The Trip Where Nothing Went Wrong...Well, Almost! A September TR--Final update, 11/20

[klacey1]

Initially, I had left our plans for this day kind of open. (Shocking, I know!) However, the night before we decided to do something I had mentioned: EMH at DHS, and then hop to Epcot. I still had not ridden my beloved Test Track, and wanted to make that happen!

We were at the bus stop at 7:15. Crowds had been so low, I thought we could sleep in a bit and still make DHS for 8 a.m. rope drop.


The bus came at 7:22 and zipped over to the Grand Floridian, where it took until 7:37 for a scooter to be loaded. I was a bit antsy at this point and knew we wouldn’t be anywhere near the front of the pack for the TSMM rush.

We got to the park at 7:55 and my stress level instantly skyrocketed. It was SO. BUSY. I have never seen an EMH with that many people! We were waaaay back, about halfway between the Monsters University topiary and the ticket booths.

And with my classic luck-- we chose the slowest moving line and got stuck behind more people that had no idea how to work their tickets. (Regular paper tickets.)

By the time we made it to TSMM, the wait was 45 minutes. I was no picnic to be around this morning, let me tell you. Poor Zach! I was just feeling like we woke up extra early for no reason and mad at all of the line slowpokes haha. Looking back, of course, I can’t believe I was so silly, but at the time, it was A BIG DEAL.

We really only waited for TSMM for 30 minutes. The fun ride snapped me out of my funk and I apologized to Zach for being so moody.

As we walked through the park, it was clear everyone was at TSMM. The other areas were as empty as they had been the other day! That also helped cheer me up.


Star Tours was a walk-on, so we went on twice.

Zach was happy at first because we got the Wookie Planet, then Admiral Akbhar, but then we got the gungans again! Oh well! I didn’t write down what we got for our second ride, but I know Zach was more pleased than he had been with the first haha.

Around 9:30, we decided it was time to go to Epcot. I knew there was both a bus and a walking path, and was tired of transportation, so I asked about the path at the Information kiosk at the front of the park. The cast member told us where it was, but totally tried to dissuade us from walking, saying it would take us over an hour. That sounded...not correct.

Against his judgement, we walked, a decision about which I was soooo happy. It was such a peaceful walk.

We saw one jogger, but for the most part, it was just the two of us. It was such a quiet respite away from the hustle and bustle of the parks. Plus, I’ve never seen the back of the Boardwalk before! I loved the little community hall and the pool (sans weird slide) looked so vibrant and fun. If I were to stay in the Epcot area on Disney property (meaning excluding Swan & Dolphin), it would definitely be at the Boardwalk!



We walked kind of near the Swan & Dolphin and I got to show Zach was a quick walk it was to Epcot from there during my business trip. He wasn’t super impressed by the outside (understandable), but I assured him it was much nicer on the inside. If I wasn’t doing a DDP trip, I’d totally stay at the S&D again! (Although I would miss the resort package delivery!)


More shots of our walk:



Even with pausing to take lots of pictures, it only took us 25 minutes to walk from DHS to the International Gateway. I’m not sure what the cast member at DHS was talking about!

Test Track NEEDED to be our first stop! I was so excited to see the changes. We walked straight through the line to the room before the design studio. I know the refurb doesn’t have many fans, but I really like it! Yes, it is very CHEVY CHEVY CHEVY in your face, but I think everything looks cool and modern, something the previous TT was definitely lacking.



We had a ton of fun designing our car:

(It should be obvious who the designer actually was haha)

I must mention here the problems we had with racing our car. We went on TT a total of three times this trip and our car never showed up during the ride! We definitely loaded it correctly on our KTTW at the design station. We tried flashing it at the scanner at different points and it never worked! It would gleam orange or blue or green, but apparently none of those colors means it read our design. What a bummer! I think they should make it very clear how this process is supposed to work & perhaps have a CM around to help? I don’t know, I just feel like it should have worked at least one of those three times. It wasn’t something I wasted any energy feeling upset about, however. After being in a tiff at DHS in the morning, I was done being mad about stuff I couldn’t change that really wasn’t a big deal at all!

