From AOA to BLT for $15 (7/10-7/19) updated 9/20

just about 45 mins from you in the Decatur area!

We are close! I grew up in Decatur and my husband works at CAT in Decatur. My daughter is close in age to your girls. She is starting her Senior year in high school and will turn 18 in March 2021. AK is her favorite park, so much so that on our last trip in 2014, we spent two full days there and Pandora wasn't even open yet, and we did not go on Everest.

WOW! I am shocked at how uncrowded AK was when you went. FOP a walk on?? My last trip was in 2014 so we have not experienced Pandora nor FOP yet. I would love to go and see it all, with no crowds!
 
I left off with us leaving Animal Kingdom after a very jam packed morning and we headed back to Bay Lake Tower to rest, relax and clean up for dinner.

The girls wanted a little snack, so I took them down and the got French fries and I grabbed this beauty 😍

50190228151_0c033041c6_z.jpg


It’s description:

Cinderella Cupcake
Yellow Cake filled with Pumpkin Custard topped with Buttercream, a White Chocolate Cinderella Slipper and a Fondant Pumpkin

I did share with the girls, after all, I’m not an evil step-sister. It was very good, I love pumpkin and fall flavors.

We retired to the room and I was able to try the giant bath tub!

Dinner was scheduled for 6:50, so we headed toward Kidani around 6. We had stayed there last year so we wanted to walk around a bit and smell the lobby (we love the smell of deluxe lobbies 🤷‍♀️)

Last year we didn’t have our own car, so I could never get a good pic of the sign. So this time I grabbed one!

The guard shack stops you and checks that you have a reservation, via your magic band. The guard was masked and made sure we masked up before he exited the booth to speak with us.

50190484677_9981238993_z.jpg


We were early by about 25 minutes, so we wandered a bit and went to visit the animals on the savannah.

50189681703_7a1d48439b_z.jpg

50189681698_0cbce3cec5_z.jpg

50190228121_756be9ed9b_z.jpg

50190228111_5a9997484b_z.jpg


look we’re not sweaty!
50190484622_d006149e55_z.jpg


We checked into Sanaa 15 minutes early and waited just about 10 minutes. Sadly, we were not next to a window, but we ate breakfast there last year at a window everyday so we’ve experienced it before.

50190228041_9a9bfcd837_z.jpg


Side note: they do a great quick service breakfast. Get the banana bread and African hazelnut spread (aka Nutella). Also, if you’re staying there they do a free cookie decorating for kids and a free tour of the restaurant with a sample of their bread service. (This could be suspended because a CM from some area of Africa does the tour and talks about their culture and the art in the restaurant. It’s totally worth your time. )

We got seated in the center of the restaurant, once again they did a great job with distancing tables and we felt safe.

50190484617_a8fbcf69cf_z.jpg

50190228036_2183d5f5a2_z.jpg


All of Table service restaurants had paper QR code menus. (we got ours messy after the bread service, when I snapped the pic)

50190484592_0ef6d480df_z.jpg


We started with the bread service, seriously the greatest thing ever. If you’ve never been to Sanaa and ever eat there GET THE BREAD SERVICE! You will not regret this decision!
50189681658_e403d978e3_z.jpg


So much goodness on this platter! Best $18 ever!

Indian-style Bread Service
Choice of Five Breads and with all Nine Accompaniments - Traditional Naan, Garlic-Ginger Naan, Spiced Naan, Onion Kulcha, or Paneer Paratha. Accompaniments - Cucumber Raita, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney, Tomato-Date Jam, Tamarind Chutney, Coriander Chutney, Garlic Pickle, Red Chile Sambal, or Spicy Jalapeño-Lime Pickle

After we devoured the bread service 🤤 we ordered our entrees.

Eric ordered the potjie, he chose the braised beef, rice, cilantro-coconut veggies. He enjoyed this, it had a bit of spice that he tends to enjoy. He’s had this a few times.

Potjie Inspired
Choose one from the Journey - Goan Seafood Curry, Butter Chicken, or Braised Beef. Choose one from the Harvest (Plant-based) - Chickpea Wit, Aloo Masala, or Cilantro-Coconut Vegetables. Served with scented Basmati Rice

50190228046_452aff54cf_z.jpg


Janet and I ordered the Biranyi, mine had chicken, hers had shrimp. This was a new selection for us.

African-inspired Biryani
Fragrant Rice with Seasonal Vegetables influenced from the Cape of Good Hope

50190228056_d5e5574eef_z.jpg


Here‘s mine! I really enjoyed it, it’s definitely different than what I would typically choose, but I’m glad I ordered it.

