Road Trip! (Into the Unknown…) - Mar. 2020 ~ Updated 4/2/21: Complete, One Year Later, Video Epilogue

[soniam]

We are used to driving and drive all over frequently, including outside the US. However, Atlanta has some of the worst we have ever seen, and we have driven in South America on gravel roads. Everytime we drive through there we see multiple cars on fire, not just one, but 2-5 When we went to Orlando in July and November, we drove from Texas.The bathroom breaks were the scariest part of those trips. We usually fly too, but Covid

 

[krrrristen]

Yay - a new trip report! Excited to follow along We haven't been to the parks in so long, probably not since our wedding in October 2019? I did do the princess race last year in February, but we just hung out at the resort - no parks. Totally regretting that now. It's been so long!

 

[amazingact21]

I was so excited to see a new report from you! Isn't it crazy to look back on that final week before the world changed and think about what you were doing, where you were going? Pretty fortunate that you thought to grab some toilet paper and wipes before your trip!

Your road trip down to Disney sounded fun! Long, undoubtedly, but fun! That 7/8 age range is perfect for road tripping. They're so curious to explore at all the stops and old enough to remember the sights.

I can't wait to read more.

 

[rdkeim]

Nice to see a new TR from you! I'm mostly a lurker but have read some of your previous TR's. Your DD has really grown! Nice you could get your trip in before the virus really ramped up. Hope you were able to get a boarding group!

 

[alohamom]

Following!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Well, spoiler alert, we didn’t even arrive that same day.

Yikes! I am not sure we could do a drive like that! Impressed that you guys did it.

ut, in reality, we actually lost a couple hours – one due to “springing forward” with the Daylight Savings Time change that night and another by crossing from the Central to Eastern time zone that day.

Double Whammy!

And Izzy gazing adoringly at the balcony she wanted to be on:

Ahh, the life of a kid.. when this is the biggest tragedy of the day.

Back inside, Izzy found this phone booth, which is almost incomprehensible to a child that was born into a world where people have phones in their pockets and on their wrists at all times :

It's so true!

And Dug getting excited for Galaxy’s Edge:

I can't wait to see how you guys liked it?!?! Or not...

And my next picture is of Izzy all ready to go at 6:13am. Because boarding groups don’t wait!

Those boarding groups def don't wait!!! Impressed you guys were up that early!

 

[Bama Mom]

My son used to have to go to Vanderbilt hospital quite a bit in the past years so the Batman building was always our sign that we were almost to the hospital. We only like 1 hour and 45 minutes south of Nashville (in North Alabama) so we actually fly out of Nashville for our flights to Disney.

Your daughters outfits are so cute!

 

[Dugette]

Thanks for all the comments, everyone! It's nice to connect with others and feel that Disney-fan love during this crazy year!

Following! Your daughter was a trooper during that road trip! I am impressed!!

Thanks! I'm so glad she did well, I've always loved road trips and I hope she can go on many more. This trip was pretty much a rotation between iPad, reading, talking, and snacking for Izzy. She loves all of those things, though. (especially iPad...)

Nice to see you back, I've looked for you are few times thinking I must have missed a report. Izzy has grown up so much from what I remembered.

Hi, I'm so glad to be back. I still have a bunch of trips that I haven't written about - I'd like to get to them someday, so we'll see. But I took a long break from writing (though not from traveling). Feels good to be doing this again.

Yay, I’m so stoked you’ve started a trip report! I’m a long-time reader of your trip reports. As a fellow
mom of an only I find your reports super useful, since there are some unique dynamics and scenarios that arise when visiting WDW with an only. And I have to say, this feels like fate because last week I decided to book a last-minute WDW trip for my kiddo’s Spring break. He will celebrate his 8th birthday at Disney World in a few short weeks.

Your road trip sounds like tons of fun. Can’t wait to see what Disney adventures your first day has in store!

Hi, thanks for finding me again! I love finding other families with onlies as well - you are right, there are some differences (and not just the lack of sibling fighting, lol). I'm glad if my reports can help! And how amazing that you are taking a birthday trip soon! Happy birthday to your kiddo! Izzy got a surprise MNSSHP on her 7th birthday (2019) and still talks about it all the time...wearing a birthday button on your actual birthday at Disney...it's pretty cool! Have fun!

