(Updated 4/26) Gonna Have to Buy a New House! - Jan 2025 TR

[Araminta18]

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!

Oh wow! All the rides by 4 pm is awesome! so was the premium lightning lane worth it for you? And how'd you like Coral Reef? We liked it the time we ate there, though probably much the same reason as your niece - the fish were fun to watch.

Bummer the postcards you wanted were sold out! That's always the way with FARTS, sadly. Makes my FOMO kick into high gear for sure. Watching the show from the picnic table sounds awesome - your niece must have been adorable dancing.

I really do want to see Lion King - just need to make time for it. How cool about your friend!!! Those costumes are fantastic - major kudos to her.

Oh my gosh - we had exactly the same plans for Magic Kingdom! How funny Glad you were able to ride Tiana's!!

 

[Araminta18]

I Always Want to Start My Day Getting Soaked - Monday Jan 27th 2025 (part 1)​

The day dawned bright and early, and I was already up trying to get an early Tiana's boarding group, cause otherwise, I was gonna have to buy genie just to try and get an early lightning lane. But it all worked out! I got boarding group 9 - woot!!

With the boarding group secured, we woke up and had a leisurely breakfast on our balcony.

Beach Club marketplace had bacon on the menu this morning! It's not a very big portion but Trevor loved it 'cause it was SUPER crispy.

The cake for breakfast this morning was the Cookie Dough Cake: Vanilla cake with Callebaut miniature chocolate chips. Filled with Callebaut Belgian chocolate ganache and chocolate chip cookie dough. Topped with vanilla buttercream and miniature Fleur de Sel chocolate chip cookies.

So we had bought like 4 cake slices and were keeping each one in the fridge, with the box inside a ziploc baggie to try and keep them fresh. It worked pretty well - the cake was still pretty moist! Really these cakes wer just super light - I didn't love the frosting as much (I like mine more sugary ) but Trevor liked it. We also liked the chunks of cookie dough in between each layer, but because it was just a solid chunk it meant that you had lots of bites without any cookie dough in them. And I don't know if this is a function of it being 2 days old or the cake itself, but structurally none of the pieces stayed together - the frosting would fall off the cake, etc. We liked the taste of it, but structurally it wasn't our favorite. We liked the raspberry champagne cake better where it all stayed together and you got a bit of all the components (cake, frosting, raspberries) in every bite. But we ate almost all of it!

Also we reused the color-changing lemonade cup from yesterday:

Milk turns it bright pink! Yes, we're nerds.

We left the room a little before 9, and the bus was scheduled to come at 9:04, but right as we got to the bus stop at 9 am, the MK bus pulled up!

Is there any greater feeling than you getting to the bus stop right as your buss pulls up?

After we boarded and headed off, I got the notification that our boarding group for Tiana's was called - woohoo! So we figured we'd rush over to Tiana's, ride that first, do a little bit of shopping (looking for the Emporer's New Groove shoulder angels for a friend and the Kuzco's poison candy vial for me), then stop by the Contemporary to see if they had restocked the goat magnet, and then head over to Disney Springs.

We were at the Magic Kingdom 20 minutes later and started walking right over to Tiana's. So I'll acknowledge this is weird but it always makes me smile watching Trevor dance to the background music as we walk around or over to a ride - I tried to catch him this morning but he stopped right as I started videoing. I did however catch him trying to activate our nemesis: the Abu statue in Adventureland!

We've never once been able to make that statue activate...some day we'll get it!

Anyways, a couple minutes later, we were about to head into Tiana's!

There was basically no line!

We walked right up to the merge point and into the cave - they had the heat blowing in the cave, which I thought was nice but Trevor was like TOO HOT!

Our plan was to ask for the back row so we could try and avoid getting wet, but they wouldn't let us wait for the next log, so we got on row two...not gonna lie there was definite fear we'd get soaked!

We had a great ride!

That's us, pretending we're at a tea party. Also I love how in the ride photos they put a little critter in the empty front row.

We got lucky - while our faces got sprayed we didn't get soaked too badly beyond water in our faces. Woot!

The Tiana animatronic in the finale was working which was really what I wanted to see (when we went last time that animatronic wasn't working, so it was neat to see it actually working). We did get backed up a bit by the final Mama Odie animatronic, waiting to unload, but overall we had a great ride. Exactly what I wanted

Aftewards, we did some shopping in the gift shops - Trevor ended up buying a Tiana's jacket, and while I didn't find the Emperor's New Groove shoulder angels, we did find the Kuzco's poison candy vial thing. And no Magic Kingdom trip is complete without a stop at Memento Mori, so we looked in there and I bought the bride ears.

