‘Beignets All Day!’ May Trip Report 2023 *Update 6/30 : Last Park Day Parts 4 & 5

[amyjoq]

This post kind of makes me sad…it is basically the last piece of our trip story, which means our trip is really complete.

DD and I had gone back to POFQ so she could have one of their Caesar salads which are her favorite. GG had come over to our room to ice her leg and visit with us. S was with H and M at HS while SS and MS were still at MK.

After eating, DD and I had a seemingly solid plan. We would return to MK with our anytime LL - ride the train all the way around the park - something I’ve wanted to do since DD was 5 (that’s the last time we rode the train). We would use our anytime LL on BTMR and hopefully ride Peter Pans flight. GG stayed back to rest.

Our ride back to MK was pretty uneventful yet slightly entertaining. While waiting a group came up who had just been at POFQ for the Beignets - who can blame them - and looked to be about middle school age with a couple of teachers. We were sitting on a bench and one of the teachers joined us while some of her students sat at the benches around us.

One student drank someone’s water then threw it away very dramatically when she realized it wasn’t hers - then apologized profusely to her friend whose water it happened to be. A boy was called repeatedly because he had her phone and charger but no one knew where he was (he was with the other teacher and group). The other group arrived and crisis was averted. The teachers sat back on their phones as if not paying attention at all but as a fellow teacher, I recognized just how much they actually were taking it all in…calmly. A former middle school teacher myself (I’m now at the high school level) I silently applauded them.

Turns out one of the teachers had twisted her ankle and had informed the bus driver. When we arrived at MK, the bus pulled up as close to security as he could while several security officers headed to the bus to assist. We were thankful for the short walk, wished her well, and was on our way back through security for the third time that day.

As previously mentioned…I had a plan. We immediately went up the steps to hop on the train that happened to be waiting there - clearly waiting just for us. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride over to Frontierland. As we waited for passengers to exit and enter, I went on Genie + and secured a LL for BTMR.

In my head I thought we could use our anytime LL on PPF and then head over to BTMR to use the newly obtained LL. I texted SS to see where they were and if MS wanted to ride with us. They were in Fantasyland were going to ride all the girls favorites. They asked us if we wanted to join them … yes we did!

I then read all the anytime LL rules and I could not use it on PPF so I changed our BTMR to Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor per DD suggestion.

We went ahead and got off the train at Fantasyland - I know, it wasn’t all the way around but plans change. I was happy for the ride we had gotten and when would I be at MK with my niece and her family again?

We thought they were at the Carousel but after walking all around it and not even finding their stroller parked, we got the text they were at IASW. The CM at IASW was really funny, I was obnoxiously waiving at SS from one end of IASW, the CM obnoxiously waived back and acted sad when she realized it was for SS and not her. I assured her I would wave at her too.

I do enjoy IASW but since DD wanted to ride it 5x almost in a row when she was 5…DH - who is not with us this trip - will not ride. I made sure to take lots of pictures for him. DD FaceTimed him from the ride - he heard the music, said NOPE, and hung up on her.




This section is my favorite. My first year teaching, my teaching partner was from Hawaii, these beautiful ladies always remind me of her.


N2 doesn’t seem interested in pictures… N1 has been well trained in all the phono taking since day one. This is us.

N2 let me take her hand and she led us up the ramp and out into the post rain air.
There is a running joke on both sides of my family (mine and my husbands) that besides my DD, kids don’t really take to me till they’re about 5 … then we are besties. I was just never a baby person - I think they can sense my nervousness. I did fine with my DD but honestly, did I really have a choice BUT to figure it all out.

Anywho…moments like this I cherish.

The look N2 is giving me…priceless.

We said our goodbyes for the trip. They went off to ride some more rides with the girls, DD and I headed towards Frontierland… We used our anytime LL on BTMR - ended up in the last row and we both laughed the entire ride. So glad it opened back up!

After … I had a snack to try for the very first time.

I shamefully did not get one our first trip, our next two trips involved some kind of careful food selection - the 2nd for GG and her then recent diverticulitis diagnosis, the 3rd my newly found dairy allergy (the colonoscopy had been done a week prior - WAY before the age I was supposed to have one - by at least 5 years but in colonoscopy years = a lifetime early).

In my food research it was determined that this snack was in fact, dairy free.
In no time, DD and I was in line and i was having my first sensational taste of this:

The Dole Whip! Oh my heaven…so amazing. I ate every bite of…the top. I couldn’t finish more than the top of this sensational treat. I savored every bite on our way to Tomorrowland.

Yes, we just crossed the park … again … twice. It’s what we do.

