This is Magical, this is Horrific, and this is Epic! TR 8/27-9/7/25, updated 10/3*

[luvpoohandcompany]

We rode 3x and I have to show all 3 pictures, love this ride and some of the people on the ride are hilarious to look at, haha

Cracking photos!

We walked the Gorilla trail today and said hi to the hidden Hippo,

I love those trails. Laughed at your hidden hippo
Overall sounds like a pretty great day even if the parade was a no-go.
The good thing about all those Disney steps is it allows you to eat all the Disney snacks

 

[Wood Nymph]

I had made WtP, HM, and PPF. We arrived around 7pm, the park was very busy because it was a nonparty night. We did our FP rides.

We planned on watching the parade but it was really busy and Andi did not want to try and find a spot in the large crowds. We decided to head out.

The quantity of party nights at MK really makes non-party nights very crowded. We have three nights out of five that have MK closed at night during our Oct trip.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

We have three nights out of five that have MK closed at night during our Oct trip.

That’s crazy! Seems unfair to have so many party nights at MK is such a short space of time given most people’s budget and vacation time.
Regular tickets can be pricey enough especially for families. I hope you manage to see and do all you want on your trip.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Glad to hear the Summerhouse cookies are good. I have no desire to head to Gideon's but Summerhouse intrigues me. However, that requires going to Springs which I also hate.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I didn't either! I love the wallpaper! And now I want to stay there next time!

It really looks like a YC or at least what I think one would look like in the rooms, more dark wood. I miss the constellation curtains!

day we will get to Jaleo.

This is such a good deal and the food is delicious

I hope by the time we go the parade won't be as fresh and just a tiny bit easier to get a spot for. We are not big fans of the chaos of fireworks.

It was really crowded and lining up 1hour before ugh, not for us! We are short and as you know very hard to see the parade if there are 5-10 people in front of you!

All of those pics are so funny!

I agree! Disney must know I love Dinosaur because I always get my pictures on this ride!

Oooooooo...this looks good and I love Sangria!

This is a great hidden gem great food with a great price!

used to... but haven't in my last few trips.

I keep renewing mine but honestly don’t use it as much as I could

What... no four park challenge?
Soooooo disappointed with you.

Haha Andi and I did 4 parks a day many times in the past, not so much anymore

Dude in the back is like: "Meh. I'm old enough I lived with these critters."

Haha that is what I thought! He looks like this is nothing!

The whole car! But especially the couple in the back row.

I love looking at these pictures! Thank goodness I always get my Dinosaur pictures

The what?

Do you se the Hippo? I thought he was a rock, Andi had to correct me, lol

I heard that too. Then again, I would think 40 would be a pretty good span for a gorilla.

I think I read he was there from the beginning of AK!

You should write ads for deodorant commercials.

Don’t want to stink on a stinkin hot day, use this deodorant haha

Noted and... I don't mind eating at the bar at all. I've had some great convos with the bartenders.

This is such a great deal and delicious food, we will be back

Did she understand the accent or was he speaking Spanish as well?

Both actually once they knew she spoke Spanish they preferred to talk to her in Spanish. I was like don’t you know hey Minnesota accent, oh yeah haha

How did they compare with Gideons?

They are a good second when you don’t want to wait an hour for Gideon’s

Yeah... not okay.

Don’t get beignets from there head to POFQ!

So a delayed win/win.

 

[pkondz]

I keep renewing mine but honestly don’t use it as much as I could

Mine lapsed. We’ll see if I ever renew it.

Haha Andi and I did 4 parks a day many times in the past, not so much anymore

I remember.

Do you se the Hippo? I thought he was a rock, Andi had to correct me, lol

Don’t want to stink on a stinkin hot day, use this deodorant haha

Perfect!

They are a good second when you don’t want to wait an hour for Gideon’s

I don’t want to wait an hour for a cookie.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I know.....I still remember chatting to you and Andi near 7DMT. Now you are a wonderful friend and super fun travel partner! One day I'll be back at WDW.

I miss you! we would be planning our trip right about now! I think I am going solo over Thanksgiving week because Joe and Jack are going pheasant hunting and Andi &Kait aren’t coming home so a little me time in Disney is my plan!

