2017: When Life Gives You Political Strife, Go To Disney World! About This Page:

[Cam22]

It does sounds like a magical day! Luke loves the Carolwood Pacific Room. The first time we stayed at VWL (the old name) that was the first place we went.

[MAKHayes-DisneyDiva]

Day 3: Monday, March 6, 2017
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Temperature: High 73* Low 59*


Like Sunday, the weather was perfect, and we had another fabulous day!
We arrived around 8:30, at which point I realized that I had forgotten my iPhone at the resort. It wasn’t a huge deal, but I also believed I’d left my Fitbit charger in Ohio. I felt little lost with no timepiece AND no idea how many steps I was taking! The horror!

DHS is arguably my favorite park. (Sometimes I claim it’s Epcot, but usually I go with DHS.) Why? I like the vibe: it’s a more grown up than MK. I love the old Hollywood theming, and I adore everything about Tower of Terror! My son has always loved Star Wars, so there’s also plenty here for him to do and see.

We began the day among the first group of passengers on Star Tours. On Peter’s last visit (8 years ago!) I believe there was only one version of Star Tours. Peter enjoyed the update that we experienced on our first ride, and was equally impressed with another version of the ride that we encountered later in the morning. However, he did say of the second ride that chronologically, it made no sense.

I was very excited when Peter said he’d join me on Tower of Terror! As mentioned, it's my favorite. Not a thrill seeker, this was a major stretch for him. I offered to let him opt out, but he decided to give it a try. His reaction? He was glad he tried it, but will never do it again.

Our next stop was Celebrity Spotlight, to get photos with Frozen’s Olaf. Believe it or not, I have never seen Frozen! I’m an elementary school music teacher, and have heard numerous little girls’ renditions of Let it Go, but being the mom and step-mom of teenage boys, it just didn’t occur to us to see it. So why bother with photos? There was only a 10 minute wait, so why not?
The wait was probably closer to 15 or 20 minutes, but I enjoyed chatting with an animated cast member whose hometown is not far from where we live.

Our lunch was decent. I had the Caprese sandwich with fries, and Peter ate the chicken and Darth Vader waffles at Backlot Express. We enjoyed seeing the image of Vader on the waffles! My sandwich was good, but slightly soggy.

The rest of our DHS day consisted of:
Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple, March of the Order, Beauty and the Beast (the fiance of one of the students in the university course I teach is in the show!) and a relaxing walk to the Boardwalk. I love the Beach Club/Yacht Club/Boardwalk area! I’ve stayed there three times, and have many fond memories. We rode the boat back DHS, spent some time at Tatooine Traders, and basically called it a day.

My favorite attraction was definitely ToT. Peter’s was Star Tours. He also spent a great deal of time at Tatooine Traders, specifically in the Build a Droid area. He built two, one with a sombrero and one with Mickey ears. We wished there was a fez.

We didn’t score FP+’s for Rivers of Light, but we discussed returning to the park in the evening anyway. It didn’t happen. We stopped at two discount gift shops to pick up Disney souvenirs and two discounted pins for pin trading. We also spent some time in our resort pool and hot tub. The pool area at Vacation Village is very nice, at least the one for our building was very clean and inviting. The temperature was a bit cool (68*) but the water was warm and the hot tub felt great after a day at DHS. Later we picked up some take-out, and ate a quiet dinner on the balcony of our room while watching Wishes.

Our original dinner plan was to eat at the Sci Fi Drive In, but my son suggested that we could save a few bucks by eating outside the World. He was right! We didn’t miss being at DHS for dinner, and ended up having a terrific meal!

Most magical moment - Peter trying ToT.
Best hack of the day - Really cheap, non-Mickey shaped Rice Krispie Treat covered in chocolate: Magic Shell on Rice Krispie Treat, refrigerate for a few minutes. Boom!

Best news of the day - I found my Fitbit charger in the back seat of my car! Yay! (I’m not sure if I was more pleased to be able to once again count my steps, or to find that my efforts to pack perfectly for the trip were not useless.)
Sad moment - Realizing that I left my lightweight fleece jacket at some unknown place, never to be seen again.

