Graduation Trip to the House of Mouse TR - July 2021 (Updated 10/1)

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hello Disney Friends!

I wasn’t going to write a trip report once we got back home for our Disney trip. The Disney blues were hitting, I had to pack my daughter up and get her ready to move in for her first year of college, and getting back into the swing of things with work, all had me feeling overwhelmed and very much not wanting to even think about Disney.

But, with all the announcements of new Disney services being provided soon and the 50th Anniversary celebration coming up, I have a renewed love for our trip and want to share the fun filled week we had in Disney!

I started a pre-trip report that you can read here if you’d like...
My Daughter, The Graduate - July 2021 PTR


But if not, let me give you a little intro to us and details of our trip before we get started on this trip report...

This was my daughter’s graduation gift from me and we went from July 24-August 1.

I’m Lori, your trip reporter. My daughter is Lindsey, high school graduate.


We left early on July 24th, drove over halfway and spent the night in SC, and arrived at Disney on July 25th.

We were in the parks from July 26-30.

We left July 31st and were going to spend the night halfway again in SC, but decided to just drive all the way home to sleep in our own beds, see our kitties, and just have a day off from everything before we had to return to the real world of working.


We had a fantastic time in our week at Orlando and Disney! I enjoyed getting to spend the one on one time with my daughter, especially now that she’s away at college. Hope you enjoy reading along!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

I have today and tomorrow off from work, so I'm hoping to post at least our first and second days before I have to work all weekend. BLAH!

So, let me take you back to the end of July. It was hot and humid here in WV and we were about to start our vacation!


Friday, July 23
I was able to leave work early which was incredibly nice! We weren’t super busy that day, plus I think my manager was tired of hearing me talk about all I had to do before I left for vacation and Disney. Our washer decided to quit working right before we left, so going to the laundromat to get clothes washed and packed was a must do and having that extra time off work helped me get it done.

My daughter had to work that night until close (she’s a server at a local restaurant), so after doing laundry I stopped to get gas and then dinner.


Once home, I finished my packing, and started a pile of everything we needed to take with us in the kitchen. I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony and relaxed until my daughter got home from work around 11. She finished her packing and added her stuff to our pile.

We both were in bed by midnight for an early morning alarm!

PS - My son (he lives in AZ with his dad, my ex-husband) started his junior year this day as well. Plus, he also got his driver’s license!




Saturday, July 24
We were up by 7AM. We packed the car up, gave the cats a few last kisses, made sure their food and water bowls were filled (we had a friend coming in to feed them while we were gone), gave them a few last treats, and we were off!

I wanted to leave by 8, and we pulled out of our driveway at 8:07. Not too bad!

My daughter wanted to stop at Starbucks, but that was in the opposite direction of where we needed to go, so we settled for some McDonald’s iced coffee and hashbrowns. Once fed and content, she took a nap and woke up just as we were reaching Charleston, WV, and the toll booths.

We stopped in Beckley, WV, for a rest area and to finally grab her some Starbucks. I called my dad before we hit the road again because he was coming home from Myrtle Beach. Traffic was looking pretty bad on the north side, so I was giving him a heads up.

Somewhere in the mountains of VA, my car started to overheat. UGH! We pulled over at a rest area in NC to let my car cool and eat a late lunch/early dinner.

We had about 2 hours to go until we were at our hotel for the night and we were having great luck with traffic! That was until we hit Columbia, SC. My car started to overheat again so I ended up stopping at an Auto Zone and grabbing some oil and coolant. Once those were put in, my car did just fine. (Once home, I did go get an oil change at the dealership where they topped off all my fluids and told me my car was fine).

We were spending the night in Orangeburg, SC, at a Super 8. I must have put in the wrong address because we ended up at the wrong Super 8, and I wished that had been the one we were staying at! The one I had booked was in the ghetto. (Take the reviews seriously when booking with AAA! Most of them were OK, but there were bad ones, and I should have taken them a little more seriously! Especially since it was just my daughter and I that were traveling). The room was not bad, it was updated, but the bathroom was something.

With us checked in, we ordered Domino’s for dinner, and ate in our room. My daughter watched TikToks, while I watched the Olympics. We FaceTimed my son to see what he and his girlfriend were up to that night. I called my dad to see how his drive was going and if he was in any traffic. At 11, we called it a night and headed to bed.



Sunday, July 25
We were up around 7, showered and got ready, and checked out of the hotel around 8:30. We stopped at Starbucks for some coffee and food and were on our way to Disney! FINALLY!!!

Once we hit the FL border we had to stop at a rest area for this shot!


Traffic wasn’t too bad, but it did add time to our arrival time. Finally, around 3:30, we saw this beautiful site as we got off the exit to our hotel!


We were staying at the Rosen Inn-Lake Buena Vista, which was less than a mile outside of Disney Springs. We checked in and headed to our room. Well, that is if I could find it! I had us at the wrong building and on the wrong floor. (I mixed those numbers up).

