Balancing Parks, Rest and Birthdays! A July 2023 Trip Report

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Woohoo! The one time we ate there we were sat as far away from the windows as possible. Glad you got the window for your birthday!!

It was the first time for us and it was def nice but I don't think you NEED it, if that makes sense...

Ok, this was one of my favorite TR updates of all time. It had everything. It had a birthday lunch at Sanaa. It had Sanaa butter chicken. It had a candle stuck in naan bread to make a naan birthday cake. It had macaroni and cheese with not one but TWO sides of grapes. It had Gwen's amazing note to your waitress, thanking her for coming through with said requests for two sides of grapes. 10/10 no notes

Ha! It was perfect all around!

Ditto everything @Newsies said above!
Couldn’t say it any better myself. Fab update!

Thanks! It was a great lunch.

agree and Happy Birthday! Back in July. My Birthday is July as well. Th

I always loved having my birthday in July expect for my next update... the Florida heat is no joke!!!

Nomad Lounge is always fun! I always sit outside...I've never been inside yet!

We are the opposite!!!

The first Dismeet I ever had was with Kari and Casey...I think Casey was only 3 or 4?

Amazing! tiny Casey.... They are so big now!

 

[amazingact21]

Amazing lunch! Love the candle in the naan bread.

 

[DLo]

Took a little break from the Dis but back and following along . Looking forward to reading more.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Seven: My Birthday! 4 Parks in 1 Day! Hollywood Studios Edition!

We walked up to the gate right at 2:00 PM:
Hollywood Blvd
We were exactly on time!
At security, Andy got pulled aside again, but it was quick with it being the middle of the day.

We had time before our first LL, and we kind of wanted to just find a place to relax some more. So, we talked about going to 50’s Prime Time Lounge for a drink.

But first we grabbed a Photopass photo on the way in.

First CM we stopped at was taking photo facing toward the entrance. Didn’t realize till we already asked for the photos.
Photo Pass

Photo Pass

Photo Pass
They were fine but it's not an intresting background...

Balloons
We did get a balloon shot...

We stopped for a second CM to get a photo facing the Chinese Theater. This guy seemed almost bothered by taking our photos. Didn’t think the photos would be good but they actually weren’t that bad.

Photo Pass Photo HS

Photo Pass

Photo Pass Photo HS
After getting a Photo Pass Photo #2 CHECK

Gwen's Official Park Photo
Gwen also decided this was a good place for her park photo #2 CHECK

We headed to 50’s and went into the lounge and there were people everywhere! People sitting on the floor, all just trying to find some shade and air conditioning. We could have gotten drinks but there really wasn't anywhere to even stand and wait for a chair. And I was banking on not getting one, So, we decided against that.

We decided to check out the new Indiana Jones area and see what the drinks were.
Indiana Jones "Bar"

Indiana Jones Memorbilia
We looked at the few items they had. The girls weren't really intrested in the stuff in there.

Indiana Jones
But since there was no where to actually sit, I passed on a drink in here.

We popped into Baseline, hoping maybe there was a seat open inside. Which there wasn’t, and we weren’t hungry yet, so we decided to move on. See a pattern here...

It was soooo hot today, and we realized that there wasn't a ton of places to just relax in Hollywood Studios. We also realized that our strategy of heading back each day after lunch was SMART!!!

Star tours had a short wait, so we headed there, we figured we would at least be inside.

Around 2:20, we headed in! We didn't wait that long.
Start Tours by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr
I wore my ears on the ride and I DID NOT get to be the Rebel Spy.... Just saying....

Star Tours
But we did get Darth Vader, so I was happy.

By the time we were done, we were able to head over to our first LL!

2:40 we were headed into Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.
MMRR Ready to Ride
While waiting we talked about what to do for food here. We were struggling with what to get. Most of the snacks wouldn’t give us a place to sit out of the sun and honestly we weren't hungry. I mean we just ate.

Ride #2 CHECK

MMRR
MMRR was great as always. I know people miss Great Movie Ride but we only rode it once before it closed, so we don't have the attachment other people have.

We had one more LL to use. So around 3:10, we were headed into Toy Story Mania.
Toy Story Mania

Toy Story Mania
Ready to go!

Gwen asked us all to try and get 100% accuracy this time around. We all agreed to give it a go....
Toy Story Mania
I am not sure which is Andy and which is Morgan, but they both managed to get 100%.

Toy Story Mania
And then this is Gwen and me.... I did NOT get 100% accuracy. But I think I gave up at some point cause I was just not having fun trying to be accurate. cause I sucked at it! ha!