Just outside of Tomorrowland, the remaining Dole Whip was put to rest in a trash receptacle and we made our way to the Laugh Floor.

Turns out a LL was not necessary but it got us in the door right away and after following directions to fill every space, we ended up just a few families back from the theatre entrance.

I love this show - especially That Guy! For the first time, we were sitting right next to a guy and his daughter who became part of the show. Not close enough to be on screen but close enough to feel like part of the show.

Just a few minutes before the end of the show I got a text from SS asking if we were staying for fireworks, she had an amazing spot and there was room for us if we wanted to watch with them. DD and I had previously discussed that we would stay if we found a spot we didn’t feel overcrowded - otherwise we’d just go on some more ride with no lines.

Turns out, SS had a great spot, which DD and I may or may not have irritated more than one guest as we made our way over there - lots of ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘Excuse us please.‘. SS said she was along the path closest to the castle. We had never watched the fireworks from so close so we were unaware there was a path directly in front of the castle…we followed a smaller path through the crowd.


This is our unedited view.

I never dreamed we’d ever watch Happily Ever After so close!

Yes - I sang every word of Happily Ever After.

Yes - water overflowed from my eyes on multiple occasions.

N1 had on her noise reducing headphones and watched the whole show.
N2 fell asleep at the opening notes.

Lots of pics in next post…

 

[amyjoq]

Con’t from previous post…

DD took some pictures of her favorite scenes.






Once the show was over, the real challenge began…walking out of the park behind all these people. SS and MS had some shopping to do along the shops on main street so we gave our second goodbyes and safe travel hugs and separated at Caseys’ Corner.

I took some blurry pics on the way out:



I do love a good balloon pic.

I could not leave without taking this next picture. For 8 years I taught 8th grade (this past school year was my 9th year teaching and 1st year at the high school level). For 8 years I read The Kingdom Keepers with my students. We tracked the characters progress using maps of MK, riding along on rides using you tube videos, and plotting important events. This building plays an important part - Particularly Walt’s apartment on the second level.



We made our way slowly to the bus stop and was back at POFQ, drinks refilled, and setting our final ‘Goodnight’ on Hey Disney by 10:30. It was on this return trip to the resort that we discovered a shorter path from the busses to building 6 … always on the last day. It was nice this evening but I still prefer walking through the lobby.

We all had an early start towards home in the morning…

Up next…we head home and some final thoughts.

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

This is our unedited view.

Well dang! That’s an amazing view!

 

[amyjoq]

Well dang! That’s an amazing view!

Right! Our last view was from the train platform so quite the difference!

 

[Mary Pops In]

Oh Happy Day Part 2 : All the Disney Transportation…

We had enjoyed a really delicious breakfast at Ohana while starting DDs day off right…with a hug from Stitch!

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After cleaning up after T1 and T2 we made our way out of Ohana and over to the monorail. We would be spending most of our day at Epcot with no Genie+.

Our strategy was to head straight for Remi’s Ratatouille Adventure. We would meet SS and her family there. Again, the monorail CMs were amazing at helping GG onto and off with the ECV. Once we got through security - GG, DD, S, and I stopped at a restroom while H and M took the twins to change bottoms.

As we left the restroom, I may or may not have steered us wrong, got the ‘are you sure you know where you are going’ inquisition and got us back on the right path. The construction walls are confusing y’all. Before the confusion I did make sure to pause for a photo.

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We had to sit in the stroller parking for a bit waiting for H and M. Turned out to be a good thing as the wait time for RRA kept shrinking. When we left Ohana it was at 35min, when we entered Epcot it was at 90min, but by the time we all met up again, it was down to 60min - I think we were through the line and off at under 45 min.

MS had gone ahead and gotten in line, SS and the girls were going to join him when he got to the corner before you enter the building. The rest of us got in line behind the ECV - this was one ride you could drive the ECV all the way through the line, the CMs take it right before the loading area and move it to the exit. If you have someone in your party on a ECV or in a wheelchair - they go first and rest of the party follows.

This was a first for GG, DD and I - I loved it. I hadn’t seen too many spoilers so H was trying not to tell me too many things. He did make sure I paid attention to the bricks.

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DD and I both loved all the details through the queue line. Another great ride using the same technology advancements as MMRR - another one for the must do list.

While in line, there was this little boy who just loved playing with the twins, and they loved giggling at him. I notice his shirt - I asked if it was his birthday. He very proudly told me yes - that he was 6 today! I told him my birthday was Monday but we won’t discuss how old I am.

