how this ride is going to kill me (which he seems weirdly excited about as well). This shouldn't surprise me at all, that man is obsessed with dinosaurs, to the point that he wore a dinosaur t-shirt on our first date (it's his favorite shirt apparently). Bryan's also excited to do the drawing class up at Rafiki's Planet Watch. When I told him about it, he said he used to doodle all the time when he had to take notes in school, which I didn't know. Because of that, he's probably going to do leaps and bounds better than me doing this, not that that's very hard. Finally, Bryan's looking forward to Kilimanjaro Safaris. We've been to the zoo together here in DC, but that was about two years ago and for something for school, so we were on a mission (not to mention it was pouring that day, and we got stranded in the gorilla house for about half an hour, and if you know me, you know that was torture). I keep saying we need to go up to the zoo in Baltimore, but I feel like Kilimanjaro is going to be even better.
So, that's it, I've talked about all four parks, what we want to do and what we plan on doing. Next week, I'll talk about the memory maker photo package that I insisted on purchasing and what I hope to get from it, along with some fun ideas I have that I can't wait to share with the rest of you. Until next week!
That's right, after a week off for Christmas last week, it's time for another Walt Disney Wednesday. Today, we're looking closer at Hollywood Studios, which I still refer to as MGM even though it changed its name all the way back in 2008. Old habits die hard. I'm working on it, but I know other people are having trouble with this adjustment as well.
Since we've done our FastPasses since our last closer look at a Disney park, this one is a little bit different since we have a better idea of what exactly we're doing. Now, that doesn't mean everything is set in stone, but we do have a much better idea of what's going on when we arrive at the park.
As the name implies, Hollywood Studios focuses on show business and everything that goes into making a movie. Since the overwhelming majority of Disney's job is to make movies, that means they can put just about anything in this park, and it will work. For that reason, it is a little bit of a ragtag of everything cobbled together.
Originally opened in 1989, Hollywood Studios has undergone some extreme changes in recent years. The first of these was Toy Story Land, which opened in 2018. More recently, however, Hollywood Studios has opened Galaxy's Edge, which is based on the Star Wars franchise. I'll talk about both of those in more detail in a little bit. It is important to note that Hollywood Studios is the smallest of the four Disney parks.
Since the premise of Hollywood Studios focuses on show business, many of the attractions are shows or performances. With the opening of Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge, however, there have been a few more rides that have opened in recent years to balance out the number of shows and rides in the park.
Even though there have been some huge changes in Hollywood Studios since the last time I went to the park, there are still some attractions that I'm excited to visit again. One of them is Muppet*Vision 3D. As the name implies, it is a 3D show with the Muppets. It focuses on taking a tour of the Muppet studio, where they're getting ready for their upcoming performance, until Dr. Honeydew's technology goes wrong (as usual), and shenanigans happen. Apparently we saw the show the first time we went to Disney World when I was four, and my cousin kept reaching out and trying to touch all the 3D images floating in front of her. My mom loves to tell that story.
Another attraction I'm excited to ride is Star Tours. This is not part of Galaxy's Edge, but it has been updated in recent years. Originally, the ride focused on the first three Star Wars rides. In recent years, however, it has been updated to include the entire Star Wars saga. This is a 4D ride (Bryan hates when I use the phrase "4D", but he's not here, so he can't stop me). Riders enjoy a 3D show on a ride where the car moves in conjunction with what's happening on screen. It's difficult to say what exactly the ride is about, as there are 18 different scenarios that riders can experience, so almost every time you ride this attraction, you will experience something different. This is all new to me, as when I saw it, it was a completely different experience, so I'm excited to see it. We do have a FastPass for this attraction.
Near the front of the park is Rock'n'Roller Coaster, which is an amazing roller coaster. On this ride, you join the famous band, Aerosmith, as they race to get to a concert on time. Of course, the only way to do this is in true Aerosmith fashion: racing through the streets of Los Angeles in a classic car with Aerosmith music blasting all around you. There are speakers embedded all throughout the car, including under the seats, thereby completely surrounding riders as they launch from the platform and zip through this exciting roller coaster. It's definitely one of my favorite rides. I remember riding it with my family last time we went to Disney World, and my dad made the most hilarious face on the ride that was captured by the cameras. Needless to say, he hated the ride, while the rest of us loved it.
Near Rock'n'Roller Coaster is one of my absolute favorite attractions: Fantasmic. Fantasmic is a laser light show on a large lagoon behind Tower of Terror (which Bryan and I have agreed not to ride). The show focuses on Disney villains who attempt to infiltrate Mickey's dreams and give him terrible nightmares. With the help of his friends, however, Mickey is able to fight off the villains and return to his dreams. The technology is absolutely amazing, and it's one of the things I'm looking forward to the most when we visit. We even got the dessert package for this attraction. Slightly different from a dessert party, this is simply a margarita and a box of snacks/desserts, along with prime seating for the show. It seemed like a fun thing to splurge on, especially since this is one of my favorite attractions, and I want to make sure we have good seats (not that there are bad seats in the seating area).
