50 and fabulous - A November, 2021 trip report - Updated 08-12-22 - FINISHED

[Ruthie5671]

A fellow Kentuckian Here! Northern Kentucky, just 8ish Miles south of Cincinnati.
Great report so far, you two are cute and I adore your love of Disney!

We also drive and break it up into 2 days. We sometimes will stop in Warner Robins on our way down, sometimes Macon.
Can't wait to read more!
Dawn

Welcome aboard and thanks so much for reading! We always drive down, even when I was a kid. Valdosta has always and forever been our stopping point.

Just put up a new post.

 

[Bama Mom]

Oh my gosh. I can't believe I missed all these updates. I'm all caught up now.

Glad you were able to get a new scooter with no issues. You're right about the "landing/stopping" of the skyliner. It is bumpy for sure. It also always looks like the one behind you is going to crash into you when it comes in so fast.

 

[gopherdame]

Hi Ruthie. I was looking for trip reports to read. I remember reading a report of yours before and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Ruthie5671]

EPCOT - continued . . .
​

When we last left off, I had released my death grip on the Flying Tin of Death - AKA the Sky Liner - and we had arrived at the international gateway. It was so nice to tap our magic bands and see the Mickey head turn green. We have arrived! Vacation has begun.

And boy oh boy was it crowded! I expected it to be crowded because it was the last week of Food and Wine. But the lines for the food booths were quite lengthy! So we stuck with our plan and dodged and weaved the crowds and made our way to the front of the park. We had to do Tony's favorite ride first - Soarin'. This ride is not friendly for us super fluffy gals (I've tried) so I sent Tony on down the runway to soar over the world and I just hung back and did one of my favorite things at Disney - people watch! It was amazing to see so many people who had questions about the Lightening Lane and Genie Plus (neither of which we purchased). It was also admirable to see the Cast Members have so much patience with those guests who were clearly not using those things correctly and were basically demanding to be let in the faster line. I'm not sure that I would not have blown my top - but that's not very magical.

After Tony was done with Soarin', we went to ride one of my favorites - Living with the Land. I know there are some people who find this ride dull, but being a person who cannot grow plants, I find it all amazing. Surprisingly, the line for this line was longer than normal. Well, maybe not surprisingly given the crowds, so it took about 20 minutes to get thru the ride. Tony was talking to all of his fans admiring his ECV and I struck up a conversation with an adorable 8 year old girl that was amazed that I had a purple shirt that matched my purple magic band. We talked fashion - it was fabulous. Once getting to the boat, I asked the CM if we could wait for the boat that was wheelchair accessible. This ride has a pretty steep step down, and I knew that if I made it down, I would have to live there. Forever. On the wheelchair accessible boat, Tony gets into a manual wheelchair and gets pushed on and there is a seat that is a normal height for me to sit in. It works perfectly and it is so much easier to get in and out.

Once we were all finished up Living with the Land, we headed outside and started back towards the eating and drinking. But we had to make a quick stop first.



Yes, Figment. He's just adorable. Even Tony likes this ride. I decided to stay in my ECV for this ride. I find the door a little narrow to enter so I asked to stay in my ECV and there was a car that was able to accommodate that with no problem. This line was quick, so once we finished up here it was time to start drinking. And eating!

We wandered around a little bit and tried to find a line that wasn't knee deep. Our first stop was the "Noodle Exchange". Although it was sunny, it was a little cool out and some ramen sounded perfect. Since the servings were small, we decided to get two bowls and share. We got pork udon and coconut shrimp curry with rice noodles. Each booth had a large menu in the front so you could decide what to order prior to getting to the front. I sent Tony off to find a table and I went thru the line. I'm not usually a fan of pork, but the meat was tender and the broth was warm and yummy. Now let me tell you about the shrimp. SPICY!!!! I wasn't even thinking that curry would equal burn your throat and make your tummy gurgle. But dang it was so good. Ultimately Tony ate most of the pork bowl because the spice was too much for him. I ate most of it until most of the spice settled to the bottom of the bowl. That was just liquid heat and I was done. We needed a drink. So the next stop was the "Swanky Saucy Swine" and we ordered a bourbon bloody mary. This drink was something that deserved a picture!



