COMPLETED: Beaches, Boats, Bars, and... Plaids?: A Late September 2021 Trip Report (Finished 4-10)

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Greetings internet strangers and fellow Disney fans! We have semi-recently returned from our third WDW trip. We had so much fun sharing our first two trip reports (which can be read HERE and HERE) with you that we are back to share more stories featuring us drinking on Disney property, riding on trackless vehicles, and generally enjoying fully-vaccinated life. As a refresher for those of you coming back from our previous report (which was, wow, two years ago now - thanks COVID!) and as an introduction for any new internet friends, allow me to introduce us:

Who: Nick (me, a chemist) and Tory (my wife and a microbiologist)
What: A four night celebratory WDW trip with Nick's parents!
When: September 26 – 30, 2021
Where: Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Why: Because the world is opening up, we are fully vaccinated, Disney World is turning 50, and my mom deserved some Disney time (with dad along for the ride)!

Favorites (from this trip):
Note: We recognize that we share a lot of the same favorites - definitely a nice perk when you’re married! There are no disagreements over where to grab an afternoon drink

Nick:
Ride: Rise of the Resistance
Park: Animal Kingdom
Snack: Pulled Pork Jelly Donut from a random booth in Animal Kingdom
Drink: Rum Old Fashioned from Sebastian’s Bistro
Restaurant: Toledo
Lounge: Nomad Lounge

Tory:
Ride: Rise of the Resistance
Park: Animal Kingdom
Snack: Oysters on the half shell from Boathouse
Drink: G&T from Barcelona Lounge
Restaurant: Toledo
Lounge: Nomad Lounge (Shoutout to the bar at Toppoolino Terrace though - this was a close one!)


Tory and I live in California and have been going to Disneyland all of our lives; however, it wasn’t until January of 2019 that we were able to make our first trip out to WDW. We fell in love with the Disney Bubble and had the ability to really slow down and just relax. Unlike a day trip to Disneyland where we had to drive back home at the end of the day and enter back into the real world, filled with laundry, dishes, and responsibilities, our trips to WDW have been easy-going and laid-back. This trip, we intended to continue the theme of our past trips by embracing stress-free, relaxing days filled with many delicious drinks at lounges, Food and Wine snacks, and, oh yeah, some theme park time.

The origin of this trip came from an early 2021 phone call to my parents, who now live in the Southern United States. We were all getting excited about the prospect of being vaccinated in the not-too-distant future. We were getting giddy thinking about all the things we would be able to do again and all the trips we would be able to go on! My mom loves all things Disney and she suggested that the four of us go to Disney World together to celebrate us all being vaccinated. We agreed and the planning began! Although my parents recently went to WDW for the first time a couple years ago, there were some unexpected crowds and things were a little overwhelming, so they were eager to go back with Tory and I. My mom had read our previous TRs in preparation for this trip, and noted so many things we did that she had no idea even existed. So Tory and I vowed to make this a wonderful trip for my parents and we got to work brainstorming ideas and plans. Simultaneously, my mom wanted to make this trip extra special! She kept telling us she was planning a surprise for us as well. She gave absolutely no indication of what it was, other than that there was no dress code (since we would have had to pack accordingly). Tory and I were really stumped as to what it could be!

We will say that for a trip where the intention was to take it easy, we crashed hard in bed at the end of each Disney day.

Okay - that’s enough prologue for now, let’s get to the trip! Also, shout out to Jimmy Buffett for inspiring this Trip Report's name. Stay tuned to find out how beaches, boats, bars, and plaids play a role in this trip!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

9/26 -Travel Day!


As West Coasters, traveling east to Florida always requires an early start; however, this time, we weren’t coming from California. Our alarm woke us up early Sunday morning in our hotel room in Jackson Hole, WY! We were there for my best friend’s wedding which finally got to happen after a couple delays due to COVID. Wedding photos incoming:

In planning dates for this trip, my mom suggested the week before WDW’s 50th, and we noted that we were going to already be in Jackson Hole, WY for the weekend, so why not extend the trip and do WDW as well? So, that’s exactly what we booked! My parents’ drove down to Florida from their house in advance and had agreed to pick us up from MCO when we landed.

We had an 8:30 am flight out of Jackson Hole, where the temperature was a balmy 30 degrees. For some of you, that might not be too cold, but we were freezing! We did not want to be stuck in jeans and heavy coats for any length of time in the Florida humidity, so Tory and I decided to brave the weather in a dress and shorts, respectively. We were doing okay for the short walk from where we returned the rental car to the terminal. However, Jackson Hole is a tiny airport that doesn’t have jetways. When it came time to board, we were told that our plane was parked at the far end of the tarmac and would require a bit of a walk. This was quite the chilly walk and we were freezing by the time we made it on the plane. Sub freezing weather doesn’t mix well with us lifelong Californians!

