TRIP REPORT - APRIL & MAY 2024

This Post-Trip Report has been a long time coming, but I’m glad I finally could get a chance to get all my thoughts, feelings and experiences to the keyboard to share here with all of you.   Here we go ….. 

We left our cruise ship around 11ish and by the time we rolled up to Art of Animation after a quick stop at Publix, our room was ready and bell services helped us with our insane amount of luggage.  We were in the Cars section of the hotel in building 3 - the Luigi building and we were in room 3617 - which I very much recommended as it was close to the main building and buses, close to the Cozy Cone Pool and not too far of a hike to the Skyliner.  The room itself was lovely.  This was our first time staying in a value suite and immediately I loved the décor of the room, so fun and inviting and the room is very practical in many ways.  I love that there are 2 bathrooms and 2 toilets, so nobody is ever left to wait longer than they need to.  There is a lot of drawer space, but not too much hanging space for clothing, if you’re looking for closet space.  There also is not a lot of bathroom storage, so that was a bit of an issue.  I have long hair and a lot of hair product goes into maintenance, so space in this respect was definitely an issue.  We never had an issue hearing other families through the walls of our suite, only when people in the hallway did we notice the noise.  But when in Disney,  there will be children screaming and laughing and parents screaming and laughing as well - so this is to be expected.

After walking around the resort a bit to see all the buildings, except The Little Mermaid section, we never made it that far, we took a ride on the Skyliner to see what it was like.  We went all the way to Epcot and then back again.  Since this was our first trip in 7 years, we’ve never rode the skyliner again and were excited to give it a test run, plus we were curious about the process like how to transfer and how it works, getting on and off and where the Skyliner goes exactly.  So it was a fun little ride as well as educational.  When we got off the skyliner we took a walk through Pop Century, because I knew there would be some classic items scattered throughout the resort that my 4 year old would really like - the Rubix cube, Playdoh, Giant Fooseball and Mr Potato Head Specifically.  We took a bunch of pics and then returned to our room to get ready for the evening.  We went to Disney Springs, grabbed some soup from Chef Art Smith’s for my mom.  A little background on my mom - she has some health issues and she was only going to be with us for today - as she booked an emergency flight back home for the next morning.  Her dietary restrictions were a big complication for her on the first leg of our vacation on the cruise and there was no way she would be able to make it though Disney World for the next 7 days.  We had initially all booked the QS dining plan, so that ended up being a bit of waste as we had excess meals to use during the week (more on beating the dining plan in an upcoming episode, when I finally get around to tallying up the bills from the week that are in a big pile on my dresser).  Anyhow, soup for mom from Homecomin’ and Pizza from Blaze for my son because all he eats is pizza, nuggets and fries.  We had wanted to do Characters in Flight that day, but the wind was really blowing that day, so no rides were in service.   We actually didn’t end up doing much around Disney Springs as my mom couldn’t really walk around and she was comfortable so we took the pizza and the soup back to the resort - my dad and I grabbed lunch at Landscape of Flavours - 2 beef dishes and alcoholic beverages and we all ate dinner in the room.  A relaxing day, and not too late of a night which was good because we all had an early morning the next day.  Even though we didn’t end up doing the Disney Springs kind of evening that I had initially wanted, I did purchase my son a Spiderman bubble wand there - and apparently you can’t get that specific wand in the parks - so this alone made the short trip to Springs worth it, because my son got a lot of use out of that wand during the week and a lot of compliments on it, people wanting to know where we got it. 