This drink was something else. It was served in a huge mason jar and was topped with candied bacon and the rim was lined with barbeque flavored salt. The only down part was the paper straw. It did not hold up well to the alcohol. And I could taste the alcohol! It was definitely yummy!

Our next stop was to do a bit of shopping as I was on a mission. But I was distracted by a rolly polly ole bear.





He was out catching butterflies. It was so adorable. I might have teared up a little bit. Yes, friends, I'm that person who cries when I see adorable children, parades, fireworks, whatever is sentimental.

My mission was to visit the jolly ole land of England to try and find some perfume. I absolutely love the smell of Yardley Lavender and I can never find the perfume. But I knew where I could find it and I was successful. My first official gift for me. Afterwards Tony decided that he saw something he couldn't refuse.



There are no words for him.

And of course I had to snap a picture of the beautiful Christmas tree.



Up next - more food, more drinks, more pictures!

 

[Ruthie5671]

Oh my gosh. I can't believe I missed all these updates. I'm all caught up now.

Glad you were able to get a new scooter with no issues. You're right about the "landing/stopping" of the skyliner. It is bumpy for sure. It also always looks like the one behind you is going to crash into you when it comes in so fast.

Glad you're all caught up. We haven't gotten very far into the trip! There is so much more to look forward to. And yes, the "landing/stopping" scared the crap out of me the first few times. They should really warn you that it is an abrupt stop. Once I realized I had to brace myself - and close my eyes - it was slightly more okay. But not by much.

Hi Ruthie. I was looking for trip reports to read. I remember reading a report of yours before and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading more.

Welcome to the party! Glad that my constant rambling isn't driving people away in droves. I write like I talk, which can be nonstop! I just put up a new post.

 

[Maria Rose]

Hi Ruthie, Really enjoying your report, can't wait for more!

 

[Ruthie5671]

EPCOT - continued . . .
​

When we last left off, Tony and I had polished off the bloody mary and was ready to head towards Mexico for a margarita. It was getting a little later in the day (remember we had the bumpy start with the sick ECV) and the crowds were heavier as the day wore on. This was a random Monday in November folks. Go to work - get out of my way! As we rounded the corner to the Mexico area, the line for margaritas was ridiculous, so we took a hard pass. We knew that we had another day planned for EPCOT at the end of the week, so whatever we didn't get done today, we would catch later.

Or would we? Some plans don't actually happen.

But I digress . . .

We came around to the booth from China and the line wasn't too bad, so I hopped in. I got us an order of beef bou buns, vegetable dumplings and a dragon fly beer. The food was excellent but I wish the portions were a little bit larger. We were getting hungry and drinking more than we were eating. All of the lines were so long and I just wasn't inspired to wait in line for food I was kind of "meh" about. Anyway, the China food was really good, but I didn't care for the beer. Tony liked it and he was a happy camper. Still no food pictures, but how about a nice sunset picture of Spaceship Earth?



It was about this time when I saw the France area on the horizon that I had forgotten to get into the virtual que for Remy's. I should have put a reminder on my phone, but I didn't. And at this point, the app was literally laughing at me when I tried to get into the que. I was irritated with myself at this point, so let's find more to drink! In Germany! We got an apple strudel and a wild cherry beer. This was the best choice of the day. The strudel was hot and had a vanilla sauce on top and the beer was sweet and an excellent compliment to the dessert.

At this point, it was getting dark and Tony and I needed to come up with a plan for the remainder of the evening. Remy's was not an option (boo) but I wanted to take some photo pass pictures (shocker) and check out the Spaceship Earth light show. We were also several hours away from fireworks, and since we still had another day in EPCOT, we decided not to wait around that night and catch it later. But the first order of business was the orange slushy from France. Have you had one of these? It is just delicious and served in a plastic champagne glass which makes you feel all fancy. We were feeling a little bit of the alcohol at this point. Yes, we're wimpy and clearly don't drink much.



This is the jacket that Tony bought the previous day. He loved it!



This is Tony's "I cannot smile one more time" face!





I'm obsessed with Spaceship Earth pictures. We poked around some of the shops as Tony was on the hunt for a new 50th anniversary laynard. He finally found one in the photo shop by Spaceship Earth.

