Return of the Porg - A June 2018 TR *updated 6/24 Epic DISmeet highlights day 7 COMPLETED!*

[paradesintherain]

Intro


Jambo, hello! (there’s really no cool theme to the Contemporary so no fun way to say hi)


Welcome to my third trip report! You can read the other two here and here!

This trip came about because my dad had a work conference to attend at the Contemporary so we got a great rate on the room and then added a few extra days at the start of the trip, plus when you have APs you might as well use them!

So let’s get to the nitty gritty trip details, shall we?

WHO?
First, there’s me, Kara! I’m a 31 year old nurse who lives in Kansas City. I have two cats, Princess Leia and {Princess} Merida. My interests include traveling, Star Wars and Marvel –particularly Captain America, rides with drops (so my favorites are Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain), Alamo Drafthouse, streetcars, The Lion King, etc etc.

Next is my dad, Tony! He’s an engineer and longtime Disney fan. His interests include happy hours, Grumpy, and deliberately calling things the wrong names, ie Haunted House for Haunted Mansion.

Coincidentally, Sam, the cousin of my friend Allie (who you may remember from the May the Porg Be With You TR) was also at Disney World for the same dates. This was her first visit to Disney World, and also our first time to meet, though we’ve been internet friends for a while!

Sam is a huge fan of Stitch, has never seen Frozen (I know, I didn’t think that was possible!), and is an Annual Passholder at Disneyland. She’s also super smart and dedicated and just graduated from college with honors!

WHEN?
June 21-28
Yes, ugh, 2 days before Toy Story Land opens.


HOW?
Southwest Airlines! The only way we fly!
We’ll be using our Annual Passes for our tickets.


WHY?
A work conference for my dad, but really just for fun.


WHERE?
Animal Kingdom Lodge – Jambo House June 21-24

Contemporary Resort June 24-28

It was a really wonderful trip, despite the Florida heat and humidity, and it was a wonderful mix of solo days and days spent with other people. I took TONS of pictures, and I can't wait to share everything that happened! ​

 

[paradesintherain]

Table of Contents


Day 1 - June 21 - Arrival!
Day 1 - June 21st - Dinner and Animal Kingdom!
Day 1 - June 21st - Best Safari EVER!
Day 1 - June 21st - Pandoran Sunset
Day 1 - June 21st - Animal Kingdom at Night!
*****
Day 2 - June 22nd - Bon Voyage Breakfast!
Day 2 - June 22nd - Epcot!
Day 2 - June 22nd - World Showcase!
Day 2 - June 22nd - World Showcase drags on!
Day 2 - June 22nd - Guardians Awesome Mix Live!
Day 2 - June 22nd - Finally leaving Epcot!
*****
Day 3 - June 23rd - Boma and DHS!
Day 3 - June 23rd - Hollywood Studios!
Day 3 - June 23rd - Launch Bay & Lunch!
Day 3 - June 23d - Character Meets!
Day 3 - June 23rd - Porgs & Rainbows!
Day 3 - June 23rd - Sunset Boulevard!
******
Day 4 - June 24th - California Grill Brunch!
Day 4 - June 24th - Afternoon at MK!
Day 4 - June 24th - Festival of Fantasy!
Day 4 - June 24th - Contemporary Room Tour!
Day 4 - June 24th - Back to the Magic Kingdom!
Day 4 - June 24th - Happily Ever After!
Day 4 - June 24th - Evening in MK!
******
Day 5 - June 25th - Solo at DHS!
Day 5 - June 25th - Solo at DHS, part 2!
Day 5 - June 24th - Disney Springs & More!
Day 5 - June 25th - Magic Kingdom Evening!
******
Day 6 - June 26th - Solo at Epcot!
Day 6 - June 26th - Solo at Epcot, part 2!
Day 6 - June 26th - Detour at Boardwalk!
Day 6 - June 26th - And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down
Day 6 - June 26th - Last Moments in Epcot!
Day 6 - June 26th - Evening at Animal Kingdom!
Day 6 - June 26th - Evening at Animal Kingdom, part 2!
******
Day 7 - June 27th - Animal Kingdom, again!
Day 7 - June 27th - Animal Kingdom, part 2!
Day 7 - June 27th - A Chipmunk Dance Party!
Day 7 - June 27th - A Few More Characters!
Day 7 - June 27th - Last Night in Animal Kingdom!
Day 7 - June 27th - Last Night in Animal Kingdom, part 2!
******
Day 8 - June 28th - Last Day at the World!
Day 8 - June 28th - Last Day, part 2!
THE END.



