It Only Gets Better From Here...Right?! WDW TR July 2025 LIVE update 7/30

[kclark9830]

Hi everyone! We are live this morning from Disney's All Star Sports Resort !

We checked in yesterday for our weeklong of fun...at least that's what we're hoping, because check in day didn't go so well . More on that later, and I think you'll totally understand this trip report title.

I've done a handful of trip reports over the years, most recently our Disney cruise from January. Let me re-introduce my family!


(Us last night in the pool at Sports)

We are Katie & Micheal, married for 22 years. With us are our kids Ashlyn and Miles. I'm a teacher and I help run a small private school. I'm also a writer. Micheal works for a large pest control company in the southeast, in the corporate office. He travels all over the southeast inspecting offices.

We're staying at Sports because we got the room for $99/night, and we honestly didn't plan on going to WDW this year at all, after taking our Disney Cruise. But when I saw the Disney+ subscriber deal, I was like...we could totally swing it. We made plans that changed a few times, with who was going and who wasn't, as well as which parks we were doing or weren't.

Do I prefer the nicer resorts? Yes I do . But seriously, this one is perfectly suitable and we are in Disney!!!

I will be getting into updates a little at a time, going backwards a bit to make travel day notes. For now, the family is sleeping in, and I am awake because I am always awake . So, I thought I'd go ahead and get this trip report started!

Our schedule this week looks like this:

Saturday - check in day/Blizzard Beach
Sunday - relaxation day/Disney Springs
Monday - Animal Kingdom
Tuesday - Magic Kingdom
Wednesday - Epcot
Thursday - Hollywood Studios
Friday - driving home, womp womp

I hope you'll join in!

 

[Wayland10]

Following!

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Following

 

[buzzrelly]

Joining in! I've always wanted to do a live-ish TR!

We checked in yesterday for our weeklong of fun...at least that's what we're hoping, because check in day didn't go so well

Oh no! can't wait to hear why!

We're staying at Sports because we got the room for $99/night,

Awesome deal!

 

[VAtink]

Joining in! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Noreen411]

Looking forward to hearing more…

 

[kclark9830]

Following!

Welcome

 

[kclark9830]

Following

Thanks for joining in!

 

[kclark9830]

Joining in! I've always wanted to do a live-ish TR!


Oh no! can't wait to hear why!



Awesome deal!

Thanks for joining in! It really is a great deal!

 

[kclark9830]

Joining in! Can't wait to read more!

Welcome!!!

Looking forward to hearing more…

Thanks for joining in!!!

 

[kclark9830]

Travel Days

Hi Again everyone! We are relaxing in our room before we head over to the food court for some supper.

I'll go ahead and give you a rundown of our travel days, which were Friday and Saturday (yesterday). It was a super busy week leading up to Friday. School is starting soon, and I have about a million things to get ready at the school before that happens. It was stressful, but by Thursday I finally felt like I'd done enough to focus on Disney .

Friday, hubby worked all day. We would be meeting up with my parents, and my sister and her family, to begin the drive to Orlando. My sister and her family are staying here at All Star Sports too, and my parents are over at Riverside.

The plan was to drive halfway Friday night, stop at a hotel, and finish the drive Saturday morning.

We did get a late start, but the halfway drive was uneventful. We were driving straight down Alabama, from top to almost the bottom! We got to our hotel shortly after midnight. It was a Hampton Inn in Dothan, and it was clean and comfortable. We had a nice big room.



Nothing fancy or unique, but we would be here only briefly. In the morning, we had breakfast in our hotel (not good ), and then we got back on the road.

Again, it was a completely uneventful drive. Saturday traffic was decent! Before long, we passed into Florida!



We stopped at two different rest stops, but shortly after 2pm we were passing under *the* sign!



I'm going to leave you there, and then we will get into what is the same day, but I'll call it *arrival* day . Again, this was only yesterday (Saturday), just to orient anyone reading this today (Sunday).

I'll be back!!!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

I love that you're doing a live trip report! So fun!

 

[kclark9830]

I love that you're doing a live trip report! So fun!