I’m such a bad trip reporter and took no pictures of our room, or the hotel. I will say it was a great hotel, though! Our room was on the 5th floor (so very top) and we faced one of the two pool areas. The downside to this was the interstate was also right there, but with the AC running in our room or the TV on, it did drown that noise out and I only noticed it in the super early mornings when neither of those were on. It really is a great location and we were surround by food locations, gas stations, and places to shop.

The rooms were nicely updated, the beds were comfy, and we had a lot of room to move around and not feel so crowded. The hotel did offer shuttles to the parks, but we drove each day so we could come and go as we pleased. They also had onsite restaurants, but were only open on weekends due to restricted hours because of Covid. They also had a grab-n-go section but I never stopped to look in because I think those hours were limited as well or we never needed anything from there.

So, once our room was found, we went back to the car and unloaded everything and got ready for the night!

I finally got a hold of my dad. He had made it home from the beach safely, and I was telling him about our trip down. They had just gone out to dinner and were getting some dessert while they waited to pick their dog up from the vet/boarding. He was excited for us to get our vacation started and couldn’t wait to get some pictures of us at Disney.

Finally ready, my daughter and I headed to Disney Springs for the night!


We parked at the Lime garage and made our way down into the crowd of people. I knew FL would be hot, but this was HOT! And I knew there would be people, but there were TONS of people!

Our first stop was World of Disney! I had gotten my daughter a pair of graduation ears, but she wanted another more traditional pair of Minnie ears for the week so she could change it up a bit. It was so much fun walking around in there and looking at everything! Plus, the AC was nice.

She ended up with a new pair of ears, and I did as well. She also wanted a Magic Band for the Parks. I had downloaded my ticket to my phone, but for some reason my daughter wasn’t able to add her ticket to her phone. I suggested the Magic Band would be easier for her, plus we then wouldn’t have to stop and get an actual ticket for her to carry around and lose (because she would totally do that)! We also stopped in at the Pin Traders store for my daughter to look at those. She did buy a few surprise packs and liked what she got.



After shopping for about an hour or so, we decided to find someplace to eat for dinner. I wanted Chicken Guy! But the line was way too long and I wasn’t able to order online for some reason. So, we ended up at D-Luxe Burger and it was a good choice!


I ordered online and we both got cheeseburgers and shared a large fry. We sat outside by the water and had a great time people watching and enjoying dinner.

We were going to go to Ghiradelli for dessert, but were way too stuffed from dinner. We stopped in a few more stores, my daughter really wanted to stop in Zara (which I felt like was a mix between H&M and Forever 21) for some reason, so we did that, and then headed out of Disney Springs for the night.

Once back at the hotel, my daughter watched TikToks and I watched the Olympics (this will be a pattern). We were both asleep by midnight because our first full day in Disney was tomorrow!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Last update for tonight...

The last time we were in Disney was September 2007. I went back and did a little then and now photos when I got a chance. My daughter was a good sport and humors me with my mom craziness. So here is Sep 2007 vs July 2021

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hello Disney friends!

I had another day off from work today and it's been a pretty relaxing one. My house is picked up and my floors are swept and mopped. I wanted to run to the grocery store, but it's a little too hot out there for me to want to venture away from the air conditioning, so I'll wait until tomorrow after work and pick up what I need.

So, another update for our Disney Graduation trip
*****************************************************************************************************************************
Monday, July 26 (Part 1)

The day had finally come! It was finally a DISNEY DAY and we were starting it at the MAGIC KINGDOM!

My biological alarm clock went off at 6:15AM. I checked my emails and FB before I got in the shower. As I was getting dressed, I woke DD up. I went and got ice for our water bottles and packed my park bag. We walked out the door of our hotel at 7:30 and we were ready for our day of MAGIC!


We drove to the Magic Kingdom, parked, got to ride the monorail, and we were walking down Main Street, USA, just shy of 8:30AM. Just getting to see that beautiful castle had my eyes watering and I couldn't believe we were actually here! I planned and planned for this trip, so in a way it all felt surreal until I was actually standing right there on Main Street and getting to see this in person!


Lindsey of course wanted Starbucks, so we stopped at the Main Street Bakery for a coffee. That’s when I realized that I had left my wallet in the car. All the way in the Ticket & Transportation parking lot. 30 minutes away from where we were. OOF!

I didn’t realize that I could use Apple Pay at the time, so I ended up Venmoing my kid money and we used her credit card for the day.


Crisis averted, we headed back down Main Street, closer to the castle, trying to figure out which way we wanted to go. My daughter wanted Fantasyland and Peter Pan, while I wanted to head to Tomorrowland and Space Mountain. The crowd waiting to head into Tomorrowland made us change our mind and decide on Fantasyland.

Then, right after the below pic was taken, I turned around, went to step up on the curb, and I can now see that I tripped over the storm drain, and just face planted right onto the sidewalk. Literally right there in front of the castle in the Magic Kingdom. OOF!