Then I of course stopped at the little art shop in Town Square Theatre - they had some really fun items this time!

Mr Toad! I don't think this one is for sale though.


Mary Poppins! I seriously thought about this one.

 

[Araminta18]

Best Lunch on Property - Monday Jan 27th 2025 (part 2)​

They also had this fun set from the Headless Horseman!

I thought about this one too, but seriously, no space for all the pretties.

Trevor found a watch that he thought about but ended up passing on.

Not gonna lie, I encourage him on the watches, cause it makes me feel better about all the bags I buy!

We left the Magic Kingdom to head to the Contemporary. As we exited we saw the monorail at the top of the ramp, and I was like nah - not worth running for it. But they kept waiting! So we speedwalked over there and made it just in time - and even got a seat. #winning

At the Contemporary, we headed over to the gift shop:

And they did have my 5-legged goat magnet - yay! I wanted it back in November but they were sold out. It's super cute, and a fun little Contemporary memento, to have a magnet of the 5 legged goat.

Magnet secured, we headed down to the bus stop to catch the bus to Disney Springs.

And we only had to wait about 10 minutes!

By 11:05, we were at Disney Springs. We had a 12:15 lunch reservation (Wine Bar George, of course!) so we had time for our favorite spots: Guest services! LOL just kidding - I wanted to ask the CMs where in the resort may have the shoulder angel/devil. They said the Emporium at MK should have had 90 (which I didn't see any of that morning) but the only other place was the gift shop at All Star Sports. We figured we'd look again at the Magic Kingdom that night - I was on a mission!

Once I got done with the CMs, I met Trevor in the line for Gideon's. We ended up waiting about 25 min, which wasn't bad at all!

Love Gideon's! We got a coffee cake cookie, a cookies and cream cookie, and then two of the new Peanut Butter chocolate swirl cookies - which guys, surprisingly enough, we did not like those at ALL. Like not at all. Oh well - at least we know!

We finished at 12:10, so just perfect timing to walk across the street and into our lunch at Wine Bar George! We got seated upstairs, but in the main room vs the balcony. We thought about asking to be sat outside but decided against it - we were hungry!

We started with our standard drinks: Orgeat Lemonade and Cherry Smash mocktails.

Delish.

Then the Lamb loin:

This was so tender, and just absolutely delicious, just like we remembered from November. We cleaned the plate in like 3 minutes, though I'm not sure if that says more about our manners than it does about the excellence of the food!

Then for lunch, I got the chicken salad sandwich:

This was super light and refreshing - the only downside was it was a bit tomato forward, and the tomatoes were a little bit soggy. But otherwise delicious.

Trevor got the BLT with cheese sauce:

Trevor doesn't like melted cheese too much, but he loves cheese sauce (the ways of the Trevor are confusing and unknowable) and he loved this - the bacon was extra crispy and just how he likes it. He said that all BLTs should be just like this. I stole a little bit of his cheese sauce to dip my chips in and that was also delicious.

Then I made an impulse decision and ordered the saganaki on fire - I hadn't gotten it the last several times and it sounded yummy. And also my chicken salad sandwich didn't come with cheese, so obviously i had to get a some cheese

And it was indeed delicious. Trevor doesn't like eating this dish but he's definitely a fan of them lighting it on fire.

Overall, lunch at Wine Bar George was yet another winner. I'm sure if you're a regular reader of my trip reports you're pretty sick of hearing about Wine Bar George but man, it never disappoints. So good!

 

[VAtink]

Wow, it looks like they changed the menu at WBG quite a bit from when we went in October, they didn't have those sandwich options then, those look good! Even the lamb was completely different in October! We LOVE WBG so will never get sick of reading about it!

 

[Araminta18]

Wow, it looks like they changed the menu at WBG quite a bit from when we went in October, they didn't have those sandwich options then, those look good! Even the lamb was completely different in October! We LOVE WBG so will never get sick of reading about it!

They change their menu a lot! Which I did not realize at all. Makes it nice though for repeat dinings. They also have very different menus for lunch and dinner so I was really excited to finally get to try lunch. It was delicious. Have you ever tried their to go window? I've been semi-interested in trying that cause they have some stuff there not on the actual menus!