Following along. Read your last TR so happy to see a new one (even if it is from a year ago ) looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

Thanks for joining, I appreciate it! This is quite the trip to re-live. I keep seeing news stories about all the things that happened this week a year ago and to think that this was what we were doing!

Just loving your trip report! Izzy is so photogenic too. Thank you for this virtual visit - have not been since Nov 2019

Coning down for a resort only DVC stay in April and I cannot wait to be back home.

Aw, thank you! It's so hard to be away from "Home" so long when you're a regular visitor. That's great you get to visit DVC in April for a taste of it again!

Im here! Looking forward to your new report!

Thanks for joining, happy to have you here!

We are used to driving and drive all over frequently, including outside the US. However, Atlanta has some of the worst we have ever seen, and we have driven in South America on gravel roads. Everytime we drive through there we see multiple cars on fire, not just one, but 2-5 When we went to Orlando in July and November, we drove from Texas.The bathroom breaks were the scariest part of those trips. We usually fly too, but Covid

I am glad I'm not crazy about Atlanta roads being terrifying! I've driven a lot too, around the US plus Italy and France (well, and Canada, but that was easy driving, lol) and I think this is right up there with the scariest. And it was a Saturday, so not even rush hour! I do think the one-lane two-way roads in Italy that went around blind corners with big buildings may have topped this, but not by much!

Yay - a new trip report! Excited to follow along We haven't been to the parks in so long, probably not since our wedding in October 2019? I did do the princess race last year in February, but we just hung out at the resort - no parks. Totally regretting that now. It's been so long!

Oh, I bet you are regretting not going to the parks in Feb. 2020! Who could have known, though? Congrats (belatedly) on your wedding and the princess race!

I was so excited to see a new report from you! Isn't it crazy to look back on that final week before the world changed and think about what you were doing, where you were going? Pretty fortunate that you thought to grab some toilet paper and wipes before your trip!

Your road trip down to Disney sounded fun! Long, undoubtedly, but fun! That 7/8 age range is perfect for road tripping. They're so curious to explore at all the stops and old enough to remember the sights.

I can't wait to read more.

Alicia, hi! Thanks for finding me! It is so, so weird to look back at that week. So much changed and we felt the difference from the trip down to the trip home. And very glad that Dug was concerned enough to advise we buy toilet paper and wipes! They didn't last forever, but they sure helped when we came home to such a changed world.

You're right, it was a really good age. She was old enough to be good in the car and appreciate the sights, but still young, ready to have fun, and liked hanging out with her parents.

I've read the first 7 chapters of your book so far, by the way, and really enjoying it!

Nice to see a new TR from you! I'm mostly a lurker but have read some of your previous TR's. Your DD has really grown! Nice you could get your trip in before the virus really ramped up. Hope you were able to get a boarding group!

Thanks for joining in again! It was so crazy for me to look back at the last TRs I wrote and see her at literally less than half her age. She's still that same Izzy, but just so much bigger! In retrospect, I'm really glad we got this trip in too, knowing we were safe and sound. Boarding group coming up next!

Following!

Hi, thanks for joining in!

Yikes! I am not sure we could do a drive like that! Impressed that you guys did it.


Double Whammy!


Ahh, the life of a kid.. when this is the biggest tragedy of the day.


It's so true!


I can't wait to see how you guys liked it?!?! Or not...


Those boarding groups def don't wait!!! Impressed you guys were up that early!

It was definitely more of a drive than I expected. That last day was so, so long. Hours more than our apps tricked us into believing. Haha, she was so bummed about not sitting on that balcony, poor kid. How we liked Galaxy's Edge coming up next!

My son used to have to go to Vanderbilt hospital quite a bit in the past years so the Batman building was always our sign that we were almost to the hospital. We only like 1 hour and 45 minutes south of Nashville (in North Alabama) so we actually fly out of Nashville for our flights to Disney.

Your daughters outfits are so cute!

Oh, wow, the Batman building is definitely the perfect sign! And, thanks, she loves her dresses!

 

[Dugette]

Sunrise Over Toy Story Land!