My daughter was thoroughly embarrassed. A kind lady stopped to see if I was OK and needed help. I managed to get up and we headed over to First Aid. Another family was sitting outside and told us they weren’t open yet. OOF!

I headed into the bathroom to see the damage. Scraped chin, small chipped front tooth, scraped upper lip, and two skinned knees. It really wasn’t horrible, so I cleaned up as best as I could, took some Advil, and we just went on with our day. There was no point in getting band aides or anything else from First Aid because I was so sweaty that nothing would have stuck to me. Nothing was sprained or broken, I didn’t need a wheelchair or scooter, so off we went to Adventureland. We had only missed rope drop by 5 minutes.

We passed Jungle Cruise (wait time was already showing 35+ minutes) and went onto our first ride of the day...POTC! We waited around 10 minutes and were then sailing off in our pirate ship. POTC is one of my favorite rides in Disney. Before we knew it, we were back on dry land and heading through the Pirates dump shop.

We continued our way around over to Frontierland and decided to ride BTMRR. Wait time was posted at 35 minutes, but I think we only waited 20. After getting off the ride, I was walking down the small hill at the exit, and yep, you guessed it, I tripped again and went face first into the sidewalk. BIG OOF!

I swear my daughter wanted to kill me! A kind gentleman stopped this time and between him and my daughter I was able to get up. Once again we find a bathroom and get my knees and face cleaned up. By this time I was ready for a time out. I had fallen twice, I was hurting, I was hot, and just wanted a break.

We found a shady spot, ate a snack, had some water, and took a few minutes to regroup and form a plan for the day. Splash already had a wait time of 75 minutes and Haunted Mansion was at 60. Peter Pan was at 40, so we decided to head into Fantasyland and try our luck at rides over there.

We hit up Peter Pan and then made our way over to It’s a Small World.


While in line at Peter Pan, we placed an online order for Pinocchio’s. Our food wasn’t quite ready yet, so we waited outside on a bench until it was. Maybe, 10 minutes at the most. Once we got the text to pick up our food, I found a seat for us, while my daughter went and grabbed our food and drinks. We split a margherita flatbread pizza and we both had a caesar side salad. We enjoyed our meal, the AC, and the rest time.

As you can see...I looked GREAT! I really had no one say anything to me about my scrapes and cuts, except an elderly gentleman who walked past me and said "OUCH!" Gee thanks for the sympathy there man.

After lunch, we headed back out into the heat and were going to go to go into Mickey’s Philharmagic, but my daughter didn’t want to wait in the sun and heat, so off we went into the new Fantasyland area and rode Dumbo. The new play area was so cute and it was fun to watch the little ones play. Our buzzer buzzed after a 10 minute wait and we were then on the ride.

From there, we went into Tomorrowland and there was a character meet (from afar) with Buzz Lightyear. My kid was ecstatic to see him (as you can tell)!


Space Mountain was a 60 minute wait, so we skipped it and headed over to the Buzz Lightyear ride. This is another favorite of mine and I ended up beating my kid. WooHoo! I know not the highest scores, but hey I thought we did pretty good.


At this point we were hot and in search of some AC, we were going to do the Carousel of Progress, but the wait looked miserable to stand in, so Main Street it was to do some shopping. DD was really wanting to find Loki ears and Google was telling me that we could find them in the Emporium. We walked the entire store and finally found them!

As we were walking out, a cavalcade was passing us with the Princesses. Merida lead the way on her horse, followed by Tianna and Belle, and then the rest. My kid was like a little girl again, waving madly at Tianna and Belle. It made my mama heart so happy!

A few other calvacades were going to be coming down Main Street, so we decided to camp out for a bit under a tree on the curb and wait it out. I went and got us a snack and some drinks from a cart and then sat and people watched.

My daughter wore graduation Mickey ears that day in the park and the special attention Cast Members gave her was amazing and we both did not expect it at all. During one of the calvacades, a Cast Member stopped and Congratulated her, and then a few of the dancers did as well. It made her feel so special!


I wish I was able to add video. I'm trying to figure it out, and if I can, then I will surely share, but until then...

Day 1 Continued in next post...

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Day 1 (Part 2)...

After the cavalcades had ended we went back over to Adventureland to check out the Jungle Cruise, but the wait time was not what we wanted to stand in, so stopped in and grabbed some Dole Whips. After we were done, we popped over to Frontierland to head to Haunted Mansion. Chip & Dale were out for a meet and greet and my kid waved frantically to them, too!


Haunted Mansion had a 65 minute wait and we were going to skip it and find something else, but decided to just suck it up and wait in line. Another one of my favorites, we had a hauntingly good time and headed off the ride and back into Fantasyland.

Cinderella’s step-sisters were out at the Princess Fairytale Hall. We stopped and my daughter had a great interaction with Drizella. We both loved it! (I have video, but again have no idea how to uplaod it! I'll hopefully get it figured out soon, until then here's a few pics).