Like I said previously, there have been some huge changes to Hollywood Studios since the last time I went, including a name change. First is Toy Story Land, which has three new rides: Toy Story Mania, Alien Swirling Saucers and Slinky Dog Dash. Bryan and I did manage to get FastPasses for both Toy Story Mania and Slinky Dog Dash, which are the two rides in Toy Story Land we want to ride. Toy Story Mania is similar to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin in Magic Kingdom, you ride in a little car and shoot at various targets with a laser gun. The competitive side of me absolutely can't wait to ride this. Slinky Dog Dash is a roller coaster. It's supposed to be as if Andy built a roller coaster with his toys in his backyard and uses Slinky the Dog as the car for the ride. It's not nearly as intense a roller coaster as Rock'n'Roller Coaster, but it still looks fun and adorable. As a whole, Toy Story Land seems like a lot of fun, like Andy has simply left his toys out, and they've come alive, just like the Toy Story movies.
Since we're spending two days in Hollywood Studios, and there aren't any FastPasses available for Galaxy's Edge, we've devoted an entire day to Galaxy's Edge. There isn't a lot there, but we're not entirely sure what the lines will be like for the attractions. First and foremost, there's Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run. In a way, this ride is slightly similar to Mission: Space at Epcot, in the way that you're supposed to pilot a ship (aka: the Millennium Falcon). Unlike Mission: Space, however, what you do actually matters. If you press the wrong button or steer incorrectly, bad things will happen to the ship. My cousin has told me the best role is the pilot, as you actually get to steer the Millennium Falcon, but my coworker has told me the best view is from the back. If you can provide some insight, be sure to leave it in the comments below.
The newest ride at Hollywood Studios is the one people have been looking forward to the most: Rise of the Resistance. It's supposed to be one of the most immersive experiences ever created by Disney. It's part ride, part immersive experience. On the ride, you're part of the resistance fighting against the New Order. Unfortunately, you're captured by the New Order and must escape back to the resistance. This ride is supposed to be unlike anything people have ever experienced before, and the lines have been ridiculous. In order to help with the lines, you can check in for a boarding group as soon as you are checked in to the park for the day, which has resulted in people getting to Hollywood Studios incredibly early in order to get a boarding group. I'm really hoping that by the time we go in a little over a month, things will die down a little, and we won't have to get to the park at five in the morning in order to get a boarding group. One can only hope.
At Galaxy's Edge, we also have reservations at Oga's Cantina. Disney recreated the cantina from Star Wars: A New Hope, where you can get some delicious drinks and snacks. Most quick service restaurants don't do reservations, but there are reservations for this one because there's such high demand to eat there. Just like the rides, it's supposed to be a completely immersive experience where you feel like you're eating at the actual cantina from the movie.
This brings me to my next point: nowhere in Galaxy's Edge will you find the words "Star Wars". This is because you're supposed to feel like you're actually in the Star Wars universe. Disney went out of its way to create the most immersive experience possible, not like you're just visiting restaurant or ride themed after a movie, instead, you're actually inside the movie. I'm excited to see all the little details Disney incorporated into Galaxy's Edge.
All this talking about Oga's Cantina reminds me that I skipped over our other restaurant reservation at Hollywood Studios: Sci-Fi Dine In. I came across this restaurant in one of my guide books, and while Bryan and I didn't want to do a lot of table service restaurants since they take up a lot more time than quick service restaurants, this one seemed like too much fun to skip. This restaurant is themed after drive-in movies. Instead of regular tables, there are the front ends of classic cars with tables built into them. As you eat, there's a huge screen that shows trailers and clips from old, cheesy sci-fi movies. I've heard the food is mediocre, but I really wanted to do it because it seemed like so much fun. I just hope it lives up to the hype I built up in my head. We'll have to see.
Of course, there are characters I want to meet at Hollywood Studios. I'm still working on getting Bryan into meeting the characters, but I'm optimistic that he'll come around...eventually....maybe. Most important, you can meet Olaf in Hollywood Studios. This is non-negotiable for me, as, next to Stitch, Olaf is my favorite Disney character. I love his personality and love for life, and I loved in Frozen II when he kept thinking that everything in his life would make sense when he got older, as he tried to navigate through his own midlife crisis of sorts. Hopefully by the time we see him, he's gotten through this crisis and is back to his usual bubbly self.
Since there's a significant amount of Pixar attractions in Hollywood Studios, there's also a significant number of Pixar characters to meet. I want to meet Mike and Sulley, although the Mike costume freaks me out a little bit because I can't quite figure out how a person fits inside it. I've included a picture so you can get an idea as to what I'm talking about. There would have to be a pretty short person to fit inside, and the hat would definitely help hide the cast member's head. Even so, it's a little weird for me.
Along the same lines of Pixar, I can't wait to meet Edna Mode from The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2. I personally think her character is one of the best; she doesn't care what anyone thinks and always says what's on her mind. When I see her, I want to ask her about Jack-Jack, as their relationship is probably one of the best things to come out of The Incredibles 2. If you haven't seen the Pixar short with the two of them, I highly recommend it. It's on Disney+ and might be on YouTube as well (no promises though). It's also available on the extras menu on the dvd and blu-ray of The Incredibles 2.
Of course, no trip to Hollywood Studios would be complete without meeting Star Wars characters. Since there's no Baby Yoda character (yet), I can't wait to meet BB8. You can also meet Kylo Ren (who seems pretty fun to meet) and Chewbacca. Around Galaxy's Edge, there are also Storm Troopers who wander around, although you probably want to steer clear of them since they are known to give you a pit of a hard time.
