Cheerful Goodbye to 2020 and Optimistic Hello to 2021! Video Trip Report - Updated July 26th 2021

[NotZacHoward]

Introduction:

Hey everyone! My family decided to go ahead and use our remaining DVC points over the week of NYE to ring in the new year at the most magical place on earth. We had heard how safe Disney had been with all the precautions so we decided to go forward with the plans and head on down to Disney World!

We went from December 27-January 3rd and stayed at the Boardwalk Inn Villas for the full week with 4 nights in a 2 bedroom villa and then 3 nights in a 1 bedroom villa. I love vlogging so most of my post are just going to be recaps of the video with the full video able to watch if you would like to . Feel free to follow along and engage in any conversation, I love talking to new people - especially about Disney!

Chapters Selection:

1: Delayed Travels and Yummy Treats
2: Exploring the Boardwalk and 2 Bedroom Villa
3: Boarding Groups and Rope Dropping Toy Story Land
4: 1st Time On Mickey And Minnie's Railway AND At Galaxy's Edge
5: Rise of the Resistance And Food!
6: Rockin Around Hollywood
7: Flying the Millennium Falcon
8: Closing Down Hollywood Studios
9: A Very Early Animal Kingdom Morning
10: Yak And Yeti With A Side Of Safari
11: Closing Out Animal Kingdom
12: Disney Springs
13: Magic Kingdom, Hooray!!
14: Rides and Magic at the Magic Kingdom
15: A Busy Afternoon in Magic Kingdom
16: Our Magic Day Continues
17: A Truly Magical Evening
18: Sad Goodbyes But Happy Hellos
19: Festival of the Holidays
20: Space And Imagination Make For A Great Combo
21: New Years Eve at EPCOT
22: Back to the Studios!

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 1: Delayed Travels and Yummy Treats

The day is finally here-it is Disney day!! We packed up our stuff and all our new Disney gear (thanks Santa ) and headed over to the St Louis airport for our flight. As we got close to the airport we got a text that our flight was delayed, boo! However, we should still be able to make our connection flight. As we landed in Baltimore, we were notified that our flight had been changed to just an hour later so we didn't have to worry about rushing, just getting into Disney later. We made it to Orlando, got our checked bags and headed over to the Magical Express. We waited no more than 20 minutes before taking off and driving to the Boardwalk. The time was about 10:30 and we hadn't eaten since lunch so we were starved. We had a reservation at Beaches and Cream that we missed but were hoping we could still be sat (we were only about 20 minutes late). We arrived and they sat us with no issues at all! We had some very very yummy food.

 

[rdkeim]

Following. You're off to a good start!

 

[NotZacHoward]

Following. You're off to a good start!

Thank you so much! Really appreciate it

 

[Orion Nebula]

I am looking forward to see how well the parks are doing in regards to safety from a first point of view. So far we have a TON of posts that are all over the place in regards to how things are going. But outside of a few photos nothing really takes you in to see "for yourself".

Subscribed! =)

 

[NotZacHoward]

I am looking forward to see how well the parks are doing in regards to safety from a first point of view. So far we have a TON of posts that are all over the place in regards to how things are going. But outside of a few photos nothing really takes you in to see "for yourself".

Subscribed! =)

Oh welcome and thank you!! I definitely tried to show the crowding and safety measures that were being put in place while we were down there; especially since it was a holiday week! I will say that I personally felt they were incredible measures and hardly had any issues (aside from those few people who don't adhere to the social distant markings and have their mask below their nose, usually a cast member would correct them).

 

[Orion Nebula]

That is awesome, obviously it's the number one thing on everyone's minds! Watching your channel for more videos!

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 2: Exploring the Boardwalk and 2 Bedroom Villa

After Beaches and Cream we leisurely stroll back over to the boardwalk and take a little time to see it all with no one else around us. We go to the front desk to try to fix our magic band issue (we were never sent the ones we bought) and then really explored our 2 bedroom villa. We were definitely tired after the long travel day and wanted to get some great sleep before our week of fun and magic truly begins!

 

[NotZacHoward]

That is awesome, obviously it's the number one thing on everyone's minds! Watching your channel for more videos!

