Welcome, I have enjoyed reading everyone's trip reports over the last couple of years I particularly enjoyed them while I was recovering from a stroke a few years ago. This will be my first trip report. I am Bruce and my spouse of 45 years is Deb and we are from Omaha Nebraska.
Background:
First trip was in the early 90's. I had a job that required flying all over the western half of the United States and I was away from home 35 weeks a year. When home all I wanted to do is veg. My then teen daughters did a good guilt trip on me and I agreed to go on the condition that we rented a car so when we got bored with the land of the big rat, we could explore other parts of Florida.
That trip was life changing. parked our car at the Contemporary and it did not move for a week. The parks were incredible, No worries about the quality of the restaurants, the monorail, the boats, even the busses. I became a disney fanatic.
Many trips followed with the Port Orleans French Quarter being our go to place. The beignets reminded me of New Orleans. Deb and I both took graduate school at Tulane. Our honeymoon was in New Orleans. A couple of years later Disney sent us a 25th anniversary Magic Kingdom guide. It is still on my night stand and I occasionally look at it on a cold winter night. We went to a couple of D23 conventions and a couple of pin trading events. When GF built a DVC addition we took the plunge and bought DVC. We now own GF (direct) and Contemporary (resale) and until the pandemic went a couple of times a year with trips to Hilton Head sprinkled in.
We started with our daughters and now are usually with our daughters and grandsons. The kids went over the summer as baseball, school, football and karate make their lives very busy. This was our first trip alone in quite a few years.
Worries:
We had a direct flight on Southwest scheduled for Wednesday. On the Saturday before SW cancelled thousands of flights. On Monday more flights were cancelled and all the news reports said SW was FUBAR for the foreseeable future. On Tuesday most of the SW flights out of Omaha were cancelled. In addition a strong storm was predicted for Wednesday morning. I never sleep well the night before a Disney trip so when the rain and wind started at 2AM I was fully awake to appreciate the storm. It stopped raining about 5 which was our leave for the airport time. We had 2 inches of rain in our rain gauge and our anemometer registered wind gusts of 48 mph. We were kind of concerned as we made our way to the airport.
I consider myself to be frugal(except at Disney) , while my daughters call me cheap. Parking in a surface lot on the north side of the new parking garage was half the rate of the garage itself. We parked in the lot and walked the third mile to the terminal. The new parking garage has metal slats as a design element. When the wind is just right the garage sings with an interesting ensemble of two or three notes.
Kind of like an aeolian harp or blowing across a soda bottle. To our relief the flight was on time and our flight was uneventful.
Next post, our arrival, Magical Express and other fun events.
First time seeing the baggage claim area in a number of years.
One of the former advantages
to Disney was the Magical Express, we could ignore baggage claim, go straight to the bus and usually were on our way to our hotel in 20 minutes or so, less time than getting our luggage and going through the rental car hassle. . I will miss this and feel Disney is making a
strategic error. Getting us in the bubble is a good thing and without the convenience of ME it will be easier for people to leave the bubble. This time we had to go down and get our luggage, go back up and thencross over the terminal, go down and walk to the bus. The bus came after a 7 minute wait and we were on our way in 21 minutes.
On the bus on our way to BLT. Passed under the big sign and our excitement went up a notch. Our bus driver was Reuben and he kept up a running commentary during our entire ride to BLT ( Our daughter had used up all our saved GF points during the summer).
Welcome home at BLT. We had ordered 50th anniversary magic bands that according to our MDE would be ready when we arrived. They could not find our magic bands and eventually told us that they were still in 'customization'. Not sure what that meant but we had magic bands from prior trips so it was not a big deal.
Our room was not ready so we dropped off our suitcase with the concierge and headed off to find something to eat and then go to the Magic Kingdom to renew our annual pass.
Tried mobile ordering for the first time at the Contempo cafe. There was nobody in the cafe so when I clicked that we were there, a cast member brought out our order. We split a flat bread pizza then off to the magic kingdom.
The monorail was not busy and we had a car to ourselves. Deadest Wednesday afternoon I have ever experienced. Went to customer service and ran into another SNAFU. The cast member helping us said if we renewed today our annual pass would expire in February, making it a 4 month annual pass. After some discussion she told us to wait a minute and clicked furiously on her keyboard. After about 5 minutes we had Incredi passes in our hands with an expiration date of a little over a year. A little pixie dust to make our day.
No hassles getting into the park. Walked down main street and the 50th anniversary castle was impressive. Walked down to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and split a sundae. When we first started coming we would get a kitchen sink and split it with our 2 daughters. It is no longer on the menu. We still have a couple of sinks in our toy box.
