Tobias's 8/19-8/22 WDW TR

[Tobias]

Just got back from another WDW trip, while my last trip in 2020 was a rather big return trip for me, it was smack dab in the pandemic and plenty of things were altered or closed at the time. While I still had a good time, I was hoping to return when things were running closer to normal. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait another 15 years to return! As usual, I'll be sticking with covering anything new I experienced, as well as some general thoughts on the parks. So how did this trip fare out?

First off, thanks to a suggestion from Touring Plans, I took a leap of faith on coming here in the second half of August. And sure enough, while it was hot as usual, the crowds were totally manageable. Not as low as my last trip in 2020 for various reasons, but nowhere near as busy in far earlier trips during June/July. Also, hotels were quite cheaper for this weekend, and it allowed me to try a new thing, or in this case, a new hotel for me!

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House

AKL is a hotel that I've always had my eye on, the theme and concept was quite intriguing, and with it designed by the same person who did Wilderness Lodge (a favorite of mine), as well as plenty of raves about the restaurants, I definitely wanted to check it out. And I'm very glad I did since I ended up loving this hotel! Like with WL, it had all that I enjoy with a hotel. Big atrium lobby, a lot of neat artworks all over the hotel, great restaurants (more on those later) and AKL has the added bonus of the various savannas. I booked a standard room, so I wasn't expecting much. But to my surprise, I ended up getting one of those "Secret Savanna" rooms as I had four zebras right outside my window/balcony when I walked in! It was really cool being able to see various animals as I woke up every morning, and even if I didn't and got a standard view, it was very easy spotting animals up close at the main savanna outlooks in the hotel, or in some cases just walking through the hotel and looking out the window! All in all, great hotel and I'd gladly come back here.

Genie+

So, I consider myself lucky I never had to deal with FP+ and the headaches that caused, since Genie+ worked rather fine for me without any abnormal issues. I say that since yes, the app would occasionally glitch on me, but ultimately, I was able to reserve Lightning Lanes with no problems.

Day 1: AK and my introduction to dining at AKL.

First day was pretty relaxed, hitting the main heavy hitters and seeing a few things which weren't open in 2020. Kilimanjaro Safari's remains the best ride in the park for me, the trails are still really good, and Dinosaur is still a nice underrated one for me. As for Pandora, Navi River Journey is s still a decent boat ride which I wish could've been a little bigger. As for Flight of Passage, I finally got to see the whole experience with both pre-shows. The first one with the genetic matching is...um, well that was a direction to take for what's the main headliner for the land. It's no fault of the actor, but it's not the kind of preshow that gets you excited for the ride. Thankfully the second preshow does a better job of doing that. As for the main ride, it's still a nice simulator. I don't think it's the most mind-blowing thing out there, but I'll happily take this over something like Soarin' Around the World.

Lunch was once again at Satu'li Canteen, I went with the chicken with noodles and the charred green onion vinaigrette this time, and this place is still one of the best quick service restaurants on the whole property. They really did this one right!

With the return of live shows, I was able to catch a couple performances of Kite Tales walking around Asia. It makes for a nice little distraction for a few minutes while hanging in the shade and not in the very hot looking amphitheater. I also saw Festival of the Lion King in its new fully indoor theater, which that alone is a wonderful improvement from the simply covered one it had in Camp Minnie Mickey. As for the show, it's still as good as I remembered it!

It's Tough to be a Bug! was a fun little 3D show as usual, and something that's become a twisted little tradition is seeing how many families bolt out of the theater once those black widows drop down. Normally it's a couple, but this time? Around 8 to 10! That's definitely a record for me, it's easily the most people I've seen run in terror from bugs. *HHN Looms in the distance*...for now.

The only downside for the day was that Everest was down, but it happens. I wasn't able to stay the whole day at the park to see if it would reopen due to hotel check in and settling into the room. It probably worked for the better since the skies opened up in the evening and it was MONSOON SEASON (Hi, Jinx!). Man, I haven't seen it rain this hard at the resort in a long while, some of the loudest thunderclaps I've heard, too! It made for an interesting trip over to a friend's place to meet up before dinner. Speaking of which...