After only a few hours of sleep, this is the best off-to-Disney face you can make:



Another fun elevator on the way down:



Dug enjoyed the photo spot this morning:



We were rolling under these arches by 6:30am:



We were not the only ones that rose early for Rise of the Resistance:



Don’t we look all chipper for being at the park before sunrise:



Hahahaha, looking at this picture now freaks me out because of the crowd:



However, we were actually more spaced out from the crowd than it appears. You can see, first of all, that we were at the very right side, so nobody was over there on that side, which I may have tried to mostly breathe toward, lol. We were also not as close to others or crowded in as it looks. I mean, was there a six foot radius? Eh, probably not. But we weren’t on top of each other either. And we were outside. Even though this was still at a time that felt pre-pandemic, we were actually trying to be cautious and heed my doctor’s advice – and we also saw many others doing the same. Actually, I just found a blurry photo that shows a little more of the spacing around us:



The only thing that made me flinch a little was a guy in a party behind us that was coughing every so often. However, it was not a dry cough and not severe, which was probably the extent of what we knew to look for with Covid at the time, so I hoped it was just a regular little cough. And he wasn’t coughing into our space. Remember, at that point, the common wisdom was that this was not an airborne virus and that the only real risk other than touching surfaces was being sneezed on, etc. But it was still nice when they let us into the park and we weren’t stuck there. Oh, also, they were still doing the fingerprint scans through our entire trip (!!), but we doused ourselves in hand sanitizer right after entering the parks (we brought in our own, but they also started adding some sanitizer stations towards the later part of the week).

Our breakfast plan this morning was to grab some food in DHS after our first ride. However, I’m sure we probably brought some snacks from our road trip supply and enjoyed those during this wait. I probably drank a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew – a nice perk of driving – not limited to only Coke products (I don’t drink coffee, so this is my morning caffeine).

Anyway, they let us in around 7:15am for an 8:00 opening and we got our first glimpse of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway:



Flashbacks of doing the Toy Story Mania Dash in the “old” days, but we were headed for Slinky Dog:



Our first peek ever at Toy Story Land:



Happy to be in line for Slinky Dog Dash just a few minutes later:



This line wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, as the park wasn’t actually open for rides yet, but it gave us a good place to wait for Boarding Group obtaining time at 8am. The sun came up while we waited:



Another shot where it looks more crowded than it felt:



Our strategy to get good Boarding Group numbers for Rise of the Resistance was to both get into the app and try at the same time, but with one of us on cellular and one on wifi. And it worked! The time came, we both did our thing, and Dug was lucky enough to score group 17 for us! Yay! I understand that now things are better in that you don’t have to be in the park to do this, just in the general Disney-ish area with a reservation for DHS that day. So much better!

Anyway, we also got to start moving along at a nice pace in our line for Slinky Dog Dash. We loved all the theming:









8:05 and we made it here:



So much stuff to look at as we walked through the queue:





















Made it onto the ride:



And our Photopass (back when you had to sit next to strangers!):



We all loved this ride! Fun family coaster and so much eye candy everywhere you look. We knew we’d be coming back to ride this again later.

Up Next: Breakfast Explorations!

 

[Dugette]

Breakfast Explorations

We decided to get in one more ride before breakfast. Since we’d ridden Slinky Dog so quickly (we were on board at 8:15am), it was still fairly early. We figured Toy Story Mania would only get longer than the currently posted 35 minutes, so we jumped into that line and hoped for the best:



It ended up being about 30 minutes and then we were ready to ride:



Izzy and I were pretty accurate:



But Dug beat us for score:



I love taking in all the sights walking around Toy Story Land, like all the giant toys:



And this girl meeting Woody was too cute in that dress :



And I love those green aliens, so we had to get a pic there:



And then it was time to split up, explore, and find some breakfast. We had decided that Dug would venture into Galaxy’s Edge to Ronto Roasters and Izzy and I wanted to try Woody’s Lunch Box. See ya real soon, Dug:



Meanwhile, Izzy saw some other kids taking this photo and had to have one of her own:



And back in the neighboring land, someone was having fun:











Paradise for Dug, being such a big Star Wars fan!

Meanwhile, Izzy and I were having a tough time getting breakfast. Mobile ordering was not turned on that morning at Woody’s Lunch Box, so there was a long, slow line. Additionally, all the seating was packed. But there were some cool-looking seats:



We finally found one table and I decided to let Izzy hold the table herself while I waited in the line. However, I couldn’t see the table from the line and got really antsy at the barely-moving pace. Dug texted about being at a Star Wars movie, so I didn’t have any help and decided to abandon the breakfast plan. I texted back that we were giving up, hungry, and in search of popcorn. Izzy and I wandered around until we found some food. She must have decided a pretzel would do instead of popcorn. We got a pretzel at a food cart and I could not resist getting the coolest souvenir cup, which you’ll soon see.

