Quick Trip to WDW

[KeithS]

Sorry - busy and tired, but here is day 1!

Day 1 – Wednesday 23 January 2019.  Sydney – Dallas – Orlando
So today is our travel day for our quick trip to Walt Disney World and Patti’s retirement party. She’s been with the Disney Company for 32 years and it is now time to move on and she invited us to her party on Friday 25 January.  We thought about it for a few minutes and then decided – why not? You only live once so travel while you can!

Our flight today was scheduled for 2:40pm so we had a leisurely start. We chatted to the neighbours and did a final check of the packing.  I rolled all the suitcases to the front door and grabbed my phone to call at taxi at 11am…that’s when I saw a message from Qantas to say our flight had been delayed to 5pm!  The new flight was now scheduled to arrive in Dallas at 3:00pm – and we were on the 2:50pm flight to Orlando. So I got on the phone to Qantas and they rescheduled me onto the 4:55pm flight – that gave us two hours to clear immigration and customs and get to the gate for the flight to Orlando.

At 1:30, I rang the taxi and we headed to the airport.  We arrived around 2pm and it was very quiet in the departure area. We breezed through the check in and immigration formalities and headed to the shops and Qantas Club to wait the remaining hour and a half to boarding.

The actual flight from Sydney to Dallas was uneventful and was on time as far as the rescheduling was concerned. We got on the ground at 5pm and headed to immigration. We knew the US shutdown would reduce the number of border inspectors and we were right – the queue was quite long despite it being a quiet part of the day, but the line kept moving.  I kept watching the clock as it got closer to our departure time.  We got through immigration with about 40 minutes to go and ran to pick up our bags. Luckily there was no customs inspection because of the shutdown, so we went straight to the bag drop for domestic flights. We then had to go upstairs to catch the Skytrain to our next terminal and discovered we had to go through Security again – and this is where it became really tight as the queue was long. A security guard suggested we head to the other security station near gate D30 so we ran down there and it was quieter but still busy.  Our flight was already boarding at that stage and we hurried through as fast as we could given we had to take off our shoes etc.  Once we were finally through, we ran to the Skytrain and jumped on the first one heading to Terminal A.  Our stop was the third and it seemed to take forever. Our flight was due to depart in 10 minutes and I had basically given up.  When the Skytrain stopped, we were first off and running to the escalator and then to the gate. When we got there, we were one on the last people to make it! Yay!

Of course, in the end, the flight was delayed (probably so they could get our bags on board) but we were grateful to be on that plane.  Again the flight to Orlando was uneventful but we were pretty tired by then, having been up 30 hours.  Once we arrived at Orlando, we were thankful to see our bags come off the carousel.  We picked them up and walked to the Magical Express Bus pickup for the trip to Saratoga Springs Resort – it was around 9:30pm. Our bus departed the airport just after 10pm and we arrived around 10:45pm. Patti was there to greet us with name tags like limousine drivers have at airports, it was very funny! Brian couldn’t be there as he had to work tomorrow and needed to get to bed.

After we dropped off our bags and had a chat, Patti took us to the food court for a bite, however it was closed, so we went to McDonalds instead – yum after a long flight.  Patti then took us back to the hotel and we finally got to bed around 2:30am!

[calisota]

You were so lucky to get that connecting flight. I've heard some horror stories about the queues in US airports at the moment.


Greg

[DisneyKaren]

Wow I feel tired just reading about your day, so glad you made the flight.  Kudos to Patti for coming out and meeting you so late, I'm sure she's thrilled you made the trip for this big occasion. 

So glad to hear I'm not the only one who's ended up at Maccas on the first night in another country due to tiredness and desperate for any food.  It does the job!

[Lauren05]

Sounds like an eventful first day.  I once ran through an airport without shoes on so that i could make a plane - luckily the gate wasn't too far from security.

If it's not too much trouble, could i ask you to pick up 2 postcard size prints for me from Festival of the Arts?  The Jerrod Maruyama Snow White Grotto and Disney Afternoon ones - they should be around $5 each plus tax (http://jmaruyama.com/blog/) Please don't go out of your way as i can survive without them

[KeithS]

Hi Lauren - I will try and track them down - I love his artwork.