Can I just stop for a minute and say how disappointed I was in the lack of 50th anniversary merchandise? I wasn't looking for anything specific, but I wanted something cool and interesting. What was there was picked over or just very little in stock. Even when I look now on Shop Disney most everything is sold out. It was kind of a bummer.

At this point, we were getting tired and decided to call it a night and head back to the resort. Of course that meant another trip on the Flying Tin of Death. At night.

Good thing I had been drinking.

We made our way back to the resort and decided to just run to the food court for some quick bites to take back to the room. I grabbed some fruit, a cheeseburger for us to share and a cupcake. Nothing fancy, but just enough to hit the spot. It wasn't the most perfect first day in EPCOT, but we saw a lot, drank a lot and had a lot of fun.

Up next - Animal Kingdom!

 

[Ruthie5671]

Hi Ruthie, Really enjoying your report, can't wait for more!

Hi Maria and welcome! I'm glad you're reading along and I just put up another post.

 

[rdkeim]

All in all sounds like a good day in Epcot! Lots of good food and drinks. Crowds are so annoying. No one wants to spend all their time waiting in lines. But, sounds like you didn't let it ruin your day. Anxious to hear about your day in AK!

 

[JWeston8716]

Hi Ruthie, I haven't been on here in the last few months, and I was very excited to find you had a new trip report. I'm mostly a lurker here, but I really love reading your reports. My kids and I stayed at Art of Animation for a week this past June and we loved the convenience of the Skyliner, but if you have a fear of heights, I can imagine how terrifying it is, especially when it's often the only option for transportation! We tried to outrun a thunderstorm one evening, to get to a dinner reservation at Teppan Edo, and ended up getting evacuated at the Riviera in massive wind and rain. I can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[Ruthie5671]

Animal Kingdom
​

We woke up to a beautifully warm and sunny day. So far, we had two consecutive days of good weather. If you know our luck with Disney weather, this was nothing short of a miracle. Today was our Animal Kingdom day. This is a park that I have fallen in love with and enjoy feeling like I'm completely immersed in all things "Africa" and "Asia". We had slept in a little bit (we are not early morning/rope drop kind of people) and just took our time getting ready. For some reason, I didn't sleep well. The beds were comfortable, but I was very restless and in desperate need of caffeine first thing! Thankfully, we took a bus to AK, so we didn't have to experience the Flying Tin of Death today. We went to the food court for my oh so needed Diet Coke and noticed they had put up the Christmas tree overnight. Of course, I needed to take a picture.



We went outside to get in line for the bus to find this madness . . . .



No, not my husband wearing white socks with black shoes and black pants. The fashion police will be after him shortly.

The mile long line of ECV's waiting for a bus to AK. I asked the lady in front of us how long she had been waiting and she said at least 30 minutes and that at least one charter bus had come that couldn't accommodate ECV's. Considering we needed at least three more busses to come so that Tony and I could get to our destination, I went back into the lobby and talked to a cast member to see if they could rustle up some more busses for us. They promised to work on it. Shortly thereafter, several busses arrived in pretty quick order. There's no point in just waiting around forever. A nice smile and a simple "please and thank you" to a cast member goes a long way.

We arrived at AK and took care of necessary bathroom business and was ready to start the day. First thing of course was some PP pictures.



We have the weirdest faces for magic shots.



This one is better. And honestly, when I was looking at these pictures last night was the first time I noticed the animal shaped clouds. Cool effect.



After I subjected Tony to this torture, we moved onto my most favorite show - "Festival of the Lion King". I love, love, love this show. The music gives me all the feels and I may or may not shed a tear. Okay I do - but you do too! By the time we got there, we had just missed a show starting. But it was fine, as waiting in line doesn't bother me. And we were very close to the front of the line, which would guarantee us a great seat. Now I had heard that the show had changed somewhat, but I was ready to embrace the new show.



Yep, we were in the front row. The lights dimmed and the music started and it was just so magical.





I need to upload more pictures, so I'll leave you here wanting more!

Up next - more Festival of the Lion King and a wild safari ride.

 

[Ruthie5671]

All in all sounds like a good day in Epcot! Lots of good food and drinks. Crowds are so annoying. No one wants to spend all their time waiting in lines. But, sounds like you didn't let it ruin your day. Anxious to hear about your day in AK!

