(Updated 4/16) Gonna Have to Buy a New House! - Jan 2025 TR

[Araminta18]

I’m so glad that I had heard about the eggs before we got them! They definitely are not true deviled eggs! But they were good (but, yes, on the dry side)

SO DRY! Clearly i've been scarred. and it's such a shame, they could have been so good! *tears*

 

[ksinniger]

Lion King is one of the few Disney shows on Broadway I've never seen.

OH my - you MUST go see it the next time you are able. Th estampede scene ALONE is worth the price of the ticket.

 

[Araminta18]

OH my - you MUST go see it the next time you are able. Th estampede scene ALONE is worth the price of the ticket.

you're not the only one to tell me that - I really do need to see it! Seeing the costumes was super cool - definitely made me excited to see it

 

[Joy70]

First let me say I love your trip reports, but I am not usually great at commenting. We were dropping my daughter off for her DCP that same weekend! We weren't going to do any park days but I really wanted to see Festival of the Arts so we did one day at Epcot on Sunday. It was so beautiful that day. Especially when we are used to going in late July or beginning of August with the heat and humidity! We also saw Goofy doing pics and we drew Eve. We went into the American Pavilion and looked at the displays as well. We probably crossed paths at some point!

 

[DLo]

Took a little Dis Boards break after my trip - I was there right after you . All caught up and looking forward to reading more .

 

[Araminta18]

First let me say I love your trip reports, but I am not usually great at commenting. We were dropping my daughter off for her DCP that same weekend! We weren't going to do any park days but I really wanted to see Festival of the Arts so we did one day at Epcot on Sunday. It was so beautiful that day. Especially when we are used to going in late July or beginning of August with the heat and humidity! We also saw Goofy doing pics and we drew Eve. We went into the American Pavilion and looked at the displays as well. We probably crossed paths at some point!

Thank you for reading! And how exciting - what area/where is your daughter working for her DCP? That's so neat! I hope she has an awesome time.

Oh gosh we probably did cross paths! We were probably in the Drawing Academy at the same time!! And yea, the weather was amazing - so nice!!

 

[Araminta18]

Took a little Dis Boards break after my trip - I was there right after you . All caught up and looking forward to reading more .

How was your trip?! Did you have a good time?

Thanks for reading! Life has been bonkers - I owe an update!

 

[DLo]

How was your trip?! Did you have a good time?

Thanks for reading! Life has been bonkers - I owe an update!

It was my first FARTS and I really liked it. It was more crowded than I thought it would be but I still got to do everything I wanted. Stayed at YC - love the EPCOT area resorts.

 

[Araminta18]

It was my first FARTS and I really liked it. It was more crowded than I thought it would be but I still got to do everything I wanted. Stayed at YC - love the EPCOT area resorts.

I'm so glad you had a good time, even with crowds. Did you have any of the food booth food? Also 10000% agree -Epcot area resorts are the best!

 

[Araminta18]

Eeeeeevvvvvaaa - Sunday Jan 26th (part 4)​

This was our first time ever doing the Animation Academy, and I really liked it! Trevor...less so. Neither of us are artists, but I thought it'd be fun to try - Trevor wouldn't do it on his own but he said he didn't mind doing it with me.

So that's how Eve is supposed to look:

Trevor's is on the left, and mine is on the right. Trevor did a *little* Eve.

After the show, we were heading back to the room to relax before our dinner at 4. There were two artists signing from 2 to 4 that I wanted to meet and have them sign some prints, but one of them (Joey Chou) had a BONKERS long line, and since he was there all week I decided to skip it today - I figured that with it being Sunday and a gorgeous day, that was probably contributing to the long line. But the other artist - Jay Ratner - had a much more reasonable line so I met him.

He was super nice - he loved my Jolly Holiday button and we talked a bit about Ashley Taylor (cause she has that Mary Poppins piece) and the other artists. And I got my Moana print signed!

Then back to the room - we passed the Aristocats art on the wall there by France.


I love those ducks - "Ameeeeeeeeelia! Aaaaaaaabigail!"

I did of course make us stop for pictures.

Figment!

This photographer had us be funny -

Trevor's supposed to be shaking his head at me holding the sign upside down.

5 minutes later, we were back in the room!

Housekeeping was having fun with my ears, and I was here for it.