From there we headed over to the Little Mermaid ride. I was transfixed at one point by the little crabs in Scuttles area and held up the line as I watched them on screen. My kid had to turn back around and come get me. Oops!

It was now time for our ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. We had been seated for maybe 10 minutes when I looked outside and it was pouring down rain. Looks like we timed that perfectly because it rained the entire time we were at dinner.

We both liked this dinner. The salad was super good. We really like the pot roast and asked for more of that. My daughter of course was a fan of the mac-n-cheese and I liked the stuffing and green beans. I have a slight tree nut allergy, so when told that the Oooey Gooey Toffee Cake was made with almond flour, I had to pass on it. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. My allergy isn’t life threatening, I don’t carry and epi-pen at all, but I know my limits on what I can have and how much before it is triggered, and almond anything is definitely one of them. I was tempted to take a small bite of her dessert, but stuck with my brownie and ice cream.

Soooooooo good looking! And here's my bummer brownie...womp womp


Once finished with dinner, it was still raining, but not enough that we felt we needed our ponchos and decided to walk in the sprinkles of rain over to Fantasyland. We were almost there when it started raining hard again. We stopped by the Christmas Shop for coverage and waited a few minutes. We decided to pull the ponchos out and get going again. By this time I had changed out my tennis shoes for my waterproof Birkenstocks and I’m so glad I did! My poor kid had soaked feet, but I was happy.

We stopped at Winnie the Pooh to ride and while the wait time was showing 40 minutes, I know we waited longer. The rain kept coming down and the line just wasn’t moving. The little play area is definitely nice for the little ones to keep them entertained, but mostly big kids were in there and it was just annoying.

Nightfall was fast approaching, so I asked my kid what she wanted to do...watch fireworks tonight or wait until our last day and do it then. She chose to wait, so we headed over to Jungle Cruise and took a ride on that. The wait was down to 40 minutes and that’s pretty much how long we were in line. I want to say the movie had just come out that weekend, so it felt like the ride was being hyped up because of it. Jungle Cruise is not my favorite ride, but my kid enjoyed the “8th Wonder of the World.”

We walked back through the hub and people were staking out spots for the fireworks. We headed over to Tomorrowland and decided that now was a good time to watch Carousel of Progress. No wait and AC was a great idea!

We stopped at a snack cart to grab some cotton candy and a drink and hit up the People Mover for our next ride. The castle show/fireworks were just starting and we had a great view!

Once off, we took a time out to eat our snack and got on Buzz Lightyear before the mass stampede of people started to head our way after the fireworks and it was a good choice to do so. We were on and off the ride in less than 15 minutes.

We were going to end our night on Space Mountain, but changed our minds once the stampede hit, and decided to head out of the park and back to our hotel.

Doesn't she look thrilled?!

We took the monorail back to parking and were back at the hotel by 11:30. More TikToks for my daughter and I think I just headed to bed with no Olympics for me. I was feeling the effects of my two falls from earlier that morning, especially in my shoulders and chest area, and the Tylenol PM kicked in quickly so I was asleep by midnight.

 

[footballmouse]

 

[froggibabey]

Oh no! That doesn't sound like a great first day.

Hopefully you're not too sore for the rest of your trip!

 

[DL1WDW2]

Oh my gosh your pretty little face does not look fun at all.So sorry and twice ? I hate to say ouch but Ouch.
Your trip report is a lot of fun to follow. And love the pics too
Thanks for posting .

 

[GracieKam]

Just joined—loving your report!

 

[CruellaNY]

Joining! So nice to do a mom/daughter trip but ugh those falls! Which totally sound like something I would do lol and my boys would be 100% embarrassed after asking if I was ok. I hope that was it for your trip faceplanting! Looking forward to reading more

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hey Thanks for stopping in!

Oh no! That doesn't sound like a great first day.

Hopefully you're not too sore for the rest of your trip!

Yeah, it was an awful start to the day, but we definitely made the best of it! My chest area was the most sore because I tried to brace myself from the fall. And I am not a skinny person at all. LOL

Oh my gosh your pretty little face does not look fun at all.So sorry and twice ? I hate to say ouch but Ouch.
Your trip report is a lot of fun to follow. And love the pics too
Thanks for posting .

Awwww...thanks! And I had to laugh when that guy said it to me. I know I got some strange looks, but that old guy had me laughing. Seriously leave it to the elderly and little kids to tell you the truth! LOL

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading!

Just joined—loving your report!

Thank you so much!

Joining! So nice to do a mom/daughter trip but ugh those falls! Which totally sound like something I would do lol and my boys would be 100% embarrassed after asking if I was ok. I hope that was it for your trip faceplanting! Looking forward to reading more

My daughter and I joked that it was a good thing that nothing was broken or sprained. She would have literally left me behind. "Ohana" is not in her vocabulary, especially at Disney. Thanks for stopping by!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hello Disney Friends!

