Where is Dino Land? Early Spring Trip 2/27-3/9/25! Updated 4/19*

[disneyAndi14]

Our plan was Cake Bake for a Birthday dinner, however, we decided to modify the reservation to the next night. I used open table reservation app and there were a lot more options for Cake Bake than the Disney ADR on MDE.

I was able to change it without any problem to 3/3 for dinner.

Our plan tonight was to head back to AK at night.

We had a little rest and a few snacks in the room before heading to AK.

I made us a FP$$ for Dinosaur.

We walked in the park and went to the Tree of Life path across from the Starbucks. The Galapagos tortoise area was empty this evening.

We did get a little world picture here.


It was time to get the Dino next! Yay for the front row!

After Dino, we walked closer to Nomad Lounge and I was able to get a walk up reservation. The wait was predicted an hour, now I know how that can change quickly so we didn’t want to go too far away from the restaurant.

We did go and do A bug’s life since it was closing soon.

It was a fun last show and Hopper was working. We sat way on the end close to the exit so we could be away from all the screaming kids, haha

Right towards the end of the show, I got the table ready notification.

It was perfect timing. We headed straight to Nomad Lounge and we were seated outside on the balcony. I love this area!

D loves the Snapchat filter pictures!
We ordered drinks, the bread service, and the chicken satay. Everything was delicious and it was a such a nice evening chilling out on D’s Birthday


We needed to be done in time to check out Pandora at dark and get in line for FoP, so I paid ahead of time and once we had our fill, it was time for Pandora.

We did get on FoP with only about a 25 minute wait! Yay!
Goodbye AK for now!

I wanted D to see the Dahlia Lounge at Destino so we got on a CSR bus and headed to the lounge.

D loved the tower and Dahlia was another chill lounge for one last Birthday drink. I had the Sangitini and D had a gin drink We had the churros here with the warm spicy chocolate sauce. Our waitress was awesome and we really enjoyed the drinks and churros. I still think Nomad’s churros are the best but these are also very good!



Once we finished up, we took a Lyft back to our resort. We watched a little TV before bedtime.

We had a really fun day and D enjoyed her Birthday in Disney!

Another day in the books!

Magic=D’s Birthday at MK, delicious new food at Gaston’s Tavern, pulling a PPF on FP$$, finding cool HM sunglasses and a purse, D getting a Disney Balloon on her actual Birthday, chill evening with two wonderful lounge stops, FoP at the end of the evening, Pandora at night, and a ride on Dino

Tragic=High crowds at MK, it was hard to get more FP$$ at MK without being on the phone all the time, and my new sunglasses don’t work with my facial recognition.

That is really it for this day, way more magic!

Stay tuned for a fun day at DHS without ToT!

 

[buzzrelly]

I ordered us the Ham and Gruyère tart and the Crème Brûlée Croissant, this was filled with a vanilla bean custard.

Ughhhh...I keep meaning to try these and keep forgetting about it!

Here we are with our new HM sun glasses. We bought these and a HM lug crossbody bag. I will show that in another post!

Super cute!

We had a really fun day and D enjoyed her Birthday in Disney!

Yay! Disney birthdays are the BEST!

 

[mickey916]

Our plan was Cake Bake for a Birthday dinner, however, we decided to modify the reservation to the next night. I used open table reservation app and there were a lot more options for Cake Bake than the Disney ADR on MDE.

I was able to change it without any problem to 3/3 for dinner.

Our plan tonight was to head back to AK at night.

We had a little rest and a few snacks in the room before heading to AK.

I made us a FP$$ for Dinosaur.

We walked in the park and went to the Tree of Life path across from the Starbucks. The Galapagos tortoise area was empty this evening.

We did get a little world picture here.
View attachment 952342

It was time to get the Dino next! Yay for the front row!
View attachment 952335
After Dino, we walked closer to Nomad Lounge and I was able to get a walk up reservation. The wait was predicted an hour, now I know how that can change quickly so we didn’t want to go too far away from the restaurant.

We did go and do A bug’s life since it was closing soon.
View attachment 952333
It was a fun last show and Hopper was working. We sat way on the end close to the exit so we could be away from all the screaming kids, haha

Right towards the end of the show, I got the table ready notification.