What I find weird about me is that I don't mind waiting line for a ride that has a long line, but waiting for food or drinks in a long line bugs me. And trying to maneuver an ECV in crazy crowds can be a challenge. We did have a good EPCOT day. I wish we had done more! I just posted the start of our AK day.

Hi Ruthie, I haven't been on here in the last few months, and I was very excited to find you had a new trip report. I'm mostly a lurker here, but I really love reading your reports. My kids and I stayed at Art of Animation for a week this past June and we loved the convenience of the Skyliner, but if you have a fear of heights, I can imagine how terrifying it is, especially when it's often the only option for transportation! We tried to outrun a thunderstorm one evening, to get to a dinner reservation at Teppan Edo, and ended up getting evacuated at the Riviera in massive wind and rain. I can't wait to read more about your trip!

Welcome back and I'm so glad you found my trip report! Yes, my fear of the Flying Tin of Death was a real thing. I eventually calmed down as the trip went on, but I still cringed and closed my eyes as we came in for a landing - it is so jerky. I just wrote a new post about the beginning of our AK day!

 

[rdkeim]

How magical you woke up to see the Christmas tree! Nice you were able to see Festival OFLK. What did you think of the new version? Hope the rest of your AK day was great!

 

[gopherdame]

It is so nice seeing the decorations. We went in Dec. right before Christmas. My daughter is a teacher in a different school district than her kids. It is the only time they have the same break time. It was so busy! We rent a house so most days we went home for a break. Since we had our own private pool we all enjoyed going back to swim. I also don't like how the skyliner comes in so fast. I think I always hold my breath, lol.

 

[GDubDIS]

Really enjoying following along with your trip - looking forward to more!

 

[Disneylvr]

Where did you get your lovely top/dress that you wore to AK? Love the blue and green. I'm really enjoy your latest report!!!

 

[Ruthie5671]

Animal Kingdom - continued . . . .
​

When we last left off, I was singing loudly and proudly to all of the fabulous songs at the show "Festival of the Lion King". To those who were sitting around me, I apologize. But when the music is there, I must sing along! Since we had the fabulous front row seats, I got some awesome, up close pictures.











And all too soon, the show was over and we headed out. Now I know there are people who are disappointed in the new FoLK. However, even though I missed the tumble monkeys, it was so good to see this show back in action. The talent these cast members have is overwhelming. I feel swept up in the music and forget for about 20 minutes that I'm in an amusement park in central Florida. But isn't that the magic of being there?

After the show, we headed over to Kilimanjaro Safari. It was literally right next door. Historically we always had fast passes for this ride and would just zip in the FP line and be on super quick.

Not this trip. I had decided before leaving that we weren't going to pay for lightening lanes or Genie + or whatever else was being offered to get in the shortened line. So we got in the normal people line. And although it moved steadily, it took over an hour to get to the ride vehicle. We were able to ride our ECV's thru the que and park them in the "ECV parking lot" and board the ride. We also waited for the vehicle that had a ramp so that it was easier for me to walk into the ride without the big step up or down. I appreciate that the cast member asked us if we wanted to wait for that specific ride vehicle instead of me asking. But I would have asked anyway. Don't be shy friends!







I enjoy this ride quite a bit. Our driver was very knowledgeable and we were able to see all the usual animals that are spotted on the ride. My favorite, without a doubt, is the giraffe.



I don't know what it is about giraffes, but I feel like they are my spirit animal. I have been on this ride before where the giraffe is so close to the ride vehicle that I could outstretch my hand and pet their head. This time the giraffe was much too busy having lunch to be bothered with the people looking at her. I didn't take any other safari pictures, because I just wanted to enjoy the ride. And unless the vehicle is completely stopped, the pictures are always bumpy and blurry.

Once our safari ride came to an end, Tony and I decided we needed a snack. We had a dinner reservation for later (where will we go??) so we didn't want to eat a full meal. But there is always room for a Mickey pretzel and cheese dip. No pictures but trust me, it hit the spot.