GG on the other hand told him she would say how old I was. He was very interested. She said, ‘She’s 69!’ I was shocked! He thought it was hilarious stating ‘yeah!’ over and over. Everyone around us thought it was just the funniest thing - I did make sure to correct that age - just a wee 48 thank you very much! H asked me if GG knew what 69 meant…dear child, you don’t want to know the things your grandma and her friends talked about at the bus garage.

We are Disney so we will move on…

After the ride - SS and MS had moved on, DD and I had a reservation to move onto which took several modes of transportation. We left the others to do what they would do.

We stopped at my favorite CS in all of Epcot - Rose and Crown Pub. We shared an order of fish and chips along with a Sprite and made our way to the monorail. In hindsight, I should have followed the directions on the confirmation email but whats the fun in that. I googled the fastest route and …this was not really it.

Some pics of the UK on our way through :
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Mode of Transportation #1 - Monorail to MKTTC. Here I ran into the restroom and changed into my jeans then BACK onto Monorail to MK.

Mode of Transportation #2 - Boat to Fort Wilderness Campground. In my search I read that the Tri-Circle-D Ranch is just a short walk from the boat ramp so this would be our quickest route…or so we thought.

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Off the boat at FW, we walked past the Trading Post, past the hall where you can watch the Hoop-Dee-Doo Review (I highly recommend - both show and meal are excellent), and found ourselves at a bus stop with 1 sign indicating this was the bus to MK.

For those keeping track … or not … we left Epcot at 12:30, it was now 1:50. Our reservation is at 2:00.

We walked BACK to the Trading Post and the kind CM laughed along with us when she told us the Tri-Circle-D Ranch was just across the street from the bus stop we were just at.

We walked BACK to the bus stop, walked just past and there it was! We were ON TIME!
We went in, asked where the check in was for the horse back riding…it’s at the FRONT of the resort (didn‘t know we were at the back). We had to get on the bus at the MK bus stop and get off at the front bus stop directly in front of the horse corral we needed to be at. It was at this point we learned FWC has their own busses running within the resort as well as those taking you off resort.

It was now 2:00.

We walked BACK to the bus stop, asked the nice bus driver if he was the right bus for where we needed to go. He was. We were the lone passengers on the bus that slowly made it’s way to the front of the resort, dropping us off in front of the corral where everyone else had their safety hats and were waiting to mount up.

We walked as quickly as we could to the building just to the right, apologized profusely for being 10 minutes late - they assured us it was no big deal. We signed our lives away and headed back to the corral.

NOW that we were properly geared and ready to ride, DD was given Forrest while I rode Cowboy. This was so worth all the different modes of transportation. It was so relaxing - Cowboy knew exactly what to do and where to go - I only had to pull him back a few times from just about going up Forrest back end.

I’ve never explored FWC before, this ride lets you see the cabins and some of the camp sites. One little boy was really excited to see the horses ride by, he yelled for his dad multiple times and then we heard ‘You missed it again!’.

The CM who rode with us (one of 4) talked to DD about where she worked and what she did for the horses at her clinic and gave her valuable information on the DCP - the Tri-Circle-D CMs are full time, with the DCP turn around, they do not participate - too much to train to turn over that quickly. She did encourage DD to talk to the TCD manager when she did finally participate in the DCP - with her experience, you never what what he might do.

DD and I were directed to hold Cowboy and Forrest in the center of the corral as we were last in line. Cowboy was not having it, he knew his job, knew he was supposed to follow the others to be rid of me so he could get washed off and fed, but he gave in and let us get this pic:
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An experience we really enjoyed - if you decide to do this, just know it’s a lot of time out of your day. We left Epcot at 12:30 and it was now after 3. In the future I would have reserved it earlier in the day - I kept putting it off and this ended up being our only option two weeks out.

With breakfast at Ohana and now horse back riding, DDs vacation was complete. She did not care what we did next. I kind of did, I had a mission - I was not leaving WDW without riding Soarin! We hopped on the first bus that came - it took us back to the other side of the resort where we grabbed some cold drinks at the Trading Post and made our way back to Epcot.

More on that next time.

Several years back, my kids went horseback riding at Tri-Cirle-D and enjoyed themselves. I took photos then headed to the Mercantile to shop then back to pick them up. I don't remember their ages, but they were happy I wasn't riding with them. We finished the day at Hoop Dee Doo for a fun show.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I’ve really enjoyed your report!

My daughter and I did the bike ride at BWV when she was 12. We made it around our loop (which also has an incline/hill) but maaaannn there was a moment where I thought about getting out and pushing that thing! Lol. I was profusely sweating and it was also right after freshening up. I truly didn’t think we would make it but we did. It was hilarious and a great memory.