After a layover in Minneapolis and seven or so hours of travel later, we touched down in Orlando. Hi, MCO carpet!

As soon as we stepped off the plane, we could tell that the weather was much much more pleasant and the humidity wasn’t too bad. Thankfully, the weather stayed pleasant for our whole trip!

After landing on time, our good luck continued: we waited a surprisingly short amount of time for our checked bag! Unfortunately, we had to bring two sets of clothes: a formal set of outfits for a chilly Wyoming wedding weekend and a casual set of outfits for a week in hot and humid Florida. Needless to say, we had a big checked bag!

As we got our luggage, my parents were pulling up to the airport. We found their car, hopped in, and started swapping stories. They had been to Magic Kingdom that day, so they shared stories of all the fun they had and the snacks they had eaten. Then, we shared all about our time in Jackson Hole. We were feeling a little exhausted after having celebrated over the weekend and having spent the whole day on the plane, so we asked my parents to drop us off at our resort before dinner so we could get checked in and take a quick nap.

We spent four nights at Old Key West. This was a new-to-us resort! We hadn’t ever ventured over there at any point on our previous two trips. I think our only experience with the resort was passing it while taking a boat ride from Port Orleans to Disney Springs on a previous trip. We rented some DVC points through DVCStore. The process was smooth and easy. Surprisingly, we paid less for our Old Key West studio per night than we did for our no-frills hotel room in Jackson Hole during the off-season. That’s how expensive Jackson Hole is!

The CM at the check-in desk was flabbergasted that we had come from Jackson Hole, and we told him about how we were looking forward to relaxing on this trip. He was great and understood our desire to quickly get in our room! After a few short minutes, we were good to go! We had requested a room near the main resort area that was approved. We were in Building 11 - just a two-minute walk from the Olivia’s Cafe and the lobby.
The room was definitely better than we expected. Old Key West feels a little dated on the whole (as would be appropriate for the real Key West); however, the rooms were nicely remodeled and had all the modern amenities one could need. Ignore the smooshed pillows in the photo below - Tory fell onto the bed in exhaustion before we grabbed a photo!

We especially appreciated the hot and high-pressure shower! We also loved having a little kitchenette. Tory loves working out in the mornings and eating a (relatively) healthy breakfast to start the day, so she loved being able to bring instant oatmeal, protein powder, and dried fruit to make a healthy breakfast in the room before heading out for the day.

As we were freshening up for dinner, I put on the WDW info channel and the world melted away. We lucked into a gorgeous golf course view, and I sat for a few minutes on our balcony watching the last golfers of the day hit their approach shots into the green.

Overall, we had no issues with Old Key West. The buses ran great when we took them, the CMs were friendly, and it felt very relaxing and quiet. We found out that Gurgling Suitcase closes at 10, and we, unfortunately, were never able to make it in time to have a nightcap there. I assure you, though, there was plenty of imbibing on the trip on the whole!

After taking an hour or so to settle into our room and change for dinner, we headed out to wait for my parents to pick us up for our dinner reservation at Toledo.

Other than 1 or 2 specific requests, my parents left all the dining decisions up to Tory and I, which we were a little nervous about. It’s not that my parents are picky, but we wanted to impress them! Additionally, a number of our favorite restaurants were still closed (looking at you, Flying Fish and Jiko). We had talked about what we would do if those restaurants opened up, but unfortunately, that never happened. Nevertheless, we had a fantastic first night of dining! We started with one of our favorites from our previous trip, Toledo. We arrived at the Gran Destino about half an hour prior to our reservation time, with just enough time to sit and have a drink at one of (if not, the most) gorgeous lobby bars on property: Barcelona Lounge. Both Tory and I opted for Gin and Tonics, while my parents ordered other cocktails. We sat down, continued to catch up, and let the stress of the world go.

At this point, my mom couldn’t contain herself anymore and told us what her big surprise was: The four of us were going to have a VIP tour guide the next day!!! Tory and I were speechless. We had never thought we would be able to experience something like that! My mom had made all the accommodations and told the VIP team on the phone what all our favorite rides were so that they could develop a game plan for us. All we had to do was sign the waiver that my mom pulled out from her purse and get excited!We then talked about what we wanted to prioritize with our tour guide and obviously getting on RoTR was #1, as none of us had ever been on it yet. Our visit was also in the brief period between when the virtual queue went away and before the start of the Genie, so we were nervous about the prospect of a muti-hour wait.