Those Labour Day specials were the best!!! I got $188 at Boardwalk, $194 at AKL, $212 at Poly etc. Those were the days!

Those deals were amazing! Thanks to the Dis I found those awesome deals back then, crazy how now the resort prices have tripled for those specific resorts

Cracking photos!

Another reason I love the Dinosaur ride!

I love those trails. Laughed at your hidden hippo
Overall sounds like a pretty great day even if the parade was a no-go.
The good thing about all those Disney steps is it allows you to eat all the Disney snacks

I am terrible at finding the hippo, once I told Andi or D look at the hippo under the water and it was a rock, I can’t win!

The quantity of party nights at MK really makes non-party nights very crowded. We have three nights out of five that have MK closed at night during our Oct trip

Very true! We usually avoid MK on nonparty nights but ugh it is the only time to see the parade and fireworks!

Glad to hear the Summerhouse cookies are good. I have no desire to head to Gideon's but Summerhouse intrigues me. However, that requires going to Springs which I also hate.

The cookies are really good with many choices and the best part no wait! I am not a big fan of DS, Andi loves the lounges and dining at DS!

 

[disneyAndi14]

That’s crazy! Seems unfair to have so many party nights at MK is such a short space of time given most people’s budget and vacation time.
Regular tickets can be pricey enough especially for families. I hope you manage to see and do all you want on your trip.

It is crazy how many parties Disney has now and even more crazy is the parties are more crowded than MK is during the day on a party day! Spoiler I love trick or treating and the Boo to you parade but ugh our party was so stinking crowded, I hated that part!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Hello there!

Today was DHS, a later lunch in Epcot, and a fancy affair at CG in the CR. We will be going to the Savor, Sips, and Sparkle. A fireworks party.

Our plan was DHS in the morning. We did not want to be part of that awful RD so we took our time. We decided to walk to the park stopping at both the Swan and the Dolphin along the way. The Swan has a nice grab and go breakfast/coffee bar. We got a fancy cold brew and pastry to eat along the way.

Our walk was lovely, it was hot but not oppressive yet! We saw several people running along this path and can I just say they looked miserable! I am not a runner and looking at these runners made me glad I wasn’t one, haha

We had FP$$ for TSM, SDD, ToT, and a fancy FP for Rise.

Our first one was for TSM, we decided to go in SB first and use our FP for a second ride. We were in the queue at 9:30am.

This worked good because it was now time for SDD. I was able to make a FP for MMRR while waiting for SDD.

After SDD, we decided to see one of the new shows, we couldn’t do both just because of our late lunch so we decided on The Little Mermaid show. We did this at 10:30. We really enjoyed the show!



Now I need to see the new Villain show on my next visit.

Our next stop was a brief stay at a very creepy hotel!

Despite the dusty, and weird atmosphere we loved it!

We headed into GE after our quick terror hotel visit.

It was time to ride Rise with our fancy FP$$. We both love this ride. It was raining a little bit at this time but soon we were inside the ride queue. The ride was awesome, everything was working well except the big guns, they haven’t worked in forever! It was nice to see the preshow again since I have done SR the last few trips. We had one ride left before heading out. MMRR was our last ride with our FP$$. Our wait was short and before you know it we were dancing with Daisy. Such a cute ride.

Our plan was to take the Skyliner to Epcot, we had a reservation for Shiki-Sai in Japan. Andi love’s Japanese food and wanted to try this place.

We had a fun Skyliner ride over to Epcot.


Our ADR was for 2:20pm. The restaurant is where Tokyo Dining use to be and we loved that place.

We spent a little time in Mitsokoshi and bought some mochi cakes, mango and pineapple. I still don’t know if I liked it. Reminded me of a flavored marshmallow?? Weird texture to me. I won’t be buying again. I will try something else. We got our text and headed upstairs to the restaurant. It is beautiful in there.

We had a table near the window and it was lovely.

Our server was very friendly and helpful. We didn’t want to eat much since we had an all you care to eat event later in the evening. There was a chicken and beer special so Andi got that, we also shared a couple sushi rolls, a shrimp crunchy roll and a veggie roll.



I also got the small skewer of shrimp. I just had water to drink.