I hope to keep up with it every day at least a little!!!

 

[kclark9830]

Animal Kingdom part 1

Today is our Animal Kingdom day! We're taking our midday break in our room currently, and will be heading back in about an hour. I'll give you a quick rundown of our morning. Eventually I'll add extra updates for our arrival day and Springs day .

We were out at the bus stop at 7:07. The bus times said bus would arrive at 7:08, but no. It was pulling out as we approached. Oh well. The next bus came within 10 minutes and we were the first on!

We had arrived shortly after that, and we assumed we would breeze through security. Again, no.

I held my umbrella out in front of me, and I had nothing else in my bag, but I still got pulled aside to be searched.

We ended up tapping in just after 7:30, but we didn't mind because we were not heading to FoP. Instead, we planned to hit every other ride in the park while wait times were low.

This turned out to be a GREAT plan. We did Navi as a walk on, then the Safari with probably 10 minutes of waiting.

First ride of the trip at Navi!



It was a great safari! We've never done it in the morning, and the animals were nice and active. The first animal we saw was an okapi. My son Miles had never seen one of these, and he yelled out, "It's a shape shifter!" That was great.

We saw very active hippos, zebras, giraffe, only one elephant, and cheetahs, lions, and painted dogs.

We power walked across the park to Expedition Everest. If it seems like we were on a mission, we definitely were. We wanted to hit all the rides without Lightning Lanes but still while they had low waits!

EE had a posted 20 min wait, but it ended up being only around 10. This was actually my first time riding EE, and Miles's first time, too.






So, Ashlyn and Micheal loved it (again). Miles and I...not so much . But we were not chickens. So mission accomplished.

When that finished, we headed on over to dinosaur. It was a walk on, and it was a fun, and kind of painful (haha) race against time.

Now we felt like we could relax! We wanted the strawberry ice cream sandwich from Dino Bites, but it was only 9:30, and DB didn't open until 11.

We decided to go to Kali River Rapids instead. It had a posted wait of only 5 minutes! Well, it ended up being 30 , but my sister and her family met up with us as we got in the line, and it was a fun wait with them.

Miles and I got soaked! It felt wonderful. Have I mentioned, it is HOT ?

When we were coming out of the exit, the monkey enclosure was super active. They were swinging and hee hee'ing and hoo hoo'ing. It was fun to watch!

Now we really needed a snack. I ate a yogurt for breakfast in our room, but no one else had had anything but water and Gatorade. So, we stopped at Tamu Tamu for dole whip!



Breakfast of champions?

By now, it was 10:40, and we were right beside Festival of the Lion King. The next show was at 11, so we hopped in line to enjoy the next show. We were in the elephant section.

I love the Tumble Monkeys!





Now we were done for the morning! It was a super successful morning, and we did everything we wanted except meet Dug and Russell. I do hate that, Miles wanted to meet them. Technically, if we left now, we could make it before they end for the day, but I don't think we're going to.

Tonight, our plan is to get in line for FoP, then eat at Rainforest Cafe with my sister and her family, and my parents! I'll update later to let you know how it goes!



Taken as we were leaving the park...

 

[buzzrelly]

to begin the drive to Orlando.

Been there, done that . We'll be driniving down again in October. From CT it's about a 19 hour drive so we break it up and have a really long day on the first day and just a couple hours on the second.

We got to our hotel shortly after midnight. It was a Hampton Inn in Dothan, and it was clean and comfortable

We usually do Holiday Inn but my DH had a terrible experience last time he drove down alone and there was dirty soap and an actual toothbrush left in the room so he refuses to stay there again. We'll be at the Hampton Inn in October. They seem to get decent reviews.

In the morning, we had breakfast in our hotel (not good ),

It never is!

I held my umbrella out in front of me, and I had nothing else in my bag, but I still got pulled aside to be searched.

Ugh...that's definitely me. I mentally prepare for it now and when they don't pull me aside it's a gift!

We power walked across the park to Expedition Everest. If it seems like we were on a mission, we definitely were. We wanted to hit all the rides without Lightning Lanes but still while they had low waits!