We finally decided to just do Woody’s Lunch Box for a pop tart. We talked about getting Blue and Green Milk but we didn’t want to walk into Galaxy’s Edge. It felt like it was out of the way and going to be hot.

I made a mobile order while we were in line to pick up after we rode.

Around 3:30 we grabbed our mobile order from Woody’s Lunch box and tried to find a place to sit for a few minutes...

Hot Morgan

We ended up sitting on benches right when you come out of Toy Story Land, kind of in the main plaza area. It wasn't shaded but we could sit. I swear, if there was a spot to sit and air conditioned or shaded it was taken!

For food, we decided to split a:
Pop Tart
Fourth of July Lunch Box Tart
Cherry filling stuffed Pastry coated in a Blue Fondant and Crispy Pearls
This was just ok. I choose it because I love cherry pie but every time we get one of these we always think that there is too much pastry and not enough filling. We split it 4 ways and I don't think I even finished my part...

2 Bottles of Water for each of the girls
Water!!!

Diet Coke for Andy
Trying to rest

I ordered my favorite for HS... the Grown-Up's Lemonade
Adult Lemonade
Cherry Vodka, Minute Maid® Premium Lemonade, and Black Cherry Purée
The lemonade makes it not too heavy like a beer. And on this hot day that was good. But I almost didn't finish it, It was just so hot! Which is crazy to me to even say that!

Food and Drink #2 CHECK

With all of our items completed, we started walking towards the exit. We just needed to find shade! And it wasn't going to happen in Hollywood Studios! We just needed to get to EPCOT and to somewhere out of the sun ASAP!

We were in Hollywood Studios for 2 hours almost exactly.

Park #2
Rides: 3 Star Tours, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway and Toy Story Mania (7 Total so far)
Photo Pass Photo: Chinese Theatre
Individual Photo: Gwen with Sign
Food / Snack: Grownup Lemonade & Cherry Pop Tart

Up next EPCOT!!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I would so order my own bread service at Sanaa. Well done

 

[jrmint427]

We popped into Baseline, hoping maybe there was a seat open inside. Which there wasn’t, and we weren’t hungry yet, so we decided to move on. See a pattern here...

It was soooo hot today, and we realized that there wasn't a ton of places to just relax in Hollywood Studios. We also realized that our strategy of heading back each day after lunch was SMART!!!

A few of the parks could use additional A/C spots! It’s frustrating when you just need a cool place to sit. I learned with the heat last summer that a cool break in the afternoon was a must. I love Woody’s pop tarts, that was a good choice for a snack at HS!

 

[piglet1979]

Morgan is now 15 soon to be 16. She is not looking forward to learning how to drive. Possibly the only 15 year only to do not want to drive.

My youngest was like this until she started to realize the freedom she would have. It was really up in the air on if she would get her temps until she was 15 and a half (when they can get temps here). It did take her for ever to get her classes done. She has her license now and only drives if she wants to. She still has me take her to the store.

Life has been busy, and I wanted to share some fun real life news. Morgan has been SUPER busy with Marching Band. Here in South Jersey, marching band is serious stuff! They get a Varsity letter for it! We are entrering Championship season as number 1 for our group! They have managed to get 1st place at all 4 of there competitions so far!!! They have been working really hard and the seeing the results! I am actually headed to there 2nd competition for the weekend tonight! (it was postponed due to weather) Fingers crossed for another win tonight!!!

Congrats on the wins. Competition band is so much fun. I was in ours in high school.

I am also worried that next Spring Break might need to be visiting colleges, and we might not go next year! EEAk!

I missed being able to do this with our son last year because his marching band was in Disney for spring break. I will be doing it this year with our daughter. Once you start doing college visits the time just flies.

I guess I should say up front that Gwen actually has a lot of anxiety.

My daughter has anxiety too. Hers seems to be more social and in large crowds. She doesn't like chaos. It is so hard knowing you need to just let them get it out and not being able to help.

She doesn’t like to wear headbands with her glasses.

Me either. They just don't fit right with glasses.

Gwen is also full on musical rehearsal, which has become a bunch of me driving in cirlces dropping off and picking the girls up. But I will say, I love it. It stresses me out but I do love it. I know I will weirdly miss it once it's over.

I complained a lot about driving the kids everywhere. I used to spend most of my time in the car. Now with both driving, I miss it some days. I miss taking their friends and being able to see how they are doing. I miss when it was just me and one of the kids and the talks we would have. Just not on long trips. They sleep the whole time. You will miss this time but also love the time you get back.