We hit Epcot early the next morning. Saturday morning.  Early Entry was at 8:30 as park opening was at 9am.  We were at the skyliner by 7:15ish and in the queue, which wasn’t bad. When we got into the line prior to the skyliner opening we were in line on the bridge to France by 8:00 and well on our way to Remy by 8:25ish.  I am a total believer in early entry rope drop.  Oh, also should mention that earlier that morning around 5am I purchased Genie+ for myself, my dad and my son - multiple parks $29 each (yikes), this was our first time ever using Genie+ so of course I was nervous.  But in the end, overall I think I did pretty well over the course of the week.  A couple blunders I will mention as we go on, but like everything there is a learning curve associated with using Genie+, but I was eager to try the system and see if I could maximize time and value as the week went on.  Actually we didn't end up needing multiple parks genie + that day, but you live and you learn.  This was also my first time traveling with my son, or any child at all to the parks and I didn’t know what they would be like or how quickly we would be able to navigate.  Anyhow we did Remy it took about 20 minutes to get through the stroller drop, queue and attraction and my initial plan was to get to Frozen, but as we were walking there I realized our lightning lane for Soarin’ was going to start (this was my second mistake for the day - I totally forgot you could modify at this point - I never made the modification error again though) My first mistake for that day was not securing a VQ or an ILL for Guardians, because at this point I thought I didn't click fast enough, but turns out I had a setting on my attractions list that wasn’t allowing Guardians to populate for me, so that is why I missed it - we would eventually get to ride Guardians later that week.  Anyhow as we were passing the path to Imagination, I decided to skip Frozen for now head to Soarin because we had the LL.  On the way there my son wanted to go into the Butterfly Landing, which we did and then we did Soarin’ (and then I booked the next LL for Test Track at 1:15).  After Soarin we did - Journey Into Imagination and spent time in Imageworks, we met Figment and then went to meet Mickey and Minnie right next door then we had planned to head to The Seas, but it was down so we walked through Journey of Water which was cute, but nothing to get excited about - there are a couple water fixtures in there that are impressive, but overall not sure why it took a million years to construct.  We did some photo ops with the Walt the Dreamer statue.  Next we stopped for popcorn and churros and a drink and then we decided to do Mission Space Green.  It was a challenge to get my son off those moon rescue video game things they have in the area at the exit, but eventually he was eager to go to the gift shop and insisted on buying space food - which I didn’t because he barely eats regular food, so that was a big no for me.  After that we decided to hit up Space Mountain with a LL (posted wait was 20 mins) as we were already on this side of the park.  After that we hit up Living with the Land with a LL  (posted wait time was 15 mins)  and then the Seas with a LL (posted wait time 25 mins).  We also grabbed a quick lunch at Sunshine Seasons - my son got a pizza roll and my dad and I shared the Mongolian Beef dish - which was way too much food for the two of us.  After that I went into Creations shop to load one of those wrist gift cards with some cash for spending (this is how I prefer to spend at Disney - as a foreigner I don’t like to use my cards and I don’t want to use cash, because change is a pain the butt - so I find that the gift card is the most user friendly for me).  I really do hope that in the future the GC is a payment method in My Disney Experience, because this would mean a world of good for me.  With gift card in hand we headed to our first festival booth for Flower and Garden - Farmers Feast and we had the Seared Scallop Risotto and the Hibiscus Lemonade Cocktail with alcohol and wow, that risotto - was absolutely delicious - so much so that I think I would like to try and recreate that at home - the cocktail was more bitter than I would have liked, but refreshing on a very warm day nevertheless.

After this we hit up Test Track for our LL and my 4 year old loved it which I didn’t expect.  My 70+ year old dad, who had already been on this attraction previously - thinks it got faster, which is highly unlikely - but not unlikely that he got older.  We spent some time in the SIM area and gift shop after we were done and then we made our way back to World Showcase to hit up a few more food booths.  We hit up Citrus Blossom and got the tempura shrimp and the beer flight - Shrimp was great, very tasty, the beer flight not too great.  We also got the Violet Lemonade from Pineapple Promenade, which I liked so much, I went and got another.  We got the Soy Sticky Ribs and the Raspberry Herbal Tea from Trowel & Trellis - both of those were very good as well.  I think I may have had two of those tea drinks as well and then we called it a day - I think it was maybe around 3ish by now.  We jumped on the Skyliner and went back to the resort.  My son took a nap and then we went back to Epcot for the evening to catch Luminous which we watched from the UK.  We grabbed some Fish and Chips from Yorkshire to share with a beer and I got an Iced Coffee or the other from the Joffrey’s between the UK and Canada and we watched the show and it was lovely.  I was pleasantly surprised, even though I do miss illuminations, and I didn’t get to give it a good send off - this is a nice replacement. My son seemed to really enjoy it and then we headed back to the Skyliner which had the most insane line I had ever seen - it was midway up the bridge that goes toward Yacht and Beach Club - overwhelming, but it moved quickly, even though we were that far back.  We were back in the room a little before 11 - so not the quickest process.  My dad commented that he would have preferred a bus over waiting for the Skyliner Line - hard to say which was a faster process, but at least with the SKyliner I didn’t have to fold the stroller and we all get seats and its not pitch black and we’re not crammed in like sardines.  There’s a lot more plus points to the Skyliner than people realize.   