With the excitement of tomorrow’s VIP tour looming, we paid for our drinks and headed to dinner. We got to show off the Gran Destino Tower’s fancy elevators as it whisked my parents and us to Toledo. We checked in and had a few minutes to admire the view from the balcony. We could see Galaxy’s Edge lit up at night! We couldn’t linger too long though, as we got our text clearance and we were seated for our 8:30pm reservation.

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Toledo was so good! Like, so good that it will be on our list for any return trip. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable about the whole menu and she provided great wine recommendations. My dad put me on the spot saying that since I picked the restaurant, I had to pick a bottle of wine to share. Not knowing all that much about wine, let alone Spanish wine, I had two in mind and our server allowed me to taste both and pick which one I wanted. Here is the label. I remember it being good, but can’t say much else about it.

The Toledo feast began with a massive charcuterie plate featuring chorizo, Iberico ham, and several cheeses, which we continually picked at over the course of dinner.

Tory and I then split the grouper which was served with cauliflower and cipollini onions. The fish was expertly cooked and paired perfectly with the cauliflower! My parents split the rib-eye for two, and loved it!

We also split the pan con tomate, patatas bravas, blistered shishito peppers, brussel sprouts, olive oil-potato puree, and the octopus with chimichurri - definitely too many sides! Both the pan con tomate and octopus lived up to our memory from our previous trip.

At some point during dinner, we could see fireworks out the window!

Just as my mother was starting to say she was full, I urged her to save just a little room for dessert because for the past two plus years, I had been thinking about the Toledo Tapas Bar. They ended up getting another dessert to split at the suggestion of our server, while Tory and I split the Tapas Bar. The Tapas Bar is such a playful, creative, and well executed dessert! So many places phone in dessert, but Toledo does not. To build a progressive dessert that allows you to taste five different bites and is reminiscent of the tapas concept, is brilliant. Please, Disney, keep this one around!

We were at Toledo for close to two hours and were one of the last tables to leave. Our server never rushed us and we were able to take our time. This was an amazing start to the trip and this dinner put us in a great headspace as we headed into the next day. And WHAT A DAY THAT WAS!

Stay tuned to hear all about our VIP tour day with our plaid Shane, along with an impromptu lightsaber building experience, our first trip on the skyliner to visit the Riviera (and their pool bar), and a fantastic dinner at Sebastian’s Bistro.

 

[ArtKitschAndDisney]

So excited to be following along!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

What a happy surprise to see a new trip report from you this morning! I've really enjoyed your prior reports. Sounds like an amazing trip and I can't wait to hear all about it. We visited around the same time and I was also really hoping Flying Fish and Jiko would open. Oh well, once they do you will have a reason to make another trip! I haven't tried Toledo yet but have been hearing a lot of great reviews lately. I definitely need to fit that into future plans! What an incredible surprise from your Mom!!

 

[GDubDIS]

Sounds like an awesome start to the trip, and your food looks delicious. Glad you had such a great first day and looking forward to following along with the rest of the trip!

 

[snikki]

What an amazing first day and a great surprise! I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

 

[suse66]

I loved your previous TRs and am excited to be following along on this one!

 

[GAN]

Great start.... really enjoying!

 

[footballmouse]

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

So excited to be following along!

Glad to have you along! There's a lot of thoughts to share!

What a happy surprise to see a new trip report from you this morning! I've really enjoyed your prior reports. Sounds like an amazing trip and I can't wait to hear all about it. We visited around the same time and I was also really hoping Flying Fish and Jiko would open. Oh well, once they do you will have a reason to make another trip! I haven't tried Toledo yet but have been hearing a lot of great reviews lately. I definitely need to fit that into future plans! What an incredible surprise from your Mom!!

Welcome back! I'm tickled that folks remember our TRs. Disboards is my go to resources for updates and news from WDW, so I love the chance to give back to those that share all the latest information!

Sounds like an awesome start to the trip, and your food looks delicious. Glad you had such a great first day and looking forward to following along with the rest of the trip!

Welcome aboard! Toledo might be on my every trip list at this point. I've never had anything less then stellar from there.

What an amazing first day and a great surprise! I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

Thanks! Welcome aboard! Make sure to pull down on the lap bar!

I loved your previous TRs and am excited to be following along on this one!

Welcome back! Glad to have you along!

Great start.... really enjoying!

Thanks! Welcome along!

Make sure you've got plenty of popcorn! There's plenty more to come!

Work was super busy last week, so I didn't get a chance to welcome you all to the TR sooner. Things have calmed down now, and I have a good chunk of the TR already written, so I just need to drop in some photos. Another chapter will be coming in the next few days!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Next up: Yes, we really had a VIP Tour Guide!!!!!

