katiec786
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 29, 2019
Hello hello! I got back this morning and am deep in a post-Disney-slump... but we just had the most amazing week! Strap in kids, it's a long ride, but I wanted to get everything down before I lost it to the jet lag fog!
I'm Kate, 33, went to Orlando with my family multiple times as a kid then had a long break before trips in 2009 and 2011, haven't been back since!
I traveled with my best friend (DB, 29) who went 5 or 6 times as a kid with her family, last trip in 2004 - this was her first time staying on property! DB is gluten-free (not coeliac, just v sensitive) so we had done a lot of research on best places to eat, planned out our days and fastpasses to hit old favourites as well as new things, while also giving us some downtime!
Details:
7 nights at POFQ, Sept 21-28, on the typical package ticket offered to UK customers - Parkhoppers with Memory Maker included, and a $200 Disney Gift Card - we also booked during free dining and upgraded to the Disney Dining Plan rather than just QS.
DAY ONE:
We flew Norwegian from Gatwick - We went to the No 1 Lounge which includes breakfast and drinks (obviously needed a mimosa to start the trip) and it was a great relaxing way to spend the morning as Gatwick can get a bit hectic.
I had never flown with Norwegian before, we had some issues in the week leading up with seat allocations being messed about etc, but once we were on the plane it was actually great, we were lucky to have an empty seat so I could sit in the window and DB got the aisle and we could stretch out. The food was surprisingly tasty for plane food, DB's Gluten Free meal got a big thumbs up!
We landed at MCO just before 2pm (about 30 min early than scheduled) and had a pretty smooth trip through immigration, it took about 45 min from getting off the plane to picking up luggage, and when we checked in for the Magical Express our bus was just getting ready to board!
We stopped at OKW and Saratoga before getting to POFQ but the journey was smooth and we liked the cartoons and info vids they played. We had a great chat to Katelyn who was checking us in and we got our room requests (I had done an online fax about 2 days before check in), so by 4pm we had our resort mugs and were in our room! We had a garden view on the 3rd floor of building 4 on the side closest to the main building, so it was an easy trip down the stairs when we needed anything from Sassagoula Floatworks!
We got settled and changed and headed out to Magic Kingdom - we wanted to stay up as late as we could that night to try and beat the jetlag.
We had FPs booked for childhood faves Haunted Mansion, Small World and Peter Pan, picked up another FP for Winnie the Pooh just for the heck of it, grabbed a QS dinner at Pinocchio's Village Haus - I love that the Allergy Menus are available on Mobile Order, as allergy food generally takes a little longer it saved us waiting in a line to order and then waiting again for the food. The Allergy Friendly Chicken Nuggets were just as tasty as the regular ones, DB was very happy!
We made our way into the hub around 8:15 for HEA, we were fighting the sleepiness at this point but it was the only night we'd be able to see it so powered through. I had watched the show online and already loved it, we were able to get a great spot just to the right of the partners statue - DB was not overwhelmed, she prefers just a classic firework show, the projections were a bit much but she appreciated why people love it so much!
We killed a little time in the Emporium waiting for the first big wave of people to leave before heading for the bus, we collapsed into bed by 11 and thank god slept through the night! SUCH COMFY BEDS!
DAY TWO:
Does anyone else have the rule that your trip has to start and end with the Magic Kingdom? We do!
Thanks to the timezones we were awake (but well rested) at 5am, so we decided to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours and got to MK just past 7am - it wasn't particularly crowded at security, and we stopped for a picture outside the train station. We had a BOG reservation at 7:50, we could have jumped on a ride as wait times were so low but decided to pick up a coffee at the Main Street Bakery and just have a leisurely wander before breakfast!
We both got the open faced sandwich at BOG (mine on the normal croissant, DB's on Millet bread, + she got GF cakes instead of the pastries) and it was delicious, we sat in the main ballroom right at the back wall so had a good overview. We took a look at the other rooms on our way out - now it's time for rides!
It was a quiet morning (possibly because it was a party day) so wait times were low - we walked onto Little Mermaid, waited maybe 7 minutes for Tomorrowland Speedway, walked onto Buzz Lightyear twice in a row, had a lovely lap on the Peoplemover before our first FP for Space Mountain! This trip was my first experience with FP+ (last trip it was the paper tickets and I think we used them once!) and I could not believe the difference it made in the wait times at MK! We wandered over to Adventureland for a Jungle Cruise (35 min, our longest wait at MK all week) and Pirates, and a Splash Mountain FP. We were in the front row, and got SOAKED! I had forgotten how steep the drop was at the end, and screamed like I was being chased by an axe-wielding maniac
. Stopped for a Mobile Order in the sunshine for our first ever Dole Whip (DB had the float, found it a bit too sweet with the juice but loved the ice cream, I had it with the pineapple upside down cake and loved it) then once we dried off we headed over to our last FP for Big Thunder Mountain which I think is my all time fave classic.