The castle was beautiful all decked out for the 50th anniversary. There was a small parade going by so we waved at Mickey and Mini and watched the dancers go by.
We walked over to Buzz Lightyear and there was basically no wait for the ride. Crowds were particularly light on this Wednesday.
We then did the Monsters inc laugh floor which is always fun. We got a text saying our room was ready so we meandered through the shops on main street on our way back to the monorail. Our room was on the 9th floor of BLT with a theme park view. Owners locker groceries and luggage was delivered and we prepared to go to dinner. When we started going to Disney you could just go and planning was completely optional. Now planning is an important part of the experience. We were unable to get reservations at Space 220, Steakhouse 71 or Oga's for this trip so we reserved some of our favorites and usually try to pick one new restaurant each trip.
DInner reservation was for the Grand Floridian Cafe, one of our favorites.
Another monorail trip and arrived on time and we were seated quickly. Menus are now QR codes which will take a lot of getting used to. (English teachers, yes I ended a sentence with a preposition). The french onion soup is no longer on the menu so we started with a shrimp cocktail which was very good. Deb ordered the salmon.
Getting a good steak in Nebraska is not difficult. When I was growing up in the 50's our license plate declared Nebraska to be the "Beef State". Our daughters grew up on venison and a periodic side of beef. After much deliberation I decided on the steak. A Yuengling completed my order. I learned about Yuengling when I went to the Cardinal Center for a trap meet. I also learned about 3 way and 5 way chili on that trip.
The steak and the salmon were wonderful. The potatoes and cooked onion were particularly good. When we were done we realized that we did not have enough time to get back to BLT for the fireworks. We walked past Narcoosies (Another great restaurant) and watched the fireworks from the dock. As they went off I noticed that there was about 4 second delay between the flash and the sound of the explosion. Knowing that the light time of transit for such short distances is negligible we can use the speed of sound to estimate the distance to the explosion. After a few measurements with the stopwatch on my phone I concluded that the flash was about 3,500 ft away.
When we got back to the room we had 12,000 steps. Half a day on a plane and half a day at Disney and 12,000 steps. No wonder I was tired. When we first started going to Disney we would wake up early and take a walk before our daughters woke up. At POFQ we would walk to Riverside and back along the river then do Disney for the entire day. Now walking 12,000 steps is tiring. That is what happens when you are in your mid 70's.
Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. Stay tuned for more
Thursday is Hollywood Studios day. Got up early and had a little breakfast in our room. Got to the bus stop in time to get to the studios about the time of early opening.
We arrived about 10 minutes before the stated early opening time. They were already letting people into the park. As we walked in there was a cast member calling for people wanting to do Rise of the Resistance. Thought that would be a great 'rope drop' ride.
The queue seemed to go on forever. We saw the back of Woody's Lunchbox as we wandered back and forth through the park. It took 90 minutes to get to the line by the muppets.
At that point we were informed that the ride was down. What to do. We had already invested 90 minutes in line. Wait another undetermined time? bail and try to do something else? We decided to wait 30 minutes and if the line was not moving we would bail and try to do something else. After 24 minutes the line started moving again. Now we went back and forth along the the side of the muppets building. After 2.5 hours and a 2 mile walk we finally made it into the entrance to the ride. We started the ride 11:30 a three hour tour of the grounds to get to the ride. The best line of the day was a cast member saying "you are in line for three hours just to be captured by the first order. The ride itself was amazing.
After the ride we were thirsty and a diet coke thermal detonator was acquired. I had read that they had stopped selling them due to airline security concerns but that was not true.
We then wandered through Toy Story land and did a little shopping. Like yesterday there was a noticeable lack of 50th anniversary items, kind of a bummer.
Our new restaurant for this trip was Mama Melrose. Somehow we had never been there. We split a spaghetti and meatball lunch. It was good but it is not a lunch place. The restaurant would be better for dinner.
Back to BLT for a short rest before heading out to Disney Springs for dinner. Wandered through the Disney Store, still very little 50th anniversary merchandise. Dinner on Thursday was at Raglan Road. Our youngest daughter has celiacs and we really like their gluten free fish and chips and onion rings.
Apparently you can only post 10 pictures in a post, good to know. A beer flight completed the order.There was an Irish band from Scotland and a small ensemble of Irish dancers.
Great food, good entertainment and we left being completely full. A quick stop at Ghirardelli's for some chocolate snacks then back to BLT. Got back just in time to watch the fireworks. Sitting on our deck, nibbling on some chocolates. TV on channel 105
watching a great show. Using the same method as yesterday I estimated that the blasts were about 2,000 ft away. 21,000 steps today, Disney exhausted. I was having trouble with photos being rotated by 90 degrees when I tried to post them. I discovered that if I opened the photo in preview, rotated it left then right to get it back to its original orientation, then did a save, the photo would then upload properly, strange.