Epic Girls Trip Highlights
Epic Girls Trip Highlights Day 1!
Epic Girls Trip Highlights Day 2!
Epic Girls Trip Highlights Day 3!
Epic Girls Trip Highlights Day 4!
Epic Girls Trip Highlights Day 5!
Epic Girls Trip Highlights Day 6!
Epic Girls Trip Highlights Day 7 - Last Day!






Real Life updates/August Trip planning

Real Life update - August trip!
August Trip Planning part 1!
August Trip Planning part 2!
August Trip Planning part 3!
August Trip planning part 4!
Mini TR part 1: Berlin, Germany
Mini TR part 2: Romantic Road
Mini TR part 3: Castle Harburg​

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Excited for your TR!

 

[buzzrelly]

Joining!

 

[jchurch0409]

Following along!

 

[richmo]

Sounds like another good trip! (Umm, did you let Gaston have his way with you?) I was kind of in the area, was on a cruise out of NY/NJ June 22-29...in Port Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center on the 24th. Weather was great for us...hope it was for you too.

 

[starousse]

Yay! Porg is back!!!!

 

[Raeven]

Following along!

 

[kde175]

Yay!!! Following along!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following! Can't wait to see the Porg's adventures in June!

 

[pepperandchips]

Woo hoo! Here from the beginning on one finally!!!

 

[Sajchinook2015]

Love your trip reports. Will be staying at CTR next spring. Can hardly wait to see if you liked it.

 

[dianachaney77]

I can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[paradesintherain]

Excited for your TR!

Thanks! I'm loving yours so far!

Joining!

Following along!

Thanks for joining in!

Sounds like another good trip! (Umm, did you let Gaston have his way with you?) I was kind of in the area, was on a cruise out of NY/NJ June 22-29...in Port Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center on the 24th. Weather was great for us...hope it was for you too.

It was a great trip! How was yours?? The weather was ok... it got really hot and humid some days!

Unfortunately Gaston did not have his way with me this trip - that's from a past trip! It's just one of the funniest pictures ever.

Yay! Porg is back!!!!

Tell a friend! haha

Following along!

Yay!

Yay!!! Following along!

Hello, welcome!

Following! Can't wait to see the Porg's adventures in June!

Hi!! He had a great time and some funny moments!

Woo hoo! Here from the beginning on one finally!!!

Nice and punctual

Love your trip reports. Will be staying at CTR next spring. Can hardly wait to see if you liked it.

Aww thanks! I think you'll enjoy the Contemporary! It has tons of fantastic qualities.

I can't wait to hear about your trip!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[richmo]

...It was a great trip! How was yours?? The weather was ok... it got really hot and humid some days!...

The cruise was great. Funny how it started out cool and cloudy leaving NJ and steadily warmed up as we headed south to FL and Bahamas stops, as you would expect. But, it kept getting warmer and more humid heading back north. 97 last Friday the day we docked back in Bayonne and its holding about there for a couple more days.

 

[shannie102]

eek- so excited!! Hope Porg made the trip too!!

 

[DLo]

Popping over from your last TR. looking forward to reading about your new adventures

 

[alizas3figs]

I really enjoyed your last 2 trip reports. I’m looking forward to this one. You take some pretty amazing photos!

 

[paradesintherain]

The cruise was great. Funny how it started out cool and cloudy leaving NJ and steadily warmed up as we headed south to FL and Bahamas stops, as you would expect. But, it kept getting warmer and more humid heading back north. 97 last Friday the day we docked back in Bayonne and its holding about there for a couple more days.

Glad to hear it was a good cruise! The weather here is horribly hot and humid now too.

eek- so excited!! Hope Porg made the trip too!!

Spoiler alert: the Porg absolutely made the trip!