At Hollywood Studios, you can, of course, meet Mickey Mouse. Of course I want to meet Mickey Mouse in Magic Kingdom where he's in his traditional outfit, but I also want to meet this Mickey Mouse since he's in his outfit from the Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia. It's a great, fun outfit that is unique to just Hollywood Studios.
One thing I'm really bummed about is the fact that we're missing the new ride at Hollywood Studios by about a week and a half. This ride, called Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad, replaced The Great Movie Ride, which was a trip through the sets of various famous movies through the years. On this new ride, Mickey and Minnie are on their way to the premiere of the new movie, and, of course, things go wrong. It's a nice, slow ride that looks adorable, and it's the first ride to feature Mickey and Minnie. Since we're missing it, I told Bryan that we'll just have to go back.
As always, I asked Bryan what he's most excited to do in Hollywood Studios. His exact response was "The Star Wars stuff and Rock'n'Roller Coaster". I'm glad we're both on the same page here.
As a whole, I'm pretty excited to go to Hollywood Studios. While it's not the park I'm looking forward to the most, I know we're still going to have a great time, especially at Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge.
Today for Walt Disney Wednesday we're going to continue on our closer look at the parks and what Bryan and I are most looking forward to doing at the individual parks. This will be the last one until next month, as I have something else planned for next week. There also won't be a Walt Disney Wednesday in two weeks because it's Christmas. I'll be doing it on Friday instead with Bryan's help (he doesn't know that part yet). As the title implies, we're going to be talking about Epcot today.
Epcot opened in 1982 and is twice the size of Magic Kingdom. It focuses on human achievement, both now and in the future. The park itself has two very distinct areas: Future World and the World Showcase. As the name implies, Future World focuses on the future of humans and their technological achievements. This is also home to the "golf ball" for which Epcot is famous. This is actually called Spaceship Earth and contains a ride inside outlining the achievements of humans since their beginning. I'll talk more about this ride specifically in a little bit. The rear portion of the park is centered around a large lagoon. There, there are 11 pavilions, each one dedicated to a different country: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, Canada. Each pavilion is a completely immersive experience with replicas of famous landmarks, employees who are from that country, authentic food, shops and art galleries. You are supposed to feel like you are visiting that country. When I went with my family in 2000, they also had Millenium Village, which housed smaller pavilions for many more countries. Although the World Showcase looks incredibly crowded, there's actually room for six more pavilions in case Epcot wanted to expand.
Just like Magic Kingdom, Bryan and I will spend two days at Epcot, although they won't be back to back days. We also haven't divided up the park like we did with Magic Kingdom, we're just going to play it by ear and eat a lot of food. There aren't an over abundance of rides at Epcot like there is at Magic Kingdom, but there's still a lot that I want to do. First and foremost, I want to ride Mission: Space.
The premise of Mission: Space is that you are part of a flight team flying to Mars. Each person has a different role to fulfill, including buttons to push. Don't worry, the buttons will light up and tell you what to do. Even if you don't press the buttons, everything works out, the computer doesn't react or change the story of the ride (I believe there is a similar ride at Hollywood Studios that does react if you don't push a button that you're supposed to). In order to simulate the G-forces, the ride spins you around at a ridiculously high speed. This has actually created extreme problems for Mission: Space, including the deaths of two riders. One was a little boy who was a little too short to ride and also had an undiagnosed heart condition. The other was a woman who had high blood pressure and died from a stroke. After both of these deaths, Disney created a less intense version of the ride. Now, visitors choose between the orange version (the original one) or the green version (the lighter version). Even though I suffer from extreme motion sickness, I didn't have trouble on this ride in the past. I'll probably still take some motion sickness medicine before this ride, just in case.
Another ride I've gone on before that I can't wait to do again is Test Track. On Test Track, you design your own race car and then put it through the tests that cars undergo before determining if they can drive on the road. It sounds like a nice, calm ride, but it's actually quite fast as you zip around on a track. When we went in 2005, we were in line forever to get on the ride, then they had to close it for the weather. We went back later, and the guys in front of us in line were teasing us, saying it looked like it was going to rain again, and the ride would be shutdown.
One thing that is of the utmost importance for me to do is visit the Christmas shop in the Germany Pavilion. It holds such a special place in my heart, and it will definitely be an emotional trip for me. When my family visited Disney World in 2000, my grandparents went with me. At the time, I had extreme issues with fireworks (I'm still not a huge fan of them, but I've gotten a lot better), and there was no way I could sit through the IllumiNations show (I saw it in 2005 and loved it). My Pop-Pop decided to take me to the Christmas store in the Germany Pavilion instead. Even though the store was technically closed, one of the cast members, a young woman from Germany, kept it open just for us. To help keep me distracted, she took me all through the store, showing me different things and explaining the Christmas traditions attached to them. My Pop-Pop was German (along with a whole host of other things), so he loved it just as much as I did. For that reason, I absolutely adore that store, and whenever I think of it, I always think of my Pop-Pop.
There are a few new things at Epcot I want to do. First of all, Frozen Ever After (of course). I love Frozen so much, and I've heard the technology on this ride is absolutely amazing. I've purposefully avoided any videos on YouTube that show the ride, as I want to be surprised when I get on the ride.
