What’s a plan? - A July Trip Report

[Helvetica]

July 26 - Disney’s Hollywood Studios 3-2



I am so glad that I went back for a nice nap / shower. It’s hotter today than any other day and I don’t like it. The heat index is at 106 degrees. I’m so glad that I didn’t go to Animal Kingdom today. I can't imagine going in August, this trip has been hot enough.



I took a short walk around Pop and the resort is really cute. I don’t think I’d want to be here at the tail end of a DVC stay again, but it’s perfectly fine for what it is. The rooms are a little louder than I remember. It only took about 4 minutes to get from my room to my car. Not getting lost on the way helps.



Getting back into the park was a breeze, totally different from the morning. I was able to get a “back-up” boarding group, so who knows about Rise. DHS desperately needs their some of their entertainment back and more food service options. There were times that it was a bit too crowded. People maintained their distance and wore their mask, but it felt like at times there were too many people in this tiny park with no where to go. Even if they just hired a couple of local bands to play Disney covers at the Beauty and the Beast Theater and Indiana Jones or something, I think it would make a very big difference.



It did slow down as the day went on and the threat of rain helped out quite a bit. The temperature dropped quite a bit with just a light drizzle and thunder. The wait times on the app were often wildly inaccurate. A posted wait time of 45 minutes for Runaway Railway had an actual wait time of 25 minutes and a posted 25 minute wait time for Rock n Roller Coaster had an actual wait time of just 5 minutes.



Rise had a lot of problems throughout the day and my boarding group was eventually cancelled. I did end up riding everything else in the park and ended my day buying a tiny Rey and riding Smuggler's Run. I didn't really think about this before, but I could see the situation with Rise becoming a really big issue for some people. For me, missing rise wasn't a huge deal. I got on twice this trip and I'll be back in September. For someone who might have one DHS day and they won't be back for a few years (if at all), I could see missing it being absolutely devastating. I think they should probably add more restrictions so more people can have a go at it.



Overall, it was a good day. Heat, rain, crowds and all. I went though four masks today, it's a new personal record. Upon reflection, I think if I only had three park days, I'd probably skip DHS. It's just too small of an area. Epcot is my least favorite park, but I think it did the best with the restrictions.



Tonight is my last night at Disney World and I had a wonderful time. I so needed this vacation, I just don't think I'll ever go in July ever again if I can help it. Tomorrow I visit Animal Kingdom before I start the drive back home. I'm not sure when I'll leave. I'd kind of like to stay, but I guess I have to get back to work.

 

[Helvetica]

July 27 - Animal Kingdom / Travel



Ok... Where did everybody go? Did everyone go home or did no one want to go see the animals?



Part of it could very well be that Animal Kingdom is the biggest park by area and DHS is by far the smallest, but the contrast in the crowds today was really stark. Since it's so huge, you can't exactly go from one end of the park to the other if a particular attraction has a short wait time and the big attraction (Flight of Passage) has a ridiculously large capacity and the que itself takes roughly 7 minutes to walk. Even then, they had the line bypass open most of the day, so you could ride it 10 times in a row if you really wanted to (the most I did was 2 times in a row, which I did a few times).



Entry into the park was a breeze and the temperature check / new scanners worked without issue. Mask compliance was very good today. I know that they just instituted the no-valves policy after the parks opened yesterday, but I didn't see any masks with valves today (that could have just been that I didn't see many people). I did see a couple of guests with face shields in addition to their masks, that was certainly new.



Weather wise, it started out pretty good, but it got really hot by the middle of the day. I drank over a gallon of water today, had two Simba Surises (Dole Whip with Strawberry and Coconut syrup), a gator aid and a Night Blossom. Thankfully Animal Kingdom has lots of trees, but it hot. It very hot. I wasn't really planning on closing out the park, but I got a text that one of my parents is going to need major heart surgery. I'm glad they found it after a test and not after a heart attack, but it was still pretty shocking. I just decided, I'm staying until they kick me out. There's nothing I can do about it from Florida.



I did go over to the Conservation Station today. The petting zoo animal were out, but there's no touching. The goats, donkey and llamas were in the back area and a head of cattle was out front. I guess Disney cattle don't come over for pets. Probably the most difficult thing to get at Animal Kingdom is a spot for the Animation Experience due to social distancing. They were all booked for the time I was there and I didn't end up getting back there, so keep that in mind if it's a must do for your family.