Tory and I slept very well that night after an exhausting day of travel and a great meal. We woke up refreshed and excited for the day ahead.

The plan was for all of us to meet our plaid at the Old Key West lobby at 8:45 am. We had the quickest journey to the lobby, as we just had to head down some stairs and across the street, whereas my parents were traveling from their hotel room at Animal Kingdom Lodge. When we all arrived, we saw a cast member wearing a white button down polo with tartan plaid accents. He promptly introduced himself as Shane and expressed how excited he was to share the day with us. We chatted for just a few minutes, sharing our names and letting him know our thoughts on the day. We took care of the paperwork and within 10 minutes, we were in a Disney-owned SUV, headed for HS.

During the short drive from Old Key West to HS, we told Shane more about our family and our love of Disney and he shared about how he got his start with Disney and how he ended up as a plaid. Before too long, we pulled into a backstage entrance at HS! We had to stop at the guard gate and have our bags checked, but it was very brief - nothing like the sometimes overly thorough bag checks going through the front entrance. Then, Shane parked the SUV and we hopped out to see the menacing backside of Tower of Terror. No photos were allowed backstage - sorry fans of our trip report - but I will say that it was a super cool experience to see the park from a different viewpoint. After a short walk with Shane, we turned a corner and all of a sudden we popped out into Hollywood Studios right by Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy. It was kind of surreal to be in a park without going through the main entrance! It was slightly disorienting too. Just when you think you know the lay of the land, you realize that there is so much more space behind-the-scenes that you don’t have mapped in your head. But even though we had no idea where we were and where we were going, Shane did! Magically popping into the backside of the theme park became a common occurrence that day!

Shane turned to us and asked if we wanted to start our day with some Aerosomith. The answer to that is “Of course we do!” and so he whisked us into the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Fastpass/Lightning Lane/Genie+ line (?). Regardless of what it’s called now, it was not in use when we were there. We walked all the way through to the front of the line and walked right onto the ride! With this ride, Shane was able to join us as well! He said if there is ever an empty space or an odd number of guests, he gets to ride. If not, he waits for the group at the exit.

If we weren’t fully awake at that moment, RnR definitely woke us up! I always love to make LA freeway jokes to Tory during the ride. Maybe it’s a California thing to find those jokes funny?

Once we made it to the concert on time, we were off and running on a whirlwind day of rides! Back at Old Key West, Shane told us that we were going to get on as many rides as we wanted to that way, and wow, he wasn’t kidding when he said that. That’s also why we’re about to enter the portion of the trip report where we have very few photos. We didn’t stop long enough to take many in the morning!
After a brief walk, we were in front of the Chinese Theater and headed into Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway - our first “new to us” ride of the trip!

Shane explained to us that MMRR (is that the acronym we are going with?) was the newest of the three trackless ride systems at WDW. Although Ratatouille is a newer ride and was undergoing annual passholder previews at that time, the technology is the same as the one in Paris, so it isn’t considered “new.” However, all three were new to us on this trip! Shane did a great job explaining the history of the rides and sharing all his Disney knowledge. We mentioned that we had never been on the previous resident of the building, The Great Movie Ride, and he quipped back, “You didn’t miss much.”

We had heard some great things about MMRR, but we were relatively unspoiled. Unfortunately, the preshow wasn’t operating that morning, so we didn’t get the full experience. However, Shane did a great job of energetically summarizing the plot of it for us. We were so excited to learn that it was going to be a ride about chaotic Mickey antics. And it was exactly that, but in the best way possible! I remember when Shane asked what we thought after getting off the ride, I said, “ I have no idea what just happened, but I loved it!” They really nailed the projection mapping, and every scene was so all encompassing despite limited physical sets. I really liked when the cars split up and each car goes into its own little pocket. It truly feels like you are going over a waterfall! It’s such a great trick! Of course, Nothing Can Stop Us Now is super catchy and I found myself humming it several times throughout the rest of the day. Another hit for Disney! I can’t wait to have this ride open up out here in Disneyland’s Toontown!

We didn’t have too much time to talk about and reflect on MMRR because Shane was walking us directly to Rise of the Resistance (the second of our three trackless rides that day). We shockingly hadn’t ridden Rise of the Resistance before that trip. Our bicoastal annual passes expired right after our return trip in September 2019. Then, Tory defended her PhD and we moved and life got very busy. And then all of a sudden, life didn’t get busy (looking at you COVID), but the parks were closed. Needless to say, we had heard a lot of hype about the ride and were extremely excited to experience it.