Day 2 – Thursday 24 January 2019.  Orlando
So we planned on sleeping in this morning after our 2:30am bed time, but the weather had other ideas with a massive storm waking us at 6:30am. Thunder, rain and lightning crashed down outside so we got up and had a cuppa. The radar showed it would move through, so I went back to bed and woke up again at 9am and it had moved on.  It was still overcast though and cold today, so we started out slowly by firstly exploring the Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa where we are staying. This is a DVC exclusive resort and we are staying in a giant family suite that sleeps 9! Our apartment has two bedrooms – we are in the master, with a spa room, shower room and separate toilet. Then there is the lounge and kitchen area, and Patti and Brian have a second room with separate bathroom and toilet area. The place is massive!  The resort is one of the biggest on Disney property too and is themed to upstate New York horse breeding and racing areas. Lots of nice artwork in the rooms of horses and racing from the old days.
Around the resort, building have a racing stud theme to them and it all works nicely with the large watch features, white paling fences and winding pathways.  After getting dressed, we headed to the main concierge area (a nice walk from our building) and set up our credit card on our magic bands before heading over to the food hall and resort shop for breakfast. We bought the refillable mugs again as we will also be using them at Animal Kingdom.
After a slow and leisurely breakfast, we walked around the lake back to our room and got ready to head to Magic Kingdom – it was already nearly midday by the time we caught the bus out there. The new security screening point was well designed and we got through the gate smoothly – we were in the Magic Kingdom again! Straight away we saw Snow White and the characters from Robin Hood – the crowd in Town Square was also very light – I’m liking this time of year already!
We were still tired from travelling so we were taking it slow – hitting the stores first of all. We did the left side of the street first, then the right side. Della wanted some Pandora so as the shops were quiet, we bought that and then sat on Main Street gutter to watch the parade. We had a great viewing of it. We then decided to get Dole Whip but the queue in Adventureland was a switchback and it was taking ages, so I bailed out and we kept walking. With people pre-ordering food now, the queues at quick service seem to have gotten slower as they have two queues to serve, which hasn’t helped anyone’s experience (sorry Disney, it isn’t working for us!)
We found ourselves next in Liberty Square, and watched the hilarious Muppets Great Moments in History (and American bits) which was great.  We had a lot of fun also texting Jess back home as we went through various shops (thanks for the fun day Jess!). We stopped in the Village Haus for a drink and then went to Dumbo’s circus tent store for more shopping. Soon it was time for dinner so we were in Tomorrowland and headed to Cosmic Ray’s for burgers and nuggets.
After dinner, we decided we had better go on at least one ride, so headed to the Haunted Mansion. We then went to Main Street just in time to see the castle projection show followed by the new (and fantastic) fireworks show – also featuring castle projections in a big way. The park closed after the fireworks at 8pm so it was a civilised finishing time as we headed on out to the bus.
When we got back to the room, Patti was there along with her friend Whitney who was joining us for the evening in our apartment. Whitney worked with Patti on the college program many years ago and they had kept in touch over the years. She is also coming to the retirement party tomorrow night.  We talked for a few hours before heading to bed at midnight. Tomorrow we are going to Disney Springs in the morning before getting ready for the big party tomorrow night!

[calisota]

Have you noticed any themeing for the Chinese New Year? Maybe in Epcot, when you get there.


Greg

[KeithS]

No Chinese New Year yet - we go to Epcot on Monday so I will look then.

Day 3 – Friday 25 January 2019.  Orlando
Today is the day of the big retirement party.  Patti, Whitney, Della and I had a slow start to the morning as we were not planning on visiting the parks today ahead of the party in the evening.  We chatted over breakfast and Della and I presented Patti with her retirement gift – a Swarovski Mickey Mouse which she loved. 

We didn’t get ready to depart the resort until about midday when Patti, Della and I walked over to Disney Springs for a bit of shopping. We did a bunch of the east-side shops as far as the World of Disney store, but that took us to 3pm which was our cut off for heading back to the resort to get ready for the party. We did stop for lunch at The Earl of Sandwich but other than that, it was a big shopping trip.

We headed back to our room and began to get ready for the night. While we were getting dressed, Dan, who is another of Patti’s former co-workers when she was on the college program, arrived at our room as he had just flown in for the party.  All of us were going to head up to the Contemporary Resort in one of the Minnie-themed town cars operated by Lyft (an Uber-type operator).
After getting ready and ordering the vehicle, we waited down in the carpark for the car to arrive.  It was stylishly decked out in Minnie red with white polka-dots of course. The drive to the Contemporary took about 15 minutes and after checking in to the California Grill, we were escorted to the 15^th floor and the Napa room which was a private function room set aside for the party.  The view from the room was amazing, with a sunset view to the Magic Kingdom park.

Over the next 30 minutes, we were introduced to many guests attending the party and of course Brian arrived too – he had been stuck with work stuff and the party was the first time we had caught up with him. The other guests were important people to Patti over the course of her 32 years at Disney and there were many funny stories told over the course of the night. I sat beside Val who was Brian and Patti’s GM when they first started dating, and you could tell straight away she must have been a terrific boss.