I have the next couple of days off, so I'm updating my trip report with another day. I meant to do it yesterday, but I went down to visit with my kid and take her a few things she needed. I swear my kid has the best view!


******************************************************************************************************************************

Tuesday, July 27

My alarm went off at 6:15. I was awake by 6:30. And refreshing my phone on the app every few minutes or so to get a ROR boarding pass.

7AM came and I missed it. Womp womp womp

I then wished I was able to roll over and go back to sleep, but nope, we got up and got ready to head to Hollywood Studios.

The park opened at 9, so we were pulling up to the parking gates by 8:15 and were in before opening. We decided to do the opening dash to Rock N Roller Coaster and hit up Toy Story Land later on.


The line was looking long, but it kept moving, and we were on the ride a little before 9. I have never ridden RnR, and neither has my daughter, so we had no idea what to expect, but we LOVED it! My daughter said that this was her favorite ride of the whole trip.

After we got off the coaster we decided to get in line for Tower of Terror since it was on the short side and we both knew it would grow as the day went on. I think the wait time was at like 25 minutes at the moment and that’s pretty much what we waited in.

My daughter had gone to Disneyland 3 years ago with her dad, step mom, and brothers and had ridden the one out there, so knew what to expect. I have never been on it so had no clue, but it was another great ride that we both enjoyed!

Once off, the line was down the street for both rides, so I’m glad we had gotten them in early. We decided to stop at Anaheim Produce for a snack. We shared a Mickey pretzel and cheese, my kid got a frozen lemonade, and I drank water. It was another hot day, so the time out was nice.

From there we went to Star Tours. I think we waited the 25 minutes posted wait time and it was another fun ride. I know we both had done this before, and I know people find this ride boring, but I enjoyed it.


We hit up Muppets 3D next and enjoyed the AC for a bit. I remember this being funnier the last time I saw it, but of course that was probably because it was the first time I had seen it. I love being around parents with little kids, though. To hear them explain to the kids what is going on or to hear the little one’s giggles it just puts a smile on my face. I miss mine being little, and wish I could have that time back, but I like mine being big kids, too! We had a lady sitting behind us doing this with her little one and it just made me smile.

And here's a little throwback for ya...You know, when I was that mom explaining things to my kids and hearing their little giggles
2007 -----> 2021


We made a quick restroom stop and then headed to Toy Story Land.


Slinky Dog had a wait time posted at 105 minutes so we were not doing that one yet and got in Line for Toy Story Mania. The wait time for this was 60 minutes, so we decided to put an order in online for Woody’s Lunch Box to pick up when we were done with the ride. I know my daughter rode this the last time we were at Disney with her Pappy, and I know rode it at DL, but I’ve never been on it. My kids had this game for the Wii when they were little and it reminded me of that. My kid definitely beat me on this one!

As we got off the ride we heard the thunder and felt some big fat rain drops, so we pulled out the ponchos. Our lunch order was ready and of course could not find any types of seats inside or outside under umbrellas to sit. We found a rock around the corner, under a tree, that wasn’t taken so we decided to sit there and eat.

It was almost 1 and I wanted to try for a RoR boarding pass. My daughter decided to walk over to Star Wars Land and find a restroom while I stayed put and waited for 1. She texted me a few minutes after 1 saying she wasn’t able to get a boarding pass, but I let her know that I had success!


We then decided to head into Star Wars Land and check things out. Smugglers Run was at 95 minutes, so skipped it for now. Characters were out (I think Star Troopers and maybe Dark Sith? I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I like the original movies, and know those characters. The new ones, I have no clue? But, my daughter loves them!) but we had just missed them and my kid wasn’t happy. I ordered one of each milk for us to try from the Milk Stand. She ended up getting mad at me about something at this time, so if looks could kill in these pics, then yep, that’s her.


We were not fans of either of these milks. We ended up grabbing a Coke and some water to get the milk taste gone. (I did like that they were a coconut/rice milk because both my daughter and I have a lactose problem, but this was just too thick and was not a good taste. Especially when drinking with a paper straw). We found a spot to sit down for a minute and people watch for a few. Smugglers Run had gone down to 75 minutes and we still had time left before ROR, so we headed that way.


It started raining on our way to Smugglers Run and thank god for ponchos! It ended up pouring down rain and people wouldn’t move from under the covers, so the line started backing up until Cast Members made people move. After being in line for about 30 minutes, we finally made our way up to the entrance of the ride and saw they were allowing single riders. We looked at the line and how much more we had to snake our way around, the time we had until we ROR, and decided just to hop over to single rider.

Thank god we did because this ride was disappointing! Once in the single rider line we were on the ride within 10 minutes and I just was not in love with it, and neither was my kid.

Continued in next post...

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Day 2, Continued...

Once we got off of Smugglers Run, Rey was out for a character meet and my kid was excited to see her! We still had an hour until our boarding pass was ready, so we looked around the different shops in the area.