The next morning - Sunday at 5am, I purchased multiple park Genie+, this time at $25 each - not great but better than the previous days price.I screwed up the Tron VQ and LL for this morning as well due to that same menu selection error I mentioned in my rundown of yesterday’s events - but that was ok, because I did manage to score a VQ during the 1pm drop - Group 142. I also bought us ILL’s for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, I think they were for 12ish - if I remember correctly. Our first booked LL of the day was for Jungle Cruise around 1sih.  We hit Magic Kingdom this day for early entry and were at the bus stop by 7:10 for an 8:30 early entry. Once the rope was dropped we stroller parked near the Carousel and we went straight to Peter Pan’s Flight, which we waited maybe 10 minutes and then we immediately followed that up with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which was also about a 10 minute wait and then from there we went to Dumbo - which we rode twice, back to back and then we hit up Barnstormer.  After a quick bathroom break by the Casey Jr Splashpad, we were approached by a Cast Member who asked us if we had 10 minutes to spare - and we did, so she invited us into Big Top Treats and straight into Pete’s Silly Sideshow through the cast member area and we were told me were family of the day - we got to go through the sets in there - Minnie, Daisy, Goofy and Donald and take some really cool pics and then we got a special one on one meet and greet with the four characters before the attraction opened up to the public for the day.  This was a very special moment, my son has no idea how special this moment was.  A big dousing of pixie dust for sure, a very memorable moment.  Upon leaving the characters after our special one on one photo opp we were also gifted 2 bags of cotton candy which my son was really happy about.  After this experience we headed to Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid and then we did Small World, The Carousel and Philharmagic.  We really flubbed with Genie+ this day and didn’t even really need to buy it.  We used it for Small World which was a posted 25 mins and I had started banking attractions for later that day - Pirates and Haunted Mansion for example - but after Jungle Cruise, my son was having a melt down and we went back to the resort where I thought he would have a nap, but he wanted to swim which we did for a bit, but I was really struggling with when my boarding group for Tron would be called. So we left the hotel and headed back to MK around 6ish and I had LL’s booked - my son saw the train at Main Street Station and wanted to ride it - so we did, and he fell asleep on it.  So we rode in a full loop of the park and then we walked around.  I kept modifying the attractions and pushing them back, but he never woke up.  So, my dad and I ate Corn Dog Nuggets from Casey’s Corner and then him and my sleeping son took a Minnie Van back to the resort and I stayed and used my LL’s for Buzz Light years Space Ranger Spin and Haunted Mansion (didn’t end up doing Pirates this day), my boarding group was called shortly after 8 and by the time I was done with Tron the Main street area and hub were filled with people waiting for Happily Ever After.  I didn’t want to watch without my son, so I fought my way out of main street about 8:45ish and got on a practically empty bus back to AoA, picked up something to eat at Landscape and then called it a night, as my dad and son were both already sleeping.  Another day we didn’t need the multiple park - but considering MK and Multiple are always the same price, this one didn’t hit as hard as yesterday’s purchase.  