50190484572_269e26a35d_z.jpg


The girls both got kids meals, they are obviously over age 9, but not huge eaters and we had no trouble getting kid menu items.

Lydia got the butter chicken with rice and the Pumbaa dessert.
50190484557_9574f0af14_z.jpg


I forgot to grab a pic of dessert, but here’s one I stole
50190655692_a7fa753000.jpg



Lindsay ordered the butter chicken as well, but they came out with a cheeseburger 🤷‍♀️, she doesn’t even eat cheeseburgers only hamburgers so there was a small snafu. It was quickly remedied by our server though and no big deal.

She doesn’t eat rice 🙄 so her side choices were weird. She had the butter chicken with.... drumroll.... Mac n cheese 🤷‍♀️. She picked a fruit cup as her second side, in defense of her Mac n cheese, we had asked if it was possible to get potatoes that come with the steak, but it’s not possible.

This is before her chicken came out :)
50190228051_26b5b4e891_z.jpg


The food was all delicious and we’ve never had issue getting a reservation. I recommend it for dinner if you are staying at either AKL resort or have your own car. If you need to get there via Disney transportation I’d recommend it for lunch on your AK day. Just hop on a bus to Kidani, have a wonderful lunch out of the heat, explore the resort and hop right back to the park for the rest of your day.
 
Last edited:
We did utilize the Photopass this trip, I have an amazing friend that allowed me to piggyback off of her AP photopass, so I didn’t spend the $170.

Here are a few from our AK day!

Dinosaur, in our own space rover.

50190283371_96bd9642d5_z.jpg


50190284831_ef304c205e_z.jpg


50189738218_9ed9a68fa8_z.jpg


50189738553_bac04e9dcf_z.jpg


scary snake!
50190542972_34b49ea7d5_z.jpg


50189742403_067feb331f_z.jpg


HYENAS, oh no!
50190542252_f7af17fe26_z.jpg


Gorgeous tree
50189741088_2a92b29bf8_z.jpg


Banshee

50189739848_1525d42c19_z.jpg

50189741878_ccfb17d3de_z.jpg



50190544307_d03a3b35e6_z.jpg


50190544762_227748809c_z.jpg

50190542027_f165a30252_z.jpg
 


Today we head off to Magic Kingdom, this will be their 3rd day of their reopening. We were hoping that the wait times would be equally as low as Animal Kingdom had been.

The park opened at 9am and we wanted to be there around 8:30, so we left BLT at 8:20. The walk over is very quick and the line through temp check/security was quite fast.

Here we are walking the path with our ears on.
50196777438_6820d1f3d4_z.jpg


The sky was beautiful this morning!
50197325591_95fb45d8b9_z.jpg


Pretty soon we tapped in with our tickets and saw this up close and personal. The new colors are definitely different, but it is very pretty.
50197325456_b2e7f79cc0_z.jpg


We headed to Eric’s favorite ride, Splash Mountain! We walked to Frontierland through Adventureland. This would be the most crowded walkway of our day.
50196777318_98e65dd178_z.jpg


people quickly dispersed to various rides and we were left with areas like this...
50197589507_c732dcb086_z.jpg

50196777088_04fede1c6d_z.jpg


Soon enough we were at our destination
50197325066_900c9ea0a8_z.jpg


We were already very hot and ready to take a trip to the Laughlin’ Place!

It was not meant to be though, 9 am came and went and finally the CM announced that the ride would have a delayed opening, could be 10 minutes, could be hours. So we bailed on the line and hightailed it to the girls’ favorite MK ride, Big Thunder Mountain.

The ride said 10 minutes, but it was really walk on. They had added a lot of plexi glass all along the rails, but we never stopped moving for more than 30 seconds anyway.
Soon enough we loaded up into IM Fearless.

50197589147_c467526781_z.jpg

50196776853_068c49efa2_z.jpg

50197589057_a43ce12f38_z.jpg


oh how we love the wildest ride in the wilderness!

After this Splash was still down at it is now 9:08.
Here are the wait times close to rope drop.

50197585037_9a0dace196_z.jpg


Since Splash was still not open, we headed to a Liberty square there were 999 happy haunts that we needed to visit.

Crowds in Liberty Square
50197588887_f591d057e1_z.jpg


Haunted Mansion was a super walk on, the stretching room is wide open, so apparently It does indeed have a door 😉. We were on the ride in mere moments.

50197588752_32f4893a7d_z.jpg


50197324536_bf99e06db9_z.jpg

50190294671_e6671bddd9_z.jpg

50196776398_476fd8e757_z.jpg


Lydia had on her Haunted Mansion shirt and bow, there was no Photopass photographer at this location, though there usually is pre-Covid.