It was perfect timing. We headed straight to Nomad Lounge and we were seated outside on the balcony. I love this area!
View attachment 952340
D loves the Snapchat filter pictures!
We ordered drinks, the bread service, and the chicken satay. Everything was delicious and it was a such a nice evening chilling out on D’s Birthday
View attachment 952334
View attachment 952337
We needed to be done in time to check out Pandora at dark and get in line for FoP, so I paid ahead of time and once we had our fill, it was time for Pandora.
View attachment 952341
We did get on FoP with only about a 25 minute wait! Yay!
Goodbye AK for now!
View attachment 952336
I wanted D to see the Dahlia Lounge at Destino so we got on a CSR bus and headed to the lounge.

D loved the tower and Dahlia was another chill lounge for one last Birthday drink. I had the Sangitini and D had a gin drink We had the churros here with the warm spicy chocolate sauce. Our waitress was awesome and we really enjoyed the drinks and churros. I still think Nomad’s churros are the best but these are also very good!
View attachment 952339
View attachment 952338

Once we finished up, we took a Lyft back to our resort. We watched a little TV before bedtime.

We had a really fun day and D enjoyed her Birthday in Disney!

Another day in the books!

Magic=D’s Birthday at MK, delicious new food at Gaston’s Tavern, pulling a PPF on FP$$, finding cool HM sunglasses and a purse, D getting a Disney Balloon on her actual Birthday, chill evening with two wonderful lounge stops, FoP at the end of the evening, Pandora at night, and a ride on Dino

Tragic=High crowds at MK, it was hard to get more FP$$ at MK without being on the phone all the time, and my new sunglasses don’t work with my facial recognition.

That is really it for this day, way more magic!

Stay tuned for a fun day at DHS without ToT!

Sounds like a wonderful day! Love the Dahlia Lounge!

 

[pkondz]

Today was D’s 29th Birthday haha well with the filters a girl can pretend!

I am totally buying that it was her 29th birthday.

I find you do so much waiting during this lame extra 30 minutes that we just didn’t do it at all this trip.

I do wish they'd bring back the full 60 minutes.

Our bus had a Figment overlay, I thought this was funny for MK!

"Morning, Bob. Where are you off to today?"
"I'm doing the Epcot run today."
"Hi Bob. What's today's route?"
"Epcot today."
"Hey Bob. You're on Epcot today, right? Got your bus right here."
"That's right. Epcot. I see you've got Figment all set up for me."
<begins to drive off lot>
"Here's your assignment for the day, Bob. MK."
"But I'm driving a Figment bus!"
"Don't worry... no one will notice."

“O2H, O2H the backside of water!

I was hoping for the front of the boat but no such luck, we got the 5th row both times.

Next time just ask. It's never been a problem for me. Worst that could happen is you have to wait for one boat...
CM: "How many? Row 1. How many? Row 2. How many? Row 3..."
Caroline: "Could we get the first row?"
CM: "Stand right here.... How many? Row 4..."
<seconds later>
CM: "Okay, you can go to row 1 now. How many? Row 2. How many?..."

D had her Birthday Button on, and she was getting a lot of Birthday wishes.

Good!

We did the same thing at HM, we rode first with a 15 minute wait in SB and again with our FP.

I like this strategy.

We loved our time on HM and next time we won’t forget our death certificate haha

Caroline always posing prettily on the best ride.

We got called into the FP line because they needed a party of 2 that was nice!

Pixie dust!

I ordered us the Ham and Gruyère tart and the Crème Brûlée Croissant, this was filled with a vanilla bean custard.

Oooh... those sound good!
Glad to hear they were.

Fun shot And love the specs!

however, they have a mirror type lens and my facial recognition on my phone wouldn’t work, ugh!

I did a quick Google and this came up:
Go to Settings.
Scroll down to Face ID & Passcode. Press it.
Enter your passcode.
Scroll down to the toggle that says Require attention for Face ID and switch it off.
Tap on Ok.

I love the train and I am so happy it is back!

It was time for our ride on TB, the place was packed. I was really happy to have a FP$$ for this.

How long did you wait even with FP$$?

Here we are in the back!

Best place to be on that ride if you want any chance at staying dry.

I showed D the Scentsy Elephants. We were able to smell the caramel popcorn, cotton candy, and citrus It is a cute little activity in Storybook Circus.

I don't know anything about this!

It was time for Peter Pan. I love this short little dark ride. It sure is a short one.

Short... but oh so magical.

Our plan was to take a ride on the people mover in tomorrow land. I forgot to get a foot picture.

Fail!
I am bitterly disappointed in you Caroline.

I used open table reservation app and there were a lot more options for Cake Bake than the Disney ADR on MDE.