I loved the actual ride-- the color scheme was great, and again, it looked modern. I am so thrilled they changed things up. The ride itself was as fun as it always has been.


Up next, an Epcot afternoon and night!

 

[jenny105]

I have no idea what you're talking about with all this Star Wars speak lol. I go on that ride and I'm like 'Yay! Darth Vader!'

I can't wait to ride Test Track. I haven't been on it since 2010. It was down last year for refurb and we skipped it during the AEP. I am running to it on Tuesday!

 

[blabbermouth]

I'm a couple of updates behind!

We loved MIB and the Simpsons. We thought Shrek was kind of lame, but Despicable Me was cute! Although I agree, a bit painful/jerky.

I can't believe your friends got there so late! Oh well, some people are on their own timeline. Glad you got to enjoy some Hog's Head beer! Sounds good.

Too bad margaritaville sucked. We passed on eating in City Walk, they all seemed a bit unexciting.

Grr, some mornings go like that, slow everything/everyone etc. At least you got a good ride on TSMM and a couple on ST!

Sounds like the walk to Epcot was nice, we only ever took the boat. I really like the pic of you in front of the lagoon!

Yay, finally TT! Glad you didn't have much of a wait. Cute car

 

[Queenofallthings]

That walk took as long as the boat ride LOL...good for you for not listening! The pictures are great and I think that's now on our list for next visit....sounded wonderful!

 

[JessicaKnits]

So I am very, very, very late to this party! I have been toying with the idea of going to Universal for a day, since we have an extra day open in our schedule, but I am just trying to wrap my mind around the cost. I feel like the only way this would be worthwhile is if we got the express pass, which adds even more expense! I had almost made up my mind not to even consider it, but it sure seems like you guys were able to get an awful lot done! Any tips?

 

[Mrs T 2009]

I get so mad when we get behind slow pokes. Like seriously, how terribly hard is it? The entering process is different at disneyland :: we had to have our picture taken and if the CM didn't have the scanner to show pic, the CM asked for license, every time entering a park. ( and I didn't write our last name on the card and therr us give me grief sometimes. Sorry, I didn't think I needed to do that! Haha) Then a CM would scan our ticket and let us in. Definitely backed up the lines sometimes.

Glad TSMM want as long as expected.

And yay for walk on to star tours.

After dealing with transportation like that, I'd want to walk too!

I am excited to see TT next time we are in Epcot! It looks so cool!!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm a big Poly fan too. I'm super excited that they're adding DVC there, since we're DVC members.

Wow. What an uncomfortable situation at Captain Cook's. Sadly, it's typical of what you see nowadays. Crazy kids and no follow through on their discipline.

Hahaha, I love Zach's fist at Ohana.

We ate in the ballroom at BOG too this summer. It's such a beautiful restaurant. You guys look great for your night out!

Maybe you were so happy to be in your Disney bubble that leaving the bubble made it underwhelming? That could be it.

Oh no, poor Zach with his hand in the vending machine! That's terrible that he was stuck for so long.

I agree with taking small bags to Universal. It's so much easier when you don't have as much with you. I'm definitely doing that when we return in January.

Love The Mummy! Definitely my favorite US attraction too.

Looking forward to Minion Mayhem. I love Minion's.

Wow, that would be a ton of money to pay for 4 hours of park time. That's crazy!

What a crazy morning for you guys. I would have been irritated and crabby too, so I can't blame you at all.

That walk to Epcot does not take an hour. Who does that CM think is going to be walking there?

 

[klacey1]

I have no idea what you're talking about with all this Star Wars speak lol. I go on that ride and I'm like 'Yay! Darth Vader!'

I can't wait to ride Test Track. I haven't been on it since 2010. It was down last year for refurb and we skipped it during the AEP. I am running to it on Tuesday!

Haha, you think I know what I'm talking about?! I made Zach slowly say everything for me. I don't even know if my spellings are remotely correct!
TT, for me, was amazing. A much-needed facelift to an awesome ride. I hope you got to ride it yesterday!!

I'm a couple of updates behind!