Definitely do-able at AK!

So, Ashlyn and Micheal loved it (again). Miles and I...not so much . But we were not chickens. So mission accomplished.

At least you tried it! I've come to love EE but that backward part makes me a little woozy

We wanted the strawberry ice cream sandwich from Dino Bites, but it was only 9:30, and DB didn't open until 11.

Aw, darn! I definitely want to try that too!

Sounds like you're having a fun first day!

 

[kclark9830]

Animal Kingdom part 2

Hiya Pals! Let me wrap up part 2 of AK and then I'll try to at least start yesterday's activities at Magic Kingdom! We decided to sleep in today. We're heading to Epcot, but no rope dropping for us today!

Let me just say that I think everyone and their brother got that Disney+ subscriber deal for $99/night at Sports . It is PACKED here. At the bus stops at the parks we walk past lots of empty stalls, but Sports always has a crowd! Not a complaint at all, only an observation. I'm curious on Disney's motivation in only pushing this one resort so heavily?

I'll also say that we have now stayed at all 3 All Stars and Pop, and I definitely understand why Sports tends to be people's least favorite. It is still totally suitable, but it's at the bottom of my list.

Ok, now into the AK day!.....
.
.
We finished our midday break and headed back to the bus stop at around 4 PM. We made the executive decision to leave our park bag behind, as we hadn't used it at all during the morning. You'll see that turned out to be a bad decision. Dohn dohn dohn!

It took a bit for a bus to pull up, as again one was leaving just as we were approaching . But it wasn't too long of a wait, maybe 10-12 minutes?

Security was a breeze with no park bag, and we headed straight to Flights of Passage. The posted wait was 65 minutes, and our actual wait was 55 minutes, so not bad.






In line, we were right behind this lady on YouTube I watch from time to time. I enjoy her stuff, so it was neat to see her. I didn't say hi, though, because I totally blanked on the name of her channel. But that's ok, she has no idea .

The ride was amazing as always, though I'll say, you could tell a marked difference in the enthusiasm of the CM 's in the morning versus right near closing! Not that I blame them. I'm always very ready to go home at the end of any given day.

AS we exited the ride, we realized it was POURING rain outside. And we had left our bag back at Sports, with our umbrella and ponchos.



That is NOT very magical Disney! Can't you control your own weather?!

It was 5:37, and we had a dining rez at 6 at Rainforest Cafe. I pulled up the weather app, and it was obvious the rain wasn't stopping anytime soon.

So we bit the bullet and headed out. We weren't alone, and lots of people were sloshing through the downpour with us.

We made it to Rainforest Cafe with about 10 minutes to spare, so we promptly picked out the cheapest tee shirts we could find and bought them, then changed in the bathroom.

Not the way I wanted to spend that $100, but you do what you've got to do!

I called my sister, who was with her family and our parents. They were over at Dinosaur trying to wait out the rain. They had also left all their ponchos at the resort. You'd think we were newbs, but we've been here lots of times.

They came on through the rain too, and we got checked in and seated very promptly.

They seated us at 2 tables, us six adults at one and the 4 kids directly across from us. It was a great meal, and a lot of fun as we shivered together and talked about the rain, and our day.


There in the middle is our kids. They were super well behaved!

My mom ordered 3 volcanoes (chocolate cakes with ice cream and whipped cream). The waiter warned her that these were pretty big, but she said she wanted everyone to have their fill.



Well, they came, and they were pretty big. Ha! Needless to say, we still have a cake here in our room. Don't think it's going to get eaten!

Once the meal was finished, we walked out to the buses together and headed "home."

Some swimming was done, and then it was bedtime, but overall it was a fun, successful day at AK!

Here are a couple other random photos of our day!

 

[kclark9830]

Been there, done that . We'll be driniving down again in October. From CT it's about a 19 hour drive so we break it up and have a really long day on the first day and just a couple hours on the second.



We usually do Holiday Inn but my DH had a terrible experience last time he drove down alone and there was dirty soap and an actual toothbrush left in the room so he refuses to stay there again. We'll be at the Hampton Inn in October. They seem to get decent reviews.