Oh really! That surprises me. You'd think it would be the other way around.

I made us a FP$$ for Dinosaur.

You did? I'm surprised. Just assumed you'd skip it.

We did get a little world picture here.

Fun little shot.

Another cute shot of you. But the person two rows behind you... not feeling it so much!

After Dino, we walked closer to Nomad Lounge and I was able to get a walk up reservation.

Nice!

We sat way on the end close to the exit so we could be away from all the screaming kids, haha

We did get on FoP with only about a 25 minute wait! Yay!

Whoa! Impressive! And shocking!

We had the churros here with the warm spicy chocolate sauce.

I'm surprised you didn't get them at Nomad. Was it because you knew you'd be getting them here?

We had a really fun day and D enjoyed her Birthday in Disney!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

What a magical birthday for D. You did so many of my favourite things and I love that you had a chill evening with a wee bit of lounge hopping.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Ughhhh...I keep meaning to try these and keep forgetting about it!

Same! I usually avoid Gaston’s place because it is always very crowded! I’m glad we tried both of the snacks! Very good!

Yay! Disney birthdays are the BEST!

It really is! I have never been on my actual Birthday!

Sounds like a wonderful day! Love the Dahlia Lounge!

It really was a good blend of favorites! Dahlia is such a wonderful place!

I am totally buying that it was her 29th birthday.

Yay! I agree, I’m counting backwards now on my Birthdays, haha

I do wish they'd bring back the full 60 minutes.

I do as well and not all 4 parks at the same time! It was really nice because other guests not staying onsite would not start at the EMH park. 30 minutes in each park brings big crowds no matter what

Next time just ask. It's never been a problem for me. Worst that could happen is you have to wait for one boat...

I should have. I did ask for front row on Dinosaur the last two rides we did!

Oooh... those sound good!
Glad to hear they were.

Really good! I highly recommend waiting in the long line at Gaston’s Tavern

How long did you wait even with FP$$?

We literally waited under 10 minutes and the other line was at least 60 minutes!

Best place to be on that ride if you want any chance at staying dry.

I agree the back is the best, we hardly got wet!

I don't know anything about this!

Here is one of them, there is a little guide and the elephants are all around the area and each has a unique smell to them. This is the citrus one

Fail!
I am bitterly disappointed in you Caroline.

Haha I know, I need to ride People Mover over and over for my punishment!

I'm surprised you didn't get them at Nomad. Was it because you knew you'd be getting them here?

It was a time constraint issue. We had to be in line for FoP before the park officially closed! So we chose not wait on dessert.
Thanks for the phone info. I will check it out!

What a magical birthday for D. You did so many of my favourite things and I love that you had a chill evening with a wee bit of lounge hopping.

It really was and the chill evening was perfect and we got a few more rides in!

 

[buzzrelly]

Same! I usually avoid Gaston’s place because it is always very crowded! I’m glad we tried both of the snacks! Very good!

I'm going to have to make a note in my phone of all the food I keep forgetting to try!

It really is! I have never been on my actual Birthday!

No?? And you go ALL the time! When is your actual birthday? I love that mine is early December and gives me the perfect excuse to go!

 

[pkondz]

Yay! I agree, I’m counting backwards now on my Birthdays, haha

When you get to 12, I’m going to start questioning.

I should have. I did ask for front row on Dinosaur the last two rides we did!

We literally waited under 10 minutes and the other line was at least 60 minutes!

Thanks. Had wondered if there was a big wait even with the pass.

Here is one of them, there is a little guide and the elephants are all around the area and each has a unique smell to them. This is the citrus one

Huh! Had no clue.

Haha I know, I need to ride People Mover over and over for my punishment!

 

[disneyAndi14]

No?? And you go ALL the time! When is your actual birthday? I love that mine is early December and gives me the perfect excuse to go!

My Birthday is July 17th I have only been to Disney once in July, haha I should remedy that, except it isn’t a month I would want to go!

 

[buzzrelly]

My Burthday is July 17th I have only been to Disney once in July, haha I should remedy that, except it isn’t a month I would want to go!

Ohhhh...I kind of don't blame you! Haha! I went last July and it's like walking on the surface of the sun! I love that you share a birthday with Disneyland though! Maybe go there instead!

 

[pkondz]

I love that you share a birthday with Disneyland though! Maybe go there instead!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I showed D the Scentsy Elephants. We were able to smell the caramel popcorn, cotton candy, and citrus It is a cute little activity in Storybook Circus. We checked out the store and looked at all the goodies in the bakery case.