 

[disneyAndi14]

We love WBG! It is a must most trips with my daughter!
George himself served me my lunch one time, it was awesome, such a wonderfully nice man!

 

[erinch]

Your report says you had lunch at Gideons! Quite the upgrade!

 

[Araminta18]

Your report says you had lunch at Gideons! Quite the upgrade!

lol *facepalm*. Good catch! Fixed

 

[Araminta18]

We love WBG! It is a must most trips with my daughter!
George himself served me my lunch one time, it was awesome, such a wonderfully nice man!

Wow, you got to meet George?! That's so cool!! I didn't realize that he was ever there in person.

 

[Araminta18]

A Bust of an Afternoon - Monday Jan 27th 2025 (part 3)​

After lunch, it was time to head to the outlets! Shopping + possible deals? I'm in. I timed the uber pickup super well - the uber driver got to the uber pickup spot right as we did. I always like it when those line up that way.

At the outlets we were confronted with a line, but thankfully not toooooo much of one.


We waited about 5 minutes - not too bad at all. Sadly this was one of the times when the outlet luck was not with us. They had a spirit jersey I wanted but they only had XS size. And I'd watched a vlog a few days earlier where they showed that the Tiana Dooney & Bourke purses (the ones released with the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure) were at the outlets! So I was really hoping for that too but no luck. Womp womp. And 'cause I'm crazy...I ended up deciding to take an uber to the other outlets (over by Universal) to see if they had the purse!

Trevor, who is less insane than I am, decided he would head back to the hotel and rest. Probably smart. I had pretty good luck - only took about 15 minutes to get to the other outlet. Though sadly (but somewhat expectedly), they didn't have the Tiana's purse. They did have the Merry Menagerie plushes though!

$13! I debated WAY longer than I should have on if I should get another polar bear or penguin, despite having bought both for full price back in November. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and I didn't get it.

Meanwhile, Trevor found that the housekeepers restocked us on loot!

Lotion and soap and mouthwash...I'll take it!

I bought a couple small things at the outlet and then headed back to the hotel. Probably shouldn't have gone to both outlets but meh, I had time and energy, so why not! And I did manage to get a pic of the DisneyWorld sign going back to the hotel, making up for missing it on the way in!


I made it back to the room at about 3:30, and fell into bed for a nap. Yay naps! Had to rest up for Disney After Hours that night!

We left the room at about 5:15, ready to head into Epcot, get some food booth food, and head over to Magic Kingdom. First food? Morocco cookies!

The swirly cookies are cherry cookies, super soft despite looking like they're crunchy. The powdered sugar thing was an almond cookie - both were really good. Highly recommend the little stand in Morocco if you've never had some of their treats - delicious!

Once in Epcot we were heading towards Canada for our first food booth. But as we passed the UK, I noticed that they had some pictures of characters from The Great Mouse Detective on the walls!


I feel like this is the only thing I've ever seen of the Great Mouse Detective in the parks - more Great Mouse Detective please!

We felt like we'd chosen well with doing food booths tonight - this was the line at Canada:

So looooooooooong.

We got the Wild Mushroom Risotto with aged parmesan, truffle shavings, and zinfandel reduction:

This was suuuuuuuuper hot - piping hot! It had a good flavor, but I was sad that the parmesan was shredded parmesan instead of flakes like it was a few years ago - I feel like it gives a more parmesany flavor. Also too many mushrooms for me but that's on me since it's Wild Mushroom risotto.

Next up, Pop Eats! We decided to be bougie (well me, cause Trevor doesn't like grilled cheese much), and get both grilled cheeses - the regular one, and the one with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato. But interestingly enough they were doing something special: they had cheddar and bacon soup! If you ordered a grilled cheese, you got one small cup of tomato soup and one small cup of cheddar and bacon soup. That was neat, but we decided that was too much soup for us, so we asked for one of each grilled cheese and then just one of each type of soup (instead of 2 cups of each for a total of 4).

First up, Cheddar and Bacon Soup with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese

This was surprisingly spicy for me, so I didn't end up eating all of it. Trevor didn't want to try it at all - the texture of melted cheese is just not his jam. He liked the soup but I honestly didn't like it that much. Don't @ me.

 

[Araminta18]

More Bites - Monday Jan 27th 2025 (part 4)​

Then the regular grilled cheese with tomato soup!

The sandwich was a bit small and not very browned (I prefer my grilled cheeses a little bit more golden), but it tasted good. I did like that they put some cream in the soup - that was yummy.