Yes I definitely kept that in mind as that is what we were wondering going into this trip. Hope you can see all and definitely reach out if you have any questions

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 3: Boarding Groups and Rope Dropping Toy Story Land

Our first park day of this trip and boy did it start out stressful! This will be my first time trying to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance and I hadn’t done ANY research. After the stress of that and getting some breakfast, we head over to our first park of the trip - Hollywood Studios! We get there to tope drop toy story land, a whole hour before park even technically opened! This Covid trip definitely was different, but it had its perks

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 4: 1st Time On Mickey And Minnie's Railway AND At Galaxy's Edge

This was about to be a bunch of first for everyone in the group, not just the first timer! We were not sure what at all to expect from Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway or from Galaxy's Edge, and let me tell you - we were impressed! We had such a fun and productive morning at Hollywood Studios and this seriously just was the icing on the cake (before we finally got on Rise of the Resistance obviously). We wanted to try out Tower of Terror before heading to Galaxy's Edge but due to its low capacity it was already at a 75 minute wait unfortunately :/ Pro tip is to definitely ride that one first as it typically remained one of the highest waits all day!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading and watching more .

 

[NotZacHoward]

Following along. Looking forward to reading and watching more .

Thank you so much! Lots more to come

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 5: Rise of the Resistance And Food!

The time has finally come - all the stress of getting the board group is about to be tested to see if it was worth it. Our boarding group was called!! We headed over to Rise of the Resistance, scanned in and walked through the very very incredible queue line. We had minimal wait to actually start the experience, maybe 10 minutes which was a lot better than what it looked like earlier. I won’t spoil anything (and you can skip to 14:48 in the video to not spoil anything) but the ride was definitely worth the stress of getting a boarding group AND even exceed expectations - and that’s coming from non Star Wars fans. If you can, you MUST try out that ride, truly incredible. After that, we were super hungry, it had been a while since we all woke up and we were on the go go go all morning, so we decided to mobile order from the ABC Commissary. Mobile Ordering was super fast and efficient, this was our first time ever doing it and we were highly pleased with the experience. Also, the food from ABC Commissary was miles better than what any of us remember - honestly one of the best quick service places we ate at all week!

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 6: Rockin Around Hollywood

Now that our belly's were full and energy was back to maximum, it was time to conquer more rides! We walked down Sunset Boulevard in hopes that Tower of Terror was going to be a doable line - boy were we wrong. So we ended up jumping in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. It was a posted 45 minute I believe so we didn't think that it would be too bad, we only ended up waiting 30 minutes - with a pause for cleaning! So glad we just decided to do it, and thats when we realized we were just going to have to decide what we want to ride and stand in line while hoping it isn't as long as posted. After Rockin Rollercoaster we headed back to Toy Story Midway Mania (a family favorite) to get another round of shooting in. That ride is just SO much fun and we can never get enough of it. After this, it was about 1:30ish I think and Brenae was going to meet her boyfriend at the hotel who was flying in today. While she went to do that, the rest of us decided to do some rides that she does not like because of her motion sickness. We headed to Alien Swirl Saucers, which is just so much fun and then back to Galaxy's Edge to get some Star Wars themed drinks (a bit expensive but fun for the uniqueness of it all). Mom and Jake got the water while Clint got the fun Coke bottle that I may have actually kept. Then we headed in line for Star Tours as it was a posted 35 and I believe we waited just around there for it, again - not to bad at all given it was a holiday week! A great afternoon exploring Hollywood Studios and getting all the rides done

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 7: Flying the Millennium Falcon

After exploring Star Tours, Brenae let us know that her and Chris made it back into the park and hopped in line for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run. It was a posted 60 minute wait time when they got in line so we didn't think it would be that bad. We weren't quite sure what this ride was going to be either, I had heard it was like star tours meets toy story. As mentioned, we aren't much of a Star Wars loving family; however, we still enjoy rides and experiences that are fun. The line constantly was moving as we were waiting except for a short cleaning stage they needed to do. We wound up waiting around 65 minutes, so pretty close to the posted time. Everyone ended up really loving it, despite a few choice words while experiencing it

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 8: Closing Down Hollywood Studios

After a delicious dinner, we were going to try to ride Rockin Rollercoaster again since the line didn't seem as long anymore - mom went ahead of us to get in line and start the journey through the line. However, as she was in line, it unfortunately broke down :/ So we thought, well we might as well just stick out Tower of Terror and just hope for the best. When we got in line it only said 65, then it jumped up to 80 and then it jumped up to 110 minutes! We were definitely hoping that it wouldn't be the later but more in the 60 minute range. Even though it was a long wait, it definitely went by super quickly and was totally worth it (it is a fan favorite in my family, especially my moms). After the 80 minute wait we ran to Rockin Rollercoaster as we thought it might be open but alas it was not.