Just like many of the rides in Magic Kingdom, this ride takes visitors through the story of Frozen as they ride on a little boat. This ride replaced Maelstrom, which was a ride that took visitors through Norway as they learned about legends and the culture (similar to Gran Fiesta in the Mexico Pavilion). I remember enjoying Maelstrom, especially the three headed troll, but I'm also glad to see this ride. Frozen Ever After is Epcot's first attempt to create rides throughout the park that appeal to smaller children. Some people, however, aren't happy about this, as they enjoy Epcot because there aren't as many small children as the other parks.
Additionally, I can't wait to check out The Seas with Nemo and Friends. The Living Seas was at Epcot when we went in 2005, but we didn't really check it out. The Seas with Nemo and Friends is a ride that takes you through Epcot's impressive aquarium. As you ride, technology superimposes images of the characters from Finding Nemo onto the glass of the aquarium, making it look like they're a part of the aquarium as well. It looks like a blast, and Finding Nemo is a bit of an inside joke between Bryan and I, which makes this ride even more special to both of us.
One thing I love about the World Showcase is how immersive the experience is. Disney really goes the extra mile to make sure visitors feel like they are truly in that country. For that reason, they always have a wide array of performers at each pavilion, and I want to see so many of them. British Revolution is a rock group that does a wide range of cover songs from British rock history. Since that's the type of music Bryan usually likes to listen to (me too), it seems like a fun place to just relax and sit after walking around the park all day. As you can probably figure out, it's in the United Kingdom Pavilion. Also in the United Kingdom Pavilion, I'd like to see Quickstep. They are a quartet that plays authentic Scottish, Irish and English songs. I absolutely love Celtic music, it's actually a bit problematic. I've been asking Bryan to go to an Irish pub with live music for a while, but we haven't had a chance to make it to one yet. If we don't in the near future, at least we'll be able to see this. I also want to check out the Jeweled Dragon Acrobats.
In college I was fortunate enough to see another Chinese acrobat group in college, and I thought it was absolutely magical, not to mention terrifying to watch. It reminds me of the abilities people have when they really push themselves. The amount of perfection is astounding as well. It makes all other gymnastic acts look like child's play, which is saying a lot.
Matsuriza is another musical group I want to see. They are a Japanese drumming group. I've never seen one before, but apparently you can hear them playing from quite some distance. Additionally, in the Morocco Pavilion, I want to hear Sahara Beat perform. Sahara beat is a Moroccan band that plays traditional and more modern Moroccan music. I've never heard Moroccan music, so I'm interested to hear them perform and what the music sounds like, although I imagine it sounds very similar to Middle Eastern music.
Of course I want to see characters in Epcot as well. Most importantly, I want to meet Anna and Elsa. I'm a little bit torn, however, because now Anna and Elsa are in their costumes for Frozen II. I think the costumes are absolutely gorgeous, but I had an image in my mind of meeting them in their outfits from the first movie. I do have to admit, however that the new wig for Elsa looks beautiful, much better than the original wig. I also love Elsa wearing her hair down in general, but I talked about that in my Frozen II blog post last week.
I do want to brag a little bit right now. The one thing Bryan has not been able to get on board with is meeting characters. I'm so excited to meet them, get autographs, take photos and talk to them. He, on the other hand, keeps arguing that they're just people in costumes, not the actual characters. When talking to Bryan today, however, I was teasing him about meeting Anna and Elsa. After we saw Frozen II last week, he started referring to Elsa as the Avatar, just like Avatar: the Last Airbender, and he said he's always excited to meet the Avatar. I wondered how Elsa would react if he referred to her as the Avatar, and he said there was only one way to find out. This is the closest he's come so far to being interested in meeting the characters in any capacity. Hey, if that's what it takes for him to get excited about meeting the characters, I'll take what I can get.
I'm also excited to see Mulan. The only place you can meet Mulan is in the China Pavilion. Like Anna and Elsa, Mulan costume has been updated in the past few years, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. Her costume doesn't look anything like her outfits from the movie. I remember there was quite a bit of an uproar after the costume change. In Disney's defense, the costume is more accurate and closer to traditional Chinese dresses.
Of course, no trip to Disney's Epcot would be complete without seeing Belle. When it comes to the Disney Princesses, Belle is definitely my favorite. She doesn't need anyone to save her, she's willing to stand up for herself, and she's a bookworm just like me. She's definitely one of my favorite Disney characters and is my favorite Disney princess (maybe with the exception of Kida from Atlantis).
Rumor has it Stitch can also be found near the entrance of Epcot. Of course I plan on meeting Stitch at Magic Kingdom, but there's no such thing as too much Stitch. I absolutely adore him, but I already talked about that in my Magic Kingdom post last week.
When it comes to the last three characters I want to meet, I'm not entirely sure if they'll still be there when we go in February. The Future World part of Epcot is undergoing a lot of renovations right now, so some things won't be open or available. This includes the meet and greet for Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. I wasn't a huge fan of the movie, but I love Sadness so much. I think I relate to her because I've struggled a lot with depression, especially in the past year, and Sadness reminds me the importance of expressing my emotions and the fact that it's perfectly fine to be sad every once in a while. I'll also admit that the movie Inside Out has grown on me since the first time I watched it.