At 8pm, the Magic Kingdom fireworks went off and we had a private bridge on the roof of the Hotel with an uninterrupted view to watch from with the music piped through – it was fantastic.
After dinner, fireworks, speeches, photos and a lot of laughs and good times, we made our way back to our hotel. Brian drove Della and I so we could catch up with him and we also took the left over food from the party.

By the time we were back at the room, Patti, Whitney and Dan were already there and we all sat and chatted late into the night/morning. We eventually had to go to bed and Dan left us with the promise to catch up tomorrow at Animal Kingdom. After everyone had gone to bed, Della and I snuck out into the dining room to set up for an Australia Day breakfast – we had flag tablecloth, napkins and plates, as well as talking stuffed koala and crocodile that spoke Aussie sayings. At one point, Brian caught us setting up, but he got out of our way quickly. Tomorrow should be fun as we feed our US friends Vegemite on toast in the morning.

It had been a great day, great party and awesome friends!

[calisota]

Tomorrow should be fun as we feed our US friends Vegemite on toast in the morning.

You are a horrible, horrible person.
Greg

[Lauren05]

Hahaha, just have to hope they don’t eat it like Nutella.
We have American friends who lived in Australia for 2 years in the late nineties. My parents visited them when they were back in the US a few years later and took Vegemite. They hated it so much they made mum use cutlery that they were prepared to throw away so that it wouldn’t be tainted by the smell.
I stayed with them in April and made sure I kept my stash hidden lol

[KeithS]

Sorry for lack of updates. Too busy haha. Lauren I got the postcards you wanted today at Epcot (I am here now!)
Will try and get journal updates later.

Ps. We are liking the cooler temperatures and lower crowds at this time of year. Still busy but not crazy!

[calisota]

With your vast experience would you say this is the best time of year to visit or some other time?

Greg

[KeithS]

It depends Greg. I think it is worth visiting when one of the Epcot festivals are on and just picking your dates around what interests you. 

We loved visiting the Flower and Garden festival in March - but at the same time, that was spring break so the crowds were large but the festival was brilliant.

Now is great too - I love this Festival of the Arts, and the temperature and crowds are great (I would definitely come this time again).

Food and Wine is good - but always very hot and very crowded, but if you are a foodie - that's the time to go.

Anyway - on to the update!

Day 4 – Saturday 26 January 2019. Animal Kingdom
Today is Australia Day, so to surprise Brian, Patti and Whitney, Della and I prepared a breakfast of vegemite on toast, with coffee etc.  We also had a couple of Aussie slang speaking fluffies – a koala and crocodile which we had bought in Sydney. It was quite funny watching them try and eat the vegemite – I think Patti had the smallest piece, Whitney and Brian lasted a lot longer.  It is funny how we grow up on it, but the rest of the world just cannot handle it.

We let them have a normal (American) breakfast (muffins etc) and got ready to head to Animal Kingdom. Brian drove us there and we met Dan again in the carpark before heading into the park.  It was an Extra Magic Hour morning and we got there right on 8am at park opening.  We got through the gates after security and headed straight for Pandora and the Flights of Passage. Despite being there first thing, the line was already at 150 minutes, but we joined it as we wanted to ride. Surprisingly, the wait didn’t seem that bad because we were loving the queue and had a great time talking to each other.

The ride itself was pretty amazing, I was particularly impressed with the transitions into and out of the Avatar – but the whole ride was just sensational. After the ride, we did a group photo in front of the mechanical walker outside to Pandora restaurant. 

Next, we did a walk around the land before heading into Africa and having a coffee.  We had a Fast Pass for Festival of the Lion King, but as we were entering the theatre, Brian spotted one of his former cast members outside. He spoke to her and she got us front row seats in the reserved area! So we were up close and personal with the performers which was terrific.

After the show, we headed to the Flame Tree BBQ for lunch – I had a pulled pork BBQ sandwich which was great.  After lunch, we walked the Maharajah Trail and followed that up with Gorilla Falls.  Dan left us at that point and we moved on to Everest as we had a Fast Pass. I still love that ride, but Della is finding it harder all the time to do the backwards coasters.

After Everest, we split up and Della and I went exploring by ourselves. First we went in Dinoland and the shop there – we always find unusual things there and we got some unique things again.  From there, we checked out the Nemo show shop, and then the main shops near the Tree of Life. Following our shopping expedition, we went back to Pandora and had dinner in the restaurant there – I can recommend it, it was a great dinner and I really enjoyed it.