We took advantage of the AC by catching Country Bear Jamboree - that show will never stop being equal parts hilarious and terrifying - before checking out the Muppets Great Moments of History then grabbing some fries and a shady spot in Liberty Square to watch Festival of Fantasy. It's a cute parade, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to see it again unless I was with kids. We thought we were being smart watching the parade at the beginning of the route so we could leave while it was still happening, but we cut down to Main Street the wrong way and got stuck watching basically the whole thing again before we could cross the street! Note to self, next time take the long route via Fantasyland and Tomorrowland to be on the correct side of Main Street!
We headed back to the hotel for a quick break and change, then headed on the bus back to MK but this time we were taking a little trip around the Seven Seas Lagoon before dinner! We got a boat over to the Grand Floridian for a quick look around, then jumped on the monorail - it was busy as people were heading to the Halloween Party, but we just needed a couple of stops to get to the Contemporary for our ADR at California Grill!
Our server Jorge was great and really confident with the Allergy Friendly options - when DB saw something she really wanted on the regular menu, he was able to adapt it to make it gluten free with no problems. She also got amazing Gluten Free bread (I had delicious bread too, and they gave us this oil with roasted tomato in it that was luscious), then we both had the Oak Fired Filet of Beef - mine came with an amazing gouda mac and cheese, hers came with olive oil mashed potatoes, and they were both GORGEOUS. We finished dinner with a Valrhona Chocolate Cake (lovely but so rich, I could never have finished it) and a GF Strawberry Creme Brulee. We loved the ease of the dining plan, the dinner was definitely delicious enough to justify 2 credits each, and we charged the tip to our room as we were going to use the gift card to pay off charges every couple of days.
We ended the night at Disney Springs, as we needed to go to World of Disney to pick up the gift card from our package - the instructions on the letter we received were not clear about where to collect, so we waited in a line at the till for 10 min only to find out there was a podium at the opposite end of the store! We picked up a drink at Dockside Margarita (i had the day's special, frozen blood orange, so tasty and surprisingly strong!) and went for a walk, DB used to stay in Downtown Disney hotels with her family so it was cool to see how different everything was. We got a boat down the Sassagoula River back to POFQ and crashed!
DAY THREE:
Uh oh, we're Disney traitors... it's Universal Day!
We had some snacks for breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks and got a Lyft over to Islands of Adventure at about 8:30 for a 9am opening. We had very kindly been gifted Express Passes by a friend so was keen to see the difference in wait times.
Literally everyone except us was heading straight to Hogsmeade, we had a hilariously quiet walk through the rest of the park and were the only people on Jurassic Park River Adventure at 9:05! We were almost tempted to ride it again but didn't want to spend the day soaking wet. Instead we walked over to Hogsmeade and joined the queue for Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure - the end of the line was back by the Mystic Fountain, and they were saying it was a 2 hour wait when you got to the lockers outside the ride, but actually it was shorter, and when we got off the ride it was 2 hours on the dot since we joined the line. It was 100% worth it, they have done an incredible job with the ride!! The line moved pretty consistently except for one 15 minute pause just before we reached the loading area where the ride very briefly went down, otherwise it was fine, they had plenty of water fountains along the way and lots of shade - I think it would be a bit rough later in the day.
We had a wander around Hogsmeade and went on the Forbidden Journey (5 min wait with Express), had lunch at the Three Broomsticks (not as many GF options, the chef was supposed to come talk to us but was too busy, luckily the server knew what on the regular menu was safe) then got the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios to explore Diagon Alley. We found Gringotts a bit underwhelming, but loved exploring the area and DB got to try her first Butterbeer - we definitely recommend the frozen one, it's super sweet so we were happy splitting it between two, and we had packed our own silicone straws as paper ones get so mushy.
After we had our fill of Harry Potter we ventured out into the rest of the park - we did Men in Black, ET (why is this ride still a thing), Rip Ride Rockit and The Mummy - all walk ons with the express pass. We walked back to IoA through CityWalk to have a go on the Hulk before heading out of the park, it was about 3:30pm and so so hot.
We took a break at the hotel for a couple hours, then headed over to Epcot for dinner - we got delicious tacos at La Cantina de San Angel and sat on their deck in the breeze, then took a stroll around the showcase making mental notes of things we wanted to come back for at the festival in a few days. We had a FP for IllumiNations, all the FPs were gone so the area was busy - also a bit annoying as the FP said you could enter between 8:30-8:40 and when we got there at 8:25 it had clearly been open for a while - but I'm glad we did it as it was the last week of shows before Epcot Forever starts!
FOUR:
A rare opportunity for a sleep in - we got a quick service breakfast at the resort (who could turn down an opportunity for Mickey Waffles?) before heading to Typhoon Lagoon, DBs childhood favourite! We got there about 20 min before everything opened so had some time to get a locker and get changed before claiming a couple of beds close to the wave pool - we had a quick dunk then spent a glorious 30-45 min in the lazy river. We weren't too fussed about any slides (although it was quiet first thing so if we wanted to we wouldn't have waited long!) we had another swim in the wave pool and laid out in the sun for a bit - proper vacation mode.