Following along too. My husband and I are in our 70's too and loved disney too. I am anxious to hear how it's going with no LL's or genie buy in's? It is the way we would do disney, too, if and when we ever go back.
It sounds like your trip is going great so far
We ate at Mama Melrose's for dinner and the food was great, but we are not foodies at all LOL.
I find it interesting that you are keeping track of the steps each day. It makes me tired seeing that We kept track of miles (at least our daughter did), and it was amazing to see just how much we walked while at disney.
Can't wait for more of your report.
Friday is Magic Kingdom day with dinner in the world showcase Germany. Checked to see if our magic bands had arrived and was told they had no order on record. Bummer. The monorail was almost full as we went around the lake..The bridge is done so you can walk from GF to MK. Entry was quick and easy and we made our way to Haunted Mansion. The ride was pretty much a walk on. It was excellent as always. Checking wait times after the ride most rides were 120 minutes wait time. Walked over to Buzz and rode it again. It was already hot so we did the people mover. Deb is a big pin collector so we went to Frontierland to look at the pins at the trading post. Picked up a breakfast sandwich from a kiosk on the way. Once again we were disappointed in the lack of 50th anniversary merchandise. They did have a limited edition 50th anniversary pin for annual pass holders that we picked up. Still no train and that is a bummer. It is amazing how fast a day goes when you are at Disney. Went back to main street and watched another mini parade.
Wandered through the main street shops and picked up a few early Christmas presents and gifts for our family. Went to EPCOT for the afternoon. The lime monorail car we were on had a piercing whine coming from the back of the car. In addition, a young couple stood up when we got on and offered us their seats. A first time for everything. We gratefully sat down. We have a greenhouse and a large garden every year. When we took Deb's mom a few years ago (4 generations on that trip), we did the behind the seeds tour and throughly enjoyed it. We even do a little hydroponics now in our greenhouse. Epcot is basically one large construction
site. .
Started with test track, then wandered through a few shops in the world showcase.
We were at the right time at the right place as we watched the draw bridge go up to allow the evening show boats to enter the lake. Dinner was at Biergarten, one of my favorite places. They have recently gone back to being a buffet which is a style I like. I remember taking our grandsons there for the first time. Andy was about 2 and did not like the loud sounds from the band. The next time he was 4 and was dancing in the aisles to the music and he was mesmerized by the long horn. Back in time for the fireworks. Another 20,000 step day, Tired and sore, this never gets old. Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom.
Saturday was Animal Kingdom day. Plans to wake up early were dashed by us sleeping in. What the heck, it is vacation. The bus was easy peasy.
Walked on to Kilimanjaro Safari then did festival of the lion king. The show has changed a little from what I remembered but it was still great. Off to Na'vi river journey. Did mobile ordering from Flame Tree BBQ for lunch. Walked over and texted that we were there. Waited 10 minutes then got a text that we missed our order. HUH??? We never got a text telling us our order was ready. Went to the counter and picked it up without any issue. Deb had the pulled pork and I got messy with the ribs. Split a cupcake to finish the meal. Kali River was our last ride at AK. When we started at Disney our day was full of rides. Now we kind of take it as the muses direct us and do a couple of rides and shows then we are done. Back to BLT for a short afternoon rest. Off to EPCOT to eat around the world. This was our fifth or sixth trip during Food and Wine and it has become a tradition. First stop was Canada for the "Le Cellier" Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon and it was as good as we remembered. Then to France for the cheese beignets. Not as good as advertised. Germany for brats and beer then finished up with some ribs. When we first started going to EPCOT the world showcase shops featured goods made in the various countries. Now even the heavy coats in Norway are made in China. Disappointing but that is the reality of the world economy. Tomorrow we go home. 3.5 days of Disney, a short but satisfying trip. Back on the monorail to BLT. Another 20,000 step day. Fireworks were great as expected, then some reading and sleep. Read three books on my iPad this trip. Mostly in airports, on airplanes and in the evening after the fireworks.
Going home is always filled with mixed emotions. We had a great time but were ready to see our cats and sleep in our own bed. ME picked us up and delivered us to MCO without a hitch. Checked our luggage went through security with our PRE and then had a little lunch at the airport. Flight to Midway then two hour layover and back to river city.
I always have to check out the dive bomber hanging from the ceiling and the story of the battle of midway. Stopped at a grocery store on the way home to pick up something for dinner.
Our new magic bands had arrived while we were at Disney. Oh well, we will get good use out of them.
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