We loved MIB and the Simpsons. We thought Shrek was kind of lame, but Despicable Me was cute! Although I agree, a bit painful/jerky.

I can't believe your friends got there so late! Oh well, some people are on their own timeline. Glad you got to enjoy some Hog's Head beer! Sounds good.

Too bad margaritaville sucked. We passed on eating in City Walk, they all seemed a bit unexciting.

Grr, some mornings go like that, slow everything/everyone etc. At least you got a good ride on TSMM and a couple on ST!

Sounds like the walk to Epcot was nice, we only ever took the boat. I really like the pic of you in front of the lagoon!

Yay, finally TT! Glad you didn't have much of a wait. Cute car

I'm not a big fan of Shrek, either. That was Zach's pick. And honestly, with how long it took to get everyone seated, when the movie started, I just wanted it to be over and move on to the next attraction.
Yeah, I mean I guess our friends had a good time on their vacation, it's just not our style!
Thanks-- I like that pic too!!

That walk took as long as the boat ride LOL...good for you for not listening! The pictures are great and I think that's now on our list for next visit....sounded wonderful!

I'm SO glad we walked! I was sick of waiting for transportation at this point!
I would definitely make time for this walk-- just early enough in the morning so it's not boiling hot yet!

So I am very, very, very late to this party! I have been toying with the idea of going to Universal for a day, since we have an extra day open in our schedule, but I am just trying to wrap my mind around the cost. I feel like the only way this would be worthwhile is if we got the express pass, which adds even more expense! I had almost made up my mind not to even consider it, but it sure seems like you guys were able to get an awful lot done! Any tips?

It is definitely expensive for an extra day, but for us, it's totally worth it. The express pass definitely helped us get through things quickly, but only a few rides (Despicable Me & Rip Ride Rockit) had lines that would have been insane without the express pass. The nice thing about Universal is that you can wait until you're there to buy the passes-- if you're getting through things quickly, you'll have saved money. If things are a bit busy and you decide to buy it that day, you have that option. (Kiosks to do so are all over the parks.)

I get so mad when we get behind slow pokes. Like seriously, how terribly hard is it? The entering process is different at disneyland :: we had to have our picture taken and if the CM didn't have the scanner to show pic, the CM asked for license, every time entering a park. ( and I didn't write our last name on the card and therr us give me grief sometimes. Sorry, I didn't think I needed to do that! Haha) Then a CM would scan our ticket and let us in. Definitely backed up the lines sometimes.

Glad TSMM want as long as expected.

And yay for walk on to star tours.

After dealing with transportation like that, I'd want to walk too!

I am excited to see TT next time we are in Epcot! It looks so cool!!!

Wow, the process to enter DL seems a bit crazy! That's intense! We definitely got in some good rides that morning-- and really enjoyed our walk!

I'm a big Poly fan too. I'm super excited that they're adding DVC there, since we're DVC members.

Wow. What an uncomfortable situation at Captain Cook's. Sadly, it's typical of what you see nowadays. Crazy kids and no follow through on their discipline.

Hahaha, I love Zach's fist at Ohana.

We ate in the ballroom at BOG too this summer. It's such a beautiful restaurant. You guys look great for your night out!

Maybe you were so happy to be in your Disney bubble that leaving the bubble made it underwhelming? That could be it.

Oh no, poor Zach with his hand in the vending machine! That's terrible that he was stuck for so long.

I agree with taking small bags to Universal. It's so much easier when you don't have as much with you. I'm definitely doing that when we return in January.

Love The Mummy! Definitely my favorite US attraction too.

Looking forward to Minion Mayhem. I love Minion's.

Wow, that would be a ton of money to pay for 4 hours of park time. That's crazy!

What a crazy morning for you guys. I would have been irritated and crabby too, so I can't blame you at all.

That walk to Epcot does not take an hour. Who does that CM think is going to be walking there?

I cannot wait to see the Poly villas!! I hope it's just a bit more modern/upscale in decor than the regular rooms.
I definitely think being so happy in Disney, and in particular, with our resort made leaving so hard!
Minion Mayhem is great, but make sure you had there first thing in the morning! It's slow loading, and the line gets very long.