We went back to the hotel around noon to shower and change for the Halloween Party! We didn't go full out with costumes, we had cute matching snack-themed tshirts from Etsy, and got into the park just after 3:30pm for another Space Mountain FP, Carousel of Progress, 7DMT FP, and a 5:30 dinner at Tony's Town Square - this was only okay, honestly we picked it for the location and DB misses pasta and liked the range of the allergy menu. Our server was a sweetheart but a bit slow/forgetful, I had the chicken parmagiana and the chicken was really tasty but the spaghetti was a bit too reminiscent of the tinned Heinz spaghetti I ate as a kid, DB's meatballs were tasty but nothing special - the chocolate hazelnut cake was delicious though!
We headed to Pirates right at the start of the party to catch the halloween layover (meh, they could have done more but Pirates is always entertaining), then went on a sunset ride of Big Thunder, did a bunch of trick or treating, went on Haunted Mansion (we missed Renata out front but the butler was funny), caught the first parade, wandered over to Tomorrowland for even *more* trick or treating, rode Deep Space Mountain and came out just as the fireworks were starting - we weren't too fussed about catching the projections but Tomorrowland was actually a great place to see the fireworks with a cold drink in hand. We managed to get a spot right in front of the castle for the 10:45 Villains show, stopped by Town Square to exchange DB's allergy tokens and made it home not long past midnight.
DAY FIVE:
This day was brutally hot. I mean brutal. We had a slow morning and got the bus to MK/boat to Poly for a brunch res at Kona Cafe. I had the Seven Seas Samoan and it was tasty, there was a surprising amount of spice but the pulled pork was really good. DB had less luck, but it was more down to ordering choice than actual quality of food - the Loco Moco is a bit peculiar!!
We got the bus over to Animal Kingdom - we had several things planned that we ended up skipping cos it was just way too hot. We still managed to do Dinosaur, stopped into Nomad Lounge for delicious cocktails and INCREDIBLE GF Churros, FP on Expedition Everest, we skipped our Safari FP cos we would melt, and although we had a FoP FP it was a couple hours away so we decided to do it by standby as it was only 50 minutes and we could be in the AC!! Unfortunately the big animatronic in the line was down but it was still really cool to see everything. DB had to take the chicken exit at the last minute as the combination of the heat and the weird breakfast made her too nervous about getting motion sickness, but I was so glad to ride it after hearing so much about it. We went down to Satu'li Canteen for an early dinner, DB could not stop raving about her chicken and greens bowl and mine was exactly what I needed. We saw Kevin on our way out which just gave me the giggles for a solid ten minutes, and we went back to the hotel for an early night. We stopped into Scat Cat's Lounge for a drink (and had the best server Lalonda who just had us laughing the whole time) then got the famous Beignets (GF and Pumpkin Spice!) and watched a movie in bed.
Honestly if it had been 5 degrees cooler we probably would have been fine, but AK has so few places to hide out unless you want to see shows, it's a shame we couldn't handle more than a couple hours there!
DAY SIX:
Oh what an early morning! We were among the crazy people heading to Hollywood Studios for the beginning of Extra Extra Magic Hours - we got there just before 5:30am and hung out in the street in front of the Chinese Theatre, and we were in a small group of people heading for Rockin RollerCoaster - we were the 2nd and 3rd people on the ride, they didn't bother with the preshow, so we were off by 6:08am! We went over to Toy Story Land, Slinky was doing a delayed opening so we did a 20 min standby for Toy Story Mania, I grabbed a lunchbox tart for breakfast and we decided to head into Galaxy's Edge just before 7am. It's a gorgeous place to be as the sun comes up! Millenium Falcon was only a 45 min standby so we got in the queue - DB was Pilot and I was Gunner, it was so much fun! We explored a bit more, headed back into TSL to do a 20 min standby for Slinky and 10 min on Swirling Saucers, walked on to Star Tours, and we were done with all our rides by 9am!! We had FPs but ended up dropping them all as we had ridden everything we wanted. We wandered around until our 10:30am res at Oga's - this was so fun. We were seated at a big booth with 3 other pairs, generally everyone kept to themselves but our server Joe was hilarious and really good at engaging everyone and making it a bit of a party. It was packed, but because of the res we had a seat which was great. DB got the Jabba Juice which was really tasty, I got the Black Spire Brew - I was expecting it to be more of a cold brew coffee but it was also really fruity and light, surprisingly good flavour combos!
After Oga's we explored the shops a bit (DB was on a hunt for Forky merch for her brother, but they are totally sold out until October!!), had an ADR at Sci Fi Dine In which was great cos we were starving by 12:30, we basically had a car to ourselves until we were eating dessert, the reels they play are so fun, it was a really good lunch. We headed out after the meal and were poolside in the resort by 2:30. We had a bit of a bake and a swim and a nap, then headed back to Studios for a 6:15pm booking at Droid Depot!! I had booked it when they first became available but had been going back and forth on whether or not I was actually going to keep the res, I'm so glad I did! I had an idea of what colours I wanted already so was only at the conveyor belt a couple of minutes, and actually put him together fairly quickly, so we were out of there in under 15 minutes! It was so much fun, the atmosphere is really cool and it's amazing when you activate your droid and he starts blooping and coming to life. We walked around the land for a bit to see what he'd react to, there was an amazing moment when Chewie appeared walking down a path and my droid flipped out!