Our next destination was also right in the area. We decided to take the train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. We had never been over there (weird I know) so in the spirit of doing new things, that was our next stop. We took the path over to the train station and hopped the train. After getting off the train, there was a long path to get over to the area that had the animal petting area and the indoor animal viewing area and some kind of "draw with me" program. Let me just say, this area was a disappointment. The cast member said that ECV's were not allowed in the animal petting area and that was the primary reason I wanted to go over there. We went in the indoor animal viewing area and looked at creepy crawling critters and snakes. Ewwww and no thank you. However, there were several little kids in front of us who were enthralled at all the animals in there and wanted to know if they could be taken home. The parents look thrilled. One bonus of the indoor area - very nice bathroom area. We walked back down the path and to the train area and took the train back to the mainland.

Up next - let's go fly a kite!

#50andfabulous

 

[Ruthie5671]

How magical you woke up to see the Christmas tree! Nice you were able to see Festival OFLK. What did you think of the new version? Hope the rest of your AK day was great!

It was very cool to see the tree just pop up out of nowhere. The elves must have been very busy! I enjoyed the new version of FoLK. Quite honestly, the cast members could sit in a chair and sing the songs to the show and I would be happy!

It is so nice seeing the decorations. We went in Dec. right before Christmas. My daughter is a teacher in a different school district than her kids. It is the only time they have the same break time. It was so busy! We rent a house so most days we went home for a break. Since we had our own private pool we all enjoyed going back to swim. I also don't like how the skyliner comes in so fast. I think I always hold my breath, lol.

The time of year we went is probably as close to the Christmas/New Year holidays as I want to get. Being elbow to elbow with people is a little too much. And yes, the Sky Liner does have an abrupt stop. I never got used to that part.

Really enjoying following along with your trip - looking forward to more!

Welcome to my trip report! Glad to know you're enjoying it. I just put up a new post.

Where did you get your lovely top/dress that you wore to AK? Love the blue and green. I'm really enjoy your latest report!!!

So glad you're enjoying my report. I enjoy reliving the trip and mentally plan the next one. The top is really a dress from Lane Bryant. I like wearing dresses as tops because they are long and flowy!

 

[cccory]

What a great trip report. Looks like you had an amazing time.

 

[Ruthie5671]

Animal Kingdom - continued . . .
​

When we last left off, we had completed the animal watching, train riding and singing along with my most favorite musical. I am bummed that there are still several shows that have not come back yet, but there was a new show that I had not seen yet.

Kite Tails

Now I know this show has gotten mixed reviews. Some think it's boring and weird. Other's think it's pretty fabulous. It was a beautiful day and the show time was getting close, so we headed in that direction. Upon arrival the nice CM pointed us in the direction of the ECV seating and by the looks of the kite balloons, we were seeing the Lion King show.

Perfect! I needed more people to hear me sing!

But before I got to sing again, we had a few character cavalcades floating by.







I enjoyed the calvacades. I think Santa got more applause than Mickey!

Then there were CM's who were dancing around to the tunes of "Little Mermaid". A nice tip of the hat to a show that hasn't come back just yet. They had hand puppets and the kids were able to come down and interact. It was fun.

The show began shortly thereafter. Kites were flying. Balloons were airborne. Boats were speeding around.









I'll be honest - I liked the show. Would I go back and see it again? Maybe - if I could see the other version, which is Jungle Book (I think). Not even close to cracking my top five favorite shows, but if there's an opportunity for me to sing, you know I'm going to take it!

Our next stop was another area of Animal Kingdom that we had never ventured over to - Pandora! The two rides over there, Naavi River and Flight of Passage, are not really interesting to me. My fluffiness will not allow me to ride Flight of Passage and a sleepy, slow boat ride with a super long line doesn't make me jump up and down either. Tony was very excited to ride Flight of Passage, so I found a comfortable spot along the rails with the other non-riders and sent Tony into a line that eventually took him 90 minutes to get thru. It was a long, long wait for me. I talked to people around me. Found a bathroom. Got a drink. Passed the time as best I could. When Tony finally popped out of the ride, he claimed it to be "almost as good as Soarin'" and he explained all the details of the ride to me. We took a hard pass on Naavi River. The time posted for the ride was 60 minutes and we had a dinner reservation to get to. It was getting dusk and all the little twinkle lights on the ground in Pandora were starting to come alive. It was pretty cool to see.

Up next - wrapping up Animal Kingdom!

#50andfabulous