Jiko - The Cooking Place

When it comes to restaurants, Jiko has always been on my radar. The menu looked right up my alley, and I've heard nothing but good things from anyone who's been there. I took a friend who's never been along with me, and to put it bluntly...that was the best meal I've had on property so far. Both of us were just blown away, the food was just fantastic, and the service was just as good. We made a meal of it, too. We started with the Duck Confit and Honey-Raisin Flatbread, which was simple yet varied in flavors from the duck and rocket to the harissa and spiced honey. Entree-wise, I had the Botswanan Seswaa Short Rib, while my friend went with the Moroccan Lamb Shank. I could cut my Short Rib with a spoon, and while it tasted great on its own, it was simply heavenly when you paired it with the hominy and sea peas.

As for my friend who had the Lamb Shank, you know the scene in Ratatouille where Anton Ego eats the Ratatouille and gets transported back to his childhood? I saw that happen in real time after his first bite! As it turns out, my friend has been to Morocco before, and that just catapulted him back there in an instant. I've never seen a moment like that in person before, so it was pretty magical.

For a dinner like this, we had to finish with dessert, and we went with the Malva Pudding. A very tasty dish that was light yet satisfying, and the presentation of this dessert is just beautiful. Overall, my friend and I really enjoyed Jiko. It was the perfect way to start the trip and it was a wonderful introduction to the dining offered at AKL.

And that's a good way to end the first part of the TR, next up is a very jam-packed Saturday with Epcot and Hollywood Studios!

 

[Tobias]

Day 2: A return to Epcot, Park Hopping and the Joys of Stacking!

After 17 years, I finally made it back to Epcot! And I made sure to make the most of it by hitting up a lot of the park which I haven't seen in a long while. Since I was able to snag both a I.L.L. for Cosmic Rewind and a LL for Ratatouille, my early entry strategy was sticking to the left side of the park, and it worked pretty darn well! I was able to arrive before they let everyone into WS/Norway, and after only a slight delayed opening on the rides part, it was onto...

Frozen Ever After

This was a pretty cute boat ride with some rather nice AA's here and there. Unlike some others, I wasn't really attached to Maelstrom. So having it replaced by Frozen, an IP I'm not the biggest fan of, was pretty much a lateral move. Though I will say, Frozen is a much bigger IP than the ride itself, it definitely would've benefitted from being made into a bigger ride...which makes it all the more baffling that some other parks are merely cloning this one.

Test Track

This was my introduction to the updated TT, and yeah, it's pretty much Tron lightyears before the actual Tron ride is going to open. I'll admit I do miss the original testing facility theme, since that worked way better for some elements such as the finale. But overall, the ride is still a lot of fun. And the update certainly fixed the absolute cluster that was the loading station. Getting rid of the pre-show rooms was a big help, especially since it makes it all the quicker to get on the ride via Single Rider!

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Around here is when I went on Cosmic Rewind for the first time, and my thoughts are over in the official review thread on the forums. The short of the long version is once you get past all the fluff beforehand, the coaster itself is really fun!

Spaceship Earth

This was my first time riding the current version with the Judy Dench narration. And for me it's a little bit of a mixed bag. For the most part the ascent is fine, I do like the updates it got. Judy is fine with the narration, but the script is a little too cutesy at times, felt like it was trying to shoehorn some concepts into scenes which should've been changed to fit the narration better. Where the ride really falls is ironically the descent, this ride deserves more than a Jib-Jab Mad-Libs finale. Hopefully whenever this ride gets another major refurb, it'll get a complete second half like the previous version had. If not just fix the ride system since you can certainly hear it for most of the ride.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

A cute little ride to get to the aquariums, with a nice finale of the projected characters with the actual aquarium fish. As for the aquarium itself, it's still really nice!

Around this time, I made it to the Land and went back on Living with the Land. Still a nice relaxing boat ride, easily the most gardeners and lab techs I've seen on the ride itself, and I liked the addition of the various Food & Wine festival signs showing what plants go to where. And of course, this ride has one of the most simple yet extra finales. That song just slaps, especially when it gets to the wind section, and it has the girl who looks clearly "thrilled" to be dressed in a tomato outfit, what's not to love?