We had originally planned on seeing Fantasmic, but the park was getting pretty busy and we were tired after such an early morning, so we grabbed a quick dinner at Backlot Express - we actually had a great CM experience here, it was the 3rd time in two days where we had done a Mobile Order and gotten the notification that it was ready to pick up before they had even started prepping it. I got talking to the CM at the register who was very apologetic, and he actually asked where we were sitting so he could bring the food over when it was ready to save me waiting there, and he brought us a free cupcake and gluten free brownie! I logged onto twitter for the first time in a couple years specifically to Cast Compliment him. We headed back to the hotel (of course we played with the droid a bit) and got an early night. The only downside is that they were playing Finding Nemo in the courtyard of the hotel and it was actually pretty loud, we would have been asleep earlier if not for that!
DAY SEVEN:
Our last full day! We were up early for an 8:05am ADR at Garden Grill in Epcot - hilariously we somehow accidentally got to Epcot at 7:20, and security didn't even open til after 7:45! We were seated straight away and had a sweet server who kept calling us 'Princess', and was right on the ball with DB's allergy request, so he brought us separate skillets to make sure hers was gluten safe. This meant that I had an entire cinnamon sticky bun to myself!! I made a tiny dent in it, it was delicious but definitely intended for at least 4 people! DB had a gluten free blueberry muffin instead that she really enjoyed. We weren't really there for the characters, more the location, but they all stopped by for a high five (i got a very sweet boop on the nose from Pluto) and then they were happy to move on and focus on the tables who wanted the interactions! We were able to head straight down to Soarin after breakfast (If you dine at Garden Grill they let you on the ride between 8:40 and 8:50 which is perfect), we were in Row 1 section B so the perfect view, we hadn't done Soarin' since it was over California, it was cool to see the new version.
We came out of Soarin' just as the crowds were descending after park open, but managed to make it over to Test Track before the line got too long, we waited maybe 30 minutes including designing our car. We had a fastpass for Nemo after that but it was a walk on anyway, then we headed over to Mexico for another walk on for Gran Fiesta Tour. Strolled next door to Norway - again we had a Frozen FP but it wasn't for a couple of hours, so we jumped in the 40 minute standby. I was a big fan of Maelstrom back in the day but it's a very cute ride! We went back to the entrance to World Showcase and started working our way around the F&W booths! We had looked at menus the night before to decide what we wanted to get. DB got Jerk Chicken from the Caribbean Islands, and Pork Belly and Cheese Bread from Brazil; I got the Teriyaki Bun from Japan, Sweet and Spicy Shrimp from Australia, and Pulled Pork Slider from Hawaii - they were all delicious!
We were all done with the park by about 2, so we caught a Friendship to the Boardwalk, then a bus to Disney Springs to get all our gift shopping done. The lack of Forky merch was a bummer, but we got heaps of sweet treats, cute socks, and a couple of christmas decs for family members. I couldn't resist buying myself a Haunted Mansion jigsaw puzzle I had fallen in love with on the first day! It's a great use of snack credits as well, we went into Goofy's Candy Co and were able to get various things to bring home like rice crispy treats, bags of Goofy brand candy, and Mickey shortbread.
We stopped by Blaze for a pizza, it was busy and a bit hectic ordering, and we were really surprised to find that they charged DB an extra $2.50 on top of the quick service credit to get a gluten free crust, BUT it was a very tasty pizza!
Got the boat back to POFQ, which is a lovely ride when it's still light, and spent the evening packing and splitting up the trick or treat haul!
DAY EIGHT:
Short but sweet. We had an 8:30 res at Crystal Palace, we got into the park just before 8 and were hoping to get a 3rd Big Thunder ride in but it was running a delayed opening so we hopped onto a 3rd Haunted Mansion instead! We had a lovely breakfast at CP, DB was able to get some GF waffles and pick up plenty of safe things on the buffet, again we weren't too worried about interacting with the characters (although we do love Pooh and Friends so it was nice just to say hello and have a high five). After breakfast we caught the Main Street Trolley Show and had a last stop in the Emporium to see if there was anything else that caught our eye. A few last shots of the castle and we were off! It was barely past 9:30, and as we were walking to the bus stop a cast member commented on how we were leaving so early, we mentioned we were getting ready to head to the airport and she asked what hotel we were heading to so she could try and call someone there earlier - there were a few people in the queue already, and after about 10 min a van showed up to take us all back! It was a really nice service, they wanted to make sure we weren't rushed which was great. We were back in plenty of time to get changed and do a final reshuffle of the suitcase (Norwegian has a pretty stingy weight limit, I had to put a lot of stuff in my carry on to avoid going over!!) and we relaxed in the lobby with a cold drink before the Magical Express came to get us.
We made the mistake of checking bags and going through security before getting some lunch, our options were a bit limited on the other side of security, but turns out Outback Steakhouse has an okay GF menu so we were able to have a decent meal before getting on the plane, which was delayed by about half an hour.
