808blessing
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2020
First stay as a DVC member and 4th trip to WDW in past decade.
Day 1 Boardwalk check-in around 3. Greeted and sent to a room near the elevator but on a higher floor immediately. By 5:30 we toured the BW shops, received Amazon Fresh groceries, a wonderful hand me down DVC Locker (filled with goodies) and UberEats order from our very favorite Mexican restaurant El Patron. The artisan tacos kept really well.
Day 2 Hollywood Studios
We walked over- a bit farther than expected. Fog rolled in and I thought it was rain so we were decked out. Rope drop, which I usually do everytime was a bit of a waste bc the first ride (Minnie Railroad) broke down after 10 mins of standing in line. Went to Toy Story and came back later.
Slinky Dog Dash at day, dusk and eve was the highlight. My daughter overcame her fear of roller coasters which reaped dividends at Magic Kingdom. I also scored high (111000) on Toy Story bc I finally rode by myself. Had lunch at Mama’s. No such ROTR luck though I tried the tricks.Then opted for a 3pm break, husband napped and me/DD went to a semi-crowded but lively pool. Jacuzzi was not packed but periodically filled with 3 people.
Hopper in car for HS round 2 and met another family for blue Milk (one spiked, the other not) and Millenium. The order came up before the window even started and texts kept rolling in but I came at my chosen window. They had already cancelled it but made a new one upon request. We met with a friend at our room for his birthday nightcap while kids consumed media.
Day 3 Epcot
We had a quick walk, a first thru the international gate, and got the Spring sticker game for DD because we got two dishes as a reward. The other egg game just had a plastic egg reward so we skipped it and figured finding eggs was a bonus.
We scheduled two days of Epcot that we did completely different. I became a non-believer in rope drops and you will see why on the last day.
We headed back at 3pm after spending time doing all the rides in the Land and Frozen, we ate and all I remember was the tostada. Can you see the theme here? We don’t have any decent Mexican where we live and I took Spanish for years.
After a pool break, we took the skyliner to Riviera for a 6pm tour I had arranged. They looked surprised but obliged. The murals were amazing, the high rise sunset views too. The breakfast cafe turns into a wine bar at night and there was a library with old Walt memorabilia. A nice lady who was sitting there after dinner (not our tour guide) later gave us the free tour gift, the Mickey and Minnie. photo. She didn’t tell us it was free but I guess she knew we would appreciate it. We passed it on to friends who were staying down the hall. Later I got one at Beach Walk from an actual guide. Dinner was delicious and service was friendly. I had the salmon and it was soft but not slimy. I’m used to flaky border but it was great. We had the Instagram worthy and light pistachio mousse for dessert. Unfortunately, DD didn’t finish her rigatoni. She doesn’t have many options because she is picky but she was fine with the unending and exquisite bread basket. I got some great pics of the food so I can taste it with my eyes. We also took sunset pics on the terrace at day, dusk and evening. We stayed an hour and a half with reservations at 6:20.
We skylinered back to Epcot and finished off UK, the rest of Future World and met up with friends. Evening lines were still about 30-45 mins.
Day 4 Animal Kingdom
We carried our stuff to bell desk because I made a mistake and didn’t think about calling them until the instant before I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to wait forever in our room so I DIY. I wasn’t sure how much to tip for 3 small rollers, an owners locker and a cold grocery bag so I gave $5. I feel so chintzy now. I should have done way more, right? What do you do when you don’t have extra on you? We headed to AK to do the Safari as we always do first off. I don’t know why but we were suddenly hungry. Prob bc we didn’t do rope drop The animals were all out and moving around in the cool morning breeze. We got a check in room notice around 1230 but already made plans so we went to 3pm Yak and Yeti (always do that!). Food hit the spot and so relaxing. My favorite ride Kali was closed down. Headed to check-in before dark to see the animals and the pool. They were playing a Gimmee Gimmee game with a personal Safari tour prize. I didn’t care until I had a winning library card then commiserated with a stranger next to me that we weren’t allowed in on the action.
We were on the second floor in the middle of Kidani. It was just as wonderful as I imagined. The rooms were luxurious—I am into dark wood and was happy to see so many animals. It took a good 30 minutes to notice the invisible-ish barriers. The sunset lodge guide was very talkative and gave us an animal spotter guide. We barely used the binoculars because they were right there. I want to go back again!