Finally, I want to meet Baymax from Big Hero 6. This movie was definitely not what I expected, but I loved it because I love superhero movies so much. Also, it's technically a Marvel movie, which makes it even better. Baymax is so adorable and pure. My favorite Baymax moment, however, is when he's running low on battery. It reminds me so much of a drunk person, and I find it absolutely hilarious that Disney included it in the movie. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I'll be able to meet Joy, Sadness and Baymax, as their meet and greets are closed, and I haven't heard anything about them moving to another part of the park during the renovations.
Just like last week for Magic Kingdom, I asked Bryan what he's most looking forward to doing at Epcot and made him do a little bit of research. He said he's most looking forward to riding Mission: Space. I don't know if he wants to ride the green or orange one though, I'll have to talk to him about it before our FastPass day next week. He also wants to check out the Mission: Space Advanced Lab Training, which I didn't even know about until he mentioned it. When I looked it up, it looks like a hand's on activity center for all ages where you can participate in more interactive simulations like when you ride Mission: Space (minus the spinning) and send digital postcards to families and friends. Bryan also said he's interested in (and this an exact quote), "All the coral reef stuff". I'm assuming he means The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends and Turtle Talk with Crush, which is similar to The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor where they use similar technology to project Crush on the tank where he interacts with the audience just like Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.
Tuesday is our FastPass day, so I figured Wednesday would be a good day to talk about the process and what FastPasses we got. Everyone cross their fingers for us for Tuesday so we get all the FastPasses we want for our trip.
Ahh Wednesday, before you were simply a day I had to get through to be halfway done with the week. Now, however, I have the opportunity to discuss some of my exciting Disney plans! This week, I'm focusing entirely on Magic Kingdom and our plans for the oldest and most classic Disney theme park.
For those of you unfamiliar with Magic Kingdom, it is the oldest of the four Disney theme parks and is home to many of the classic rides and attractions you think of when you think of Disney World. Opening in 1971, this was the only park in Disney World until Epcot opened 11 years later. When you first enter the park, a turn of the 20th century street called Main Street, USA full of shops and restaurants leads you to the park's most famous attraction: Cinderella's Castle. While you can eat in the castle, that's about it. Most people simply take pictures in front of it and move on.
Magic Kingdom itself is broken up into six different areas: Main Street, USA, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square. Each one is themed differently and has rides, shows and other attractions surrounding that theme. The fact that the park is broken into five different parts made our job a little easier, as we simply decided to do Tomorrowland and Fantasyland one day, then Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square another day. We have yet to figure out which day we're doing the fireworks and the parade, although that might be dictated by our FastPasses. While we're spending two days at each park, Magic Kingdom is the only park we're visiting on back to back days. We also have no table service reservations for this park, so we'll be doing a lot of snacking and quick service meals (but more about that later).
Magic Kingdom is home to some of my favorite rides in Disney World that I can't wait to ride again. Let's start with one of my all time favorite rides: Haunted Mansion. I tend to stay away from things that are overly scary, I don't do jump scares. When I watch horror movies, I tend to watch them in the middle of the day, with all the lights on, the volume way down low and close captions on. What I love about Haunted Mansion is that it's more of a fun scary without anything that's overly scary. Plus, it's a classic that just celebrated its 50th anniversary a few months ago. I even made a "Beware of Hitchhiking Ghosts" decoration for Halloween this year. Before, rumor had it that if you asked a cast member at the beginning of the ride of a death certificate, they'd print out one with a funny death on it (similar to the tombstones outside the ride), and you could pick it up after the ride. Apparently they don't do that anymore, which is a bummer.
Across the park in Tomorrowland, I also love Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. In this ride, riders get in little cars and go through the galaxy fighting the evil Emperor Zurg and competing against each other to hit the most targets with these little laser guns attached to the front of their car.
As someone who is incredibly competitive, this is right up my alley. Additionally, with a few rare exceptions, this is one of the closest things to a game throughout the parks (there's a similar ride in Hollywood Studios and a shooting arcade in Magic Kingdom as well).
Also located in Tomorrowland, I'm looking forward to Space Mountain. I didn't ride it when I was younger, because I used to have this intense fear of roller coasters. I still have that "oh crap, what am I thinking?" moment when I ride roller coasters, but I always enjoy them and almost never regret them. Space Mountain is a blast. In the complete dark, you're whipped all over the place with lights flashing while you ride in these surprisingly small rocket ships. It's always a fun ride to go on, even if the tiny little rockets make you feel like you're going to fall out.
Pirates of the Caribbean is another ride I've gone on in the past and can't wait to ride again. Part of this comes from the fact that they've updated the ride to include Jack Sparrow and Barbosa. While I'm glad they did that, because there are definitely people who visit the park now who only know the movies and don't know that the movies were inspired by the ride, not the other way around, I'm also a little bummed because I liked the original better. I'm not going to pass judgement, though, because I haven't actually been on the ride since they updated it. I'm going to stay optimistic, because I doubt Disney would ruin such a classic ride.
Located in Frontierland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (another one of the "mountain" rides scattered throughout the park) is another fun roller coaster. This one is an outdoor roller coaster where you're riding on a runaway mine train through a frontier town. As you zip along the tracks, you're surrounded by the remnants of an abandoned town, including buildings, personal effects and animals. It's a short but exciting ride that's always a good time. Its facade, along with Splash Mountain, dominate Frontierland.