And now we're home! I'm glad to have a couple of extra days before going back to work, and we're already thinking of heading back in a few years after all the current projects are finished... maybe Oct 2022? Not sure I can last that long!!
I'm Kate, 33, went to Orlando with my family multiple times as a kid then had a long break before trips in 2009 and 2011, haven't been back since!
I traveled with my best friend (DB, 29) who went 5 or 6 times as a kid with her family, last trip in 2004 - this was her first time staying on property! DB is gluten-free (not coeliac, just v sensitive) so we had done a lot of research on best places to eat, planned out our days and fastpasses to hit old favourites as well as new things, while also giving us some downtime!
Details:
7 nights at POFQ, Sept 21-28, on the typical package ticket offered to UK customers - Parkhoppers with Memory Maker included, and a $200 Disney Gift Card - we also booked during free dining and upgraded to the Disney Dining Plan rather than just QS.
DAY ONE:
We flew Norwegian from Gatwick - We went to the No 1 Lounge which includes breakfast and drinks (obviously needed a mimosa to start the trip) and it was a great relaxing way to spend the morning as Gatwick can get a bit hectic.
I had never flown with Norwegian before, we had some issues in the week leading up with seat allocations being messed about etc, but once we were on the plane it was actually great, we were lucky to have an empty seat so I could sit in the window and DB got the aisle and we could stretch out. The food was surprisingly tasty for plane food, DB's Gluten Free meal got a big thumbs up!
We landed at MCO just before 2pm (about 30 min early than scheduled) and had a pretty smooth trip through immigration, it took about 45 min from getting off the plane to picking up luggage, and when we checked in for the Magical Express our bus was just getting ready to board!
We stopped at OKW and Saratoga before getting to POFQ but the journey was smooth and we liked the cartoons and info vids they played. We had a great chat to Katelyn who was checking us in and we got our room requests (I had done an online fax about 2 days before check in), so by 4pm we had our resort mugs and were in our room! We had a garden view on the 3rd floor of building 4 on the side closest to the main building, so it was an easy trip down the stairs when we needed anything from Sassagoula Floatworks!
We got settled and changed and headed out to Magic Kingdom - we wanted to stay up as late as we could that night to try and beat the jetlag.
We had FPs booked for childhood faves Haunted Mansion, Small World and Peter Pan, picked up another FP for Winnie the Pooh just for the heck of it, grabbed a QS dinner at Pinocchio's Village Haus - I love that the Allergy Menus are available on Mobile Order, as allergy food generally takes a little longer it saved us waiting in a line to order and then waiting again for the food. The Allergy Friendly Chicken Nuggets were just as tasty as the regular ones, DB was very happy!
We made our way into the hub around 8:15 for HEA, we were fighting the sleepiness at this point but it was the only night we'd be able to see it so powered through. I had watched the show online and already loved it, we were able to get a great spot just to the right of the partners statue - DB was not overwhelmed, she prefers just a classic firework show, the projections were a bit much but she appreciated why people love it so much!
We killed a little time in the Emporium waiting for the first big wave of people to leave before heading for the bus, we collapsed into bed by 11 and thank god slept through the night! SUCH COMFY BEDS!
DAY TWO:
Does anyone else have the rule that your trip has to start and end with the Magic Kingdom? We do!
Thanks to the timezones we were awake (but well rested) at 5am, so we decided to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours and got to MK just past 7am - it wasn't particularly crowded at security, and we stopped for a picture outside the train station. We had a BOG reservation at 7:50, we could have jumped on a ride as wait times were so low but decided to pick up a coffee at the Main Street Bakery and just have a leisurely wander before breakfast!
We both got the open faced sandwich at BOG (mine on the normal croissant, DB's on Millet bread, + she got GF cakes instead of the pastries) and it was delicious, we sat in the main ballroom right at the back wall so had a good overview. We took a look at the other rooms on our way out - now it's time for rides!
It was a quiet morning (possibly because it was a party day) so wait times were low - we walked onto Little Mermaid, waited maybe 7 minutes for Tomorrowland Speedway, walked onto Buzz Lightyear twice in a row, had a lovely lap on the Peoplemover before our first FP for Space Mountain! This trip was my first experience with FP+ (last trip it was the paper tickets and I think we used them once!) and I could not believe the difference it made in the wait times at MK! We wandered over to Adventureland for a Jungle Cruise (35 min, our longest wait at MK all week) and Pirates, and a Splash Mountain FP. We were in the front row, and got SOAKED! I had forgotten how steep the drop was at the end, and screamed like I was being chased by an axe-wielding maniac
. Stopped for a Mobile Order in the sunshine for our first ever Dole Whip (DB had the float, found it a bit too sweet with the juice but loved the ice cream, I had it with the pineapple upside down cake and loved it) then once we dried off we headed over to our last FP for Big Thunder Mountain which I think is my all time fave classic.We took advantage of the AC by catching Country Bear Jamboree - that show will never stop being equal parts hilarious and terrifying - before checking out the Muppets Great Moments of History then grabbing some fries and a shady spot in Liberty Square to watch Festival of Fantasy. It's a cute parade, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to see it again unless I was with kids. We thought we were being smart watching the parade at the beginning of the route so we could leave while it was still happening, but we cut down to Main Street the wrong way and got stuck watching basically the whole thing again before we could cross the street! Note to self, next time take the long route via Fantasyland and Tomorrowland to be on the correct side of Main Street!