[SuperDave]

Looks like a great day at Studios!

[MAKHayes-DisneyDiva]

Day 4: Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Animal Kingdom
Temperature: High 82* Low 57*



Interesting split day at AK! We began with a picture with Minnie and Mickey. I’ve never been crazy about the safari versions of M&M, but since we missed them at MK, and there was no line, and Peter didn’t complain, we did it.

Next I used my FP+ to ride Expedition Everest, which is my favorite Disney coaster. Since Peter decided to opt out, I used his FP+ as well. (Is this cheating?) Love that ride! While waiting for the Wildlife Express Train to begin running, we walked along the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. It was peaceful, and we saw many gorillas and other wildlife.

Peter’s plan was to take lots of amazing pics of the Wildlife Express Train. Since the train at MK was being refurbished, he was hoping to get great shots of this one. Unfortunately, the park planners had other ideas. There’s really no good place to photograph this train. The stations are OK, and Peter tried to get the engine as we went around a curve while riding on the train. He made a good point - if Walt loved trains so much, why is this one hidden?

After riding the train and hitting a few shops, the AK experience seemed to go "derail" rapidly. Peter was very disappointed about the lack of train photography. He waited patiently as I rode EE once again, using the single rider line, and then we decided to call it a day. As we neared the exit, I bought the most perfect WDW shirt! It’s a purple, fitted, sparkly Mickey shirt. I absolutely love it!

Just then, I noticed that there was almost no waiting to pose with Russell, the Wilderness Scout from Up. For the first time on the trip, Peter declined being in the picture, and took a seat nearby in the shade. As I reached the front of the line, I read the name tag of the cast member who was assisting Russell. I knew him! Our families have been friends for generations, and we both played in an orchestra together when I was a teen and he was in his late 20s. We posed for some photos together, and took a few minutes to reminisce. We were both astounded to see each other! I won’t post a pic here, because I don’t know if it’s OK for a CM to pose with guests, but was definitely one of the most magical moments of my trip.

I always see people I know at WDW, and this trip was no exception. I saw a colleague and her family at MK, and a family from my school at Epcot. But this meeting was special, like a piece of my childhood revisited. I hope we will keep in touch, especially since one of my plans for retirement in 14 years is to move to Orlando and work at the World. I’d love to talk to him about his experience.

We left the park before noon, and drove through a Wendy’s for lunch. We then drove to Kissimmee, where Peter photographed two Amtrak trains. This made him happy, which in turn made me happy. When leaving Kissimmee, I noticed that there was still time to reschedule our FP+s for Kali River Rapids, and we would easily make our window for Kilimanjaro Safaris, so we decided to return to AK! I didn’t even have to twist his arm. Yay!

Back at AK, we realized why the traffic patterns had been a bit odd in in the park: the View was being filmed there. When people tried to sneak a picture or get a quick glimpse from the walkway, they were told to “please keep moving” by polite but authoritative CMs. We came within a few yards of Whoopie, but were not able to get a picture.

Our return to AK afforded us the following attractions: Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Everest as a single rider (just me) Festival of the Lion King, and the Primeval Whirl. We also walked around one of the trails - it might have been Discovery Island Trails. So glad we returned!

Dinner was awesome! We picked up salad from Publix and a Chicago Classic for Pizzeria Uno. We don’t have Uno in our town, so this was a wonderful treat! We ate on our balcony and spent a quiet evening in our suite, and ended the day with my aforementioned hacked chocolate covered Rice Krispie treats.

Highlights from Day 4:
Today’s most magical moment: seeing an old family friend!
Best re-discovery: I had forgotten about the single rider line at EE! I did this twice and got on almost immediately!
Favorite attraction: EE
Most joyful experience: Being with my son! He is really fun to be around!

[SuperDave]

What a great day the two of you had in the AK with so many attractions and fun together! That was so cool to run into your family friend who is now a CM! That is quite odd with the trains and trying to get good photos of them.

[DMA]

Sounds like a wonderful AK day! And now that you mention it, the train to Rafiki's is hard to photopraph!

[Colexis Mom]

A couple of great days!!

[Cam22]

Both days sounded like lots of fun with your son!