After the rain had come through it made everything hot and muggy. I changed my shoes because they were soaked and my poor kid was stuck with what she had on. You’d think she would have learned her lesson from yesterday.

Our boarding pass time for ROR was almost there, so we headed that way. By the time we had gotten to where they check to make sure you have a pass, we were good to go and headed on the ride.

OMG! We both loved, loved, LOVED it! I’m so glad we were able to get passes and go on!

As we were waiting to board our ship (or whatever you call it) we had a great character interaction with a Cast Member. It made it so much more fun!


Chewbaca was out when we got off the ride, so we stopped to watch him for a bit. We were getting ready to head over to get in line for Slinky Dog when it started raining again and they shut the ride down because of thunder and lightning.

We were going to go to the new Mickey and Minnie ride, but it had been off and on all day, so we skipped it.

The rain was slowing down, but the radar wasn’t looking good, so we decided to go into the Frozen Singalong to wait out. If it wasn’t raining when it was over, we decided we were going to go back on Toy Story Mania, but of course it was pouring when we were done. A lot of rides were shut down because of the rain, it was around 5 PM, so we decided to call it a night.

My kid’s shoes were soaked and she was ready to be done with the day, and so was I. We had done almost all the rides there that we had wanted to do, and it just gives us something to look forward to going on when we go back the next time.

My daughter is a fan of Mr. Beast on YouTube. He has a burger restaurant in the Orlando area (and other places) and she really wanted to try it. So, on our way back to the hotel we DoorDashed it. They delivered everything to the lobby of the hotel, so my daughter had to drive over there to pick it up. I will say the burgers were good, but the fries sucked. Maybe if they were hotter they would have been better.


After dinner, we relaxed for the night. Linds watched YouTube and TikToks and I had the Olympics on. I FaceTimed my other kid to see how school and baseball were going. We were going to head to the pool, but it was still raining off and on, so skipped it and just stayed in for an early bedtime.

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hello Disney Friends!

I feel like this has been the longest week of my life! We are short staffed at work, so all I have been doing is working, coming home to relax a bit and go to bed, before I'm back at work. We're still short staffed, but I'm back to my normal work schedule and hope it goes better!

My son plays baseball and is pretty good at it. He's at a baseball tournament with his high school team in Phoenix this weekend and he pitched yesterday. I was at work when he text me that he pitched a no hitter! He's come close, but this was his first time.


I'm off today and football is back! WVU had a home game last night that my daughter went to and had a great time! Plus, they won so #cuecountryroads!


Pittsburgh is playing today, so hopefully they have a win as well! Our family has a tradition to make a big lunch and have snacks for the first game, so even though I'm home alone, I still did it today for the game. Chili in the crockpot, veggies and dip, and I made some pumpkin bread for dessert.


Hope you all have a great week! Now onto the next update...
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Wednesday, July 28

We finally got a morning to sleep in! Epcot was on the calendar today and it didn’t open until 11.

We were at the park before open and waited at the gates to be let in with about 4 other families in front of us. Once let in we went the Test Track route and rope dropped that.

We made it to our car and the family in front of us had problems with their seatbelts. We had to get out and reboard into another car to fix the problem. They kept appologizing, but hey, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

We had a fun ride and since Mission to Space was right there, my kid decided she wanted to try it. I have heard it’s a pretty rough ride, and since I’ve already had two tumbles this week, I decided to skip it and she went on by herself. I sat outside on a bench in the shade and people watched.


She came out 30 minutes later and said it was a great ride!

From there we were looking for something to eat and I wanted to head into World Showcase to see if we could find some food booths open since it was Food & Wine fest. We decided to skip them for now and save them for dinner and just kind of find things as we went along.

We stopped at a Joffrey’s coffee stand so my kid could get an iced chai latte and a donut. I took a few bites of her donut, but I told her I needed something a little more sustainable for my lunch that wasn’t all sugar.

We went into Mexico and went on the ride there and looked around the marketplace. My daughter enjoyed the Coco exhibit they had inside there as well.


It had started to rain when we headed into Norway and pulled out our ponchos. The rain really cooled everything down and it actually felt super nice out. Frozen was a 45 minute wait, so we jumped in line. It’s a cute ride, but by this point, I was kind of over everything Frozen and was sick of seeing it.


We stopped and took a picture in front of China and we were going to order lunch from Lotus Blossom Cafe, but my kid didn’t really like anything they had, so we moved on to find something else. We did a little window shopping in China, but didn’t buy anything.


Continued in next post...

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

In Germany we stopped in the Christmas shop and picked up a few ornaments for our tree this year. (Magnets, ornaments, and mugs are my must get souvenirs when on vacation). We shared a jumbo pretzel from Sommerset and sat under cover from the rain and people watched for a bit.


We stopped and took a quick pic in front of Italy and then moved on to America. The Voices of Liberty were out, so we stopped to watch them for a bit, and to get out of the rain.