But back to Dug, who had acquired a tasty Ronto Breakfast Wrap:



Dug also really enjoyed doing the data pad scanning activities a bit too. And more Galaxy’s Edge photos:





And a photo on the way back to us:



Once we got our food, we ended up back at Woody’s Lunch Box, at the very back, at a standing table. We shared pretzels and a yummy smoothie of some sort (don’t remember) in my super cool The Claw sipper:





Family selfie, including Buzz:



And, of course, we had to ride these! (we had Fast Passes)



Thematically appropriate:



Dug was excited to ride:



So were Izzy and I:



Chasing our alien with my little claw:



And there’s the big claw:





Oh, and Izzy had a little dance party while waiting in line for the ride:

Izzy Dance Party

By that time, we had to get over to the big event – our Boarding Group was ready for Rise of the Resistance!

Up Next: Rise!

 

[Dugette]

Rise!

Back to Galaxy’s Edge we went:



Dug had been scanning things for the interactive Star Wars Datapad in the Disney Parks app as we went along…and quite a few things. And then got a little nervous when the Storm Troopers approached:



They actually came up to Dug and said something like, “You’re a rebel and have been looking at too many things…” After that, all the progress in the app was gone! We still don’t know if this was something they could actually do or if it was a glitch in the app. Either way, Dug was pretty sad to lose all that progress!

But we had a ride to get to. Almost there:



Not long now:





Back to scanning with the Datapad in the queue:





And, soon, we were beginning our first experience at Rise of the Resistance:





I thought it was really different that you actually walk from one part of the experience to another (outside):



And then I thought maybe this transporter was the ride:



But there was more walking after that:



Lots of cool effects:



Haha, poor Izzy looks so scared here (spoiler: that will not be the case on the second go round…):



Dug was delighted, though:



Now in an actual ride vehicle, off we went:







We all loved the ride. Even Izzy, after she’d survived it! I will admit that I am not a huge Star Wars fan and I don’t even know half of the references in this, but I enjoyed that it was such a different and immersive type of ride experience. I think Izzy and I both enjoyed the part towards the end the best. I think we saw a TV special that said it involved essentially putting a simulator type ride vehicle into a Tower of Terror type elevator? It was very cool. And, of course, being a huge Star Wars fan, Dug loved it!

To continue with the Star Wars portion of the day, we used our Fast Passes for Star Tours next:



And then took more Star Wars pictures:





And then headed in to use our Smuggler’s Run Fast Passes:





Izzy and Dug got to pilot our ship:





I don’t think we did well at all, but it was fun.

Oh, hey, Chewie!



At some point, we got some Photopass pics:



At by then, we needed some lunch, as it had been a full morning. We walked around and around Docking Bay 7 before finally finding a table. I mean, it was only a 2-person table, but there was a bench and Izzy was small. So crowded in there, but our table was nice and semi-secluded:



A view of the rest of the place:



I believe that Dug got the Smoked Kaadu Pork Ribs (Sticky Pork Ribs, Blueberry Corn Muffin, Cabbage Slaw) and Izzy got the Endorian Fried Chicken Tip Yip Youngling Meal (Crispy Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, and Seasonal Vegetables served with choice of Small Lowfat Milk or Small DASANI® Water) and I just ate part of each – chicken, broccoli, blueberry corn muffin, I think?





After lunch, I think Dug did a little more Datapad scanning/exploring Galaxy’s Edge, but the Storm Troopers were out and about, intimidating the Rebels:



Meanwhile, Izzy and I found the Blue Milk Stand, so we had to try some:





We actually both ended up really enjoying this. The flavor takes a second to register, but then we found it really refreshing, as the day had started to warm up. It was actually fruity. According to the Disney Food Blog, it’s these flavors: dragon fruit, pineapple, lime, and watermelon.

We saw Chewie again, this time walking with Rey:



And then, once we met up again with Dug, it was naptime! We had planned a long midday nap break into this day because we knew we’d be exhausted after an unending day of travel, loss of hours, and an early morning. Yay for us, not going all commando (for once)! So, we headed back to the DoubleTree and got some rest.