I've never heard of this. I think we need to check this out next time we are near Storybook Circus.

It was time for Peter Pan. I love this short little dark ride. It sure is a short one.

We love Peter Pan. I think it is the nostalgia of the ride.

D loves the Snapchat filter pictures!

I love it, too.

delicious new food at Gaston’s Tavern,

We need to check out the food at Gaston's. I only hear about the cinnamon roll. But a ham and Gruyere cheese tart sounds delicious.

 

[flowergirl45]

Loving your report! Sister time together, so fun! Is your skirt on Animal Kingdom day from Ripskirt? I love those! And it looks like the small cupped pepperoni is back at Via Napoli? The last time we dined there (maybe a year ago?), it was large flat slices of pepperoni. Not nearly so yummy!

And I love love love the magic/tragic wrap-ups for each day.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Being in the parks on your actual birthday is amazing! I did it on my April trip last year and loved it.

Now, D, when we tell our age, we always do it in multiples of 20 - for instance, this year I will be 27/27. When you hit 60 - you are 20/20/20. I have been doing this for a long time. One year, while I was still at Lindenwood, I think I was 43 so 20/23. Scotty was a student of mine at the time and got me a cake with number candles on it that said 20 23. A freshman went by and said - You are two thousand years old?? Yep, that's me...the immortal stage manager. There can be only 1.

 

[vamassey1]

I like the way you spent D's birthday. Lots of fun sister time.

I've had the ham and cheese tart at Gaston's and really enjoyed it. I still need to try the sweet treat.


Nice shades and lots of great pictures taken this day.

 

[disneyAndi14]

I've never heard of this. I think we need to check this out next time we are near Storybook Circus.

You can pick up a list in the shop and it has the list of the elephants and you check off on the list or you can just go around and check them out on your own! They are cute and smell good!

We love Peter Pan. I think it is the nostalgia of the ride.

Such a favorite and totally what Disney is all about for me!

I love it, too.

D added Snapchat to her phone!

We need to check out the food at Gaston's. I only hear about the cinnamon roll. But a ham and Gruyere cheese tart sounds delicious.

It was really good and something different!

Loving your report! Sister time together, so fun! Is your skirt on Animal Kingdom day from Ripskirt? I love those! And it looks like the small cupped pepperoni is back at Via Napoli? The last time we dined there (maybe a year ago?), it was large flat slices of pepperoni. Not nearly so yummy!

The tropical one is from QVC, Kim Gravel. I usually just wear sketcher skorts they are so comfortable and have a nice cellphone pocket, but they are just black and navy so I saw the floral one and bought it. It is very comfortable and has decent pockets. I will have to check out Ripskirt!
The good little pepperoni is back. I didn’t realize they changed. I love it and it gets nice and crispy!

And I love love love the magic/tragic wrap-ups for each day.

Thank you, it seems like each day there is always several things that fit in these categories!

Being in the parks on your actual birthday is amazing! I did it on my April trip last year and loved it.

It really was and D was shocked how many people wish you a Happy Birthday!

Now, D, when we tell our age, we always do it in multiples of 20 - for instance, this year I will be 27/27. When you hit 60 - you are 20/20/20. I have been doing this for a long time. One year, while I was still at Lindenwood, I think I was 43 so 20/23. Scotty was a student of mine at the time and got me a cake with number candles on it that said 20 23. A freshman went by and said - You are two thousand years old?? Yep, that's me...the immortal stage manager. There can be only 1.

Haha I love it. I will have to remember that. I just keeping going backwards now except I do forget my real age,

I like the way you spent D's birthday. Lots of fun sister time.

We really had a nice day and evening!

I've had the ham and cheese tart at Gaston's and really enjoyed it. I still need to try the sweet treat.

I was surprised how good it was and the crème brûlée donut was delicious

Nice shades and lots of great pictures taken this day.

I love the shades just wish they didn’t have the mirror lens. I hate having to put my password in all the time on my phone

 

[Sarahh1027]

I’ve always been a lurker but finally caught a TR relatively in the beginning! Great trip so far! Can’t wait to read more. Love a good sister trip

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

My Birthday is July 17th

I got engaged on your birthday so now you know I’m never going to forget it

I have only been to Disney once in July, haha

We mainly ended up visiting in July as it was the only time we had long enough school holidays to go ( we typically stay 14 nights cos flights are 9hrs and flippin expensive) but this is the last year of school for my youngest so
Freedom from school holidays is on the horizon

I should remedy that, except it isn’t a month I would want to go!