It never is!



Ugh...that's definitely me. I mentally prepare for it now and when they don't pull me aside it's a gift!



Definitely do-able at AK!



At least you tried it! I've come to love EE but that backward part makes me a little woozy



Aw, darn! I definitely want to try that too!

Sounds like you're having a fun first day!

Every trip I come with a list of snacks to try, and I rarely get any of them. I don't know why, it just never works out.

Yesterday we did MK, and, spoiler alert, I didn't get that snack either. haha!

 

[GGOOFY1]

 

[kclark9830]

Magic Kingdom part 1

Yesterday was Magic Kingdom day, and it was magical . It really was a fantastic, and full, day!

We bought Lightning Lanes for MK and the rest of our park days. We debated not doing them at Epcot, but when they announced the TT reopening, we decided we'd do it that day, too.

So, we were up and out at the bus stops at 7:45. A bus was filling as we arrived, and we didn't make it on (people were packed in like sardines!), but we were first in line for the next one, which pulled up almost immediately. So we didn't have to stand! We were happy about that.

We had decided that after the rain at AK, we would take our park bag no matter what, but we changed up how we would take the umbrella through. It is now Miles's job to carry it through security. I'm assuming they're not going to pull a little kid out for security. Maybe I'm wrong, but at least at MK we didn't have any issues .

We headed straight for 7DMT. We hadn't ridden it in SIX years! Well, at 8:15, the line was already pretty long, wrapped all the way around to the Little Mermaid ride. We got in line and waited.

It didn't open at 8:30. It didn't open by 8:36. I looked at Ashlyn and she looked at me. We'd tried rope dropping it 4 years ago, and it didn't open as scheduled, and we stuck it out. It didn't end up opening for more than an hour that year, and we lost all that early morning time to do other things.

We didn't want to repeat that mistake, so off to Neverland we went.






The wait was around 15 minutes. It ended up being all we did during EE, but Peter Pan's Flight is a must do for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Next, we did IaSW as a walk on, and then we headed over to use our LM lightning lane. Well, LM was down. In fact, they had already converted our LL to a multiple experience pass!

So, we continued on to Storybook Circus where we did Barnstormer, Dumbo, and Storybook Treats!



With LL, we got the photo lense filter in they Disney Experience app. Miles always has fun with this.




I rode Dumbo with Ashlyn, and our elephant was broken . That was a bummer. One of the reasons I love that ride it because I love going high and getting the view of Cinderella Castle, the Beast's castle, and Prince Eric's palace.

Anyway, at Storybook Treats, we got caramel popcorn and a pineapple sugar cookie. Both were amazing !

Just then, my sister called. They were in Fantasyland. We met up at Winnie the Pooh, where we did our next LL there, right at 10.



We tried to make our next LL, for Space, but the system was down.

I went over to Guest Services at the blue umbrella, and they made our next LL's for us.

Our upcoming LL was Tiana's Bayou Adventure, but before we headed out of Fantasyland we decided to try 7DMT. My parents had arrived by then, and they met us at the front. The current wait time said 55 minutes, but it actually only took 30!






I just love this ride! I have missed it .

Now we made the trek over to Tiana's BA, with a pit stop to wet our cooling towels along the way. It was hot again, of course.

I loved Tiana's! I won't lie, I miss Splash Mountain, but I don't dislike Tiana's at all, as we love the Princess and the Frog.

This was a great use to our Lightning Lane for sure!








We were all hungry at this point. The next LL we had was for Space, so we mobile ordered from Cosmic Ray's and crossed the park.

Crowds were thick. They've been thick all week, for sure. I'm sure it gets worse! But it has felt very crowded, and getting across the park took a bit.

It was hard to find a seat at Cosmic Ray's, but that is to be expected at lunchtime. Our food was perfectly fine, nothing spectacular but nothing bad either.

We had a plan at this point to split up, with most people going to Space, but a few of us going to do LM and meet characters. I'm going to leave you here for now, as we're getting ready for Epcot! Stay tuned!!!

 

[kclark9830]