After dinner, we went to watch Rivers of Light – we had a fast pass and got to sit in the fast pass seating area – it was great too, front and centre of the viewing area. I had heard many mixed reports about this show, but I personally really enjoyed it.  It is sort of a mix of World of Color and Braviseamo, with some environmental messages from Illuminations thrown in.

After Rivers of Light, we headed back to Pandora to explore it in the dark – the land really showcases an amazing light system at night, with the plants looking bioluminescent and amazing.  We also saw the Navi River ride was only 50 minutes, so as we had yet to ride it, we joined the queue. In reality, the wait was just 25 minutes. I have mixed feelings about the ride – it looks brilliant and had some amazing technologies, but it didn’t really tell a story and if anything, it was too short for a boat ride.

After the ride, we went back and did some final shopping before heading home to Saratoga Springs.  Once we got there, we stopped in at the food court before calling it a night. Tomorrow, we transfer to Animal Kingdom Lodge!

[DisneyKaren]

No Chinese New Year yet - we go to Epcot on Monday so I will look then.
Today is the day of the big retirement party.  Patti, Whitney, Della and I had a slow start to the morning as we were not planning on visiting the parks today
At 8pm, the Magic Kingdom fireworks went off and we had a private bridge on the roof of the Hotel with an uninterrupted view to watch from with the music piped through – it was fantastic.

Oh I'm a sucker for going into the parks in whatever time I have, that's why a trip to Disney is so exhausting for me!  I was hoping the Disneyana trip would help me get over this, but no I was still there as close to opening and was there when the last fireworks or night parade ended and on the last day my brain was all stressed out wanting to do everything again.  Maybe I need to visit more often
I'll have to add Contemporary Resort to the bucket list as seeing the fireworks from the rooftop would be amazing and possibly a little less crowded.  What a wonderful send off for Patti after her long service to Disney.
Great to hear that crowds are down at this time of year and the weather is nicer as I'll be there mid Feb in 2022 (yep thinking that far ahead).  I do love Epcot and am keen to hear your review and what is going on for the Festival of Arts and (hopefully) Chinese New Year. The additions to Animal Kingdom sound fantastic.

[KeithS]

No sign of Chinese New Year here at all - including in the China pavilion at Epcot.  I think Disney reserve that for California Adventure - there is a lot happening over there.  Anyway - here is another update.
Day 5 – Sunday 27 January 2019.  Saratoga Springs to Animal Kingdom Lodge
We knew the weather forecast for today was wet, and when we woke up, it was pouring down.  We weren’t too concerned though as today is our hotel transfer day and we figured we would head back to Disney Springs as well to do some more shopping.

First things first after breakfast was to complete packing. We then said our goodbyes to Whitney who was flying home to Texas at lunchtime. We loaded our suitcases into Patti’s car and she took us to the Saratoga Springs reception area. She was then going to take Whitney to the airport – and in the meantime, Brian was coming to pick us up and take us to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (DAKL).

We waited in the reception for 20 minutes until he turned up – he didn’t stay with us last night as he was running the half marathon in Celebration this morning, so he had stayed at his own place so he could make an early start without waking all of us.

He drove us the long way to DAKL so we could see all the construction work on property, from the new hotel at Coronado Springs, to the gondola system for EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Star Wars Land and the Guardians Building at Epcot – there is so much happening.

Once we arrived at DAKL, Brian left us and we checked in. It was midday now and our room was ready. It took us a while to find it, but when we did, we were like ‘whoooaaaaa!” What a great view he had over the savannah – right outside our window were antelopes and zebras.  We took some photos through the rain before deciding to check out the resort shop.

Next, we got dressed to go to Disney Springs – the rain was getting even heavier and it was bouncing upwards by the time we got to the Springs. We dashed to Earl of Sandwich again for food before heading to the Disney Co-op, Arribas Bros, World of Disney, Uniqlo, Vera Bradley, Alex and Ani, and back to Vera Bradley – buying stuff as we went.

Finished with shopping, cold and wet, we headed back to DAKL and got changed in anticipation of Brian and Patti joining us here for dinner.  They arrived at 7pm and we headed down to The Mara food court for dinner. Della and I had the chicken sandwich which was terrific and afterwards, he all went to the resort store for a quick look.  After the shops, Brian and Patti left for home and we retired for the evening.  The rain is due to cease overnight and we plan on heading to Epcot tomorrow for the Festival of Art.

[calisota]

A view of antelope and zebra out your hotel window. How cool is that?!

My one time to WDW just happened to coincide with he wine and food festival, completely by accident since I had no choice as to when I was there. I did enjoy sampling as much as I could.


Greg