50196776268_9a228dabe8_z.jpg


After this it was 9:25 and we headed to Peter Pan, it had a massive wait of... 5 mins 😱
50197588282_427d664513_z.jpg


This is another queue that we’ve never done, it is super cute. Not that I want to wait an hour in it, but a quick walk through was enjoyed!
50196865183_411ea989b1_z.jpg
50197679142_e180b22563_z.jpg

50197679147_82fc91002e_z.jpg


We divided into 3 ships, I chose to ride alone so I could attempt to get a few decent pics. This ride is hard to photograph with much clarity, but I always try!

50197324271_2c773e672f_z.jpg

50197413526_19f1b90a9a_z.jpg

50196865188_6090f7255d_z.jpg


Grandma and Lindsay were in the boat behind me, so I attempted to snap a pic before they exited, not great clarity again!

50197413516_4e8ae15e2a_z.jpg


After this we walked the very short distance to the happiest cruise ever, but I’m going to stop there because my ipad is almost dead! More Magic Kingdom to come soon!
 
Last edited:
Do you feel the photopass opportunities would have been worth the cost (if you had to pay for the service) knowing that every picture will be taken of you with a mask on? 📸
 
Do you feel the photopass opportunities would have been worth the cost (if you had to pay for the service) knowing that every picture will be taken of you with a mask on? 📸

i would not have paid this trip, strictly because we were only doing 3 days. The photogs were probably 3/4 of what we normally see. However, if we had been a longer trip 5+days I would have bought it because of the shear emptiness of our pics.

The castle pics were so cool with the empty area. I also would have sought out more photographers if I had paid. We skipped any photographers that had any line all, with 3 days/3 parks we had 150+ pics (some are the Disney supplied pics)
 


After we rode Peter Pan we headed across the path to It’s a Small World. It was walk-on.

50197324161_e95b78c374_z.jpg


The boats are exactly the same as ever, but they seat you far apart from other parties.

We rode with a party of two, we were in the front of the boat, they were in the back. Several rows separated us for distancing.

50197324056_70091f7bd2_z.jpg


Only one of our names popped up on the goodbye screens!
50197323951_f3eac58528_z.jpg


We left the most ear-worm causing cruise ever and headed to New Fantasyland for a dip under the sea.

The wait time was 10 minutes according to the signage, but that was all spent walking the queue and listening Scuttle.

50197323921_deee20c922_z.jpg

50196772583_642b85192f_z.jpg


After our time visiting Ariel and friends it was 10:07 and we needed a little snack!

We stopped outside of Storybook Circus at a popcorn cart. Our goal was a Mickey pretzel but they were currently out, so popcorn was it! They have a travel sink that you press with your foot. So you can wash up with real soap and water before munching on a snack. This was a very nice touch, hand sanitizer is fine but I feel better using real soap and water.

We bought our popcorn in an adorable Steamboat Willie bucket. They also had Steamboat Minnie.
This is not my pic, ours was left packaged and we got a small box of popcorn. I added a refill for $2 right away because the box they provide wasn’t enough for 5 people.

50200241193_e9e90a0172_z.jpg


We sat and enjoyed our salty snack and headed into Storybook Circus.
50196775743_3d6239e067_z.jpg


At this point it is about 10:30 and grandma and Lindsay wanted to sit a spell (it was HOT) so Eric, Lyd and I went to see what Goofini was up to... spoiler alert he’s not the best pilot!

50197323751_abb3d75273_z.jpg

50150207812_463e53902e_z.jpg

50197587832_a0a02c2576_z.jpg


We met back up with the rest of our group and grandma and Lindsay had decided they wanted to take a break from the heat and rest at BLT for a bit before lunch, so I took them back to the resort via the monorail and came right back to the Kingdom.

This is us walking back toward the hub, look how empty! Eric and Lyd were going to shop a bit while they waited on me to return.

50197587787_c93cece211_z.jpg


I snapped this historic pic, because I’m not sure how long they’ll remain hanging.
50196775418_f91095ce93_z.jpg


We had planned to walk back, but the monorail was right there and Contemporary is the first stop so we hopped on!
50197323416_9b78aac221_z.jpg


Once I made sure they were back at BLT I headed back to the park, before I met up with my family I visited Roy and Minnie ❤
50196775268_184fc97cf8_z.jpg


and saw a Pooh cavalcade!
50197587372_5d3ea09eaf_z.jpg


Main Street at 11!
50197323261_26ba3fea9e_z.jpg


I rejoined Eric and Lydia, they had ridden Buzz Lightyear and of course Eric got 999,999, like always 😡 😂

We decided to see what Jack Sparrow was up to and walked onto Pirates of the Caribbean, right after a few Photopass pics!
50189752218_cc1eee4d21_z.jpg

50190297586_624e3d5102_z.jpg


We walked right through the dark cellar and climbed aboard the boat.
50197323246_3840e63f49_z.jpg

50197323136_616a2c2411_z.jpg


Here’s our Photopass pic from the ride... it is most certainly not us 😂 but you can see the way they seated people anyway.