Up Next: Sunset Over the Studios

 

[Dugette]

Sunset Over the Studios

It looks like we left the park around 2:30pm and returned around 7:30pm:







I think we had made a 4th Fast Pass for Tower of Terror. You can see how Izzy felt about that, though she had agreed to go:







Poor thing. We had learned, before this, that the thing she’s scared of most on Tower of Terror is the pre-show. That darn Twilight Zone! So, we asked to skip the pre-show due to that and they allowed it. Turns out that some of the effects in the ride that are reminiscent of the pre-show still scared her, but she does like the up and down elevator action.



After that, it was time for dinner. Dug split up from Izzy and I so that we could grab things from different quick service places. I don’t remember where we went, but mine apparently took way longer because we were still waiting in line when Dug sat down to eat this salad:



When Izzy and I finally got food, we walked around and around and just couldn’t find Dug’s table, so I think we gave up and ate on our own and Dug came to find us at some point:





After dinner, looks like Dug took some pretty photos:







We also got a family PhotoPass:



Apparently spotted a little girl taking on Buzz with her lightsaber:



Seems reasonable, lol. Oh, and Buzz is holding Tiny Buzz! Cute!

Then it was time to squeeze in one more ride on Slinky Dog. We loved it so much that morning that we were willing to do standby this time:







I think the line was actually pretty fast and soon we were on again:



Love that coaster!

See ya, Buzz, we’re going back to Galaxy’s Edge:



Dug was super excited to meet Rey while wearing a Rey shirt:





And we decided to end the night with a standby ride on Smuggler’s Run:





Oh, you can see in that picture that I’m carrying one of those little Diet Coke bottles that, at the time, was the subject of TSA controversy. We drove, so we bought one without concern. And it was the best Diet Coke ever – I think we were all a little dehydrated – and foolishly only got one to share (had to buy while walking past the stand in line, so not easy to get more).

Photo of a selfie, why not:



Co-pilots again!



This time we had the ship entirely to ourselves, though, so that was cool.









We still did terrible, but had fun.

Back outside, I always love taking in the Disney Parks at night:





We meandered through the shops on our way out and saw some odd things:



This one fascinated me – it was “alive” and holding a little stuffie:



I got a little video to try to capture what I was seeing:

Strange Critter

Not the best video, but it was moving and making sounds. So bizarre. We were not the only ones staring at it and doing double-takes.

Anyway, we had a very important task to do on our way out. We had to upgrade our 6-day Park Hopper tickets to Annual Passes (and get our day’s parking refunded because APs get free parking). We stopped into Guest Services and a very nice CM was able to help us, though it took quite some time to get done, for some reason.

So, let’s stop there for a moment. This was right before what we all now know as the Year of March 2020. We didn’t know then what we know now, but we knew enough to have some concerns about buying APs. It was the plan we’d made back when we booked our trip, and I had bought all those discounted (10% off) Disney gift cards at Lowe’s to pay for this transaction (I bought $2K in gift cards…hence why I felt weird and bought Lysol wipes too…) But we really debated if it was smart to do this.

Ultimately, we decided that Disney would likely pause/extend the passes if they did close down for pandemic reasons…and that would work for us because then our passes would extend through Spring Break 2021 and we could do this again! Because, OF COURSE, Covid would be a distant memory by then. Well, you know that I’m sitting here at home writing right now and Izzy’s on Spring Break again. And we don’t have APs anymore. But, to be fair, the Cast Member we verified with was right – Disney did extend them for the closure period, though it turned out to be much longer than the “2 weeks” we chatted about. But it also turned out to be much more iffy to travel within a year of the reopening, as I followed along with the news and re-opening. Too many health risks in our family and we cannot wait to get vaccinated!

All that to say, we successfully upgraded to APs that night. We got all the perks, discounts, parking, Photopass, and park admittance all trip. But we ultimately cancelled our precious APs on Disney’s refund deadline in August 2020. It was kind-of a mess because Disney could not actually tell you what amount they would refund until after you committed to cancelling. We took our chances and it worked out in our favor. We had only used 6 days of our passes and they essentially refunded us for the other 359 days (roughly, the math didn’t actually come out right). This was especially amazing because we had 1.) bought the 6-day PH at a discount on Park Savers, which saved us money upgrading and 2.) paid for the upgrade with discounted gift cards. All to say, we basically had free tickets this trip. Paid for with fret, worry, following the AP cancellation thread, and crossing our fingers we wouldn’t lose thousands on this. But, at this moment of the trip, we were excited to have APs and think about future trips within the year.