I don’t know what to say about Rise of the Resistance that hasn’t already been said. If you haven’t had a chance to ride it yet, it 100% lives up to the hype! It was just an incredible, immersive experience beginning-to-end. It’s definitely a ride that is not rivaled by any other found in a theme park. Well, maybe any US theme park - we’ve heard great things about rides at the Disney parks in Asia.

We visited at the brief time between when Disney got rid of the virtual queue and they opened up Genie+/Lighting Lane. So, all rides, including this one, were standby only. The posted wait time was 130 minutes, but Shane was able to walk us right to the room where you get grouped to meet Rey and BB-8. We figured that ~2 hours was going to be the standard wait for this ride on our trip. After all, we were more than likely going to want to ride it again, and weren’t going to have Shane and his front-of-the-line Disney magic forever.

Two hours might be a little too long for us to wait, but I would comfortably say I would wait 60-75 minutes for this ride. Although, it never was clear to us where the end of the wait time was. Does it stop when you hit the first pre-show or when you board your escape vehicle? In my mind, the first pre-show is truly where the experience begins. So, I’d easily wait 60-75 minutes to get to that point.

And, the view when you step off the transport ship after being captured by the First Order. Wow!

We got a couple of photos before the First Order yelled at us to keep things moving. We needed to be processed and they were not willing to wait around for us to take photos!

I couldn’t stop smiling after we got off this ride. This was already a once-in-a-lifetime magical day, and “nothing could stop us now!” On the short walk through Batuu, I recall my Dad and I talking nonstop about Rise and all the amazing effects.

Side note: Shane was great about pointing out and asking if we needed to use the restroom, one of his many talents. He also always made sure we had cold water and if we were ever on a ride without him would have some chilled water waiting for us when we got off. Got to stay hydrated on long park days!

Since we were having a non-stop park day and we didn’t have a sit-down meal booked, Tory and I made sure to pack snacks to keep the hanger away. Although we didn’t sit down for food, we did make time for Oga and her cantina! We had booked a 10:30am ADR for Oga’s Cantina before my mom acquired us a plaid for the day. My mom wanted my dad to have the full Batuu experience since it was his first time seeing the land, so she kept the reservation. Shane had our ADR noted, and timed our day such that we were off Rise and headed to Oga’s Cantina for a perfect on time check-in. Shane checked in on our behalf, and after a slightly longer than expected conversation, he came back and noted that Oga’s Cantina was running a little behind schedule. Because of this, Shane was going to get us on Smuggler’s Run during the wait. The way he thought about maximizing our day was much appreciated! Over the course of our day together ,we got the sense that a lot of his job was reading people and trying to figure out how to help them have the very best day. Sensing this was a once-in-a-lifetime day for us, he knew we wanted to pack as much in as possible.

So, just like that, we were off to pilot, protect, and fix the Millenium Falcon. I think I freaked out my Dad a bit trying to explain the controls to him as we walked through the empty line. My parents were pilots, Tory and I were gunners, and Shane was our trusty engineer. I’m not a huge fan of the ride, but I can say that this was the most fun I have had on it! Shane barked orders (in the nicest way possible!) from the back row, telling us where to aim, what my parents should fly towards, and telling my mom exactly where the break button was. After an action packed few minutes, we did it! We hit the brakes before falling down that tube/shaft thing! My dad was so overwhelmed and couldn’t figure out how to have us jump to lightspeed, but it was all good. I guess it took a CM telling me what to do to make me appreciate the ride more. Also, having a cockpit for your own group made a world of difference!
After earning some credits for Hondo and a cut for ourselves, it was time to go celebrate our successful smuggling adventure at Oga’s Cantina!

You know how Hondo always says, “Time is credits”? I think my Dad felt that one hard when we went into Oga’s. He definitely thought it was cool, but he suggested that we don’t use all of our 45 minutes, given Shane was waiting around outside for us. We all agreed on just one drink to soak in the environment and visit DJ Rex.

Tory and I told him that most drinks were very sweet and the best drink, in our opinion, is the Jet Juice. So a round of Jet Juice it was! My mom wasn’t ready to start drinking yet, so she got a delicious Cherry Coke and a cookie. When she brought us our drinks, our server told us, “The Jet Juice is not for shooting, but I can’t stop you.” Well “nothing could stop us now!” Kidding, kidding, We didn’t shoot our Jet Juice, but it was gone within 10 minutes.

Side note: I don’t know if it was the fact that it was before 11 AM, or if it was an operational change, but the music was turned down in Oga’s. You could barely hear DJ Rex unless you were standing right next to him. It definitely dampened the vibe of this previously raucous space bar.