We crashed to take a nap for a little bit, and that's when instagram got me. One of the artists I like - JC Richards - posted on his instagram that his Epcot pavilion pieces finally showed up, and with today being his last day signing (and only until 5, and with us having dinner at 4), I wanted to go and see them and maybe buy one. And Trevor was being all sweet and was like "ok, we can go" and I was like nah - you stay and rest. I set my nap alarm for 3:10 (about 45 minutes later), and then I made my way back into Epcot without Trevor - I figured I could make my way down to Communicore Hall (JC Richards was at the DIsney Fine Arts Booth right near there) and then back up to Japan for our dinner reservation.

I was beelining it over there, but on the way in I passed the Evil Queen meeting at International Gateway. I've never seen her out at WDW except at the Story Book Dining/Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge, so that was kind of cool.

Pretty neat!

I kept beelining it over to the booth, and made it there at 3:30 - 13 minutes from our room, to Communicore Hall! Not too shabby. Sadly though when I got there, the pieces were neat but they were huge! Much bigger than I thought they were (like 2 feet square), so I decided against buying them. I did hear the artist talking to some other guests and he was saying that he was hoping to have them make a set of all the pieces (one for each Epcot pavilion) in a smaller size, so I'm gonna hold out for that. It wasn't a total bust though - the line at Creations Shop to get the annual passholder magnet was pretty short so I hopped in that line and got my magnet of Ray. So cute!

Trevor called me while I was line, and the plan was to meet up at Japan for dinner. I decided to take the boat over cause lazy, but I just missed the boat so I had to wait about 15 minutes for the boat to come back. But at 4:07, I met up with Trevor at Shiki-Sai in Japan.

 

[Araminta18]

Shiki-Sai Dining Package - Sunday Jan 26th (part 5)​

This was our first time at Shiki-Sai, and we'd done the dining package in order to get a good seat for the Broadway concert tonight. I know it's mostly unnecessary but I like having it, so...yea.

And if you're thinking that Shiki-Sai is an odd choice for me since I don't like seafood, you'd be correct. But Trevor likes seafood, and I figured there'd be at least a few things on the menu I'd be interested in.

Anyways, we were seated pretty quickly:

Not right at the window, but still a pretty decent view!

Hi Trevor! The funny part was that there was table right on the other side of that wall to Trevor's right, and so we were VERY close to them - kind of like one table with a 3 inch gap between the two halves. It was slightly awkward, but they left when we were about halfway through so that helped a bit.

For the dining package, they have a couple Omakase menus, and you can pick which one you want:

For anyone who is curious in the future how dining packages work here. I got the Gion menu, with the starter, main and dessert, while Trevor got the Nishiki, with the starter, the izakaya plate, a sushi roll, and the dessert.

Drinks were also included, so Trevor and I each got a non-alcoholic drink:

Mine was the Okinawa Wave: Blue curacao and Calpico flavored mocktail the color of the Okinawan ocean. This was good, but just tasted like blue.

Trevor got the Gari Gari Sour Orange: Shochu & orange popsicle with soda.

This started a bit bland cause the popsicle hadn't melted, but as it melted and mixed in, it was more flavorful. It was like a real orange flavor, not fake orange.

For starters, I got the Japanese potato salad:

I had to ask for a fork, but this was delicious! The bacon was super crispy and the whole flavor was really good.

Trevor got the spicy garlic edamame:

I don't like edamame (Trevor does, obviously) - but this spicy garlic seasoning was SUPER good. I really liked the flavor. I even mixed some of the seasoning into my main when that came - yum!!

For Trevor's Ikazaya plate, he got the chicken nanban: deep-fried and served with tartar sauce.

Trevor said this wasn't quite as crispy as he would have wanted, but the chicken was moist. I liked the bites I had.

My main was the Ishiyaki-Sukiyaki Rice: beef grilled in hot stone bowl.

This was really good - I wanted a little bit more beef but the flavor was good. And they kind of put it together at the table, which was neat. I decided what would have been really good would have been this dish with the spicy garlic seasoning from the edamame - I mixed some of the seasoning in and it was DELICIOUS. I wanted more.

Then Trevor got the Negi Hamachi roll:

I didn't try this but Trevor said it was good - it had yellowfin or yellowtail - something like that.

 

[Araminta18]

Mangos, Figment, Coasters, and Salt Bae - Sunday Jan 26th (part 6)​

That's a happy Trevor - and what his drink looks like with the popsicle melted into it.

Then dessert! We both got the mango mousse cake.

This was mostly cake, with just a bit of mango in the middle. The frosting was like a cool whip texture. It was really light, with a really nice mango flavor. We both finished our cakes.

Overall, we really enjoyed it - it was good food, and not too filling. We walked away pleasantly full but not overly so. The service was a tiny bit slow but it was kind of nice to relax.