We headed back to the hotel for a quick break and change, then headed on the bus back to MK but this time we were taking a little trip around the Seven Seas Lagoon before dinner! We got a boat over to the Grand Floridian for a quick look around, then jumped on the monorail - it was busy as people were heading to the Halloween Party, but we just needed a couple of stops to get to the Contemporary for our ADR at California Grill!
Our server Jorge was great and really confident with the Allergy Friendly options - when DB saw something she really wanted on the regular menu, he was able to adapt it to make it gluten free with no problems. She also got amazing Gluten Free bread (I had delicious bread too, and they gave us this oil with roasted tomato in it that was luscious), then we both had the Oak Fired Filet of Beef - mine came with an amazing gouda mac and cheese, hers came with olive oil mashed potatoes, and they were both GORGEOUS. We finished dinner with a Valrhona Chocolate Cake (lovely but so rich, I could never have finished it) and a GF Strawberry Creme Brulee. We loved the ease of the dining plan, the dinner was definitely delicious enough to justify 2 credits each, and we charged the tip to our room as we were going to use the gift card to pay off charges every couple of days.
We ended the night at Disney Springs, as we needed to go to World of Disney to pick up the gift card from our package - the instructions on the letter we received were not clear about where to collect, so we waited in a line at the till for 10 min only to find out there was a podium at the opposite end of the store! We picked up a drink at Dockside Margarita (i had the day's special, frozen blood orange, so tasty and surprisingly strong!) and went for a walk, DB used to stay in Downtown Disney hotels with her family so it was cool to see how different everything was. We got a boat down the Sassagoula River back to POFQ and crashed!
DAY THREE:
Uh oh, we're Disney traitors... it's Universal Day!
We had some snacks for breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks and got a Lyft over to Islands of Adventure at about 8:30 for a 9am opening. We had very kindly been gifted Express Passes by a friend so was keen to see the difference in wait times.
Literally everyone except us was heading straight to Hogsmeade, we had a hilariously quiet walk through the rest of the park and were the only people on Jurassic Park River Adventure at 9:05! We were almost tempted to ride it again but didn't want to spend the day soaking wet. Instead we walked over to Hogsmeade and joined the queue for Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure - the end of the line was back by the Mystic Fountain, and they were saying it was a 2 hour wait when you got to the lockers outside the ride, but actually it was shorter, and when we got off the ride it was 2 hours on the dot since we joined the line. It was 100% worth it, they have done an incredible job with the ride!! The line moved pretty consistently except for one 15 minute pause just before we reached the loading area where the ride very briefly went down, otherwise it was fine, they had plenty of water fountains along the way and lots of shade - I think it would be a bit rough later in the day.
We had a wander around Hogsmeade and went on the Forbidden Journey (5 min wait with Express), had lunch at the Three Broomsticks (not as many GF options, the chef was supposed to come talk to us but was too busy, luckily the server knew what on the regular menu was safe) then got the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios to explore Diagon Alley. We found Gringotts a bit underwhelming, but loved exploring the area and DB got to try her first Butterbeer - we definitely recommend the frozen one, it's super sweet so we were happy splitting it between two, and we had packed our own silicone straws as paper ones get so mushy.
After we had our fill of Harry Potter we ventured out into the rest of the park - we did Men in Black, ET (why is this ride still a thing), Rip Ride Rockit and The Mummy - all walk ons with the express pass. We walked back to IoA through CityWalk to have a go on the Hulk before heading out of the park, it was about 3:30pm and so so hot.
We took a break at the hotel for a couple hours, then headed over to Epcot for dinner - we got delicious tacos at La Cantina de San Angel and sat on their deck in the breeze, then took a stroll around the showcase making mental notes of things we wanted to come back for at the festival in a few days. We had a FP for IllumiNations, all the FPs were gone so the area was busy - also a bit annoying as the FP said you could enter between 8:30-8:40 and when we got there at 8:25 it had clearly been open for a while - but I'm glad we did it as it was the last week of shows before Epcot Forever starts!
FOUR:
A rare opportunity for a sleep in - we got a quick service breakfast at the resort (who could turn down an opportunity for Mickey Waffles?) before heading to Typhoon Lagoon, DBs childhood favourite! We got there about 20 min before everything opened so had some time to get a locker and get changed before claiming a couple of beds close to the wave pool - we had a quick dunk then spent a glorious 30-45 min in the lazy river. We weren't too fussed about any slides (although it was quiet first thing so if we wanted to we wouldn't have waited long!) we had another swim in the wave pool and laid out in the sun for a bit - proper vacation mode.