[MAKHayes-DisneyDiva]

Day 5: Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Epcot/Disney Springs/Epcot
Temperature: High 84* Low 61*

Our last WDW day, sort of…


We had another magical day! Epcot is fabulous, especially during the Flower and Garden Show. So many colors! So much to look at!

We began the day at rope drop, and hustled to Soarin’ Over the World. I love this attraction! (Though Tower of Terror is my #1 fave, this one is almost tied with ToT.) Last time I rode Soarin’ it was still Soarin’ Over California. I miss the scent of the orange grove and the gold ball that always made me duck, but the new version is fantastic! Our first time on it we didn’t use our FP+s and experienced almost no line. We thenrode The Land to kill a little time before our Soarin’ FP+ window opened. I’ve always enjoyed The Land.

Perfect timing - we walked over to Soarin’ and rode again. Our wait was short, but we had a few minutes to chat with the couple in front of us in line. They were first timers at WDW, and had now idea what to expect on Soarin’. We explained it, then asked the usual questions about where they’re from. It turns out they are from Maine, a town very close to a place I vacationed with my ex’s family three times. The husband described himself as a “lobstah-men.” We loved this! He doesn’t like rough rides. He probably experiences rough seas often enough to avoid thrill rides on vacation. I wish we had seen them after Soarin’ to see if they liked it.

Our next stop was The Seas With Nemo and Friends. While in line, we invented an experience called “Lobstah-men,” which is a virtual thrill ride where one has to bring in the lobster on a rough day at sea. Think Soarin’ meets The Perfect Storm, complete with the spray of the ocean waves and the scent of the sea air. It would be near the Nemo ride, and have a “Chowdah House” restaurant beside it. The gift shop would offer yellow rain hat Mickey ears and photo opportunities in yellow rain slickers with rough seas backdrop choices. Yep, I’m an armchair imagineer.

Somewhere along the line we rode Figment. As usual, we could have skipped it.

Next we decided to take pics while heading over to the World Showcase.
I may be biased, but i’m pretty sure Peter took one of the best monorail photos EVER!


We experienced the Butterfly House and explored for a while. We also did some pin trading with cast members. Each of us had exactly one pin. Peter’s goal was to trade up until he got a Star Wars Rogue One pin. Eventually, he came close with a cool Star Wars pin. I just wanted to trade until I found something I really liked.

Surprisingly, we decided to go back to the resort for leftover pizza for lunch. (Remember, this is not just any pizza, but Pizzeria Uno we’re talking about!) I have never been on a WDW vacation during which we ate anything but breakfast and the occasional snack in our room, but this time we had great facilities very close to the parks. We’ve always loved getting away for breaks from the magic, so it made sense to eat some meals in our cool, quiet room. It wasn’t really about our budget, though it was nice to save a little cash while relaxing.

After lunch, we opted to check out Disney Springs. I hadn’t been there since the switch over from Downtown Disney to Disney Springs, so we wanted to check it out. Also, Peter had a few Lego gift cards from years past, and I love to shop. So we did some more pin trading, Peter got a few Lego sets, and I found a few souvenirs for myself. My plan was to get a WDW travel mug to replace one that had broken years ago, as well as a Mickey cookie cutter and a pair of Mickey earrings. I scored all three, and enjoyed a Starbucks along the way. While shopping, we both noticed that sun was hot. Instead of complaining we looked up the weather at home in Ohio. Absolutely no complaints about the heat!!

We had a relatively uneventful, off property, take out dinner. What happened to Chefs de France, you may wonder? Cancelled. I was surprised to find that I didn’t feel like I was suffering or cheating myself out of a culinary experience. I like Chefs a lot, but I didn’t miss it. I did however enjoy coming in under budget for the third day in a row!

We returned to Epcot in the evening with no real touring plan in mine, except that Peter was going to find an interesting dessert. Though I’m not much of a drinker, I planned to enjoy a Grand Marnier Slushie in France. Since I get tipsy quite easily, Peter planned to drive back to the resort, just to be safe. I don’t condone turning one’s 17 year old into the designated driver, but VACATION!