Popping over from your last TR. looking forward to reading about your new adventures

Thanks for coming over!

I really enjoyed your last 2 trip reports. I’m looking forward to this one. You take some pretty amazing photos!

Thanks so much! I love taking them so I'm glad people get some enjoyment out of them!

 

[paradesintherain]

Day 1 - June 21 - Arrival!



Ok, let's get this thing started! On the night of the 20th I didn't have to work, so I finished my packing and laundry and errands and all those other pre-trip things. The cats, of course, "helped".

I went to sleep at a decent time, but I struggled to stay asleep. #nightshiftproblems Dad picked me up around 8 am and we made the short drive to the airport. We got to the airport in plenty of time, but the parking lot shuttle took forever to arrive. I had never waited for a shuttle this long - usually they're around very quickly. While waiting Dad and I discussed how bad the US measurement system is and how metric is far superior and much more precise. We use the metric system in nursing and it's so easy and you don't have to memorize arbitrary numbers. On that note, military time is better as well. Ok, off my soap box now.

Eventually the parking lot shuttle arrived and we got one of their new electric shuttles. It's cool that they have them but they were laid out poorly, and since there had been so few shuttles people really crammed on board. It was kind of insane, and very miserable.

Once we FINALLY made it to the terminal my first order of business was some food. Kansas City airport is very small and doesn't have a whole lot of options so I basically had Burger King, Starbucks and California Pizza Kitchen to choose from. Burger King is gross, and Starbucks food is just microwaved garbage so CPK it is!

I got a breakfast burrito, and it was surprisingly fantastic. It tasted super fresh and was made with lots of my favorite ingredients, like black beans and peppers; and thank goodness I liked it because it was $11. I also got a coffee at Starbucks because I was terribly tired after my sleepless night.

We boarded our 10:25 Southwest flight in the A group (thanks Early Bird!). There were LOTS of late boarders - I was wondering if the parking shuttle situation had people running late. Despite the flight attendants saying repeatedly that the flight was full Dad and I ended up with a row to ourselves, which means I didn't have to sit in the middle seat! Dad always has to have the window seat.

Even though I was really tired, I didn't sleep since I'm not great at sleeping on planes. Instead, I watched Moana, which has become sort of a tradition for me on flights. I love this movie so much.

We arrived a little ahead of schedule, and hopped on the fake-o-rail.

It was raining when we left Kansas City and when we arrived in Florida.

We had decided to let Disney handle our bags this time so we went straight to Magical Express. An older couple was very lost and they saw my Mickey backpack and the lady decided to follow me. It was really cute, and if we got a little ahead she'd remind us not to lose her .

The Magical Express area was fairly busy, but we were scanned and waiting in line by 2:30.

We got a Disney Cruise Line bus! We had a little wait and then were on our way! The bus went by DHS so I got a glimpse of the Star Wars construction.

Before Animal Kingdom Lodge we had one stop at Coronado Springs so we got to see some more construction! Dad thinks this building really ruins the theme of Coronado, but I think it could work well depending on how they do the outside of the tower building.

After our brief stop I noticed some false advertising on Disney's part. RIP Maleficent. But really that Festival of Fantasy advertisement is all about Maleficent... maybe they should change it.

And then we were HOME! Dad had received the room text when we landed so we bypassed the front desk and went straight to our room.

We got a room in Giraffe Trail so we were able to use that staircase right by the entrance.

Our room was 4028, with a pool view! I had only requested close to lobby and 2 queens. Dad was worried they would try to give us a king room since that's what the Poly tried to do last time. The room location was really nice - close to lobby, and the elevators close to us let out very close to the pool and The Mara. So here's some room photos!

I like the sink area, but I HATE the lighting. Can't wait for a room update that hopefully gets some of the lighted makeup mirrors. Half the time I had no idea what my makeup really looked like when I left the room.

And here's the view! It wasn't animals, but I still really loved it.

So I still really love the rooms, BUT I do think they could use some updates. There were hardly any outlets and the lighting, as I mentioned, is pretty terrible. I hope when they do update the rooms they don't take out all the African details though!


Up next: Vacation begins! ​