We headed back to my car after that. I should mention, I LOVED having my own car there! Having that familiar vehicle you know is so nice! But, honestly, we’ve become big converts to having a car there, even if it’s a rental. We used to be die-hard stay-on-property-and-use-ME-and-take-Disney-buses people, but it’s unlikely we do that again. We got around so much faster with a car and it let us stay in great places (you’ll see a pretty sweet rental house the next day that Izzy still talks about constantly).

When we got back to the room, I must have checked the weather and it looked so perfect that I took a screenshot:



Up Next: Let’s Go on Safari!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Don’t we look all chipper for being at the park before sunrise:

Seriously Chipper!!!

Hahahaha, looking at this picture now freaks me out because of the crowd:

It's so true! Any crowd gives me the chills now. And I wonder how long that will last, even after we get past all of this.

Our first peek ever at Toy Story Land:

Great photo!

Sitting next to strangers... how cute!

Additionally, all the seating was packed.

There is not enough seating in that area, for sure!

They actually came up to Dug and said something like, “You’re a rebel and have been looking at too many things…” After that, all the progress in the app was gone! We still don’t know if this was something they could actually do or if it was a glitch in the app. Either way, Dug was pretty sad to lose all that progress!

I love Dug's face...

And then took more Star Wars pictures:

Great Photo! Dug looks like he is in heaven!

 

[Dugette]

Seriously Chipper!!!


It's so true! Any crowd gives me the chills now. And I wonder how long that will last, even after we get past all of this.


Great photo!


Sitting next to strangers... how cute!


There is not enough seating in that area, for sure!


I love Dug's face...


Great Photo! Dug looks like he is in heaven!

Haha, anytime I see a crowd on TV or something now, it freaks me out!

Thanks for the comments!

 

[Dugette]

I didn't think I'd be able to keep updating full days on the same day exactly one year later, but so far I'm on track! So, one year ago today...

Let’s Go on Safari!

We woke up to a pretty view the next morning:



Had breakfast in the room, but from the continental breakfast buffet downstairs:



After breakfast, we packed up our luggage and stuffed it into my trunk, as we’d be moving to other accommodations later that day (triple split stay trip). I believe Animal Kingdom had EMH from 8-9am that we were originally planning on going to, but we had gotten the FP we wanted and didn’t feel the need to rope drop anything, so we took it easy and showed up about quarter to 9. We parked and took the tram in:





I think Dug maybe ran to the restroom, so Izzy and I did some Photopass:





We took it easy on our way to our first FP, wandering the little paths:







Izzy got a Wilderness Explorer orientation (but didn't do much else with WE):



Haha, this picture cracks me up! Izzy was actually having fun, but bad picture. Check out the animals behind her, though!



A better look:



And some video of the impressive jumping:

So Cute!

Then we moved on to the fish:



And more animals:





And some music:



Music

Izzy made a little music of her own at the gift shop:





And then we arrived at our 9-10am Fast Pass:



Let’s go see more animals!



In case you’re wondering why we’re not in the same row, this was apparently a wheelchair-friendly vehicle (with no wheelchair on board this time), so the front rows were tiny:



And the obligatory “here’s a bunch of animals” pictures:





























Up Next: Reunion!

 

[Dugette]

Reunion!

But first, more animals:











Oh, and I’d never noticed this poacher truck before:



Back to animals:











We also got to hear a lion roar:

Lion's Roar!



It was a really nice safari! Lots of nice animal viewing, clearly. Then we got a PhotoPass Magic Shot:



Then we went to see the Gorillas:



And the waterfall was nice too:





And then we apparently wandered and checked out the scenery:



And we found my favorite…Dug:





And the famous artsy shot:



And then, it was time to use our Fast Passes for Everest…with friends!! A little backstory: Izzy attended an in-home daycare during her younger years, starting at 5 months old. We were super blessed because not only did we have an amazing caregiver, but we also had a Disney fan caring for our Disney-loving child. After many years of daycare here in MN, she and her family moved to Florida – and just happened to be within driving distance to Disney! So, they came out to Animal Kingdom that day so we could meet up! It had been quite some time, so we were so happy to see them again :





They also had managed to get Fast Passes for Everest that overlapped with ours (well, their son had other plans, I guess). So, we got into the queue:



Izzy loves Everest, but @andera42 was a little nervous:



We had a great ride and I love this Photo Pass sooooo much :



Then we apparently roamed through Dinoland?