We really enjoyed everything and would return to try more things on the menu.

Once we finished our meal, it was time to walk back to the resort for a rest. We had a new adventure to attend. Follow me to the next post……

 

[disneyAndi14]

Savor, Sip, and Sparkle! a truly wonderful way to enjoy HEA fireworks.

After a little downtime, we ordered a Lyft and headed to the CR. Our party was scheduled for 8:30pm with fireworks at 9pm. We headed up to the check in area, this is the same place you check in for California Grill. We got checked in with a wristband and told where to wait. It was a little early to line up for us, so we decided to go upstairs and look at the shops. I love all the Halloween merchandise. I didn’t buy anything at this time, it is really fun to look around!

We headed back down and lined up. I would say there was at least 6-7 groups ahead of us. A little before the scheduled time, we were escorted up to the party. We were given a placeholder for our table and a mimosa upon arrival.

Andi and I found a nice 2 top table close to the bar and a window. The food was set up in a room next door which also offered seating.

The food offering this evening included

BBQ Fried Chicharron

Mojo Chicken Chilaquiles

Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli

Spicy Tuna Sushi Roll

California Sushi Roll

Poached Shrimp in Pineapple-Jalapeno Aguachile

Red Snapper and Scallop Ceviche

Tuna Poke Cones

Heirloom Tomato and Smoked Mozzarella Focaccia

Tacos al Pastor

Cheeseburger Sliders

My favorites from this list were The shrimp, cheeseburger sliders and the goat cheese ravioli! The ravioli was worth the admission price! This was my absolute favorite I know Andi enjoyed this as well and she tried some sushi and the chicken dish. I also liked the tuna poke cones. The tomato with mozzarella was also very tasty. A few things did suffer from being put out early and being under heat lamps but overall two thumbs up from us!

Andi definitely liked the open bar! I had a couple vodka and cranberry drinks and Andi had a variety of drinks. The staff up here were absolutely amazing and really took care of the guests. Soon it was time to head out for the fireworks show. We had our own viewing area and it was truly magical. I didn’t take any pictures I just enjoyed it with my favorite daughter! We both choked up a little with tears during the show! Andi even let me hold her hand and hug her up! She usually doesn’t allow any public affection haha

This was definitely worth the cost and I would do it again!

It is only $20 more than the seats and treats dessert fireworks party in MK. This is hands down way better with the food, open bar, and the small groups of people.

Once the fireworks ended, we returned inside for dessert and a few more drinks. I failed on getting dessert pictures. I tried several and liked the key lime cheesecake and an apple crumble dessert. One of the servers who was absolutely awesome with Andi and her allergies brought out her own separate plate of desserts. He also took her around at the beginning and let her know what was safe on the savory buffet.

We finished up when the bartender said last call and headed out. We met a very nice solo traveler and talked with her for awhile after the party. She was telling us she does this party twice a year and only does this for fireworks now. She also was telling us how much she likes Disney cruises and was heading on a cruise after her WDW stay. Andi joked after she left us and said mom you should have asked for her phone number! I told her she needs to try a cruise with me! Maybe someday!

A really nice front desk CM offered to take our picture in the lobby before heading out.

I had called for a Lyft and soon we were heading back to the YC. We did see a near accident in the CR pick up area. A lady almost hit the car in front of her! The valet CM prevented a near collision! Yikes The valet/pick up area was super busy!

This fireworks event was awesome! It can be difficult to get an ADR. I say try it! We will definitely do it again! Another day in the books

Step count 22,543

 

[teach22180]

I attended that special event too and loved the ravioli! It was a fun night for sure.

 

[amazingact21]

I still don’t know if I liked it. Reminded me of a flavored marshmallow?? Weird texture to me.

I'm with you on the mochi! We brought some home from our trip, and I couldnt get past the texture.

The ravioli was worth the admission price!

The ravioli caught my eye when you shared all your food pics.

This was definitely worth the cost and I would do it again!

This event sounds so much more relaxed and slower-paced than the dessert party. You're making me consider booking it for my April trip.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

This fireworks event was awesome! It can be difficult to get an ADR. I say try it! We will definitely do it again! Another day in the books

Sounds fabulous from start to finish!