Fantasyland is where you find many of the classic, kid-friendly Disney attractions: Dumbo, It's a Small World, etc. This is also where you'll find the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. On this ride, which replaced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, you adventure through the 100 Acre Wood with Pooh, Piglet and all their friends. It's absolutely adorable as you sit in a "Hunny Pot". My favorite part of the ride is when you meet Tigger. There, your pot bounces up and down with him as he explains why Tiggers are the best creatures ever. It may be a ride more geared towards children, but I love it nonetheless.
There are also two shows I'm looking forward to that I've already seen in Disney World. The first is Mickey's PhilharMagic. This was fairly new last time I went to Disney World, and I'm super excited to show it to Bryan. I know he's going to complain about me using this phrase, but this is my blog, not his, so I don't care, but this is a 4-D attraction. Although Mickey's name is in the title, it's Donald Duck who is actually the main attraction. You arrive as guests to hear Mickey conduct an orchestra, but when the curtain rises, all you see is Donald, who hasn't unpacked any of the instruments. Mickey tells him to do so while simultaneously making the mistake of leaving his sorcerer's hat behind. Donald takes it upon himself to put on the hat and try to use magic on the instruments. Chaos ensues. The show includes 3-D effects, along with scents being pumped into the theater as a medley of Disney songs are played. It's a lot of fun and definitely much more kid-friendly than Disney's other 4-D show: It's Tough to Be a Bug.
Finally, the last thing I've done in Magic Kingdom that I can't wait to do again is the Enchanted Tiki Room. I'm especially excited to do it because I've heard some rumors that it might close down, although I haven't heard anything concrete yet. In this attraction, over 150 animatronic birds, tiki masks, etc. entertain guests with a variety of songs. For a while, Zazu from Lion King and Iago from Aladdin were also part of the performance, when the ride was advertised as being "under new management". They have since been removed from the show, and it has reverted back to its original form.
The most famous part of the show is the always annoying ear worm "Enchanted Tiki Room", which is the attraction's theme song. All it takes is for me to think about the song for it to be stuck in head for hours on end. Still, it's a lot of fun and a great chance to sit down for a little while in the parks if you've been walking around a lot.
Since it will be almost fifteen years since the last time I went to Disney World by the time I go in February, there have been a fw new attractions added to the parks. The list for Magic Kingdom is fairly small, especially when compared to parks such as Hollywood Studios, which got an entirely new name since I last visited, but there are still some new attractions I want to visit.
First and foremost, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Similar to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, this ride takes guests on a whirlwind of a ride on runaway mine machinery. Unlike Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, however, you're riding underground through the mine that the seven dwarfs work in during the day. While I've seen brief videos about this ride, I'm trying to see as little as possible because I want to be surprised. I've heard that the special effects are absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to see them all for myself. I've also heard that the wait time can be quite extensive and FastPasses difficult to get, so we may have to work a little to get on this ride.
I'm also looking forward to trying out Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid. Just like Peter Pan's Flight and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, this takes riders through the story of The Little Mermaid in a little purple clamshell. Just like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, this looks like an adorable ride, not to mention nostalgic as you travel under the sea.
There are also two new shows I'm excited about seeing in Magic Kingdom. The first is The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History. This is a short little show on the streets of Liberty Square where the Muppets recreate events from early American history. As a fan of the Muppets, a history grad student and US history teacher, I just have to see this show, no matter how juvenile it may be. It looks like a lot of fun and an attempt to build up Liberty Square, which is fairly small.
In Tomorrowland, I'm also looking forward to trying out Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. This is supposed to be one of the more cutting edge attractions. Using motion capture, actors behind the scenes portray monsters from the Monsters, Inc. universe as they collect laughs to power the city. Since it's technically actors, each show is different, and the monsters interact with the audience from up on the screen. My cousin has highly recommended it, and it sounds like a lot of fun, not to mention a great break from all the walking.
While Bryan has been struggling with getting into the whole "meeting characters" thing (he keeps arguing that they're just people in costume), I'm 100% behind it and even have a list of characters I'm determined to either meet or try to meet in each park.
The most important character is Stitch. I absolutely love Stitch! I think Lilo and Stitch is a blast, and I love Stitch and the fact that he simultaneously represents family and complete and utter chaos. I also adore Lilo, she way more dramatic than I am, which is quite impressive. From what I've heard, you can find Stitch in Tomorrowland, near his attraction, which is considered a flop and is rarely open. Even so, I still love Stitch, and I can't wait to meet him.
I'm also really excited to meet Cinderella. Although my hair is now very dark brown, I am a natural blonde. When I was little, a neighbor used to call me "Cinderella" because I had blue eyes and blonde, curly hair. My hair is still curly, and my eyes are still blue-ish, but the blonde hair is long gone. I know you can meet Cinderella at one of the princess meet-ups in the park. I'd also like to meet the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, although I've heard she's a little harder to find. If I don't meet her, I'll be disappointed, but it won't be the end of the world. There are plenty of other characters I want to meet.
Keeping in the theme of princess, there are a few princess whose movies have come out since the last time I went to Disney World, and I'd love to meet them. First of all, Merida. Bryan has really enjoyed the movie Brave, and Merida is a wonderful character. As dorky as it sounds, I really want to ask her how her brothers are doing; they're my favorite part of the movie. I also can't wait to meet Rapunzel and Tiana. I know you can meet them both in the same line, which is perfect. I love the personalities of both of them; Rapunzel is so carefree and fun, while Tiana is so determined and dedicated. I feel that both are wonderful role models.