Then, we went to the Opening Bites booth, and got everything on the menu! First up, the Soft Shell Crab Slider: Green papaya slaw and mango ketchup on toasted brioche.

Now, I don't really do seafood, but Trevor was interested in trying this one, if only for the unique "i'm eating a full on crab" experience. It wasn't his favorite, but he said it wasn't bad, though he felt like the coleslaw didn't really seem to go with it. He did end up just ripping off the legs because with them sticking out it was a bit hard to eat.

Next up, the Cheddar and Chive Scone with smoked salmon salad topped with crème fraîche and caviar.

This was a larger portion than it looks. I had a bite of the salmon salad but didn't really like it. The scone itself though was pretty good. Trevor really liked this though - he said it was kind of like a salmon tartare, with a little bit of smokiness.

Last, the Enchanted Rose: Milk chocolate rose with raspberry and rose center.

I really wanted to like this - it looks so pretty! And chocolate plus raspberry? Two of my favorite things! But while the chocolate mousse was delicious, the raspberry/rose center was not good at all.

The rose flavor really was just not good at all. And the cookie was not good either. But if it was just chocolate mousse, that would have been yummy. Oh well! It was nice to get the food and be eating there in the plaza - the DJ was playing Spice Girls which was a blast from the past. It was a nice vibe.

We finished eating at about 6, so off we went to the front of the park. Had to get a few pictures with the festival sign at the front though:


Hi!

We hopped on the monorail and by 6:25, we were at the TTC. That's where we decided to be whimsical. Why not take the ferry over? It was a beautiful night, why not have fun. So over to the boat dock we went, only to find that a boat had just left. Oh well, how long could it be? And with the lovely view of the Magic Kingdom all lit up across the lagoon:


Well it was 10 minutes waiting for a boat, and then once on the boat, it was another 10 minutes. Which felt like a really long time, but we gave up on our dignity and just sat down on the boat to wait.

HI Trevor!

 

[Araminta18]

Guys so sorry for the slow updates! Life just really is bonkers crazy - dealing with family stuff and then work craziness. Gonna try and do more consistent updates...so sorry!

Happiest Cruise That Ever Sailed! - Monday Jan 27th 2025 (part 5)​

But then finally we were at the Magic Kingdom! Yay! It was just a bit after 7 pm, so we made our way in using the day guest entrance (yay annual passes! cause there was a bit of a line for event entrance. We figured it'd be easier to just get the wristband inside the park.

Once inside we started heading towards Pirates to check in, but stopped first in the Emporium, to continue our quest for the Emperor's New Groove shoulder angels! No luck - a super nice CM went and looked in the back but despite the computer saying they had 90, there were none to be found. Oh well! We still had the All Star Sports gift shop to try, but that would be for a later day.

We kept going towards Pirates, but man they had a lot of photographers out! So of course we stopped. The Adventureland sign pic looks really neat at night, I think!


Then as we got closer to Pirates, they even had a photographer out there too!


We're making hooks with our hands. Also it's probably hard to see but Trevor is wearing his Pirates spirit jersey, so of course had to take a picture at Pirates!

We got all checked in, no line. I do miss when they used to have lanyards for the After Hours event, but the wristbands work too. It was about 7:30, and with the fireworks at 8 pm, we decided to head up to Fantasyland to watch the fireworks from there. But as we got up there, we saw:

5 min for Small World! And we hadn't ridden it in a while, so why not.

The line was pretty much spot on - not a walk on but about 5 min.

We even got front row! Woot!

It was a pleasant, uneventful ride on the happiest cruise that ever sailed. Small World is absolutely not a "must do" but it's fun every couple of trips. If only to see what previously broken animatronics are fixed or what are newly broken (sorry!) .

No personalized greetings on the screens this time.

We got off at just before 7:50, so perfect timing to head to the carousel area and watch the fireworks from there! We even ran into another photographer back there, so you guessed it - more pictures.



(hi picture limit!)

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Which of the two Disney outlets do you think is better?

 

[Araminta18]

Fireworks Near the Coaster! - Monday Jan 27th 2025 (part 6)​

One more picture, just cause I think this magic shot turned out funny.

We're VERY INTENSELY SURPRISED by Tink.

Anyways, after the picture we just kind of hung out there behind the carousel. It wasn't very crowded, so there was space to move and dance and just enjoy ourselves.

And not have to worry about kids on shoulders blocking views!