50190294926_f5849774d3_z.jpg


Frontierland was calling our name, we jumped back on Big Thunder, it wasn’t a straight walk on, but it was very short.
50197323106_e04ecb93bd_z.jpg


At this point Lindsay and grandma had rested about an hour and wanted to head back. We had decided to split up at lunch so Eric headed to the hub to meet them and got to Pinocchio Village House and Lydia and I went to Peco’s Bills.
First we stopped at Tortuga Tavern (it’s closed) but they have the best bathroom. It is very small but always empty and clean. I really wanted to use real soap and water before eating.

We places our mobile order and soon enough it was ready. Again, you have to show your phone for admittance to the restaurant.

The toppings bar is gone for now, but you can request a bunch of toppings on the app, the only one that costs more is guacamole, and I think it was always extra. The lettuce and tomato are in a small container, the tomato is sliced not diced. The sour cream, taco sauce and salsa are individually prepacked. It generally comes with one item, but if you ask for extra in the app they were very generous with toppings.

Lydia had the chicken and rice bowl and loved it! Any combo of chicken and rice thrills her taste buds.

50197323051_3ffab925cc_z.jpg


I had the nachos and they were delicious. I love that you can make them to your specifications.

Eric, grandma and Lindsay ate at Pinnochio’s. They had flat bread and there are no pics, apparently they also had the most amazing a Blue Raspberry slushees that they RAVED about the. RAVED! Apparently on a July day in Orlando a slushee is the greatest thing ever.

As they were finishing up we started our walk to Fantasyland. Along the way we saw Adam the Woo and asked for a quick, socially distant, pic! He was very nice!

50197587202_475eb2cb3a_z.jpg


Heres the times board from Frontierland at 12:51 pm.
50201137597_646bece38d_z.jpg


We also saw the Goofy Cavalcade, with guest stars Panchito and Jose. This was the first time we’d ever seen them, Lydia was thrilled because Gran Fiesta is a favorite of hers.

50196774763_82bab25293_z.jpg

50196774713_5cc3c661e2_z.jpg

50197586972_519239f56f_z.jpg


She loves them so much that she’s getting this for Christmas. It’s stupid hard to find, but luckily I snapped one last week before it went out of stock again.

50200894291_c304d20087_z.jpg


So cute!

We made it to Fantasyland and they were still inside eating and because of new rules we couldn’t join them, so we jumped in line for Peter Pan. It was 10 minutes, and soon enough we were sailing through the skies over London.

50196772523_c04bee384b_z.jpg


After this we met up and heard A LOT about this blue slushee! Eric convinced Lydia that she needed one too.
50197322666_973041a9bc_z.jpg


I had a sip but I had my eye on something else. It was good for sure and hit just right in the heat.

We sat in Fantasyland while she enjoyed her treat. This is Fantasyland at 1:20 pm 😱
50197322581_4b189b91a6_z.jpg


We headed to Pooh and that wacky ride. The line has all of the interactive things covered and the line took less than 10 minutes. They gave us the option of spreading out into two cars or cramming into one car. We opted to sit in two cars, it was too hot to sit 3 to a seat.

50196774408_126ac72bd6_z.jpg
[

50197322476_999a50d1e6_z.jpg


Next we head to the future, but I’ll leave you here for now!
 
Last edited:
Ugh it will not let me edit for some reason!
here’s the Christmas present, I linked the wrong pic

finally let me edit, but you can just admire it twice 😂

50200894291_c304d20087_z.jpg
 
Last edited:
After Pooh we headed toward the land of Tomorrow and Eric wanted to see if he could get 999,999 again.

50197322391_f81b331776_z.jpg


He did... and he did it with two rooms left 😡
50197586522_a14ed95085_z.jpg


Needless to say the rest of us didn’t do that well.

50204806952_1f12f6d6f8_z.jpg


After battling Zurg we went to visit John and check in on his family.

I love this ride. It’s perfection, you get to relax in A/C, see something that was dreamed up by Walt and get off your feet for 20 minutes. Perfection!