Oh, I think we actually rode Triceratops Spin then!





Up Next: Kevin!

 

[Dugette]

Kevin!

Still walking around and chatting with our friends, we came across someone I had hoped I might see…Kevin! I love all of her expressions. If only we had some chocolate to offer her to lure her over :







It was tough to get a turn, as there was no line or anything, but I did eventually get Izzy to make a well-timed break for it:





And then Dug:





And then @andera42:





And finally me:





Then she chased Izzy?



After that amazing encounter, we headed off (ironically enough) to see the bird show:















This was the first time we’d seen the Up-themed show, so that was cool.

Then we walked around some more on our way to lunch:











We mobile ordered at Satu’li Canteen and found a large outdoor table where all six of us could eat together:



I think Dug and I both got Beef Bowls with different base/sauce choices:





Izzy got the Kids Quesadilla:



As you can see in the background, we also got the delicious Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse for dessert. Mmmm, yum.

We bid our friends farewell after lunch, as we had Flight of Passage Fast Passes, which they weren’t able to get on their more last-minute visit. It was so much fun to spend some Disney time together with them, though! Hoping we can meet up again!

Some pics on our way to ride FoP:









Happily, Dug was able to ride this time! On a previous trip, the restraint wouldn’t quite click into place, but 60 pounds of weight loss apparently moves the needle just enough to ride (not enough to be comfy, though). Izzy absolutely loves this ride. I enjoy it too. And Dug was happy to get to experience it as well.

After our flight, someone was craving popcorn (darn that Disney popcorn scent), so we had to grab a snack:



Looks like PhotoPass came along to capture the moment too:



And then we headed out of Animal Kingdom, as our house was ready!

Up Next: Dream Home

 

[Dugette]

Dream Home

We were very excited to be heading to our home for the next two nights! It was super close to Animal Kingdom, which is why we went to AK that morning. Our friend Lauren (@Imagineer5) had recently fulfilled her dream of owning a home near Disney and she rents it out when she’s not there herself. It was pretty booked up, but she happened to have two nights free during our trip, so we were able to snap it up. And we’re so glad we did! Take a look, as we explore the beautiful home (that had waaaaay more bed and bathrooms than we needed for the three of us, lol):





Izzy was thrilled to enter, I guess:









Welcome gift bag:









































We took a lot of pictures! And they can’t even do it justice – she’s been continually updating and improving it ever since – like there’s even a golf cart included now! Izzy dreams of going back there on future trips (me too!).

Dug decided to try out the couch :



Izzy checking out the pool and pond from the Frozen bedroom she chose:



Floorplan:



As you can see, totally excessive space for just us, but we loved it. Just used the bed/bathrooms we chose and the common areas. It was fun exploring, though – we were walking around going, “Another bedroom?!”

But here’s Izzy’s favorite feature:



This was our afternoon break, so we covered all the requirements: Dug napped and Izzy and I hit the pool and hot tub. No photos, as I think my phone was inside charging. But we had a blast. There were a whole bunch of floats and pool toys provided and Izzy was having a great time trying them out. We played a lot of games together in the water and Izzy also was able to show off how much her swimming skills had improved in the last series of lessons. Every time I tried to suggest we get out, Izzy begged for a little more time. Since I couldn’t tell what time it was, I went along a few too many times and, once we managed to get out, we realized there was probably no chance of using our Test Track Fast Passes and also getting to our Epcot ADR on time (La Hacienda de San Angel for Epcot Forever viewing). Oops! We scurried out, dried off, and got ready for Epcot. Yay for having a car, though.

Up Next: ADR Stress

 

[Dugette]

ADR Stress

The light was beautiful when we arrived:



Dug agreed to sacrifice a turn on Test Track to hold down our restaurant table while Izzy and I rode.



Dug got us checked in about 8 minutes late at La Hacienda and requested a water view. We texted and figured out our orders while I was at Test Track, hoping that would help. We foolishly thought we might get through the Test Track queue quickly using Fast Passes, but it was annoyingly slow that night. While we were endlessly waiting at the door of the design studio, Dug got called to be seated, but then they insisted the whole family be there to be seated. And we were now locked into a room without a CM in sight.