Side-side note: I don’t want to talk about COVID protocols or the pandemic because that would ruin the mood of the TR, but the plexiglass dividers that they have put up at the long booths in Oga’s are doing absolutely nothing and should be taken down ASAP. End of side-side note.

After a round of Jet Juice and a requisite picture of my dad with DJ rex, we headed back out into Batuu to find Shane waiting with waters in hand for us. Before heading to Toy Story Land, Shane asked if we wanted a photo with the Falcon. He did a great job with the photos! We especially love the one taken using iPhone’s Portrait Mode.

My mom really wanted to go on Slinky Dog after missing out on it on her last trip. Alas, Slinky was down! Shane tried to scope out if it was going to be back up soon, and didn’t get good news. So he pivoted well, and we went over to ride Midway Mania. He did say that we would try again at Slinky Dog before our day was done!

Midway Mania is always fun! Tory and I had never actually been on the WDW version, so Shane made a point to showcase all the differences between WDW and Disneyland’s lines and he pointed out the fact that there are 3(!) tracks.

I was awarded “Best in Vehicle,” of course; however, I was clearly rusty after having not played in a while. I used to almost always break 200,000!

We then said a quick goodbye to Toy Story Land. On the way out, Shane gave us a mindblowing piece of trivia: the voice of Woody that comes from the giant Woody statue at the land’s entrance is not actually Tom Hanks! It’s his brother Jim Hanks! He says if you listen closely, you can notice that it is slightly different. I guess Jim does voiceover work for Tom when he’s unavailable.

Our last stop in Hollywood Studios was Tower of Terror! Gosh, I love this ride so much. It’s Disney Imagineering at its finest. I get chills every time we enter the 4th dimension! Shane watched the pre-show with us, ensured we were placed in the first row, and then disappeared. When we made it back from the Twilight Zone, he was standing right by the on-ride photos. Now that’s some Disney magic!

Stay tuned for the remainder of our first full day! There’s still lots of fun to come, including a trip with Shane to both Epcot and Animal Kingdom, a lightsaber building experience, and our first trip on the skyliner!

 

[suse66]

Sounds like an incredible start to your VIP tour! Having such a knowledgeable and upbeat guide would really make the experience. It would be disconcerting to enter the park from backstage areas. I am fascinated by all the "behind the scenes" details so I know this is part of the experience I would enjoy. Looking forward to reading more!

 

[ArtKitschAndDisney]

Looking forward to the next submission!!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

And we are back with another post!

When we left off, we had just gotten off of Tower of Terror and met back up with our plaid Shane. By this point, we had collectively decided that we wanted to go to Epcot next. Shane asked if we wanted to take a shortcut back to the car. Of course we said yes!, We went through a CM-only door right next to the Tower of Terror ride photo spot, down a short hallway, and then back outside to where we first started our day. I think at some point we walked through an employee break room? Once we were back outside, we loaded back in the SUV and we were off to Park #2! By this point, it was a little before noon, we still had four hours left with Shane, and we had crossed off nearly every ride at HS, with the exception of Slinky Dog which we were going to do at the end of the day (assuming it opened back up)!

As we headed to Epcot, Shane asked what we wanted to do over there. Since Epcot is so large, there are several backstage locations he could park at to maximize our time. At some point earlier in the day, he had in passing mentioned that he could get us on to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (#RatRide) like it was no big deal, and I think we (or at least my mom and I) let out a collective gasp! On this particular day, Remy’s was in annual passholder previews. Tory and I were not going to be around on October 1st when it officially opened, so we didn’t think we would be getting on this ride at all! So, we absolutely had to take Shane up on his offer! Our other must-do was Test Track, one of my mom’s favorites!
We told this to Shane, and keeping with his promise to help us maximize our time, he noted that this ride would probably take us about a half hour, given how lengthy the car-designing experience is and the fact that Test Track is often backed up. We definitely appreciated him pointing that out, but we still opted to do it though since it's such a great ride.

So, with that plan in mind, our first order of business was the #RatRide! Shane parked the SUV behind Japan. It didn’t look like much from the back side, and apart from some boxes with Japanese brand names on them, we could have been behind any country in the World Showcase. But we followed Shane along around a few turns, and lo and behold, we were in Japan right below Teppan Edo! It still felt utterly surreal to enter a park that way. Tory and I noted that you lose some of the hype when you don’t enter the part through the front entrance. Kind of like how you lose a little hype when you enter Epcot through the World Showcase entrance as opposed to the Future World entrance. All this to say that entering Epcot from backstage was kind of odd, but still super cool to do once! We took a quick bathroom break in Morocco, and while there, Shane ran into some CMs from the Disney Parks Blog. They did a quick photo shoot with him and his new shiny name badge. Oh! I forgot to mention that! All the CMs that day were rocking brand new name tags for the 50th. Well, except for CMs working in specific lands like Pandora and Galaxy’s Edge. All the CMs were complimenting each other throughout the day and were so excited! Shane totally hammed it up for the camera!