We had tickets for the 8 pm show, and it was about 5:45 now, so we decided to go user our Guardians boarding group and ride that! And maybe grab some food at food booths if there were short lines (though I was skeptical there'd be anything short). I was wrong - the odyssey building did have a short line! We got the Figment Imagination Lemonade with Blue Raspberry in the color changing cup:

This was lemonade - nothing amazing but not bad either.

We also got the Raspberry Pastry Tart: Sugar cookie with raspberry and lemon cream cheese filling.

This was better than I thought it would be - not as dry as the tarts from Woody's lunchbox, and a good flavor. I approve.

We ate both of these as we kept walking over to Guardians - also I got my hopes up 'cause I kept seeing people with the Tower of Terror spirit jersey that I wanted in November but they didn't have, so I was hoping maybe they restocked! *crossing fingers*

At Guardians, we got in line at 6, and got on the ride at 6:56. Not a horrible wait, as the waits go.


We were holding finger guns in the picture this time - it didn't quite work. But we tried! Also, we got Conga for our song - better than September or Disco Inferno!

We walked towards the Friendship boats, stopping to look at more of the chalk art:

Salt Bae Thanos!


Spiderman! In the style of Spiderverse - I really liked this one.

We got to sit outside on the Friendship boat - my favorite spot - and took advantage to show how my ears light up!

I love these ears and finally bought the bullet to buy them on ebay after I missed getting them at the parks. The lighting up is just a bonus.

We headed over to the America Gardens theatre as we got off the bus - walking through Morocco they had a dancer and a band! I don't remember ever seeing that before, so that was cool. But the plan was for me to get in line for the show while Trevor went to the bathroom and then scoped out food booths to see if there were short lines/anything he wanted to get.

I was second in line:

 

[Araminta18]

Broadway Concert and Snacks! - Sunday Jan 26th (part 7)​

They let us in at about 7:30, and I was able to get us a seat near the center.

Also, it was Caissie Levy (original Elsa from Frozen on Broadway) and Jelani Remy (Lion King on Broadway) performing tonight:


Trevor had gotten food from the Vibrante and Vivido booth. He got the Chorizo and Potato Empanada with turmeric aïoli and annatto aïoli:

This was a bit spicy for me, but Trevor liked it. It tasted to me like a beef stew, which isn't my favorite thing. I did like the sauces on the outside - those were interesting.

He also got the Layered Tropical Berry Smoothie: Wild berry, piña colada, and strawberry.

This was delicious - I liked this a lot. It also had a fun white chocolate garnish:

Very colorful! Not sure if that's referring to the previous design on the cups, or Small World, or what, but it's cool.

Then, the show! It was really good - they sang lots of Lion King and Frozen songs, but also "This is Me" and even a Tarzan song:



And if you want, the whole show!

The show finished at 8:30, and we made an executive decision to stay and watch the fireworks. Trevor went to find us a spot, and I went to grab a couple things from Regal Eagle smokehouse: I wanted the frozen lavendar lemonade, and then since I was there, figured I may as well grab a side of texas toast (cause I love it ).

so good!


The lemonade was also good - I also love the little lotus glow cube. It was a bit of a hassle - I've been paying with a digital disney gift card in my apple wallet and for whatever reason this register wasn't working with that, and the CM had clearly had a long day cause she was just like "it's not working" and then looking at me. So rather than hold up the line I just paid with a credit card.

Meanwhile, Trevor had stopped at Morocco and got some of our favorite cherry cookies, and then found this spot for us to watch the fireworks:

Not bad at all!

 

[Araminta18]

Foggy Epcot Night - Sunday Jan 26th (part 8)​

The fireworks show was great - we really enjoyed it. Trevor tried filming all of it - not sure how well it turned out but 'cause I'm a giver, I'm sharing:

After the show, it was super foggy and smoky:

You almost can't see the fire!

Looking back I love the fountains and how they have them lit up after the show.


See? Just so cool.

We were back in the room and getting ready for the next day by 9:30. Tomorrow we had tickets to Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom, but Tiana's was recently announced to not be part of After Hours - Tiana's would close at 6 pm. Womp womp. So we decided that we'd do MK in the morning to ride Tiana's, then do lunch at Disney Springs, then do the outlets, drop the stuff at the room, and walk through Epcot to catch the monorail over to Magic Kingdom to do After Hours. That's the plan, at least.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 19757 steps (7.1 miles)
Ride count: 1 (Guardians)
Annual Pass Savings: $0.00

 

[Joy70]

Thank you for reading! And how exciting - what area/where is your daughter working for her DCP? That's so neat! I hope she has an awesome time.