The rain finally came a little late in the day, but it made it so much better. I had my rain coat in my park bag, but I didn't take it out. It wasn't super heavy and I'd rather be wet and cool than dry and hot.



Animal Kingdom is my favorite park, but I think it really shined as the best park with all of the new requirements. The size of the park really helps spread people out and you can easily do pretty much everything there is to do in the park in half a day.



I also really enjoyed the roving pontoon boats. I wish they were a little slower, but that's a minor issue.



For my last attraction of the night, I took the safari for one last time. It was really cool and I got to see a baby Zebra have dinner, so that was really cute.



I drove for a few hours to my hotel. I booked it in my app before I left, learning from the mistake I learned post-Dollywood. I quite enjoy the room. I hope you've enjoyed my trip report so far. I still have one last day of driving and then I'll probably give some sort of a wrap up along with some final thoughts.

 

[Mamiamjo]

Thanks for sharing your trip report, We were there last week and at some of the same parks as you. We even ended up in one of your photos
Can I ask where you got the Simba Sunrises? I would've loved one but didn't know they had any Dole Whip in AK.
Thanks!

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

July 22 - Animal Kingdom: Part 2

View attachment 512536

I took a bit longer of a nap than I was originally planning, but it was probably for the best because it looked like it rained pretty good. My car and the streets were soaked.

If the morning was like a sauna, the afternoon was quite nice. I was able to walk onto Navi River Journey and then go right onto Flight of Passage. They opened up the line bypass (which I didn't even know existed), and was able to ride it a second time without having to walk up the hill a second time.

View attachment 512534

Afterwards I got a Night Blossom. I love the drink, but I'm still not thrilled with the smaller cups. I used to get one every time I entered Animal Kingdom, but with the smaller cups I stick to getting it once per trip.

View attachment 512537View attachment 512538View attachment 512539View attachment 512540View attachment 512541View attachment 512542

After I was done with Pandora, I had a really nice safari. The rain really cooled things down and the animals were pretty active. I also had a really great driver (Meghan) who was really excited about the whole thing even though she was near the end of her shift. I was able to ride a few more rides afterwards and it was a great end to my day at Animal Kingdom.

Since Animal Kingdom closes pretty early now (6pm), I had plenty of time to do other things at the resort. I went swimming in the pool and went down the waterslide. I also had a nice walk around the resort and I think I've fallen in love with Old Key West. It's just a really pretty resort.

After my time at the pool, I watched some Disney movies Remember movie rental stores? DVC resorts still does rentals at their community center. Oddly enough, they have Deadpool available for rent. I got Aladdin (2019) and Zootopia.

It's been a really relaxing trip so far. Tomorrow, it's back to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Old Key West is my favorite place in the entire world.

 

[Lilias]

I enjoyed your trip report! You really took me back by mentioning Zune I had one in college, but mp3 players were already on the way out by then, so I wasn't as cool as I'd hoped! xD

We were initially going to fly for our December trip, but I think we're going to do the drive (I think it's like 14-15 hours for us, so we'll need to make a stop in Georgia), unless something major happens by then to make everything safer (which I doubt). I was worried that having a car might be annoying in the parks, but it sounds like it was quite liberating? We're staying at AKL Jambo.

 

[Helvetica]

July 28 - Travel

It wasn't quite a straight shot home from Orlando, but it was close. Upon reflection, I may not want to drive that far in a single day ever again. I got home around 2 am. I did, however, prove to myself that I could do it. Work the next day wasn't easy, but thankfully it wasn't a full day. It was mainly just getting caught up from what I missed.



I did stop at this Round 1 arcade in Atlanta. I heard about them, that they have all of these import arcade games, so I went to check it out. It was really cool and I found my new favorite game, DanceRush Stardom. I've never seen it before and it was really fun. I don't know when I'll ever get to play it again. I didn't mean to spend a few hours there, but I did. I probably could have got home at a more decent hour if I didn't stop, but I'm glad that I got to play something new.