 

[klacey1]

With my favorite Epcot ride under our belts, it was time to head to our favorite place in WDW: the World Showcase! We started on the UK side and slowly wandered around.




By the time we got to Japan, we were getting hungry, so Zach picked up lunch.

I wasn’t interested in eating there, however, so his food was wrapped to go and we continued into Mexico, where I got food. We ate in the wonderfully AC’d Hacienda de San Angel, which is actually where we were eating dinner that night! I think it’s so great they open this area up during the day. It doesn’t seem like many people know about that, though. Outside was packed and there were only two other families inside with us!
After lunch, it was Maelstrom time. I absolutely love this ride. I don’t care how utterly ridiculous it is lol.

There was literally no one else in the line with us, so we had our pick of rows-- we chose the back. Love that I was able to grab a photo without annoying anyone else! (Even though it was terribly blurry!)


Before leaving the WS, I needed a snack at a wonderful place I discovered during my June business trip: L’Artisan de Glaces. This ice cream is sooo good! I highly recommend the hazelnut.

We were pretty beat at this point due to our early start, so around 2:20, we headed over to the bus stop. It was really just in time-- after returning to the Lodge, I grabbed our mugs and went downstairs to fill them, only to be greeted with a torrential downpour. I know it rains in FL, but I’ve never seen rain like this. Some teens ran outside to play and were instantly, jumped-in-the-pool-with-your-clothes-on drenched. I said a silent prayer of thanks AGAIN to be staying in the wonderful WL, where everything was in one building and I didn’t have to worry about going outside to fill our mugs!
We lazed about, changed, and left our room a few minutes after six. Our dinner was at 7:30 at Epcot, but I didn’t want to chance any bus issues like that morning.
There was plenty of time for a PP pics, since we arrived at the park around 6:30:

There was that awkward bit of time where it’s too early to check in for dinner, but not enough time to do any rides. We went into the Art of Disney and Mousegears to see if there was any near-end-of-trip shopping we wanted to do. (Sniff sniff!)


We rarely visit the Mexico pavilion, but before dinner was a great time to pop in:

Dinner, when it finally came about, was great. La Hacienda is so pretty, and the view of the lake is gorgeous. We probably could have stretched out our meal to watch Illuminations from our table (we would have had a great view), but we got a text from our friends around 8:30 that they had just finished dinner at Teppan Edo and would love to see us one last time before they left (they were leaving very early the next morning).

We met them in Germany to grab drinks. The line was sooo slow. I was seriously waiting for 20 minutes, with like 5 people in front of me. One guy was buying multiple rounds of Jaeger for a large group, which slowed things considerably. Everyone was in a great mood, however, so it was easy to just enjoy the beautiful night in one of my favorite countries in my favorite park in my favorite place!!
Drinks in hand, we watched Illuminations as we exited the park.

The crowds were a bit thick, but it really was a nice night. It was great to see our friends, too! We parted with our friends when we got to the bus depot; the boys promised lots of phone chats once the hockey season started. (Sidenote, hockey season has started, and the phone conversations have not been full of joy. Sigh, Rangers. Why are you disappointing me?!)
So this day started on an irritating note but ended wonderfully. I was already so sad-- our last full day was next. Stay tuned!

 

[Mrs T 2009]

I like maelstrom too! It's a must do!

Boo to the wait, but at least it wasn't a moody crowd!!

Good you got to see them one last time!

:'( sad face for last full day next

 

[ElenaJane]

I've really enjoyed reading your trip report! Thanks for taking the time to do one!

 

[IheartDDuck]

WS wandering is a great way to spend an Epcot day.

I agree, it does seem like a lot of people don't know about the indoor part of La Hacienda around lunchtime. It was a lifesaver for us one year when we were there in July. The kids were melting down and it made a big difference.

I'm definitely stopping by L'Artisan de Glaces in January. They have a new thing there that I am fascinated to try. It's like an ice cream sandwich on crack.

Oh no, last full day already.

 

[JessicaKnits]

I second the ice cream sandwich! I caught a glimpse on The Disney Food Blog and Ohhhhhh. Emmmm. Geeeeee. Thing looks incredible!