Japan was next and we stopped for a picture and then went to Katsura Grill to eat. My kid got a sushi combo platter, miso soup, and a salad. I had chicken teriyaki and a salad. We sat outside under the cover of rain and ate. It was actually a little on the chilly side, but felt fantastic! We stopped in to do some shopping at the Japan store, but didn’t buy anything.


A quick pic in Morocco and then stopped in France for a minute. We were going to do the Beauty and the Beast Sing-a-Long, but skipped it for now, and went over the bridge into England.


We stopped at the tea shop in England and my kid found the tea that she loves there. (Orange & cinnamon spice by Twinings). We were able to get it in our grocery store, but they stopped selling it for another brand instead. She bought two boxes of it and I bought some Apple Spice and Pumpkin Spice Chai tea. Now that it’s finally getting to be fall, I have to break them out to try. My daughter has already had some of her tea and loves it. I told her once all her tea is gone we’ll need to come back to Disney to buy more.


We did a quick stop in Canada for some pics and then went back into Future World. My daughter was in search of Tinkerbell wings and handy, dandy Google was saying they were in Mouse Gears.


Before we headed there we went on Nemo. Soarin’ was a walk on and so was Living with the Land.


While we were heading to Living with the Land, Mickey and Friends were going around the Garden Grill greeting people. My daughter was so excited to see this that I asked if she wanted to see if we could snag an ADR for dinner. They had one available at 5:30, but decided to pass because she wanted Food & Wine Fest food. I ended up cancelling our Yak & Yeti ADR for the next day and booking a Tusker House breakfast so we could see characters.

Continued in next post...

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Spaceship Earth had a 10 minute wait, so we hopped in line. We ended up getting stuck for about 5 minutes at the end of the ride. I always wondered what the inside of a golfball looked like. LOL


We stopped in Mouse Gears to find Tinkerbell wings. We couldn’t find them at first, so I asked at the counter, and of course as soon as I did that my kid found them. Tinkerbell wings bought, we headed back into World Showcase to try some Food & Wine. I also bought a magnet. Love my cats! (Even though they are named after Harry Potter characters...Percy & Molly)


We stopped at the Hawaii booth for a pork slider and cheesecake. I got an alcoholic beverage (I think it was Hawaiin sunrise? or something like that?) that was pretty good.


We then stopped in China and I got potstickers. No photos, but they were on the spicy side, but oh so good!

My daughter wanted the potato casserole (Schinkennudeln) from Germany and we also got the apple strudel. We also stopped and picked up a t-shirt in Germany for my son. (Can you tell that we're German? I think it was our favorite place in the World Showcase and spent a lot of time there).


We took a break from food for a minute and just enjoyed the people while walking around. We stopped in France to watch the Beauty and the Beast Sing-a-Long. It was nice to get out of the mugginess for a minute.

We were looking for restrooms and headed back to the new area of France where they are building the Ratatouille ride and Gusteau’s. You could see the top of Gusteau’s and it looked so much like the movie! I can’t wait to see more from there in the next few weeks!


We crossed the bridge and stopped in England to grab a drink. I FaceTimed my dad to see how he was doing. We were on a bench and were going to wait it out to see fireworks, but we were in need of a snack, so moved on.

We stopped at the Canadian booth and grabbed the cheddar soup and filet mignon, and I had a glass of wine. We stopped at the Food & Wine Fest booth to shop, and then found a spot for the fireworks.

We had about a 45 minute wait before the show started, so I FaceTimed my other kid. The show started and it was a good one that brought some tears to my eyes.

Afterwards, we headed out of the park and back to the hotel. No TV or TikTok for either of us tonight. Just showers and straight to bed.

 

[Bama Mom]

Joining in.
On our first park day during my 2019 trip that hubby and I went on, I literally lost a show on the first ride of the trip. Somehow my flip flop fell off as I was stepping onto POTC and it slipped right through the very narrow space between the boat and the loading platform. Hubby tried to grab it and broke his magicband in the process. Unfortunately it was too late because my shoe had floated away way too fast for him to grab. So I rode the ride with one shoe. Once I got off, I told the CM at the exit what had happened and she wrote me a ticket for a free pair of flip flops. When we got to the dump shop, I told the CM at the register what happened and she said they didn't have any flip flops there but she told me to have a seat, asked me my size and she went all the way to the front of the park and got me a pair. Well when she handed them to me she had gotten a size 8 like I said, but they were men's size 8s not women's. So they were huge on me. I walked around in those until we went to Beaches and Cream that afternoon and I ended up buying myself a pair of the croc flip flops at their gift shop. But girl I have to say, you falling down twice on the same morning has taking the first place for having the worst start to the morning from me. I am so glad that you weren't seriously hurt.

 

[CruellaNY]

I fell behind and now am caught up! Really good days so far!!

My daughter wanted the potato casserole (Schinkennudeln) from Germany and we also got the apple strudel. We also stopped and picked up a t-shirt in Germany for my son. (Can you tell that we're German? I think it was our favorite place in the World Showcase and spent a lot of time there).