We have heated debates about pasta shapes in our house.

My daughter only wants specific ones and it changes but she doesn't tell me so I get the same was I getting then she gets mad. Right now she in on elbow noodles. For awhile though it was ditalini. I just started making my own pasta so she really wants this more often.

 

[vamassey1]

Finally around 5:30, we passed by the accident! It's hard to see in the picture, but the car was burnt to a crisp!

We got stuck behind an accident once and it took a really long time. We were lucky and just missed doing some resort touring. Being late for HDDR would have drove me nuts too.

We made it to Fort Wilderness at 6:05! 10 minutes to spare!!!

That was close!

So, thing we did not realize... you need to eat while the show is happening... Don't wait for breaks. You won't get enough time.

We had a hard time with this too. We sat right up next to the stage and I felt like it was rude to eat while they were performing right in front of me.

At some point, they want you to wave your napkins... The teens at the table weren't into it...

Of course, but when they are young adults hopefully this will change. Danielle loved it played right along.

Since we didn't have chance, we snapped a group photo after dinner.

Great group photo.

There was a crazy storm that came through or was coming through so the sky had a cool coloring to it.
Untitled

Very nice family photo and the sky does look really cool.

Last time we saw Hoop to Doo Review..

Love the photo comparison.

 

[vamassey1]

I went back and forth on what to do today. I had thought about doing a rest day, and renting a cabana or something but when we decided to stay at Caribbean Beach, that was out the window. So, I decided on the next logical thing... 4 parks in 1 day!!!

I love your idea for your birthday!

I made myself an in-room mimosa. I had brought individual bottles of champagne with me from home. And used the orange juice I had gotten the night before. Of course I had to drink it out of a paper cup.

Of course it's only orange juice in that paper cup.

“Tinkerbell” left shirts for everyone, we each had a shirt for one of the 4 parks we were going to that day.

This was a really good idea too.

Great photo of everyone!

I did one of just Morgan for her photo with her shirt.

I like Morgan's photo too.

Grabbed Tiger Tails for both girls. And they inhaled them before we even made it to the ride.

Love the Cheshire Cat tails so I need to get this one too. You always find the best snacks.

Rope Dropping Nomad Lounge!

This is something else I need to do. Hopefully on our Girl's Trip in April.

Waiter brought out a small piece of cheesecake for my birthday. It was actually really goo

Perfect!

I ordered my bread service. And Gwen followed the Kari's direction and asked the waitress to put a candle in the bread service. The waitress was def surprised at first but was more than willing to.

That's great that Gwen followed through.

Gwen left the waitress a wooden coin since we granted her requests.
CM Thank you

Sweet note! I have some of these coins too.

 

[vamassey1]

We stopped for a second CM to get a photo facing the Chinese Theater. This guy seemed almost bothered by taking our photos. Didn’t think the photos would be good but they actually weren’t that bad.

Good for you getting what you wanted. I'm guessing your photographer was feeling the heat too.

Gwen also decided this was a good place for her park photo #2 CHECK

Cute photo. She matches the sky and it's in the shade.

It was soooo hot today, and we realized that there wasn't a ton of places to just relax in Hollywood Studios. We also realized that our strategy of heading back each day after lunch was SMART!!!

I find Studios to be the Hottest Park. There is just no shade.

Gwen asked us all to try and get 100% accuracy this time around. We all agreed to give it a go....

I congratulate you on 3 of 4 getting the accuracy,. I would have been like you and given up.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Day Seven: My Birthday! 4 Parks in 1 Day! EPCOT Edition!

I left us off escaping Hollywood Studios! We were on the Skyliner to EPCOT around 4:00. We talked about taking the boat but there wasn't any at the dock, so we just went with the Skyliner.
Skyliner Chillin'
The good news was we were in fairly good spirits considering how hot HS was. And we were basically ahead of schedule.

Skyliner EXHAUSTED
Ok, maybe Gwen was a little tired.

We made the switch at Caribean Beach with no problem.
Skyliner Ride

It was about 4:25 when we got to EPCOT. We really didn't wait anywhere, so it is about a 20 minute ride to Caribean Beach, transfer and then to EPCOT.

We scanned in and headed straight to the land pavilion to get some air conditioning and rides.
It was a long walk but we just kept saying that once we got there we would be able to stay in there for awhile.

Our LL was ready for Soarin once we were in the land. We used the rest room and headed in to use our LL.
Soarin'

We were sent down a row fairly quickly but the row we were in, didn’t seem to move very much and there is no cell service and it was warm in that hallway.