Thanks for the tip on Universal! We are going in February before Spring Break, so I imagine it could possibly be very slow, so having the option to purchase the ExpressPass afterwards will be a huge plus!

I can't believe it is your last day already!

 

[blabbermouth]

We ate indoors at Hacienda too with our food from the cantina, great idea! We pretty much always just picked inside vs. outside on what was less busy, haha.

I can tell we were there on the same days because this is probably the afternoon I was cursing having to go OUT in the rain to fill our mugs, haha. You didn't mention getting rained on that night though? Lucky! We had three rainy nights in a row, but our Epcot night on the 6th was the worst!

 

[klacey1]

I like maelstrom too! It's a must do!

Boo to the wait, but at least it wasn't a moody crowd!!

Good you got to see them one last time!

:'( sad face for last full day next

Haha, I just think Maelstrom is so fun. Zach and I love quoting it to each other. Augh, I've been putting off writing my last few updates because I don't want to write about my last day

I've really enjoyed reading your trip report! Thanks for taking the time to do one!

Thank you-- it's been fun to write! Thanks for reading!

WS wandering is a great way to spend an Epcot day.

I agree, it does seem like a lot of people don't know about the indoor part of La Hacienda around lunchtime. It was a lifesaver for us one year when we were there in July. The kids were melting down and it made a big difference.

I'm definitely stopping by L'Artisan de Glaces in January. They have a new thing there that I am fascinated to try. It's like an ice cream sandwich on crack.

Oh no, last full day already.

I could probably wander around the WS everyday of a Disney vacation and never get bored. I'm totally okay with the inside of La Hacienda being open during lunch remaining a secret! It seems like the perfect place for calming down hot, overstimulated kids!
L'Artisan is SO good! I saw that sandwich on the Disney Food Blog and it definitely looks interesting!

I second the ice cream sandwich! I caught a glimpse on The Disney Food Blog and Ohhhhhh. Emmmm. Geeeeee. Thing looks incredible!

Thanks for the tip on Universal! We are going in February before Spring Break, so I imagine it could possibly be very slow, so having the option to purchase the ExpressPass afterwards will be a huge plus!

I can't believe it is your last day already!

The ice cream sandwich definitely looks unique! I'm not sure I'd LOVE the brioche part, however!

We ate indoors at Hacienda too with our food from the cantina, great idea! We pretty much always just picked inside vs. outside on what was less busy, haha.

I can tell we were there on the same days because this is probably the afternoon I was cursing having to go OUT in the rain to fill our mugs, haha. You didn't mention getting rained on that night though? Lucky! We had three rainy nights in a row, but our Epcot night on the 6th was the worst!

Haha, that's so funny! I do remember it started raining when we got on the bus, but we didn't get wet inside the park, thankfully!! Our worst rainy night was definitely after dinner at Yachtsman- that sputtering, annoying kind of rain!
After having everything in one building, I don't know how I'll be able to convince Zach to swap hotels!

 

[jenny105]

I have to try La Hacienda next trip. I've been to San Angel a couple times and the quality went downhill. La Hacienda looks yummy and I like that it's right on the lagoon.

Oh no, end up trip blues!

 

[klacey1]

Here it is: the second saddest day of all: our last full day. We always book an early afternoon flight coming home, which lets us sleep in, but also gets us home in time to get settled and ready for work the next day. Therefore, our last full day is really our LAST day.

I was so sad when I woke up I couldn’t even be bothered with doing my hair properly, haha. I got ready very quickly and we were at the bus stop at 8:07. Our last full day has always been the same: morning at Epcot, evening at Magic Kingdom.

One final morning bus ride selfie:


We arrived at Epcot around 8:30 and settled in for a long-ish wait. I do wish Epcot had some sort of opening show! I was mostly entertained by soaking in the atmosphere, which included a guy in very tight white jeans. They were perfectly white--hope they still were after a day at the parks!



Test Track was of course our first stop when the park opened. And of course, our car didn’t work again. We grabbed FastPasses (9:50-10:50) and hoped we’d have more luck then (answer- no. No we did not).