We realized about halfway through the fireworks show that the photographer was still hanging out, and was taking pictures of people during the fireworks! Figured that was definitely something we should at least try And I give the CM major props for being open to it and trying it - definitely a bit of that Disney magic!


So close! just the one little firework up there.

This is more smoke than fireworks but still kind of neat!


Red!

So none of the pictures turned out the best, but it was a lot of fun to try. Again, shout out to the CM - we definitely left a Cast Compliment for her.

One of the other benefits of watching the fireworks from behind the castle is that as soon as the fireworks are over, you can book it over to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before the main crowds get there!

This is where we caught up with the line - just outside the outside-cave portion (so still have to wind our way through to the water play area with the diamonds, before going actually inside the cave. Not too bad!

About 10 minutes later we were inside the cave playing with the barrels, trying to enlist other folks to help us spin the barrels so we get Snow White to appear.

Some times people are more into it than other times - we didn't have good luck with the folks right near us in line, but there was a group behind us that got it going, so that's what I filmed. Such a fun little easter egg.

Another thing I notice every so often is the little door in the wall by the loading area -

Not sure what it's for, but at least I got a decent picture of it this time. Maybe for the animals?

Either way, 20 minutes later, we were about to hop on to row 10!

 

[Araminta18]

Which of the two Disney outlets do you think is better?

Oooh that's a good question. The one nearer Disney is bigger, but it's also usually a LOT more crowded (at least in my limited experience). So the one near Universal is definitely less chaotic, but has a smaller selection. That being said, it mostly seems to have fewer clothes, so if you're looking for the knickknacks and other things, I think they have about the same selection. Each does have things that the other doesn't have (like the one near Universal had the Merry Menagerie stuffed animals that the one near Disney didn't, but Disney had a larger selection of spirit jerseys and other clothes, etc).

So honestly, I think its more which one is closest and works best in your plans. And if you have time and are crazy like me, you could do both, one right after the other.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Love your fireworks/smoke pictures. So fun!

 

[Dotluvsdisney]

My hubby is a federal contractor and we are sending our best wishes! Loving your adorable trip report. You guys are the cutest!

 

[Araminta18]

Let the Ride Extravaganza Begin! - Monday Jan 27th 2025 (part 7)​

For this ride picture, we decided to be miners holding axes/picks. Obviously.


Very obvious, yes?

Mine Train is so fun, especially in the back. We did end up waiting a little bit at the end to unload, so I got a quick video of the next train going down the hill.

I like how the lights kick on just for the picture and then right back off - minimal light pollution.

Anyways, off of Seven Dwarfs, we were a bit at loose ends - the event wouldn't start until 10, and it was about 8:45. We ended up over in Storybook Circus, riding Dumbo, since the line was short and we hadn't ridden it for a while. We ended up waiting about one (or maybe two?) rotations, then it was our turn!


We like splitting up on these spinny rides.

We ended up having a lot of fun taking pictures of each other...I'd apologize for inflicting them but meh, I think they're funny.

Whee!

Also, if you don't immediately put your elephant up to the top, are you even riding Dumbo?

I didn't take great notes, so I'm not sure why we didn't ride Barnstormer (maybe there was a bit of a wait?), but the next picture I have is in front of the Castle.

Love the lighting package at night.

We definitely wanted to ride Jungle Cruise - after all Trevor was wearing his Jungle Cruise hat! But there was still a bit of a wait as we headed over there, so we went for Pirates instead. We spent a little bit of time in the gift shop looking around - after last November when they had so much good stuff (including the spirit jersey Trevor was wearing tonight) we wanted to see what else they may have. Trevor found a fun shirt that he wanted to get for him and his brothers and dad, but we let it go for now (cause at After Hours, the last thing you want early in the night is to be encumbered by bags.

Anyways, then time to ride!

Lovely empty queue.

We boarded and got lucky again - front row!

 

[Araminta18]

Love your fireworks/smoke pictures. So fun!

Thanks!! It was definitely fun to do...maybe next time we'll actually get pictures with the fireworks vs just smoke.

 

[Araminta18]

My hubby is a federal contractor and we are sending our best wishes! Loving your adorable trip report. You guys are the cutest!

Oh gosh, sending all the best wishes your way!! It's so hard right now - our jobs seem to have stabilized a bit, but I see so many reports of other agencies where stuff is just completely in the air. Hope all is good with your hubby!

Also thank you - you're so nice!!