50197586497_383a520d8e_z.jpg

John was in perfect working order today and was Thrilled to have us visit.

50197586417_ca3150f21e_z.jpg


For COVID precautions, you obviously must wear a mask, and they seat only every other row and direct you to specific seats for your party. We skipped at least 5 seats between the party next to us.

Unfortunately, there was a small kitchen fire at John’s house 😉 so we had to say goodbye, and headed back into Tomorrowland.

We ran across the socially distant Buzz Lightyear meet and greet and said a quick hello to our favorite Space Ranger.
50197322191_f9b2be2f94_z.jpg


We left Janet on a shaded bench and headed to Space Mountain, it was walk-on for us.
50196772488_2635534938_z.jpg


They seated us alone in the big car, two per little car.

50204000813_fba4ffaa44_z.jpg
50190295526_124ffa66de_z.jpg


Immediately after we got off the ride the girls wanted to ride again, there was a teeny line, it was less than 10 mins, so the girls were pretty speedy.

50189745298_9b70ef3a28_z.jpg


After our trip in tomorrowland we wanted to see the 8th wonder of the world.

We happened to hit it during boat cleaning time, so we waited about 25 minutes. The middle crates are no longer used for seating, but other than that the boats were full. They added plexi glass dividers in various sections to keep you separated from others.

50197321951_34279292c7_z.jpg


It’s bathing elephants, don’t be embarrassed though, they’re wearing trunks 😉

50197586037_3b5fa47e80_z.jpg


Remember the 4 blue slushees my family raved about... it was now time for my treat!
50197585967_53099445af_z.jpg


I actually wanted the pineapple upside cake, but it’s not on the small menu. The float was great though!

Janet and Lindsay still hadn’t gone to see Davey Jones, so we got back in line for Pirates. They too were cleaning, so we stood in the same spot for about 15 minutes, then it moved quickly.
50197321706_27c18e83aa_z.jpg

this time it’s us!
50190295686_b6093f3f58_z.jpg


We still haven’t ridden Eric’s favorite ride, stay tuned to see if we finally get to the Laughin’ Place.
 
Before we climbed into Davey Jones locker we headed to get a few castle pics, but I forgot to share them earlier.

50190553237_7226298fa9_z.jpg

50189750873_777b509cbf_z.jpg

50190553877_e65b2a872f_z.jpg

50189753468_9df2a2bed7_z.jpg


After our pirates ride we went back toward Frontierland, Splash Mountain was calling our names (again). We got in line, truthfully I don’t remember the length but I know it was set to be our longest wait of the day and my gut says maybe around 45 minutes was posted.

50196773638_caaa0834f5_z.jpg


They have a very long queue of social distancing markers. It moved pretty briskly for the first few minutes and then dead stop...

But at this point we were riding this ride! So we hung out, there was some hang up, it was not cleaning time, but they never really said what the issue was 🤷‍♀️

After about 15 minutes of standing in the same spot we started moving! We got close to the stairs and a storm was blowing in, several times we heard an announcement letting us know that the ride could close at any time. 🤞 We we’re hopeful that we’d get to ride.

Finally we were in the building, soon enough we were going down the hallway to the cast member. We hear the party in front of us tells her they’re a party of two. She sends them to the loading zone. She stops us, dead stop. It’s now time to clean the ride!!

I appreciate their improved cleaning, but no one wants to be next in line when Pooh goes to eat hunny and no one wants to be next up before cleaning!

For Splash they clean a log with a big sprayer and send it through empty to “dry”. Then once it returns it can be used. The length of Splash has always been a bonus, but not today. Finally after about 20 minutes the now clean log has returned to scoop us up.

After coasting through we saw these lovely ladies soon enough and said goodbye to Brer Rabbit and thanked him for years of fun and memories.

50197321561_3d69b168b0_z.jpg

50197585672_0d6bff1d7c_z.jpg


Getting to see him one last time sure was satisfactual!
50197585637_280cbdaf17_z.jpg


You do get your own log per party, but none of us would ride in the front seat 😂

50190550957_a75a570278_z.jpg


When we came back to the loading zone they were cleaning the final log, which is how I saw their procedure for this particular ride.

Luckily, the storm blew past Magic Kingdom with only a couple sprinkles and the ride remained open for all in line.

We had some time to kill and minimal lines, so we headed to find 999 happy haunts once more. This time I rode alone.