Day 3 - Monday - We did Early Entry Rope Drop at Hollywood Studios.  Like the previous 2 days in line for transportation - today the Skyliner by 7:10.  For this day I only purchased Hollywood Studios Genie + I believe it was $18 and it was very helpful.  The first LL I booked was for Slinky Dog at 1:30.  At rope drop we headed straight to Galaxy’s Edge and walked right on to Rise of the Resistance.  Now, I had a lot of anticipation coming into this attraction, I had very high expectations and they were met for sure, but I was still disappointed.  I didn’t love this attraction the way that other people did.  It’s definitely a unique experience, there’s nothing like it anywhere else, but it's so long and there’s so much going on that it gets overwhelming.  I love the trackless system and there’s a lot going on  - the pre-ride part of the attraction; in my opinion is actually better than the ride itself - the stormtroopers and being taken captive, that is all pretty amazing.  The attraction I didn’t love, I wouldn’t even need to do it every time I went to the park.  If I couldn’t walk on like we did this day, I wouldn’t do it - this isn’t an attraction I would want to spend money on and by the time the park was open to everyone at 9am that standby line was insane and it wasn’t even a busy day by any standards.  Smugglers Run on the other hand - I absolutely loved - this is so much so a better attraction because we the rides are making the attraction be great or making it suck.  We managed to ride it twice actually back to back the first time the three of us were with a party of 3 who actually didn’t want to be pilots, so my son and I stepped up and my dad was a gunner and the experience was so good we went right back in again.  This time we weren’t the pilots, but my dad and son were pilots and I was an engineer.  The pilot is definitely where it's at for this experience and I look forward to being able to experience this again in the future.  It’s such a better experience than Rise of the Resistance. To me hands down, there is not even an argument here - or maybe I should say the two attractions are so different that they shouldn’t even be compared to one another, because they really are so different and each unique in their own right.  But for me Smugglers Run for the win.  We then did a couple photo ops with Photopass, because we did have a memory maker, and I was trying the entire week to be conscious of using it as often as possible without waiting in any of those insane long lines for particular photos. 

We got to try some green milk, which I actually liked and thought that it was pretty refreshing.  I would for sure drink it again in a heartbeat and would even be open to trying the blue one; if even just for refreshments sake.  

We then headed to Mickey and Minnie’s as we were able to secure an early enough lightning lane with it now being 2 hours after park opening.  On the way there, we stopped and bought my son one of those spinning water fans that kids seem to love and of course he loved it.  As this was our first time ever riding Mickey and Minnie’s I was very excited and trying my best to take it all in.  There is so much going on in this attraction from the moment you step into the interior section of the queue.  While I did enjoy the experience, I really wish we would have had a chance to hit this attraction again at a later date, because like I said there is so much going on in here that I feel like I didn’t get to see everything I wanted.  There will always be next time, right?  After this, we still had some time to kill before our Slinky LL, so instead of just being idle we headed to my most favourite attraction ever; Toy Story Midway Mania.  From my first time ever riding Midway Mania it was a favourite of mine and I was so excited for my son to ride and play this super fun and interactive attraction.  We all had a blast of course and I won, even getting the highest score that hour - which made it an even more fun experience.

As we headed over to Slinky Dog, my son was starting to get cranky and I could feel a meltdown coming on.  Him and I waited in the LL for our turn and when we got to the front to be placed in a numbered aisle, he had his meltdown and we had to leave the line, so that I could leave him with my dad.  Luckily I was permitted to return to the front of the queue to resume my spot in the queue.  I thought Slinky Dog was great, so much fun and it was a much longer ride than I expected, which was a pleasant surprise.

Surprisingly this would be one of the few days when my son would actually take a nap.  We all relaxed in our room, shared a large pizza from Landscape of Flavours and then headed back to Hollywood Studios around 7-7:30 to get in line for Fantasmic.  Unfortunately, that evening due to technical difficulties - the show was canceled and due to the time, it didn’t really make sense to go anywhere else, so we just headed back to the room for an earlier than usual night.