We went back to the hotel around noon to shower and change for the Halloween Party! We didn't go full out with costumes, we had cute matching snack-themed tshirts from Etsy, and got into the park just after 3:30pm for another Space Mountain FP, Carousel of Progress, 7DMT FP, and a 5:30 dinner at Tony's Town Square - this was only okay, honestly we picked it for the location and DB misses pasta and liked the range of the allergy menu. Our server was a sweetheart but a bit slow/forgetful, I had the chicken parmagiana and the chicken was really tasty but the spaghetti was a bit too reminiscent of the tinned Heinz spaghetti I ate as a kid, DB's meatballs were tasty but nothing special - the chocolate hazelnut cake was delicious though!
We headed to Pirates right at the start of the party to catch the halloween layover (meh, they could have done more but Pirates is always entertaining), then went on a sunset ride of Big Thunder, did a bunch of trick or treating, went on Haunted Mansion (we missed Renata out front but the butler was funny), caught the first parade, wandered over to Tomorrowland for even *more* trick or treating, rode Deep Space Mountain and came out just as the fireworks were starting - we weren't too fussed about catching the projections but Tomorrowland was actually a great place to see the fireworks with a cold drink in hand. We managed to get a spot right in front of the castle for the 10:45 Villains show, stopped by Town Square to exchange DB's allergy tokens and made it home not long past midnight.
DAY FIVE:
This day was brutally hot. I mean brutal. We had a slow morning and got the bus to MK/boat to Poly for a brunch res at Kona Cafe. I had the Seven Seas Samoan and it was tasty, there was a surprising amount of spice but the pulled pork was really good. DB had less luck, but it was more down to ordering choice than actual quality of food - the Loco Moco is a bit peculiar!!
We got the bus over to Animal Kingdom - we had several things planned that we ended up skipping cos it was just way too hot. We still managed to do Dinosaur, stopped into Nomad Lounge for delicious cocktails and INCREDIBLE GF Churros, FP on Expedition Everest, we skipped our Safari FP cos we would melt, and although we had a FoP FP it was a couple hours away so we decided to do it by standby as it was only 50 minutes and we could be in the AC!! Unfortunately the big animatronic in the line was down but it was still really cool to see everything. DB had to take the chicken exit at the last minute as the combination of the heat and the weird breakfast made her too nervous about getting motion sickness, but I was so glad to ride it after hearing so much about it. We went down to Satu'li Canteen for an early dinner, DB could not stop raving about her chicken and greens bowl and mine was exactly what I needed. We saw Kevin on our way out which just gave me the giggles for a solid ten minutes, and we went back to the hotel for an early night. We stopped into Scat Cat's Lounge for a drink (and had the best server Lalonda who just had us laughing the whole time) then got the famous Beignets (GF and Pumpkin Spice!) and watched a movie in bed.
Honestly if it had been 5 degrees cooler we probably would have been fine, but AK has so few places to hide out unless you want to see shows, it's a shame we couldn't handle more than a couple hours there!
DAY SIX:
Oh what an early morning! We were among the crazy people heading to Hollywood Studios for the beginning of Extra Extra Magic Hours - we got there just before 5:30am and hung out in the street in front of the Chinese Theatre, and we were in a small group of people heading for Rockin RollerCoaster - we were the 2nd and 3rd people on the ride, they didn't bother with the preshow, so we were off by 6:08am! We went over to Toy Story Land, Slinky was doing a delayed opening so we did a 20 min standby for Toy Story Mania, I grabbed a lunchbox tart for breakfast and we decided to head into Galaxy's Edge just before 7am. It's a gorgeous place to be as the sun comes up! Millenium Falcon was only a 45 min standby so we got in the queue - DB was Pilot and I was Gunner, it was so much fun! We explored a bit more, headed back into TSL to do a 20 min standby for Slinky and 10 min on Swirling Saucers, walked on to Star Tours, and we were done with all our rides by 9am!! We had FPs but ended up dropping them all as we had ridden everything we wanted. We wandered around until our 10:30am res at Oga's - this was so fun. We were seated at a big booth with 3 other pairs, generally everyone kept to themselves but our server Joe was hilarious and really good at engaging everyone and making it a bit of a party. It was packed, but because of the res we had a seat which was great. DB got the Jabba Juice which was really tasty, I got the Black Spire Brew - I was expecting it to be more of a cold brew coffee but it was also really fruity and light, surprisingly good flavour combos!
After Oga's we explored the shops a bit (DB was on a hunt for Forky merch for her brother, but they are totally sold out until October!!), had an ADR at Sci Fi Dine In which was great cos we were starving by 12:30, we basically had a car to ourselves until we were eating dessert, the reels they play are so fun, it was a really good lunch. We headed out after the meal and were poolside in the resort by 2:30. We had a bit of a bake and a swim and a nap, then headed back to Studios for a 6:15pm booking at Droid Depot!! I had booked it when they first became available but had been going back and forth on whether or not I was actually going to keep the res, I'm so glad I did! I had an idea of what colours I wanted already so was only at the conveyor belt a couple of minutes, and actually put him together fairly quickly, so we were out of there in under 15 minutes! It was so much fun, the atmosphere is really cool and it's amazing when you activate your droid and he starts blooping and coming to life. We walked around the land for a bit to see what he'd react to, there was an amazing moment when Chewie appeared walking down a path and my droid flipped out!