After a very short walk, we entered the new portion of the France pavilion! It felt like it fit right in with the rest of the pavilion and it didn’t feel like a newer addition at all. The CMs at the front of the land who were checking APs just waved us through with Shane. It was wild!

We walked over to the entrance to #RatRide and went in through the FP/Genie/Lightning Lane! We got to practically walk on. Shane pointed out a few interesting sights as we walked through the line, including Remy and Emil hiding in the wallpaper!

#RatRide was our third trackless ride system of the day and the oldest of the bunch! The load area is just incredibly darling and very peaceful. We were quickly whisked away in our rat car and started our journey.

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is super cute. It is great for all ages and just brings a smile to your face. It is a perfect addition to Epcot, and it's great that nothing was lost in the process of adding this ride in. I especially loved the scene where your rat car is underneath the oven and you can smell the bread baking. The ending is also super adorable. Having been on three trackless rides in the span of a few hours, it was interesting to note the similarities in the routes that the trackless vehicles take. It’s truly amazing how the Imagineers can tell such different stories with the same patterns of movement.

Upon exiting, Shane suggested we grab some pictures, which was a great idea!

He also pointed out a fun bit of trivia regarding the three vintages of wine bottles in one of the window facades. They represent the year Ratatouille debuted, the year #RatRide opened in Disneyland Paris, and the year #RatRide opened in Epcot. Really neat!

Our next stop was Test Track! Instead of traveling across the very large park that is EPCOT, Shane took us back to the SUV, drove us around backstage, and parked behind Test Track. As we walked by the maintenance building for the ride, we saw that the doors were open and the cars were being actively working on! They were even transporting a ride car from the ride building to the maintenance building. Super cool to see! No pictures, of course, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
We entered EPCOT again between Space 220 and Test Track. We pretty quickly walked into the design room where Shane helped us design competing vehicles: Tory and I vs. my parents. When we told Shane that we were designing an eco-friendly vehicle because we are both scientists, he got really excited and started telling us about how he is looking into getting solar on his home. Hooray for the future!

Test Track is always more fun when you are actively competing your car against your ridemates, and it was especially fun to be competing against my parents! Shane was able to join us on the ride and he made sure to keep us updated on whose car was winning.

It was close, but Tory and I ended up with the win! Nevertheless, my parents were good sports and my mom loved that she got to experience her favorite attraction!

Like at Tower of Terror, we took a seemingly unmarked door out of Test Track and we were right back out by the maintenance building! We hopped back into the SUV and started our journey over to park #3: Animal Kingdom! Mine and Tory’s favorite!

Next up: Animal Kingdom and the end of our VIP tour!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Your tour sounds delightful! And how perfectly timed to get to do one while there was hardly anyone else using lightning lane yet!! Your guide sounds terrific. I think that would be such a fun job... and then I think about all the logistics they have to juggle and realize how challenging it must be. Not to mention having responsibility for someone's Disney day! Your day is sounding beyond great so far. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Sounds like an incredible start to your VIP tour! Having such a knowledgeable and upbeat guide would really make the experience. It would be disconcerting to enter the park from backstage areas. I am fascinated by all the "behind the scenes" details so I know this is part of the experience I would enjoy. Looking forward to reading more!

We learned that when you book a VIP service, someone from Disney calls you a few weeks out to get a feel for who the party is. I think they then match you to a plaid who would bet suit your needs. Shane was perfect for us!

The behind the scenes stuff was awesome and weird at the same time! There was so much to look at, but yet it was all so nondescript that it didn't feel Disney at all.

Looking forward to the next submission!!

Glad to hear it! There's plenty more to share.

Your tour sounds delightful! And how perfectly timed to get to do one while there was hardly anyone else using lightning lane yet!! Your guide sounds terrific. I think that would be such a fun job... and then I think about all the logistics they have to juggle and realize how challenging it must be. Not to mention having responsibility for someone's Disney day! Your day is sounding beyond great so far. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!

Yeah, it's definitely a job you have to work your way up to as a CM. Shane told us that he got his start with Disney in the entertainment department escorting characters and applied to get this role. It's definitely harder than it seems at first. He was checking his work phone a lot which I assume had wait times and all kinds of other info on what was going on in the parks. He made it look easy, especially with getting us on SDD right before our time with him closed, but I'm sure there was a lot of planning and thinking ahead going on in his head.

