Disneymoon 2015, a Trip of Firsts: F&WF, V&A, MNSSHP & more! *pic heavy*

[Taraven87]

I'm enjoying your trip report. That's horrible that you are not feeling well. I look forward to reading more!

Thanks for following along! And thanks for your sympathy... It just added another challenge to the trip

 

[Taraven87]

Day 3: DisneyQuest & Disney Springs (or, In Which Your Friendly Author is Too Sick for Epcot [Which is Really Saying Something])

I ended up feeling really bad after dinner and didn't fall asleep until about 5am, so DH and I decided to go to Epcot Saturday, rather than Friday, trading our Downtown Disney day for our Epcot day. I was really disappointed; I love Epcot and had been SO excited for this day. I'd been waiting more than a year, and I hated the thought of putting it off any longer. But since I really wasn’t feeling well, it was for the best. We slept in and made it to the newly re-named Disney Springs (seriously, we saw the announcement on the news while we were at Universal!) in time for a late lunch. We ended up back at Wolfgang Puck Express, where DH had a cheese pizza (very good!) and I had a Greek Salad (also delicious). We meandered over to DisneyQuest, popping into shops along the way.

Now, I know DisneyQuest has jumped the shark. But I always wanted to go when I was younger, and never got to. When I heard it is closing next year, going in just to see what it was about became a priority. We had the Waterparks and More option on our ticket, so we weren’t out any money for the experience. Today marks the first of our many adventures trying to get our Magic Bands to function. This was our first trip using them, and I knew a lot of people had experienced issues, but I was (naively) optimistic that Disney would have ironed out most of the issues by the time we got there. I wasn't sure if they'd be active yet since we hadn't checked in to POR (the resort they were "linked" to), but apparently it wasn't that simple. Even once activated, all of our myriad tickets (8 day hopper, 1 day 1 park, MNSSHP) were not showing up... After about half an hour at the Guest Relations desk, we were in.

DisneyQuest was a mixed bag. As a free option, it was great, but I would have been disappointed had I paid more than $10 or $15 to get in. DH is really big into video and arcade games, and I enjoy playing. Lots of the machines were broken down. The décor was dated, but still really fun. It's a neat concept that's unfortunately no longer relevant.

Look, it's Ralph!

And the Cave of Wonders!

Buzz Lightyear, to the rescue!

A neat (abandoned) Jules Vernian cafe area
We ended up spending a couple of hours exploring, playing games, monopolizing Skee Ball, and taking pictures for posterity. I’m really glad we got to go, and I’d much prefer to see it updated than destroyed, but I guess the times they are a-changing. I was surprised to be stopped by a survey taker on the way out asking about our experience and what could be improved, since it’s my understanding they’re not planning on keeping DisneyQuest around, but I always stop when asked to do a survey; I see it as my civic duty as someone who loves the Disney parks, and wants them to have a bright, successful future. They can’t fix what’s broken if they don’t know what’s broken! Much to DH's chagrin, I must have a friendly face, because I get asked at least once a trip.

It was about this time we realized we needed to come up with a plan for dinner. We’d originally counted on being in Epcot and thought we’d just do a quick service there, but we didn’t want to fight the crowds in Disney Springs’ table service restaurants, and nothing back at the hotel was sounding good. We got lucky and were able to book a late night reservation for dinner at Kona Café over at the Polynesian.

After Disney Quest we found our way to Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar. I was on the edge of my seat for months, hoping it would open in time for our trip. It opened just a week or two before we made it out there.

I’m a big fan of Trader Sam’s over at the Disneyland Hotel, and a big fan of Indiana Jones, so an Indiana Jones themed bar in the same style as Trader Sam’s has a lot of appeal for me! DH’s dad is also HUGE into Indiana Jones, so we took lots of pictures of the punny posters and memorabilia for him.

(Funny story; the "Choose Wisely" scene has become part of my vernacular to the point that I forget it's from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! I was getting DH an Apple Blossom at the POR foodcourt and when asked if he wanted ice cream with that, I said no he did not, and added "He chose poorly". The cast member started gushing over how much she loved that film and it literally took me recounting the story to DH and him pointing out that I'd used an Indiana Jones reference for me to figure out why she'd started talking about a movie in response to that.)

Temple of Doom was my favorite of the Indiana Jones trilogy as a kid because I thought the ability to reach into someone's chest and pull out their heart was AWESOME.

It was a fun pit stop. We had a snack, splitting the falafel tacos. The view from the deck was gorgeous.

DH loves Disney falafel (specifically, he hasn't been a fan of it elsewhere) and this was no exception. I sipped on a ginger ale. It was PACKED when we were there; we vowed we would come back for a cocktail later in the trip, but it never ended up happening since it was always so crowded when we were back at Disney Springs!

At the photo limit... Day 3 will be continued!

 

[Sarahh1027]

If DisneyQuest is open the first week of May I'd definitely love to go just to walk around and experience it before it's gone!! I love the Cave of Wonders picture! (Huge Aladdin fan!!) Eagerly awaiting an update!!