Peter took many night photos as we walked around the World Showcase. After shopping around, he decided on a Key Lime Tart at one of the Flower and Garden Show food booths. It was delicious! I love Epcot at night, and was very pleased to walk around, taking in the atmosphere, while sipping my adult slush.

Highlights from Day 5
Best Photo - Peter’s monorail. Even on the small screen on his camera, I could tell it was a keeper.
Most Magical Moment - strolling around the World Showcase at night
Favorite Attraction - Until soft opening of the Lobstah-men in late 2019, I’d have to say Soarin’.

[SuperDave]

Great time in Epcot with a lot of attractions and other fun. I love those Grand Marnier slushies! That is some photo of the monorail Peter took!

[Colexis Mom]

Another great day!!

[Cam22]

That is the best monorail photo! , Peter! That photo makes me smile. The key lime tart is on my food booth wish list.

[DMA]

Another awesome day!

[MAKHayes-DisneyDiva]

Day 6: Thursday, March 9, 2017
Train Day - With a Little Extra Magic
Temperature: High 84* Low 61*

From the get go, part of our Orlando plan was to spend a day “railfanning,” or chasing and photographing trains. I had hoped to schedule this on one of the middle days of the trip. Railfanning can involve quite a bit of driving, so I wanted to avoid doing it the day before we drove home. However, Peter requested Thursday, and since this was his only request of the trip, I didn’t argue.

I mistakenly thought our train day would afford me the luxury of sleeping in a bit. Wrong! Peter wanted to be on the road by 6 AM! So promptly at 6:15, we began driving to Ocala. Peter had studied maps and found a few spots that would be good for photographing the Florida Northern Railroad. He actually takes into account things like the position of the sun, the direction he will be facing, and the like. We drove for 90 minutes, and he got some of the shots he was hoping for. We made a stop in another town for some more trainspotting, and eventually wound our way back to Orlando. I assumed we would find more trains, but Peter surprised me by asking if I wanted to squeeze a little more magic out of the trip by eating lunch as Disney Springs.

More magic? What a concept! I asked if he would be equally happy if we had lunch at a WDW resort, and he certainly was, I read that if dining and shopping, one can generally park at a resort free of charge. We weren’t far from the Polynesian, so I looked up quick service restaurants and came up with Captain Cook’s.

I’ve spent very little time at the Poly over the years, and for some time I thought it out-dated and a bit tacky. Years ago I ate at Ohana and Kona, and both were excellent. We even watched Wishes from the beach at the Poly on one trip. But I don’t think I ever really explored this resort.
Today my opinion changed! We strolled around the Poly, and I found it to be picturesque and lovely. We took some pictures on the dock and hit the shops. We then ordered food at Captain Cook’s. Lunch was tasty - we ate in a pleasant spot not far from the pool.

After lunch, we took a ride on the monorail. We basically did both loops. I love the ride around Epcot, and I hadn’t done it in years. It was beautiful! We rode through the Contemporary, sailed past Magic Kingdom, and even spied a newly refurbished, red steam engine. We were disappointed that it wasn’t ready to go the day we were at Magic Kingdom, but there will be other trips.

This is the best part! When we left the Poly, twe took a wrong turn due to construction, and the GPS mistakenly directed us onto a road marked “Authorized and Service Vehicles Only!” Peter was driving, and we had trouble finding a place to turn around at first. Thoughts of the Disney Police running us off the road and making us disappear forever flooded our brains, but I told Peter to pretend to be confident and drive on! We drove over the railroad tracks and saw the shop where the steam engines are serviced. We saw the back of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and the backs of some of the monorail resorts. So cool! This was one of the best parts of the entire trip!

Late in the afternoon Peter asked if we could head back into Orlando so he could take more train pictures. How could I say no? We went to a parking structure and took pictures of the Sunrail train from several stories above the tracks.

Dinner was salad and leftover pizza - delicious!

We packed and prepared for our early morning departure, and watched numerous fireworks shows from our balcony. We saw 3 shows at 8:00, and 2 more at 9:00. It was the perfect way to spend our last evening of our best trip ever!

[DMA]

What a fun and adventurous day!