Headed to the park for Pandora and Safari ride one more time.
pt. 2 below
Day 1 Boardwalk check-in around 3. Greeted and sent to a room near the elevator but on a higher floor immediately. By 5:30 we toured the BW shops, received Amazon Fresh groceries, a wonderful hand me down DVC Locker (filled with goodies) and UberEats order from our very favorite Mexican restaurant El Patron. The artisan tacos kept really well.
Day 2 Hollywood Studios
We walked over- a bit farther than expected. Fog rolled in and I thought it was rain so we were decked out. Rope drop, which I usually do everytime was a bit of a waste bc the first ride (Minnie Railroad) broke down after 10 mins of standing in line. Went to Toy Story and came back later.
Slinky Dog Dash at day, dusk and eve was the highlight. My daughter overcame her fear of roller coasters which reaped dividends at Magic Kingdom. I also scored high (111000) on Toy Story bc I finally rode by myself. Had lunch at Mama’s. No such ROTR luck though I tried the tricks.Then opted for a 3pm break, husband napped and me/DD went to a semi-crowded but lively pool. Jacuzzi was not packed but periodically filled with 3 people.
Hopper in car for HS round 2 and met another family for blue Milk (one spiked, the other not) and Millenium. The order came up before the window even started and texts kept rolling in but I came at my chosen window. They had already cancelled it but made a new one upon request. We met with a friend at our room for his birthday nightcap while kids consumed media.
Day 3 Epcot
We had a quick walk, a first thru the international gate, and got the Spring sticker game for DD because we got two dishes as a reward. The other egg game just had a plastic egg reward so we skipped it and figured finding eggs was a bonus.
We scheduled two days of Epcot that we did completely different. I became a non-believer in rope drops and you will see why on the last day.
We headed back at 3pm after spending time doing all the rides in the Land and Frozen, we ate and all I remember was the tostada. Can you see the theme here? We don’t have any decent Mexican where we live and I took Spanish for years.
After a pool break, we took the skyliner to Riviera for a 6pm tour I had arranged. They looked surprised but obliged. The murals were amazing, the high rise sunset views too. The breakfast cafe turns into a wine bar at night and there was a library with old Walt memorabilia. A nice lady who was sitting there after dinner (not our tour guide) later gave us the free tour gift, the Mickey and Minnie. photo. She didn’t tell us it was free but I guess she knew we would appreciate it. We passed it on to friends who were staying down the hall. Later I got one at Beach Walk from an actual guide. Dinner was delicious and service was friendly. I had the salmon and it was soft but not slimy. I’m used to flaky border but it was great. We had the Instagram worthy and light pistachio mousse for dessert. Unfortunately, DD didn’t finish her rigatoni. She doesn’t have many options because she is picky but she was fine with the unending and exquisite bread basket. I got some great pics of the food so I can taste it with my eyes. We also took sunset pics on the terrace at day, dusk and evening. We stayed an hour and a half with reservations at 6:20.
We skylinered back to Epcot and finished off UK, the rest of Future World and met up with friends. Evening lines were still about 30-45 mins.
Day 4 Animal Kingdom
We carried our stuff to bell desk because I made a mistake and didn’t think about calling them until the instant before I wanted to leave. I didn’t want to wait forever in our room so I DIY. I wasn’t sure how much to tip for 3 small rollers, an owners locker and a cold grocery bag so I gave $5. I feel so chintzy now. I should have done way more, right? What do you do when you don’t have extra on you? We headed to AK to do the Safari as we always do first off. I don’t know why but we were suddenly hungry. Prob bc we didn’t do rope drop The animals were all out and moving around in the cool morning breeze. We got a check in room notice around 1230 but already made plans so we went to 3pm Yak and Yeti (always do that!). Food hit the spot and so relaxing. My favorite ride Kali was closed down. Headed to check-in before dark to see the animals and the pool. They were playing a Gimmee Gimmee game with a personal Safari tour prize. I didn’t care until I had a winning library card then commiserated with a stranger next to me that we weren’t allowed in on the action.
We were on the second floor in the middle of Kidani. It was just as wonderful as I imagined. The rooms were luxurious—I am into dark wood and was happy to see so many animals. It took a good 30 minutes to notice the invisible-ish barriers. The sunset lodge guide was very talkative and gave us an animal spotter guide. We barely used the binoculars because they were right there. I want to go back again!
Headed to the park for Pandora and Safari ride one more time.
pt. 2 below
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