We had originally planned on seeing Fantasmic, but the park was getting pretty busy and we were tired after such an early morning, so we grabbed a quick dinner at Backlot Express - we actually had a great CM experience here, it was the 3rd time in two days where we had done a Mobile Order and gotten the notification that it was ready to pick up before they had even started prepping it. I got talking to the CM at the register who was very apologetic, and he actually asked where we were sitting so he could bring the food over when it was ready to save me waiting there, and he brought us a free cupcake and gluten free brownie! I logged onto twitter for the first time in a couple years specifically to Cast Compliment him. We headed back to the hotel (of course we played with the droid a bit) and got an early night. The only downside is that they were playing Finding Nemo in the courtyard of the hotel and it was actually pretty loud, we would have been asleep earlier if not for that!
DAY SEVEN:
Our last full day! We were up early for an 8:05am ADR at Garden Grill in Epcot - hilariously we somehow accidentally got to Epcot at 7:20, and security didn't even open til after 7:45! We were seated straight away and had a sweet server who kept calling us 'Princess', and was right on the ball with DB's allergy request, so he brought us separate skillets to make sure hers was gluten safe. This meant that I had an entire cinnamon sticky bun to myself!! I made a tiny dent in it, it was delicious but definitely intended for at least 4 people! DB had a gluten free blueberry muffin instead that she really enjoyed. We weren't really there for the characters, more the location, but they all stopped by for a high five (i got a very sweet boop on the nose from Pluto) and then they were happy to move on and focus on the tables who wanted the interactions! We were able to head straight down to Soarin after breakfast (If you dine at Garden Grill they let you on the ride between 8:40 and 8:50 which is perfect), we were in Row 1 section B so the perfect view, we hadn't done Soarin' since it was over California, it was cool to see the new version.
We came out of Soarin' just as the crowds were descending after park open, but managed to make it over to Test Track before the line got too long, we waited maybe 30 minutes including designing our car. We had a fastpass for Nemo after that but it was a walk on anyway, then we headed over to Mexico for another walk on for Gran Fiesta Tour. Strolled next door to Norway - again we had a Frozen FP but it wasn't for a couple of hours, so we jumped in the 40 minute standby. I was a big fan of Maelstrom back in the day but it's a very cute ride! We went back to the entrance to World Showcase and started working our way around the F&W booths! We had looked at menus the night before to decide what we wanted to get. DB got Jerk Chicken from the Caribbean Islands, and Pork Belly and Cheese Bread from Brazil; I got the Teriyaki Bun from Japan, Sweet and Spicy Shrimp from Australia, and Pulled Pork Slider from Hawaii - they were all delicious!
We were all done with the park by about 2, so we caught a Friendship to the Boardwalk, then a bus to Disney Springs to get all our gift shopping done. The lack of Forky merch was a bummer, but we got heaps of sweet treats, cute socks, and a couple of christmas decs for family members. I couldn't resist buying myself a Haunted Mansion jigsaw puzzle I had fallen in love with on the first day! It's a great use of snack credits as well, we went into Goofy's Candy Co and were able to get various things to bring home like rice crispy treats, bags of Goofy brand candy, and Mickey shortbread.
We stopped by Blaze for a pizza, it was busy and a bit hectic ordering, and we were really surprised to find that they charged DB an extra $2.50 on top of the quick service credit to get a gluten free crust, BUT it was a very tasty pizza!
Got the boat back to POFQ, which is a lovely ride when it's still light, and spent the evening packing and splitting up the trick or treat haul!
DAY EIGHT:
Short but sweet. We had an 8:30 res at Crystal Palace, we got into the park just before 8 and were hoping to get a 3rd Big Thunder ride in but it was running a delayed opening so we hopped onto a 3rd Haunted Mansion instead! We had a lovely breakfast at CP, DB was able to get some GF waffles and pick up plenty of safe things on the buffet, again we weren't too worried about interacting with the characters (although we do love Pooh and Friends so it was nice just to say hello and have a high five). After breakfast we caught the Main Street Trolley Show and had a last stop in the Emporium to see if there was anything else that caught our eye. A few last shots of the castle and we were off! It was barely past 9:30, and as we were walking to the bus stop a cast member commented on how we were leaving so early, we mentioned we were getting ready to head to the airport and she asked what hotel we were heading to so she could try and call someone there earlier - there were a few people in the queue already, and after about 10 min a van showed up to take us all back! It was a really nice service, they wanted to make sure we weren't rushed which was great. We were back in plenty of time to get changed and do a final reshuffle of the suitcase (Norwegian has a pretty stingy weight limit, I had to put a lot of stuff in my carry on to avoid going over!!) and we relaxed in the lobby with a cold drink before the Magical Express came to get us.
We made the mistake of checking bags and going through security before getting some lunch, our options were a bit limited on the other side of security, but turns out Outback Steakhouse has an okay GF menu so we were able to have a decent meal before getting on the plane, which was delayed by about half an hour.
And now we're home! I'm glad to have a couple of extra days before going back to work, and we're already thinking of heading back in a few years after all the current projects are finished... maybe Oct 2022? Not sure I can last that long!!