I'm half German as well and really enjoy the Germany pavilion; always get my mom something there. And I really like the Schinkennudeln but it's rather heavy and filling, unlike most other festival dishes!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Joining in.
On our first park day during my 2019 trip that hubby and I went on, I literally lost a show on the first ride of the trip. Somehow my flip flop fell off as I was stepping onto POTC and it slipped right through the very narrow space between the boat and the loading platform. Hubby tried to grab it and broke his magicband in the process. Unfortunately it was too late because my shoe had floated away way too fast for him to grab. So I rode the ride with one shoe. Once I got off, I told the CM at the exit what had happened and she wrote me a ticket for a free pair of flip flops. When we got to the dump shop, I told the CM at the register what happened and she said they didn't have any flip flops there but she told me to have a seat, asked me my size and she went all the way to the front of the park and got me a pair. Well when she handed them to me she had gotten a size 8 like I said, but they were men's size 8s not women's. So they were huge on me. I walked around in those until we went to Beaches and Cream that afternoon and I ended up buying myself a pair of the croc flip flops at their gift shop. But girl I have to say, you falling down twice on the same morning has taking the first place for having the worst start to the morning from me. I am so glad that you weren't seriously hurt.

Oh my gosh! I'm sorry about the flip flop, but that is too funny, and something that I would totally do!

And yeah, the whole falling thing was not fun, but we made the best of it. No more falling the rest of the trip...thank goodness! I told my DD when we went back to the Magic Kingdom on our last day that I was holding her hand when we got off BTMRR.

I fell behind and now am caught up! Really good days so far!!


I'm half German as well and really enjoy the Germany pavilion; always get my mom something there. And I really like the Schinkennudeln but it's rather heavy and filling, unlike most other festival dishes!

Thank you! We bought a pickle ornament for our Christmas tree this year (I'm hoping the cats stay away and don't break it!) and also bought my dad an ornament from there. We both liked everything we had from Germany and the apple strudel reminded me of my grandmother.

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hello Disney Friends!

Geez, it's been almost a month since I posted. UGH! Work is super short staffed at the moment, so lots of hours and overtime is going on. I was off today and tomorrow, so I get to have some fun. I'll be off the same next week because my daughter will be in town for fall break, and then I'll head to Morgantown the following weekend for parent's weekend. My life is definitely work hard, play hard.

I try to get down to see my daughter as much as I can and spend some time with her. I absolutely love WVU's campus! She loves school and the campus as well. She had a rough month with splitting off from her main friend group, but is bouncing back and making new friends and getting involved in things.

My son is doing fantastic out in AZ with school and baseball! He was invited to a baseball recruitment camp for WVU, so he'll be here in a few weeks to go out in front of the baseball coaches. I'm excited for it! He just asked his girlfriend to Homecoming. (His sister helped him out some).


I'm sitting here watching Disney's 50th Celebration on ABC. Disney is such a magical place and I can't wait to get back there!

But for now, on to our Animal Kingdom Day...
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Thursday, July 29

Today was a super early morning. We were going to Animal Kingdom and for some reason I thought it opened at 9, but nope it was 8.

We had decided the day before while in Epcot to make a breakfast ADR for Tusker House to see some characters and that was at 8:30. I thought we were getting lucky to get in for breakfast early and then be there for opening at 9, but nope, I was wrong.

We got to the park around 7:30 and the walk to the front gates already had me feeling miserable. It was hot and the crowd of people heading in just made me want to eat breakfast, hit a few rides, and then leave for the day.


We were going to try for FOP, but the line was already at 75 minutes and said we would come back later if we really wanted to try.

So, with no rides at rope drop, we headed to our ADR and OMG! We had a fantastic breakfast!


The characters were great, even if we could only take selfie style pics with them. Donald and Goofy were great! And the food was sooooooo good! We loved every minute of eating there and it was a good choice.


We were done with breakfast by 9:15 and decided to hit up the safari ride since we were right there with the line. I think the wait time was an hour and we were on the ride in less than that.

The new baby hippo was born the week before we had gotten there and got to see her while on the ride. She was swimming next to her mama.

Then while we were in the giraffe area, a new baby had been born within those past few days and he was out with his mama, and we got to sneak a peek of him. (I think it was a he, it might have been a she? I really don’t remember?)


From there we headed to the Festival of the Lion King. The show was good, like I remember it, but I felt like the show had changed more than what I remember it being. Maybe it was just that the people we had sitting behind us were crazy and ignoring them was not able to happen.


We stopped to grab some iced coffee and water at a Joffrey’s stand. We were by the water (river?) and my daughter was saying how she wished she was able to see Pocahontas from one of the boats that came out around the area. As soon as she said that, her wish was granted, and here comes Pocahontas and Meeko floating by us.

We sat for a few to cool down and watch the other boats come out with a few characters and form a game plan on what else we wanted to do for the day.