Next up was Mission Space, one of Zach’s favorites.


After another ride on Test Track, which I will love even if I never get that darn car to work, Zach and I decided we both wanted very specific treats. I wanted some hot, buttery Disney popcorn, and Zach wanted another upside down caramel macchiato. Fortunately, with Fountainview now being a Starbucks location and popcorn being everywhere, this was possible!

After we got our respective snacks, we sat on a bench to watch Jamminators! They were very entertaining. We next checked out Innovations, but nothing really grabbed our attention. At 10:40, the line for Sum of All Thrills was already 20 minutes, and I didn’t really feel like waiting that long for a ride Zach wouldn’t go on with me.

Captain EO was our next stop, but we literally JUST missed the start of a show. Well, I didn't feel like waiting 20 minutes for that, either haha. Time for the World Showcase! We walked through the first few countries before I decided that since it was 11:50, it was high time for a glass of Rosa Regale! (Hey, I was on vacation!)

My hair is a mess in this photo, but you can see the Belle shirt Zach bought me on our first MK day! It was very flowy and comfortable. About two minutes after this photo was taken, I managed to spill what I thought was a large amount of my drink (I’m such a klutz). However, when I righted the glass, the liquid level seemed to hardly go down. Disney magic?!

A nice non-PP cast member took our picture by Germany:


When we got to England, it was souvenir time for Zach! I bought him two t-shirts-- one English national soccer team and one Downton Abbey. He loves both! Apparently people ask him all the time what the difference between the king’s and queen’s crown is, so he had me take these pictures for people back home:



We headed out of the WS for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. This was unfortunately not as good as previous trips. I think we’ll stick with the WS from now on for lunch-- for curiosity's sake more than anything, Zach is really intrigued by Liberty Inn offering steak! So we may have to hit that instead of Sunshine Seasons next time.

After lunch, our final Epcot activity was to get some PP pics:



By now it was nearly 2 and we had an earlyish dinner, so it was time to leave Epcot for the last time. I was SO. SAD. Here’s a pathetic “Spaceship Earth from our way to WL bus stop” photo:

When we got back to the WL, I took a quick duck in the pool. I just love the atmosphere there. I never did try out the slide because I was by myself in the water and a bunch of kids were using it over and over. Didn’t want to be a creeper! I dried off and watched a water balloon tossing contest-- fun! I think it’s great that they do activities with the kids at the pool. As much as Zach and I love the WL as a couple, I think it’s an amazing resort for families with small children.

This friend greeted us on the counter top when we made our way upstairs:

I think it’s a fish?! He sits on top of our TV unit in our bedroom at home now!

We spent awhile just hanging out in our room this afternoon. As much as I am a go-go-go type of person on vacation, Zach works long hours at a stressful job. I know he likes to relax, and I try to make sure a bit of time on our trips is spent doing “nothing.” And honestly-- what a better place to do nothing than the beautiful WL?? I snapped this pic of the gorgeous fireplace after I filled our mugs for our chill time:


I think here is a good place to end this update-- stay tuned to hear about our final night, our depressing last morning, and some wrap-up info!

 

[klacey1]

I have to try La Hacienda next trip. I've been to San Angel a couple times and the quality went downhill. La Hacienda looks yummy and I like that it's right on the lagoon.

Oh no, end up trip blues!

La Hacienda is beautiful, with a great atmosphere inside and out. I love Mexican, but nothing on San Angel's menu really jumped out at me, so I'm glad we went with La Hacienda.

 

[Mrs T 2009]

Boo to the car not working on TT.

My sister in laws husband is from London. ( well,they both live there)
Anyway, he sent me tea bags with the king, queen, princes, etc on them. They've got arms on top to hug the cup ( well, like their upper torso with arms outstretched) so the teabag is the only thing in the cup. So cute!! I'll have to post a pic of it soon. It was from the queens royal jubilee I can't bring myself to use them!!

 

[jenny105]

I never made it on Test Track when we stopped there during our cruise. The FPs were long gone by the time we got there and we didn't want to stand in line for an hour. Another reason to go back (like I need another one!)