Jack Sparrow is also a new character you can meet in Adventureland, conveniently near the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Jack Sparrow is so quirky, and I imagine that he's a wonderful and fun character to play as an actor. Another character that is probably a blast to play and meet is Peter Pan. To be honest, I'm not even a big fan of the movie, but I've heard so many fun and crazy things about meeting Peter Pan, that I simply have to meet him myself. Based on what I've seen, you never know what he's going to say or do, which makes it all even more exciting. I can get past the fact that I don't really like the movie for that reason alone.
When it comes to Magic Kingdom, and Disney World in general, something else I'm looking forward to is the food. I'm thoroughly convinced I'm going to gain so much weight while I'm there because there's so much delicious looking food.
Of course I have to try Dole Whip. Nando's here has it, but I refuse to eat it there because it's a strictly Disney treat in my eyes. Oh top of Dole Whip, I also want to try the Peter Pan float, it sounds delicious and looks adorable. It's a key lime pie soft serve mixed with Sprite, and there's a little red feather in it made out of chocolate. Ever since social media came out, Disney has been trying to make more "photo worthy" snacks that are more visually appealing, and this is definitely an example of that.
Also in Fantasyland, I want to head over to Friar Tuck's and try out the loaded tater tots. The flavors rotate, so I'm not entirely sure what they'll have there, but they look and sound amazing, so I'll definitely swing by and try those out.
Speaking of rotating food options there's also an eggroll cart in Adventureland that has unique flavors that rotate. In the past, I've heard of bacon mac and cheese flavor and cheeseburger flavor. I don't eat cheeseburgers, but the bacon mac and cheese sounds beyond amazing, and I definitely need some of that. I just hope that's the flavor they have when I visit. Like I said, it's a lot of snack foods while we're there, which is perfectly fine with me. We'll also bring our own snacks into the park, but I want to try as much food as humanly possible while we visit.
The last thing I absolutely have my heart set on, probably more so than most of what I've already talked about, are the Tangled Lanterns. At dusk near the Tangled themed bathrooms in Fantasyland, guests can have their picture taken with the lanterns from Tangled, and the photos are absolutely gorgeous! I already have a feeling that the pictures are going to be some of my favorite from our entire trip (I hope they live up to my high expectations). I'm so excited to do them with Bryan and get some beautiful pictures on our trip.
Not surprising, when I asked Bryan what he was excited about for the trip so I could include it in my post, it took ages to pull an answer out of him (don't even get me started on him telling me what he wanted for Christmas, it was awful!). Magic Kingdom is the only Disney park he's ever visited, so he has a basic idea of what's there, and he's been more recently than me, but it's still been a while for him. He said that he's looking forward to Space Mountain, it's pretty much the only ride he remembers riding last time he went. He's also looking forward to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. My cousin really talked it up last time we saw him, and Monster's, Inc. is a fun movie. Overall, Bryan said that he's most looking forward to exploring the park and really taking it all in. Since we have two days dedicated to the park, I think we'll definitely have a lot of exploring, not to mention tons of food and rides. I can't wait!
Before I jump into this week's Walt Disney Wednesday blog post, I do want to share a little bit of exciting, Disney-related news. Bryan and I were at breakfast over the weekend, and we were talking about our trip (meaning I was talking while he just smiled and nodded). I asked Bryan if he was excited we were going, as he's been somewhat indifferent and downplaying any excitement he might be feeling. He said he was definitely more excited than when we first booked our trip. I'll take that as a win! At this rate, he'll be excited to go by the time we get on the plane, and if he isn't, then it's a little too late.
To the normal person, picking a hotel is easy: you figure out where you want to go, figure out your budget, then find a hotel. Pretty simple, right? As always, it's not quite that simple when it comes to planning a Disney vacation.
The first decision you have to make when picking a hotel is if you want to stay on property or off property. I've been to Disney World three times in the past, and I've never once stayed on property. In my mind, I always thought that it was far more expensive. In a way, this is partially true. Some of the hotels, such as the Grand Floridian, are horrendously expensive and would easily double or triple our entire budget for the trip. Other hotels, such as Pop Century, Art of Animation and All-Star Movies, Music & Sports, are significantly cheaper. There's even a campground you can stay at if you want. Disney, of course, wants you to stay on property (more money for them), so they provide some incentives, such as free pick-up from the airport, extra hours in the park and a service that will take anything you buy in the park and put it in your room for you so you don't have to carry it around, not to mention free transportation to all the parks. So, we crunched some numbers and figured out that if we stayed off property, we would either have to rent a car (adding a few hundred dollars to our budget at a minimum) or Uber to the parks everywhere from a slightly significant distance. Keeping that in mind, it was cheaper to stay on property.
If we had the money, I absolutely would have pushed to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I've been collecting giraffes for 20 years now, and they've my favorite animal. What could be more magical than waking up every morning to a safari right outside your hotel window? Unfortunately, our wallets couldn't make that work, so I didn't even bring it up as an option. Besides, we'd barely be at the hotel, so it didn't make sense to put that much money into somewhere we'll hardly be seeing. Also, you can visit any of the Disney resorts during your trip, even if you aren't staying there, so we could still visit Animal Kingdom Lodge.
My top hotel choice within our budget was Art of Animation. The rooms are designed to look like you're immersed in various Disney movies, such as The Little Mermaid and The Lion King. The hotel itself looks like an absolute blast with larger than life models of various Disney characters and a Finding Nemo swimming pool.