I didn’t take a lot of pics because this was our second Haunted Mansion ride today.
50196773353_427d204b88_z.jpg

50190551447_e9ecfafba1_z.jpg

50190551232_ed4c2782bd_z.jpg


What is one to do when they have time to kill before dinner? Well more castle pics of course!

the sheer emptiness makes these my favorite castle pics ever, I wish masks weren’t there, but they kept us safe ❤️

50189753103_016a115cb4_z.jpg

50190296831_1e4ef521e8_z.jpg

50189750313_ca2f67f5e8_z.jpg

50190298476_13ee481876_z.jpg

50189752083_0927e4e0eb_z.jpg

50189752738_e7c6c01536_z.jpg


I include this pic to show you the paint by numbers on the castle.
50197585117_2f729ae7b4_z.jpg


We were finally ready for our 6:35 dinner reservation at The Plaza Restaurant. This is a great restaurant for an out of pocket dining experience. For Disney the prices are pretty affordable and the food is yummy!
We checked in just a few minutes early and were seated within 5 minutes. The restaurant was great at distancing, but if you've been there before it is small. They only had 5-7 tables seated, so we made sure to tip well.

50197585447_e7a8b0821e_z.jpg
50197585392_9a7c6dc13e_z.jpg


Lydia wanted a milkshake so badly this trip, so she finally got one at The Plaza. She picked vanilla, it was delicious, but we have some later in the trip that make this one look like child’s play.
50216791391_46fb55586b_z.jpg



Lindsay was the odd one out and ordered The a Plaza club, it’s your basic club sandwich and it is HUGE. She prefers turkey to ham so at some point she abandoned the middle bread and ham to fit it in her mouth.

50197320996_2ecff61b1c_z.jpg

50196772473_626bc7ba07_z.jpg


The rest of us chose the Philly Cheesesteak, they make a very nice cheesesteak according to my midwestern taste buds. Right now the menu is small, there was also a burger with brisket on it and not much else.
50216791396_38b03ccb47_z.jpg


They are very good about letting you customize, but we left it as is for our four sandwiches.
50197320831_dd488d0012_z.jpg


We took our time eating but they were so fast that we were all done by 7:20 and we began our journey down Main St and said goodbye to Magic Kingdom.

The girls and I stopped for more castle pics, because of course we did! I’ve never held Tink before, she doesn’t weigh much 😂 and our surprised faces with masks are pretty funny.
50190299291_69e9c9f382_z.jpg

50190552232_94e3609e21_z.jpg

50189752313_788ee23995_z.jpg

50189750683_33b55ac71f_z.jpg


Goodbye Magic Kingdom, we have a resort day tomorrow, and the heat does wipe you out, so we’re excited for a little down time!
 
50189750683_33b55ac71f_z.jpg


Goodbye Magic Kingdom, we have a resort day tomorrow, and the heat does wipe you out, so we’re excited for a little down time!
[/QUOTE]
I love this picture with the expressions on your face! :wizard: What a great memory!
 
Today was an off day, in our original July plan it was to be our DHS day, but this was the day before their reopening.

So we pivoted and slid DHS to 7/15 and gave ourselves a swimming, relaxing and Disney Springs day.

Once again I headed out before everyone else woke up and enjoyed the quietness of BLT in the morning.

Eric is a runner and was going to have a nice run on this day, so I snapped a pic of the map for him.

50231060682_2e1a270852_z.jpg


I snapped a few pics of the empty pool
50230194253_967c69aae6_z.jpg

50230837641_be3aa75277_z.jpg


here’s the pool hours during reopening.
50230194223_7655bd1cbc_z.jpg


After my walk it was time to head in and get ready for breakfast! I was very excited to try The Wave for breakfast, there’s nothing like the ease of reservations in your hotel.

We had thoroughly enjoyed dinner there on our first night and we were hoping breakfast would be equally as spectacular.

50230194213_000d59d1ed_z.jpg


We checked in and were seated for our 9:05 reservation right on time. This time we were in a large booth and they had done a great job with distancing tables.

Our waiter was great, I’m 90% sure his name was Tim. He is a full time server, he explained to us that only 5 servers were brought back.

Studying the digital menus
50230194193_3419959ce3_z.jpg


50230837591_a27a0a60bc_z.jpg


Lindsay and I ordered the sweet potato pancakes with pecan butter. This is a specialty of The Wave. I would eat this everyday for the history of forever. We also ordered a side breakfast potatoes to share.

50230837571_8b8857ef7b_z.jpg


I even googled a copy cat recipe during breakfast, they do exist but I haven’t made them yet.

Lydia and Eric got the All American. It was good, it’s just a normal breakfast.

Lydia chose scrambled eggs and bacon, a Eric chose over medium eggs and a mixture of sausage and bacon. This is Lydia’s plate.

