An "Expert" Wine and Dine Trip Report! Updated (1/1)

Getting caught up! I didn't know about the animation thing at AK - we used to love to go to the animation academy at DHS before it went away so glad to see this! Your Bruce turned out great :thumbsup2

I like that display they did of all 10 years of the race artwork for W&D. Maybe they will have something similar for Goofy! I have seen some reports about the change in material for the race shirts and that's really disappointing. I wear my Disney race shirts all the time - they are so comfortable and fit well (now that they offer women's sizing!), so I am worried that the shirts for MW are going to be that new fabric.

Gran Destino looks really cool! Can't you watch fireworks from there too?

I stayed at CBR for this year's MW and didn't like it, but I think part of that was my location (I was in the farthest building possible, last bus stop) so it was a hike to get to the main building. Skyliner wasn't open yet either. I think I would give it another chance if I could get a better location.

It's really too bad that they took the 5K out of AK - it was unique that it was the only 5K at WDW that went through there, so that's disappointing for sure. The finish line changes are also a bummer - probably going to be the same deal for MW too. Love the Chef Mickey outfit! Glad you got your Country Bears photo!
 
Getting caught up! I didn't know about the animation thing at AK - we used to love to go to the animation academy at DHS before it went away so glad to see this! Your Bruce turned out great :thumbsup2

I like that display they did of all 10 years of the race artwork for W&D. Maybe they will have something similar for Goofy! I have seen some reports about the change in material for the race shirts and that's really disappointing. I wear my Disney race shirts all the time - they are so comfortable and fit well (now that they offer women's sizing!), so I am worried that the shirts for MW are going to be that new fabric.

Gran Destino looks really cool! Can't you watch fireworks from there too?

I stayed at CBR for this year's MW and didn't like it, but I think part of that was my location (I was in the farthest building possible, last bus stop) so it was a hike to get to the main building. Skyliner wasn't open yet either. I think I would give it another chance if I could get a better location.

It's really too bad that they took the 5K out of AK - it was unique that it was the only 5K at WDW that went through there, so that's disappointing for sure. The finish line changes are also a bummer - probably going to be the same deal for MW too. Love the Chef Mickey outfit! Glad you got your Country Bears photo!
The animation experience at AK is relatively new. It started during the summer.

Yeah I liked the champion shirts more. These are fine but not as good as the champion ones.

You can watch Epcot and DHS fireworks from Gran Destino but the Epcot ones are a little obstructed and DHS doesn’t do a lot of pyro.

Yeah I can see that. I was in a building far from the main lobby but I was closest to the Skyliner so it was really nice to just hop on that really easy.

I definitely expect the finish to stay the same for marathon weekend. Hopefully they at least move the gear check closer so you don’t have to back track so much.
 
The race sounds so fun! We did it in 2017 and we ran through AK, that was really cool. How fun to meet the Country Bears!
We absolutely loved Gran Destino Tower when we stayed there in August. I felt like I was at some deluxe resort in vegas. It didn't feel like a moderate to me!
I tried looking to stay there in January but there was nothing available. I hope to get a chance to stay there again!
Looking forward to more!
 
The race sounds so fun! We did it in 2017 and we ran through AK, that was really cool. How fun to meet the Country Bears!
We absolutely loved Gran Destino Tower when we stayed there in August. I felt like I was at some deluxe resort in vegas. It didn't feel like a moderate to me!
I tried looking to stay there in January but there was nothing available. I hope to get a chance to stay there again!
Looking forward to more!
Yes I miss the race through AK.

I need to stay at Destino. I’ve visited twice now and love it.
 


The race sounds so fun! We did it in 2017 and we ran through AK, that was really cool. How fun to meet the Country Bears!
We absolutely loved Gran Destino Tower when we stayed there in August. I felt like I was at some deluxe resort in vegas. It didn't feel like a moderate to me!
I tried looking to stay there in January but there was nothing available. I hope to get a chance to stay there again!
Looking forward to more!
Yes I miss the race through AK.

I need to stay at Destino. I’ve visited twice now and love it.
 
I went with Chef Mickey for the Fall Feast 5K
Great costume!

Got my John Pelky selfie with a side of Carissa.
:rotfl:

The snack boxes changed to some weird healthy mix of things and its terrible. Only thing I took out was the apple sauce. They even got rid of the wet towelettes.
These were really disappointing, I don't want healthy food after running!