Our fourth day would be our rest day.  We were finally able to sleep past 6:30 am, which was refreshing for everyone.  We had breakfast at Landscape of Flavours around 8:30 that  morning, a nice slow and leisurely morning, which was nice for a change.  I got the loaded Totcho Bowl, which I absolutely loved.  We make Totchos at home, but I was looking forward to trying any of the Totcho offerings on property, since they all seem so loved by the Disney community.  I would for sure eat this meal again in a heartbeat.  After breakfast we took a slow walk around the Ink and Paint shop, our in house gift store, and then we got on the Skyliner and headed for The Riviera. Once there, we took some time to admire the Peter Pan and Tangled murals and then we went inside to check out the main lobby and gift shop.  Afterward, we went to the Joffrey’s at the Skyliner Hub at Caribbean Beach Resort and then we made our way over to one of the beach areas at the resort, because my son was very interested in sitting in a hammock. We spent a fair amount of time just relaxing and finishing our coffee beverages, before heading back to Art of Animation.  The initial plan for today was to go to Disney Springs, but unfortunately spending any amount of time at Springs would just be a pipe dream this trip.  My son wanted to swim.  Upon arriving at the Cozy Cone Pool, we were fortunate enough to score a cone cabana, which is where I spent most of my time while my son swam.  After swimming for about a couple hours we all shared some pizza and took a nap.  Around 4ish, we started to get ready for the night’s dinner at Storybook Dining at Artist Point over at The Wilderness Lodge.  To get to Wilderness, we went to the Magic Kingdom and took a boat over.  The boat, which I’ve done in the past, was noisy, smelled like gasoline and was so hot - not a pleasant experience.  We checked in for our dinner and since we were early took some time to explore their lovely lobby and gift shop.   Eventually we were called to our table and made our way back to the restaurant to be escorted to our table.  Walking though the restaurant was an experience in itself; the décor is so immersive and the faux forest is very believable.  We walked past The Evil Queen, meet and greet and my son was taken back by her presence, as he is not a fan of villains.  She looked him up and down, and the two of them had a bit of a staring contest with one another.  I was in awe at this very small interaction and the meaning it would have on him.  Once we were seated at our table, he couldn’t believe that she would stare at him.  This was hilarious to me and I am so thankful for that small, yet impactful moment.  Dinner was divine and our server was lovely.  The food, dishes and presentation were all very impressive and I would eat here again for sure. The pork shank and the prime rib portions were huge and so well cooked.  The character interactions for my son were certainly the highlight of the evening and he thought meeting the dwarfs was really special.  Grumpy and him had a little spat going throughout the evening which was very fun and Dopey and him did a little dance.  Snow White was also very pleasant with him and brought him out of his shell a bit.  At the end of the meal when we were invited to go and meet The Evil Queen he bowed to her upon approaching her meet and greet location, which she was very impressed with as was I.  Snow White and The Evil Queen were the first face characters my son would ever meet, and I will really cherish this dining experience especially for that reason. To get back to our resort at the end of the meal, we took the bus from The Wilderness Lodge to Hollywood Studios and then took the Skyliner back to AoA.  All in all a successful day is one where my son is happy.  

Day five would have us at Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom.  We did not purchase Genie + this day, but I did purchase an individual lightning lane for myself for Flight of Passage, which would be later that morning.  For Rope Drop we headed straight to Na’vi River Journey.  This was our first time walking into Pandora and being able to experience it first hand.  It really is something to behold.  The majesty of the mountains really does take your breath away.  While we were glad to be able to experience Na’vi River, not sure it's an attraction I would never need to do again.  It’s really nothing to write home about, and considering we are barely even fans of the Avatar franchise, we didn’t have a personal connection to the attraction. After this we headed to Kilimanjaro Safaris where we had next to no wait.  There were a few animals to see, so it was worth it to go early in the morning for sure.  We then headed back to the tree of life, or at least in the front so we could get in some Photopass photos - and to be honest, these photos were some of my favourite of the whole trip.  We then stopped to share a snack and we opted for the infamous stuffed pancake sandwich, which was quite delicious.  We then headed to Everest, which I rode solo and right after we headed to Finding Nemo The Big Blue and Beyond.  I absolutely love this show.  Although this was my first time watching the revised storyline, I still really enjoyed the story and was glad for my son and dad to be able to see the show.  We then headed to A Bug’s Life, and then we headed to Flight of Passage for my Individual Lightning Lane.  As a first time experience for me, my thoughts were as follows - the queue is pretty boring and because there is so much hype for the experience I was unfortunately underwhelmed.  I thought the ride vehicle, the banshee that guests sit on, was impressive, because you can feel it breathing - that was the most impressive element for me.  The graphics and what was on the screen, for me - while lovely, not the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.  But I would definitely pay to experience this attraction again. 