Ok I know I’m a fair- skinned, prone to sunburn even with factor 50 sunscreen, Irish woman but July is hot!! And humid and did I mention hot!!! You are a wise woman not to be going in July when you don’t have to.
Unless it’s your birthday!
It might be fun on your birthday
Just sayin

 

[disneyAndi14]

I’ve always been a lurker but finally caught a TR relatively in the beginning! Great trip so far! Can’t wait to read more. Love a good sister trip

I’m really happy you are joining in and decided to say hi I’m grateful my sisters like to travel with me.

I got engaged on your birthday so now you know I’m never going to forget it

This is wonderful! It is a special day!

We mainly ended up visiting in July as it was the only time we had long enough school holidays to go ( we typically stay 14 nights cos flights are 9hrs and flippin expensive) but this is the last year of school for my youngest so
Freedom from school holidays is on the horizon

I hear July is more quiet now, might be a good time to go! It wouldn’t be much different than the end of August when we go except Halloween starts at that time!

Ok I know I’m a fair- skinned, prone to sunburn even with factor 50 sunscreen, Irish woman but July is hot!! And humid and did I mention hot!!! You are a wise woman not to be going in July when you don’t have to.
Unless it’s your birthday!
It might be fun on your birthday
Just sayin

I am the same. I never tan much at all just burn so I always have sunscreen on!
Someday I maybe there on my actual Birthday. We have been there on Andi’s actual Birthday before. She is a November baby, right around Thanksgiving Day!

 

[disneyAndi14]

A day without ToT but we had an expensive slice of cake!

Today was DHS with FP$$ for TSM and SDD. I also still had ToT. I wanted to trade it for MMRR, however I had to wait until we tapped in to TSM to open up the tiers. Basically I could not do the switch before hand because MMRR is tier 1 and ToT is tier 2.

We took our favorite transportation over to HS! The boat of course. We, unfortunately, arrived right at cluster o clock! Wow HS is the worst at RD. We wore our patience pants and finally got into the park! Ugh we were in the worst line possible. It was not moving at all! Once we made it to the entrance, we headed to TSL. Our first FP was for TSM. Once we tapped in, I switched ToT to MMRR. We had a fun ride, forever beavers D did beat me by a few thousand points! I’m losing my touch, lol We had Slinky next. It was a short wait in the FP line. I think we were in the 2nd to the last row. We do love this ride! Andi likes this one but not as much as I do. D really enjoys this one.

Next, I made a Smuggler’s Run FP.

We went into GE. I got a few pictures done. D didn’t want to join in the picture. I had a mando and Grogu shirt on.


We checked out Rise and the SR line was long and the SB line was over an hour so we passed.

We decided to have an early lunch in GE. We each had a Ronto wrap. This was D’s first time trying this and she really liked it.

We actually got a seat in the market area to eat our lunch.

Once lunch was finished, we decided to really check out GE. It was really fun going into the shops. The theming is really amazing. I sent a bunch of pictures to Jack. He really loves Star Wars.



Secretly, I was hoping it would convince Jack to make a trip with me, so far no go

It was time for our FP on the Millennium Falcon. There was a mom and son in front of us. The boy was a teen with special needs. They were assigned pilots and his mom asked us if we would be the pilots. It would be too much for her son.

I told D let’s do it! She was nervous about it, but I did convince her to give it a try.

Verdict? It was so much fun! Were we great? Heck no but quite a bit better than some pilots I have rode with.

The mom and her son had a good time being the gunners! He was very excited

I think being pilots is the best way to enjoy this ride.

We decided to head out of GE and guess who we got a glimpse of? Mando and Grogu! It was a quick peek before we left.

We had MMRR up next. This ride is always a fun one, and we really enjoyed it. I still miss The Great Movie Ride. A mom and a little girl (3-4)years old shared the row with us. The girl was a little nervous especially with the wind blowing in the one area. She did seem to like it a little better in some spots, overall she did cry more than laugh

We decided to do the Beauty and Beast show next. I haven’t seen this show in many years.

We really enjoyed the show. I’m glad we made time for some live entertainment this trip.

Here are a few pictures from the show.


We decided to head out after this to have a little rest before our dinner and extra hours in Epcot.

A boat was waiting for us, yay We saw a few turtles and fish in the water as we walked by.

Follow me to the next post……