I also really miss this being in Animal Kingdom. That was the superior 5K.
I wish they had done that, it sounds amazing
 


These were really disappointing, I don't want healthy food after running!
One of the volunteers was really trying to sell me on the hummus!
Her: "But it has hummus!!!"
Me: "That is not a 'Pro' for me to take the box, thanks though!"

I only took the box after the 5k, passed at the 10k & HM and just had my own snacks in my gear bag.
 
The moment I had been waiting for...

After the race I changed and got ready to go! It was finally time to see Galaxy's Edge for the first time and I couldn't wait. First up was my first Skyliner ride!

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I was really excited to check these out and I ended up loving them.

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So quick and easy to get to the Studios.

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Right off to Batuu!

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First order of business was Smuggler's Run. I decided for my first time I would do the regular line and see the queue. It was posted at 45 minutes. I didn't end up waiting that long though.

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I was lucky enough to be pilot my first go around.

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I was paired with a family of four and another solo pilot.

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I really enjoyed flying the falcon and taking it to light speed. It was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be too. My first flight wasn't that great though and I need to continue to work on my skills.

Continued...
 
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We were blown away by SWGE when we were there last month! It really felt like we were walking on a Star Wars movie set - the details are incredible, and it was such an immersive experience. Lucky you getting to be the pilot! I got engineer the first time, but scored pilot the second time and I was literally giddy putting the Falcon into hyperdrive!
The skyliner is very impressive - we were impressed with the engineering of it. Such a smooth, easy and fast trip! Hopefully they have worked out the kinks and there will be no more mishaps!
 
We were blown away by SWGE when we were there last month! It really felt like we were walking on a Star Wars movie set - the details are incredible, and it was such an immersive experience. Lucky you getting to be the pilot! I got engineer the first time, but scored pilot the second time and I was literally giddy putting the Falcon into hyperdrive!
The skyliner is very impressive - we were impressed with the engineering of it. Such a smooth, easy and fast trip! Hopefully they have worked out the kinks and there will be no more mishaps!
I agree! Something so cool about putting the falcon into light speed.

Yes the Skyliner is so nice. It seems many of the issues have been worked out so hopefully it continues to be smooth and easy.
 
Skyliner is a great addition to WDW. I know it had mixed reviews and lots of naysayers online but it is a great way to get around.

The queue looks great. We did single rider and missed it so I like the pics!
 
Skyliner is a great addition to WDW. I know it had mixed reviews and lots of naysayers online but it is a great way to get around.

The queue looks great. We did single rider and missed it so I like the pics!
I agree the Skyliner is so convenient. So much so I had to stay on the line again for marathon weekend.
 
Hang on!

I went over to ride single rider of Rock n Rollercoaster. The wait was maybe 10-15 minutes for single rider.

Christmas was starting in Hollywood Studios.

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Next up was Slinky Dog Dash! I rode with some friends for this and my first grade teacher who was in town running the 5K and 10K.

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Up next was droid building! I scheduled an appointment to build a droid for this trip. I also had a saber appointment but I decided to go with just the droid.

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Troopers were out.

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I decided against the droid backpack. I also went with the R-series droid. This was actually a really fun experience. I picked out my droid pieces and went to the building station. It was pretty easy with one aspect I needed assistance on for building. Otherwise I present...

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R5-D8! This is a play on my birthdate, May 8th.

After this I grabbed a bite to eat and had my first Ronto Wrap!

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This was actually really good and lived up to the hype. I will definitely get this again but do want to try other things in SWGE too. I headed back to my room after this as I wanted to put the droid away and I wasn't feeling the greatest. I ended up taking a short nap before the nights festivities.

Up next: Mickey's Not So Scary!
 
I was sticking with the droid names like R2-D2.
Okay... Well then, explain R4-P17 who was clearly an R2.... I mean yours is obviously an R5, but I don't think the second part of the name matters as much. But I can't find a lot of definitive information on the Googles. I did find this about R5 units though:
Cut-price versions of superior R2 units, they were low cost, but plagued with malfunctions, prone to defects and bad attitudes.
Sounds a lot like a Panda I know..... 😂
 
Okay... Well then, explain R4-P17 who was clearly an R2.... I mean yours is obviously an R5, but I don't think the second part of the name matters as much. But I can't find a lot of definitive information on the Googles. I did find this about R5 units though:
Cut-price versions of superior R2 units, they were low cost, but plagued with malfunctions, prone to defects and bad attitudes.
Sounds a lot like a Panda I know..... 😂
Yeah I heard that on binge mode after I named him... 😬😂
 

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