Oh gosh we probably did cross paths! We were probably in the Drawing Academy at the same time!! And yea, the weather was amazing - so nice!!

She is.having a wonderful time! It's been a great experience for her and she spends a lot of her time off in the parks. She works at Cosmic Rays. She would have loved doing attractions so she is hoping if she does the program again she will get that opportunity.

 

[Araminta18]

She is.having a wonderful time! It's been a great experience for her and she spends a lot of her time off in the parks. She works at Cosmic Rays. She would have loved doing attractions so she is hoping if she does the program again she will get that opportunity.

Oh nice! At least Cosmic Rays had Sonny Eclipse? . But yea attractions would be cool—hopefully she gets that opportunity! The DCP seems like so fun though, even if not quite in the dream spot

 

[DVCjj]

We were at BCV between January 24 - 29 but no sightings of you unfortunately. Between Skyliner down and such a cold January, it was a slightly disappointing trip as we came from cold weather. But Disney is Disney no matter what and always thrilled each & every trip.
Love your pictures. Love your Trip Report(s) always.

 

[Araminta18]

We were at BCV between January 24 - 29 but no sightings of you unfortunately. Between Skyliner down and such a cold January, it was a slightly disappointing trip as we came from cold weather. But Disney is Disney no matter what and always thrilled each & every trip.
Love your pictures. Love your Trip Report(s) always.

Oh wow! Such a bummer we didn't run into each other. Was the skyliner down?! I have no memory of riding it...oops! But I agree with you about it being a bit more cold than I was hoping. But yes - Disney is Disney no matter what! And thank you for reading and for the lovely compliments!!!

 

[Mary Pops In]

Foggy Epcot Night - Sunday Jan 26th (part 8)​

The fireworks show was great - we really enjoyed it. Trevor tried filming all of it - not sure how well it turned out but 'cause I'm a giver, I'm sharing:

After the show, it was super foggy and smoky:
View attachment 954530
You almost can't see the fire!
View attachment 954531
Looking back I love the fountains and how they have them lit up after the show.

View attachment 954532
See? Just so cool.

We were back in the room and getting ready for the next day by 9:30. Tomorrow we had tickets to Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom, but Tiana's was recently announced to not be part of After Hours - Tiana's would close at 6 pm. Womp womp. So we decided that we'd do MK in the morning to ride Tiana's, then do lunch at Disney Springs, then do the outlets, drop the stuff at the room, and walk through Epcot to catch the monorail over to Magic Kingdom to do After Hours. That's the plan, at least.

Fun with Metrics:
Steps walked: 19757 steps (7.1 miles)
Ride count: 1 (Guardians)
Annual Pass Savings: $0.00

Oh my, we were so near each other tonight. We rope dropped Epcot because we were crazy enough to buy the premium lightning lane. We finished all rides by 4 pm and had dinner at Coral Reef. My 18 month old niece was with us and she was enthralled by the fish.

I missed all the fun of FARTS except for the artist booths. My sister and I both found artwork to take home. I was hoping to buy postcards to frame however the ones I wanted were sold out. We were headed to the concert but took our time to enjoy the entertainment at Morocco. Our girls were tasting beverages all around World Showcase. We grabbed a funnel cake to share and headed to the concert location only to find out they have age requirements. Instead, we found a picnic table outside the American Pavillion to enjoy the show. This turned out better for us because the little one could get out of her carriage and dance. We loved the music - we are Lion King fans! I've seen it on Broadway 5 times. I hope you will. I have a friend that designed and made several costumes. Her work was not on display. Interestingly, they send costumes to her for repairs and refreshing which keeps her busier than expected.

I love your picture of the blue spaceship earth. I wanted a group photto from a similar spot but my group wasn't cooperating.....looking for more beverage locations!

We had After hour tickets for Monday night, with plans to rope drop Tiana. Yes, we did it!

 

[Mary Pops In]

We were at BCV between January 24 - 29 but no sightings of you unfortunately. Between Skyliner down and such a cold January, it was a slightly disappointing trip as we came from cold weather. But Disney is Disney no matter what and always thrilled each & every trip.
Love your pictures. Love your Trip Report(s) always.

It was cold! We left upstate NY with -19 for a high and several feet of snow. Thankfully Orlando had sunshine. We arrived on the 23rd and spent the 24th at Disney Springs. It was chillier than expected and we had to buy really thick sweaters that we wore all week. We also took in a movie just so we could warm up.