I wanted to make another LL but couldn’t until we left. What is with that part of the building?!?

Around 5, we finally ready to go in for Soarin. Soarin was excellent as always.

Headed to ride living with the land. There was of course no wait. Morgan did not want to ride but did just because it was at least air conditioning, no wait and my birthday.
Living with the Land

5:15 PM: Living with Land
Ready to ride Living with teh Land

It was bout 5:15 when we got on a boat and we then sat. And sat… and sat....

There was a lot of hub bub while the CM figured out what to do. One person came over who was clearly a manager and then another. It was interesting to see the panic / anxiety that happened while they tried to get the ride moving again.

there was at least 4 or 5 CM trying to get the ride working. It was almost silly, it' s not a fancy ride. It was like non of htem had this issue before.

They did finally get the ride moving, but it took a good 15 minutes.
Living with the Land: Buffalo

Living with the Land House

Living with the Land

After Living wtih the Land, we decided to get some food. And Morgan and I wanted the Empanadas in Mexico. It felt like a long trek over there, but we figured we could go into the pavillion to each.

We made it over, ordered out food and headed into the pavilion. the line for food wasn't bad, it felt like an eternity in the heat but it was pretty fast thankfully.
Empanadas
Morgan and I got 2 Empanadas. I tried to share with Andy but he said he was too hot to eat anything.

Food #3 CHECK

I got another Blood Orange Margarita and Andy got a regular frozen Margarita.

2 Bottles of water, one for each girl. (We bought so much water this day but it was def needed!)

We ended up just sitting on the floor in the lobby area. Alot of people were doing this as well! Andy stood for fear of never being able to get up again. Ha! The joys of getting old.

He also said the cold margarita was giving him brain freeze and the thought he was going to pass out from the extreme difference. Oye! We only had half an hour before our Guardian's ILLs, so it was a short break. Looking back, we should have taken our stuff and gone to Connections Cafe to sit and eat, we would have gotten a table. Next time.

Margarita Dinner
Andy and I took our drinks to go, it was time for our first ILLs!!!

Wonders of Xander
We scanned it at 6:34! We had enought time to finish our drinks in the short wait we had.

Guardians

Guardians
And by 7:00 we were ready to ride!

Untitled
we got the back this time and just as we were ready to pull out, some guy yelled to Andy and Morgan to hold onto there glasses. That the back will fly them off. I don't remember what song we got but I know it was different than the first time. And the back is the way to go, I think!

Ride #3 CHECK

Ride was so fun. I think it might be Morgan and Andy's favorite ride now.

After riding we stopped in Connections and got Gwen some food, I didn't want her getting hangry in this last leg of the day. It was busy in there and it seemed to take forever to get the food.
Chicken Tender Dinner
She just got some chicken fingers and fries. We found a table and just rested our legs a bit while Gwen ate her food.

LOVE
Gwen and I decided to get photos by the Love wall on our way out.
LOVE

EPCOT Ball
It was 7:45 when I took this picture. We had gotten to Animal Kingdom at 7:45 this morning, so it was already a 12 hour day!

We wanted the photopass photo for today to be with the ball, so we got in line with a CM who was getting really close to the people...

EPCOT Photo
This is what we got.... What?!? It was some sort of fishbowl lens and terribly weird looking... well

Individual Picture #3 CHECK... I guess....

EPCOT Photo Pass Photo
Our group picture was a little better but.... Photo Pass Photo #3 CHECK

For good measure, we did a selfie version as well.
EPCOT Selfie

Park #3
Rides: 2 Soarin and Living with the Land (9 Total so far)
Photo Pass Photo: EPCOT Ball
Individual Photo: EPCOT Ball
Food / Snack: Blood Orange Margarita & Empandas

Up next Magic Kingdom!! Can we finish out the challenge?

 

[rdkeim]

What a birthday! 12 hours and still going. You guys are real troopers. You're almost to the finish line - what fun!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Ooh I’m so excited as you make it through this challenge. It really is hot in those parks in July. Funny we have “go to rides” to escape the heat too but also end up chugging copious bottles of water to survive.
What a great birthday

 

[amazingact21]

Whew, you all are rockstars for doing this in the middle of summer! I was having flashbacks to my summertime trips and remembering how oppressive the heat is. You feel like you're melting. But three parks done!!! Now I'm really excited to see you all make it to the MK.
And I must be living under a rock, because I didn't know Mexico had empanadas. I'll have to remember that.
While I'm sure the CMs were paniced about LwtL not working, I bet you all were just happy to be seated in some air conditioning. No rush, no rush...