50230194178_2df370e89a_z.jpg


Janet chose the Floridian Eggs Benedict, instead of an Canadian bacon you get crab cakes. Janet loved it, she loves sea food and eggs Benedict. This was highly recommended by Tim the waiter.

I missed grabbing a pic, so google to the rescue!
50230220648_63135061b3_z.jpg


Tim was great, he kindly gave us a new round of drinks in to-go cups to take with us. Which is nice when a glass of chocolate milk costs more than a full gallon at home!

I’m going to leave you there for now, we get in a little craft time and pool time before we head to the Springs!
 
Last edited:
sorry it’s been awhile, school started and I’m back in class 5 days a week. I forgot how exhausting that can be!

I left off with finishing up breakfast at The Wave.

We wanted to check out the Community Club and see what fun crafts we could do and what other activities they were offering and we wanted to swim.

We changed into our suits and cover ups and headed to get some crafting on! We loved the Community Club at AKL Kidani, we were hoping BLT would stack up.

COVID changes : no pin trading 😢 and you did a lot of pointing without touching the things you wanted. The CM Katie was awesome, she talked to us about her favorite Disney memories and was very helpful and friendly.

Lydia and I chose to decorate tumblers ($10), stemless wine class ($6?... I think) and a wooden dinosaur ($6).

You select 3 pieces or precut vinyl to adhere to your cups and you get 6 paint colors for your painted animal. It’s a great way to relax if you have downtime.


50230837561_b90635b5a0_z.jpg


Grandma chose a wine glass with Star Wars vinyl.
50230194138_8f52b36b57_z.jpg

Lindsay painted a little wooden dinosaur.
50231060592_ce4a4cfc3a_z.jpg


Lydia made a cut cup with a Contemporary Resort.
50230837541_8a455a9db7_z.jpg


We finished the cups way faster than Lindsay painted.
50231060582_aaa485e3a9_z.jpg


Finished cups!
50231060567_8de094b1e6_z.jpg


Dino is almost done... Lydia is dying to swim and was not impressed with Lindsay‘s speed.
50230194098_0e0fa7a5ab_z.jpg


Finally, Lydia and I headed to the pool while Lindsay finished up with grandma.

It looked beautiful outside, we easily found seats toward the back of the pool, by the splash pad.

50231060502_9c38f8e13f_z.jpg

50230194093_e30b3a2770_z.jpg

50231060537_0724bb94cf_z.jpg


Lydia was excited to head to the slide after these 3 pics and she was halfway there when THEY CLOSED THE POOL. Apparently there was rain in the area 🤷‍♀️ so I packed an annoyed Lydia up and we headed upstairs.

Psst... it never rained

For about 1.5 hours we ran down the hall and looked out the window to see if it was open And finally it was. Yay! During this time we had to leave for housekeeping, they weren’t there long.

We hung out in the Contemporary shopping area, Lindsay read a book for her AP History class.
50230837491_897441194d_z.jpg


Lyd and I quickly headed back down, Grandma and Lindsay bowed out, they were sick of waiting.

We grabbed our pool seats and a Mickey Bar... the pool wasn’t actually open, something about an AED wasn’t working so the Reedy Creek Fire Delpt was resetting them before the pool could open. But never fear the Snack bar was open.

50230194038_0d87f432a7_z.jpg

50230837476_f73e963bc5_z.jpg


FINALLY! We got in the pool. It wasn’t too crowded, though once more guests realized it opened it got busier.
50230194018_2da6c1fbab_z.jpg

50231060457_85be5d7206_z.jpg

50231060442_5dd3dc199f_z.jpg


We swam for a while and they started games, the first was a Disney parks trivia game. Basically they’d say a line from a ride script “ex.8th wonder of world, backside of water” and you’d yell “Jungle Cruise”

Well after a while the CM jokingly (or not) asked me to stop playing because I was the only one who knew most of them. So I bowed out and just whispered the answers to Lydia.

After trivia they played a “whats in the beach bag game” we didn’t play that.

50230194003_061c2f44c5_z.jpg

Eric came to join us but he was missing his sunglasses that the banshees had eaten when we visited Pandora and it was bright.

50230193983_ec3fbd7e05_z.jpg


After countless trips down the slide and lots of smiling we tipped our chairs forward, deposited our towels headed to clean up for Disney Springs. An Iron Chef awaits!

I’m going to leave you there, but I’ll post soon!
 
Sorry it’s been so long, teaching full time is a big time suck!
I left off with us heading to freshen up and head to Disney Springs.