I had some mask culture shock. A week of being in the Disney bubble and seeing everyone wear a mask everywhere all the time, to going outside and seeing it being kinda spotty, even at gas stations where they say it's required was shocking. I'll be really interested to see what its like at my local grocery store now that they've made it a requirement.

Thanks for sharing your trip report, We were there last week and at some of the same parks as you. We even ended up in one of your photos
Can I ask where you got the Simba Sunrises? I would've loved one but didn't know they had any Dole Whip in AK.
Thanks!

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Tamu Tamu Refreshments. It's a little stand across from Tusker House.

I enjoyed your trip report! You really took me back by mentioning Zune I had one in college, but mp3 players were already on the way out by then, so I wasn't as cool as I'd hoped! xD

We were initially going to fly for our December trip, but I think we're going to do the drive (I think it's like 14-15 hours for us, so we'll need to make a stop in Georgia), unless something major happens by then to make everything safer (which I doubt). I was worried that having a car might be annoying in the parks, but it sounds like it was quite liberating? We're staying at AKL Jambo.

The nice thing about having a car is that there's no waiting for a bus. It was also quicker to walk from my car than to the bus at both Old Key West and Pop. I didn't have to wait for anyone to get loaded and I could go anywhere I wanted, so I wasn't confined to the Disney Bubble. I could also choose when I wanted to go home and didn't have to think about the Magical Express. I was also able to quickly add two nights / three days at the very last minute, which was ridiculously nice.

Don't get me wrong, I like flying in and having Disney take care of all the transportation and my bags, but it was just a pretty neat change of pace.

 

[WillAustin]

I had some mask culture shock. A week of being in the Disney bubble and seeing everyone wear a mask everywhere all the time, to going outside and seeing it being kinda spotty, even at gas stations where they say it's required was shocking.

Agreed. On our trip I said that if I caught COVID, it will have been at the gas stations and hotels on the way to and from Disney World.

We had our car this trip too. It was a different experience for us, but I think I liked getting to the parks so much faster.

 

[Helvetica]

July Park Rankings

1) Animal Kingdom
2) Epcot
3) Magic Kingdom
4) Hollywood Studios
—————————-

1) Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is my favorite park, so I’m a bit biased, but it really shined this trip. Distancing was great and the cast members seemed just as excited as I was to see the animals again.

2) Epcot

Epcot is my least favorite park, so maybe it was a bit of an overachiever this trip. I’m sure not everyone will feel the same, but I really enjoyed it.

3) Magic Kingdom

I love Magic Kingdom, but getting there was a bit of a problem. Otherwise, I think they did pretty good.

4) Hollywood Studios

I love Hollywood Studios, but the park is a little too small given the situation. I think they did what they could given the situation, but they really need some entertainment.

Aside from Disney Springs, I think Disney did as good of a job that could be expected of them given the circumstances. I don’t think I’d be able to recommend anyone else going, but I really enjoyed my time there. I don’t think I’ll ever go back in July, but it was still fun.

 

[Nohal]

I have cancelled 2 Disney trips and won't be back until sometime next year. I loved your trip report. So informative and the pictures and commentary was great. So glad you had a good vacation.

 

[vinmar4]

Thank you for your detailed report. I'm glad that you had so much fun!

We are getting there this Sat and after many years of flying, we are driving this time. After watching some other reports and videos, we had decided already not to go to Disney Springs this time ,and will do DHS only one day for a few hours, since that that's the park that our DD chose to go to, on her 18th birthday. We will be staying at Riviera during that time, so we are hoping that taking the gondolas will be easy and safe. Our ( DH,DS and I ) favorite park is Epcot ( except for DD) and love the food and wine festival, so we loved to hear what you had to say about it. Now I'm worried about taking the boat from CC to MK the nights that we are spending there, hopefully there will not a big crowds. We all decided that we will just walk away the minute that we don't feel safe in any situation ( overcrowded, people not keeping their distance or not wearing their masks ). We also don't like going in July or August, but with the kids taking college online classes, we decided to go since I was about to loose a week of vacation time, had some points and have the AP. We don't think that we will be at any park more that 3-4 hours per day because of the humidity and heat and having to wear a mask. We are also thinking, that even if we go to those areas where you get ac and you can remove your masks, we will keep ours in place.
Thank you again !