I mean, how adorable is that swimming pool? Art of Animation even has free drawing classes you can take where you learn how to draw a Disney character. I know we probably wouldn't have time for it, but it still sounded amazing.
Unfortunately, we couldn't book Art of Animation. Rooms were available, but we had to bump our vacation back a week, and the price of the hotel jumped a few hundred dollars. It really upset me, but we couldn't stay at Art of Animation.
We eventually had to settle on Pop Century for our hotel. I know there aren't any bad hotels, they all have their perks, but it really wasn't the hotel I wanted to stay at during our trip. Pop Century is a throwback to all things "retro" and for kids. It has giant barrels of Play Dough, barrels of monkeys, yo-yos, etc. It looks like a child's toy box tipped over all around the hotel.
Deep down inside, I know it doesn't really matter where we stay, because we'll be at the hotel only at night, and we can visit any hotel we want (some people even build a resort hopping day into their Disney vacation). I also know that I'm going to be so excited when we get there that it won't matter what hotel we stay at. Also, we'll be seeing plenty of giraffes (hopefully) on Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Overall, I'm super excited to be staying on Disney property, a definite first for me. It's definitely going to add to the immersive experience and get me even more excited for our trip.
I feel like football players after they've won the Super Bowl. I'm going to Disney World! Double digits day is the magical day when you are down to double digits for your countdown. That's right, I'm 99 days away from leaving to go to the Happiest Place on Earth.
To be completely honest, I still can't believe I'm going. I spent nearly a year begging Bryan, pleading with him, saying how much fun it would be for us to go to Disney World together (it'll be an adventure). He always rolled his eyes and said no. On Mother's Day this past year, however, we were at my aunt's, and my cousin kept talking about how much he loves going to Disney World. After some prodding and showing Bryan that adults can go to Disney without children and still have fun, he very reluctantly agreed. I couldn't believe it! I knew I had to jump on this as soon as humanly possible or else he'd find a way to back out. By the end of the day, we had dates picked and a travel agent selected (it helps that my friend's mom is a Disney travel agent).
Unfortunately, even the best laid plans need to be changed up just a little. I started at a new school, and my new principal was a little hesitant to give me an entire week off school in February to go on vacation. I completely understood why, she didn't know me and my work ethic, so she feared this would be a week of lost instructional time with my students. I met with her over the summer, and we came to a compromise. She gave me four days off, and the fifth day is President's Day. This meant bumping the trip back a week and one less day in Disney, but that was fine with us. Now, we're leaving for Disney World after work on Valentine's Day. I really wanted to spend Valentine's Day at the parks (it seemed so romantic to me) and was upset over the notion of spending the holiday in an airport. Bryan pointed out that it doesn't matter where we are for Valentine's Day, as long as we're together. It was so sweet and romantic, and, of course, he's right. We're celebrating a day later with a nice sit down dinner, but I'll get more into food in another post.
So, we had our dates finalized, now it was time to pick a hotel. I don't want to get too much into details about our hotel, as I have an entire post planned out to talk about that, but I will say that we are staying at Pop Century, and that wasn't my first choice for a hotel. I'm a little bummed about that, but I also know that we'll spend so little time in our hotel room that it won't make too much of a difference. I'm also just excited to stay on Disney property. I've been to Disney World three other times, and I never stayed on property, so this is a huge treat for me.
We have a completely booked schedule in Disney World. People keep asking us if we're going to Harry Potter World, Universal Studios (I know, Harry Potter world is a part of Universal), etc., and the answer is no. I want to spend time properly at Disney and not rush through anything. If we're going to do this trip, I want to do it right. I don't want to get too much into our itinerary yet, I'll have a separate post about that later, but I will say that we have two days at each park. We might not need two whole days at each park, which is fine, but I wanted to play it on the safe side. That way, we don't have to rush through the parks, and if we finish early, we can head back to the hotel for a nap, head to Disney Springs or explore some other hotels. It seemed like the perfect solution to me. We can also go back and ride some rides again if we want to.
As if planning an entire trip to Disney World wasn't stressful enough as it is (because it totally is), I've also been having weird dreams about Disney and not being prepared. I've had two in the past two or so weeks, and I'm hoping this doesn't become a weekly thing, because that will get really old really quick. In the first dream, I dreamt we got to Disney World, and I didn't make the t-shirts I'm planning on making for us to wear (don't worry, I'll go into more detail about that in a much later post). This is a huge deal, because I'm working so hard to coordinate our t-shirts and make sure they're perfect for each day at the park. In my second dream, I dreamt I didn't get us FastPasses for any ride. This is equally upsetting, as it would mean that I really dropped the ball. We would still be able to get on the rides, but it would take much longer as we would have to wait in the standby line. If anything, both of these dreams have gotten me back into my Disney planning phase and encouraged me to stay on top of everything.
My goal is to have a Disney-related post most Wednesdays between now and when we leave in February (I'll switch off between "WIP Wednesday" and "Walt Disney Wednesday", but most Wednesdays will be for Disney related posts for the next few weeks). Each time, I'll post something about my planning for the trip and how I'm using that to make sure we maximize our vacation and have the most amazing time. So, if you're planning a trip to Disney World, make sure to keep coming back for more information.