Then we finally got into the car-designing area and were in the first spot, so at least we’d be able to bolt to the ride quickly before the rest of the room. Izzy made a car while Dug and I both worried about losing our dinner ADR.







After that, Izzy and I got up to the ride as quick as possible and were soon on board and not looking the right way at all for the picture :



Love that ride! But, after we exited, we had to maintain that super-fast speed on foot, all the way to Mexico! Even though Izzy and I showed up over ½ an hour late, they still seated us! Maybe not right by the window, but still a perfectly good view. Thank goodness - we were both so stressed out because we couldn’t really reschedule this night of the trip and wanted to see Epcot Forever (while eating yummy food and drinking a margarita). Dug was happy to finally be seated:



Love the lights in here:



We were in a booth way in the back, but it was elevated and those windows are huge:



Happy to be seated too:



Even happier to get an Avocado Margarita:



Looking at a photo of our receipt, here’s what we ordered to eat (one main and two apps):

Alambre de Res (Flank steak, bacon, poblano and bell peppers with Monterey Jack cheese, lime, and salsa verde with flour tortillas)

Casuela de Cameron (Shrimp and chorizo tossed with shishito and red bell peppers, mixed vegetables in a spicy tamarind sauce)

Queso Fundido (Melted Cheese with Chorizo, Peppers, and Onions with Flour Tortillas)

Kids Quesadillas (Two flour tortillas filled with Monterey Jack and grilled golden brown and choice of fountain soda, milk, or small water) - Because why not have quesadillas twice in one day?

I only have a couple pictures, though:





But we enjoyed this meal and the show as well. No photos, so I guess we were just happy to be there and in the moment. But pictures afterwards:









We enjoyed some of the Flower & Garden decorations as we headed out of the park:



And more pictures of this:







And, with that, we were headed back to the villa to rest up for another early DHS morning. It was originally our backup plan for RotR, but now it was just our “let’s do it a second time” plan. And our chance to get on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway a bonus time (we also had a Fast Pass for later in the trip). We drifted off to sleep all comfy cozy in our giant house.

Up Next: Perfect Picnic

 

[krrrristen]

Hahahaha, looking at this picture now freaks me out because of the crowd:

Holy cow! We were talking about this too - how long until we see a crowd like this at Disney again?

So much stuff to look at as we walked through the queue:

I love queues with lots of stuff to look at! Also, the watch on the Fastpass sign

They actually came up to Dug and said something like, “You’re a rebel and have been looking at too many things…” After that, all the progress in the app was gone! We still don’t know if this was something they could actually do or if it was a glitch in the app. Either way, Dug was pretty sad to lose all that progress!

Dang. If it's not a glitch, what a way to immerse you in the story. I'd have been upset too!

We had planned a long midday nap break into this day because we knew we’d be exhausted after an unending day of travel, loss of hours, and an early morning.

Love a good Disney nap!

We had a great ride and I love this Photo Pass sooooo much :

So great! What a fun memory to be able to catch up with them on the trip - and to have this photographic evidence.

Several years ago, before meeting my husband, I went on one date with a guy who bragged about getting hit in the face by a bird at this bird show. I should have taken it as a sign

Happily, Dug was able to ride this time! On a previous trip, the restraint wouldn’t quite click into place, but 60 pounds of weight loss apparently moves the needle just enough to ride (not enough to be comfy, though). Izzy absolutely loves this ride. I enjoy it too. And Dug was happy to get to experience it as well.

Yay! So glad that Dug was able to join y'all this time. Congrats to him on the weight loss!

We were very excited to be heading to our home for the next two nights! It was super close to Animal Kingdom, which is why we went to AK that morning. Our friend Lauren (@Imagineer5) had recently fulfilled her dream of owning a home near Disney and she rents it out when she’s not there herself. It was pretty booked up, but she happened to have two nights free during our trip, so we were able to snap it up. And we’re so glad we did! Take a look, as we explore the beautiful home (that had waaaaay more bed and bathrooms than we needed for the three of us, lol):

That house is beautiful! They really did a great job putting together the decor.

We were in a booth way in the back, but it was elevated and those windows are huge:

We had this booked on our wedding trip, but naturally things were absolutely crazy and we missed it. I'm sure we'll get there someday!