When planning our trip we were going to do Morimoto Asia for lunch with the dining plan, it is only 1 credit for lunch and 2 for dinner. But alas the dining plans went poof, so the out of pocket cost being the same for lunch or dinner we moved our ADR to dinner.

We we’re excited to try this restaurant as it is always highly rated on different Vlogs. We had studied the menu and had our selections in mind, Lydia was excited for churros... because I think Asian cuisine and churros 🤣😂

We we’re quickly seated and our server, Eric, was very attentive.
50230837426_69ebe137a7_z.jpg


They did a great job with social distancing, our ADR was at 5, so perhaps it was busier later. 🤷‍♀️
50230193958_1f764732d5_z.jpg

50230193943_67f6856c0d_z.jpg

50230837396_d041c31905_z.jpg


Lydia and I each got a child‘s Orange Chicken and we split the full sized beef lo mein.
the kids meals are a good deal at $12. You get the entree, side of rice, boba tea (ours was mango) and dessert.

(not my pic)
50331341503_0cd89cb32f_z.jpg


Heres Lydia with our lo mein, you can see her chicken too.

50230837346_539e2041d4_z.jpg


Boba tea, I liked it. Lydia didn’t drink hers, so I did.
50231060227_e7252dea87_z.jpg


Lindsay got the adult orange chicken, it comes with Chinese broccoli and rice. Unlike the kids portion, the adult portion is already covered in sauce.
50230837381_d4c6a435e4_z.jpg


She doesn’t eat rice, so she shared it with her grandma who also got the beef lo mein.
50230837286_056d01b5bc_z.jpg


Eric got the buri bop. Here’s the description

Morimoto "Buri-Bop"
korean-style yellowtail rice bowl served in a hot clay pot, finished with egg yolk

So the waiter comes to the table and prepares your food. In the end you are left with a fried rice type dish. Eric really enjoyed it and was excited to try something unique.

50230837226_7dcb6262f9_z.jpg

50230193768_2c8c5707b2_z.jpg


After we ate Lydia was so excited to try the churros as dessert with our kids meals, but they had taken off the limited menu. The website had lied!

instead we got a scoop of chocolate gelato and vanilla gelato. this was high quality gelato... but it wasn’t a churro!

So we walked around a bit, this time World of Disney wasn’t too bad. We got a few things.

I got this blanket, and I love it.I have the Dooney purse in the same (ish) pattern.

50332229602_e14c722669_z.jpg


Lydia got this... He’s the cutest thing ever! Her bedroom is Space themed and he fits great in there.

50230837196_ec01bf6b3a_z.jpg


Eric, Grandma and Lindsay headed to the pin store, while Lyd and I paused for this...
50230193748_9eae4a1dc4_z.jpg


She got her churro!

We joined them in the pin store and Lindsay bought the Current Mood mystery pack. It’s two pins in the box.

She had none of these, so she was not at risk of a duplicate, however she didn’t like the Hercules one. She would be happy with any others.
50331393763_6d61a72dbc_z.jpg


She sat down to open her surprises!
50230837186_b1689c1db9_z.jpg


Her first one... 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
50231087027_d5d58ae64c_n.jpg


Her second one... much happier girl
50230837181_f10be7070b_z.jpg


After that we headed back toward BLT but snapped a baby pic along the way...
50230837151_8a221de9ed_z.jpg


The sky was especially beautiful when we got back.

50231060152_7ec3030666_z.jpg

50230193658_e1ee105491_z.jpg

50230837111_7114d0d6a5_z.jpg

50230193648_9dccd101ba_z.jpg


Funny story since I didn’t eat the gelato or the churro, I wanted another monorail cupcake. So I mobile ordered it from Disney Springs. When we arrived back I headed to Contempo Cafe to grab it.... we waited and waited and waited and waited. 45 minutes later I finally went up and asked. They were slammed with food orders and at this moment I realized they fill the orders in order. So if you ordered a coke (or a premade cupcake) but people in front of you order 25 hamburgers they’ll get their giant order before you get that cupcake.

someone should monitor that situation, because the cupcake was good but not 45 minutes good. Maybe they have started monitoring orders since we were there so early after opening. 🤷‍♀️

thats all for now! Tomorrow is our last day at a Disney Parks, opening day of DHS.

Will we ride Rise of the Resistance?

We also check out and head to Legoland Hotel for two nights.

I‘ll try really hard to update sooner 😘
 
We are staying at BLT in November. I love the wine glasses you made! Do those stickers stay on pretty well?
 
Glad you liked Morimoto! We've been 4 times and always get the ribs because they are out of this world! And I don't eat ribs lol. Finally took the kids on our last visit and they really enjoyed it as well.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top