We mobile ordered lunch at Satu’li canteen - we ordered and shared the smoked chimichurri beef and the cheeseburger steamed pod, bao buns.  The pods were delicious and I would for sure eat them again.  I also really enjoyed the beef dish, but the coleslaw side was a miss because it was way too sour, I think there was too much vinegar in the base.  We also split the Ilu Splash Margarita, which was very refreshing and a decent size drink for two adults to share. 

After lunch we hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom so we could catch the Festival of Fantasy parade, it was sweltering hot and we sat on the wrong side of Main Street, so we were in direct sunlight while waiting and then again during the parade.  Thank goodness we had a miniature tree to use as an umbrella and we had 2 x stroller fans to keep us cool.  We also ordered the Mint Julep Lemonade’s from Casey’s to help cool us off.  After the parade we left the park for a quick swim at our resort and then a nap before heading back to the park  for the evening.  We rode Buzz Light Year Space Ranger’s Spin and then found a spot for Happily Ever After.  My son didn’t make it through the entire firework display, but I am glad that he got to see a bit of it and we got some beautiful mother & son pictures.  Because he was already sleeping we took our time exiting the park and walked slowly along Main Street enjoying some ice cream.  When we got to our bus stop, there weren’t many people and we didn’t have to worry about holding a sleeping 4 year old.  A hectic, busy - but very fun day.  

Day six would be our last park day and we decided to start at Epcot so we could rope drop Remys one final time.  Right after that we headed to Frozen and then to Soarin.  This is the day we finally chose to wear our matching tees.  They were designed with a Lava motif (the Disney short), which is a favourite of my sons - so we made sure to take pics at the front of Epcot in these shirts.  I really love how these photopass photos came out.  To close out our Epcot morning we also rode Spaceship Earth, Mission Space (Green) & Gran Fiesta Tour.  We grabbed a couple food items from some festival booths on our way back to the skyliner to head back to the resort to rest and get started on our packing for the trip back home.  We hung out in the room and ordered in a pizza, which we happily shared.  Later that evening we headed back to Hollywood Studios to watch Fantasmic, which was great.  We had very good seating, as we usually do, which is why we have never done a Fantasmic dining package.  After the show we had time to head to Toy Story Midway Mania for one final ride - this is how I love to end each and every one of my Disney vacations.  After that, as the park was closed we walked back to the Skyliner to head back to the resort.  I wish we could have done a bit more on our final day, but everyone was so exhausted and the days had only been getting hotter and hotter.  

Day Seven.  On our final day, we made sure everything was packed away in our checked and carry-on bags before we headed to Landscape of Flavors for breakfast.  We then took one final ride on the Skyliner and visited the Riviera and then headed back - we literally just made a loop.  After dropping our bags at the luggage services at the front of the resort, we took our carry-on bags and pool things to the pool which is where we spent the remainder of the day.  Our Mears bus back to MCO was scheduled to arrive around 2:00.  We were lucky enough to get a cone cabana and the Cozy Cone pool and we relaxed while my son swam and swam and swam.  We ordered one final pizza which we enjoyed pool side and then we got dried off and changed in the pool change rooms and picked up our bags and waited for our ride to MCO, which was on time.  We boarded the bus and said our goodbyes to Art of Animation.  

We had a fabulous vacation.  Although this was my first trip with a young child, I think we came out well.  I learned a lot of navigating the parks with a kid and will definitely be better at it the next time around.  I loved the Art of Animation resort and would definitely stay again if we needed the space.  We also fell in love with the Skyliner and don’t think we could ever stay at a resort that didn’t have access to it.  I loved that we had to experience so many new things this go around and that it didn’t rain, not even a drop the entire week.  I’m most glad to have been able to experience Disney World with my son and I’m glad that he had a great trip.

-Written July 2024