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Our next stop: Animal Kingdom!

Have I mentioned in this TR yet how much we love Animal Kingdom?!

We parked behind Pandora, and my parents locked us in the car for the second time that day! I think I forgot to mention that this happened when we first arrived at Hollywood Studios at the very beginning of our VIP tour. As much as my mom said this experience was for Tory and I, my parents shut the door on us for the second time after they exited the SUV and didn’t pull down the seat to let us out of the backseat. Luckily Shane remembered us! Lol lol.
Once we were all out of the vehicle, Shane apologized and said that we would have to walk through this park to get to Expedition Everest, one of our ride requests (The other, of course, was Flight of Passage). It turns out that driving backstage to the other side of the park takes like 20 minutes because you have to drive around the outside of the whole savanna! We certainly didn’t mind at all - we love walking through Animal Kingdom! So, we entered Animal Kingdom through Pandora, which was super weird because we weren’t greeted by the Tree of Life!

Our walk through Animal Kingdom was lovely, as always. We soon reached Expedition Everest and we entered through the defunct FP entrance. We were quickly up toward the loading area. As we neared the loading area, Shane asked us where we wanted to sit. He relayed our request to sit in the back to the cast member and our request was granted.

Everest just makes me giddy. I laugh every single time I am on that ride. I think the whole family agrees that this is one of the best rides on property. As we were hopping off the ride and heading to look at our ride photo, my mom turned to Shane and asked if we could go again. Shane said, “Of course! I’m not going to say no to riding the most efficient-loading ride again!” Hahahaha. So we left the gift shop and hopped right back in line, this time asking for the front seats! We had to wait for one train cycle to get them, but then we were right back on Everest. This time, when our vehicle reached the top, we were very close to the edge of the track. It seems like you can see forever!

We got off laughing once again and we soon pulled over to the snack stand next to Everest for Shane to grab water. I followed him over to grab a snack for myself since we had been subsisting on beef jerky, snack mix, and Jet Juice during this high-paced day. I got to watch Shane order our waters and explain to the very new CM how to process the transaction and charge it to VIP services. Apparently there is a button on the register for that!
I went with a classic Disney snack: a Mickey pretzel! There was no time to stop and enjoy it though! Shane had us walking over to Flight of Passage next. Tory and I were so hungry that we finished it while walking over.

So, back to Pandora we went!

Shane ushered us through the former FP line for Flight of Passage. As we entered, Shane had a brief back-and-forth with the CM at the entrance about the new names tags. The cast member working Flight of Passage mentioned that all the Pandora cast members were jealous that they didn’t get to wear shiny new nametags! We felt so bad!

I’ll take a second to note here that AK was really empty that day (and the next day when we went back as well). FOP was only a 45 minute stand-by wait!
There was a bit of a backup at FOP, but I think we all appreciated the respite in the AC. It had been quite the day! We chatted with Shane about our time remaining and what we wanted to do. He threw out the idea of heading to Magic Kingdom to do one or two rides so that we would be able to say that we did all four parks in one day. He also suggested that we could go back to HS to try to get on Slinky Dog Dash since it had been down that morning. Since this trip was all for my mom, we let her decide and she chose SDD! Can’t argue with that decision!

FOP was as great as we remembered; however, it felt slightly out of focus. Maybe it was just where we were sitting? It made me just slightly nauseous given that we hadn’t had all that much to eat that day and it was getting quite hot and humid that afternoon. A little later in the day, we found out that my mom had to close her eyes for most of the ride for similar reasons. All-in-all, a great trip to AK though!

We had a quick restroom break in Pandora as we were on our way out of the park. As I was exiting the restroom, I overheard a gentleman on his cellphone say, “Where are we? We’re in a jungle somewhere, where are you?” We all shared a good laugh about that one!

Back into the SUV we went for our final leg of the trip: AK to HS. This time, we had to make sure we had all of our belongings because we would be parting ways with Shane in HS.

Stay tuned to find out if we were able to get on SDD!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

"We're in the jungle somewhere." The funniest things can be overheard in Disney. Particularly from first time visitors. Your AK visit sounds awesome. I love that your guide can also help you get the specific seats you want. I recently rode in the back for the first time on another coaster and was surprised how different it felt. The tours do go fast, don't they? You initially think, "7 hours with a stranger? Will it be awkward?" and then you blink, it's over, and the "stranger" is your new best friend.

 

[disvisitorkim]

I followed your other trip reports and was pleasantly surprised to have found this one! Following along and can't wait to see how the rest of the trip is going. I've gone to Disney several times in my adult life, but this next trip I think we're going to take it slower and explore more of the lounges and bars.