 

[vamassey1]

12 hours and 3 parks. You're Rockstars! You're making me tired and hot just reading about it.

I'm enjoying your Birthday Adventure!

 

[Counting Stars]

Can we finish out the challenge?

Absolutely! You all are doing fantastic! It's all about strategy on those surface of the sun hot days and you have clearly mastered the strategies! Great trip report and really good pictures

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

What a birthday! 12 hours and still going. You guys are real troopers. You're almost to the finish line - what fun!

Funny we have “go to rides” to escape the heat too but also end up chugging copious bottles of water to survive.
What a great birthday

Whew, you all are rockstars for doing this in the middle of summer! I

I know! I don't recommend doing this in summer!!!

I was having flashbacks to my summertime trips and remembering how oppressive the heat is. You feel like you're melting

It's funny up to then, I was thinking it wasn't too bad with the heat. Well, that was because we were in our rooms chilling each day during that really hot part of the day! If nothing else it confirmed that our plan for the trip was a good idea!

And I must be living under a rock, because I didn't know Mexico had empanadas.

So, they are at the Margarita stand. The counter service has cheese ones that are fine but nothing special. These are at the stand with margartias and stuff.

Empanada de Barbacoa​

Empanadas filled with Barbacoa Beef, topped with Chipotle Sauce, Crema Mexicana and Queso Fresco. Served with a side of Corn Esquites

If you like corn, it's a street corn and really good as well. Morgan and I are both allergic to corn, so it was wasted on us.

While I'm sure the CMs were paniced about LwtL not working, I bet you all were just happy to be seated in some air conditioning. No rush, no rush...

We were happy to just be sitting. It did waste time that I was hoping to ride Spaceship Earth but def no biggie.

12 hours and 3 parks. You're Rockstars! You're making me tired and hot just reading about it.

I'm enjoying your Birthday Adventure!

Thanks! I don't know if we realized that it had been 12 hours at the time.

c! It's all about strategy on those surface of the sun hot days and you have clearly mastered the strategies! Great trip report and really good pictures

It really was!! I just wish I had mentally prepared for the heat at HS! I kept thinking EPCOT was going to be the hard park not HS. I think I thought we would be rested from just having lunch and stuff. Oh well! We survived!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I’m all caught up!

I’m so glad that Gwen had a great birthday after her rough start. And rebel spy - what a treat!

I love your birthday plan of four parks in one day! I’ve been to three in one day but never four - someday! As many have already stated, I’m so impressed you did this in the middle of summer. I’m practically melting in early June so I can’t imagine how hot you must’ve been in July! Nonetheless, I’m glad your day was working out so well and you got to enjoy downtime at Nomad and Sanaa (yum!).

 

[missjackiemcg]

I can't believe it's been 12 hours already!!!! When you're so busy, it doesn't feel that long, right? At least when I look back on our park hopping days like this that's how I usually feel LOL

The fishbowl lense is definitely odd. We had a photographer take pictures of Jimmy behind the castle with a lens like that when he had been knighted at BBB. The pictures of him were really cool....the picture of me with him is the most unflattering angle I've ever seen!

Your family selfie in that spot is so cute though!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I would so order my own bread service at Sanaa. Well done

It was alot of bread! It was amazing!

A few of the parks could use additional A/C spots!

Seriously! HS has some but they are shows, which wasn't working for us that day.

Congrats on the wins. Competition band is so much fun. I was in ours in high school.

They worked hard for it! I was in band in high school also, but we weren't serious like they are.

I complained a lot about driving the kids everywhere. I used to spend most of my time in the car. Now with both driving, I miss it some days.

I know I will miss it!

Of course, but when they are young adults hopefully this will change. Danielle loved it played right along.

They loved it, they just didn't want to show it.

Love the Cheshire Cat tails so I need to get this one too. You always find the best snacks.

Snacks are half of why I go! Ha!

That's great that Gwen followed through.

It isn't always in Gwen's nature but she was determined.

Good for you getting what you wanted. I'm guessing your photographer was feeling the heat too.

I don't know how any of them do it, to be honest. The heat along would break me...

I find Studios to be the Hottest Park. There is just no shade.

After this day, I think you might be right! Everyone says AK is but man alive it was rough.

’m so glad that Gwen had a great birthday after her rough start. And rebel spy - what a treat!

She was pleased.