We only had 10 minutes until park close so we decided to high tail it over to Toy Story Land to try to get one last ride in for the day. Slinky Dog was a posted 40 minutes however where the line was we knew it wouldn't be that long at all. We waited maybe 20 minutes before riding our final ride of the night! We then headed out and stopped to do some shopping and really take it all in. We then decided to just walk back to the Boardwalk and grab some drinks and snacks because why not, we were in Disney!

 

[akramulhaq]

great work
WHAT A TRIP YOU HAVE.
Is BoardWalk a deluxe resort?
need more guidence

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 9: A Very Early Animal Kingdom Morning

After our awesome day at Hollywood Studios, we were on a mission to make today just as awesome, if not more! We tried to get up super early to get to Animal Kingdom as early as possible (park opened at 7); however, it is just so hard to get out of Disney beds - they are so comfortable. We were at the bus stop by 6:15 and then at Animal Kingdom right before park opened, around 6:50. We headed straight to Flight of Passage as did most other guests and we saw a huge line! However, we assumed this would be the quickest line of the day so we stuck it out. It ended up being right at an hour so not awful for this ride and it is always worth it!

We then headed over to Expedition Everest as it was not a posted long wait and we wanted to be able to just jump on a few more rides without having to wait long again. We waited no more than 10 minutes and it was just another fun ride! The backwards section always is my favorite as it just makes you feel so out of control and just awesome

 

[NotZacHoward]

Chapter 10: Yak And Yeti With A Side of Safari

Even though we got up super early, we are still ready to tackle everything we can in Animal Kingdom before the crowds get way too outrageous. We head over to Dinosaur to check that off our list and scare the bajeebers out of Clint and Karen (it always scares Karen to no end and Clint has just never rode it so I assumed he would get scared lol). As always it was a loud, dark and fun ride! We hardly waited at all, maybe 20 minutes so it was not bad at all for us. We actually got on right before a cleaning as well so that was super lucky for us as well!

After Dinosaur, we decided to hit up the gift shops for a while. We all were wanting some souvenirs at this moment and the holiday stuff was on sale for 70% off, so naturally we wanted to look at any and all deals we could find! After shopping, we got in line for Its Tough To Be a Bug - the line looked super duper long, however we honestly only waited about 10 minutes. For reference, the line was almost to the entrance so we were nervous it was going to be the 30 minute posted time but alas it was not!

After our tough and exciting morning, we were so ready for food and time to just sit down without a mask on for a while. We had reservations at Yak and Yeti as Karen, Brenae and I fell in LOVE with this place in the summer of 2019 when we dined there for the first time. We were so excited to take everyone back and see/taste the delicious food we came to love at Yak and Yeti. It honestly was even better than we remembered - we splurged a bit as this was our only big meal as a whole family and we really wanted to just go all out because we are just extra like that .

After Yak and Yeti we waddled over to the safari because we didn't want to get on anything too extremely as we were all stuffed to the brim from the delicious food. This safari was absolutely AMAZING! So many animals were out and about just hanging out and it was just so exciting! I am not sure if it was the time of day/year that we went but I honestly loved it, best safari I can remember. The line for the safari started by the Festival of the Lion King show building however, it never ever stopped moving. The 20ish minute wait felt like 5 minutes because we really just kept moving and shaking.

After the safari - it was time to get SOAKED I love love love water rides so much and must ride all water rides when I can, even if others aren't excited to get wet. We headed over to Kali River Rapids and it honestly looked like no one was getting wet so everyone was okay with riding this ride. We did not wait long at all for this ride either - again about 20 minutes for this wait as well. I got my 360 degree camera out to get a cool video of the ride so I hope you all enjoy that as well. We all got pretty wet, more wet than what others seemed to be getting wet when we watched them walk off. Honestly we may have been being dramatic but thats just what you get with this family, we can't help it