Fittingly after Living with the Land, it was time to eat, which means...

Food and Wine Festival

Surprisingly, I've never gone to Epcot during any festival before! I know some folks prefer the Diet Epcot with no festival, but I was totally fine checking this out! To make it easy, I'm just gonna' compile all the dishes I had throughout my trip.

From the Swanky, Saucy, Swine. I had the pork shoulder lettuce wrap which was quite good and the Bourbon Bloody Mary, which was also good, especially the big piece of bacon that was the garnish for it.

Over in Japan, I had the Takoyaki which was very good and a perfect little snack portion. And I really liked the Yuzu Lemon Drop as well.

Down by Test Track at the new Fry Basket, I went with the Yucca Fries which was another wonderful snack. If I was more hungry, I would've gone with that Fry Flight which I think they're making a killing of since those were flying out left, right and center!

Dessert-wise, I had to go with the Apple Strudel in Germany, and ooooh, I really liked that one! It was light, yet filling. And both the strudel and vanilla sauce tasted naturally sweet and not overly/cloyingly sweet.

Finally, over in Hawaii I had the SPAM Musubi Nigiri and that was probably my favorite dish of the whole bunch.

That was just a mere fraction of what's available, and I think I made some nice choices.
After a bit of wine, and a bit of booze, it was off to...

Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

To keep this short and simple, this was a really cute ride! Some nice little effects here and there, and the dialogue shifting between English and French wasn't as jarring as I thought it would be. I'm mainly happy this was an honest to god addition to the park and not replacing another attraction which can happen so often, and the new area around the ride looks great!

Gran Fiesta Tour

Continuing the theme of cute little rides, the Gran Fiesta Tour was a nice little boat ride. Definitely had more of a line that El Rio del Tiempo ever did!

Reflections of China

Since I was hanging around Epcot for a while and it was getting quite hot out, I figured I'd give this show a try. It was pretty neat all things considered, and I didn't expect the motion of the film to be that effective, when the whole thing tilts and swoops around, I was holding onto that railing more than I thought I would! Naturally, some of it is a tad dated, but that's par for the course with lots of things at Epcot. But overall, it's a nice film to experience. Hopefully things will have settled down enough soon that we can get word when the new Wonderous China film will debut.

Stacking Genie+

While I was at Epcot, I was trying out the technique of stacking, once again thanks to tips and tutorials from Touring Plans, once the 2 hour from park opening mark went into effect, I was gathering LL's for Hollywood Studios. Starting with a Slinky Dog Dash reservation that was late night, 2 hours later I snagged a Tower of Terror reservation an hour before Slinky, than 2 hrs. later I got a Rock 'n Roller Coaster reservation and hour before ToT. Well before I took the Skyliner to HS, I had three LL's lined up just like that.

After a relaxing trip on the Skyliner, I made quick work of Hollywood Studios.

I hit up Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, this time with the preshow and that honestly completes the whole thing! Overall MMRR is a really cute dark ride and it's grown on me quite a bit, once again I think it's going to be a great addition over at DL!

After that it was Rock n' Roller coaster and ToT, the latter being quite interesting considering a thunderstorm rolled right in, which you can say is either the best or worst setting while riding ToT!

After that, unfortunately I did lose my Slinky Dog reservation since not surprisingly it went down for quite a bit during the storm. But I rolled with the punches and got in line for Rise of the Resistance which first off, I'm so glad I can just get in line for that and not deal with any boarding group B.S. There were no tech issues/breakdowns when I was in line, so everything moved smoothly, I saw all the pre shows and the only effects that weren't working were the Kylo Ren Sled (He just dropped down and turned on his lightsaber before the elevators closed.), and the moving turrets which I've yet to see actually move on the ride. Other than that, Rise is a really fun experience overall. I'm still trying to think if it's one of the best things they've ever done, but it's still very solid.

After Rise, it was a quick trip on Toy Story Mania, and by this time the storm had passed so I was still able to get in line for Slinky Dog Dash before the park closed. A good way to end a very busy day!

Next up is a breezy day through MK, with some very tasty additions.

 

[Tobias]

Day 3: MK, with some Tasty and BRIGHT surprises!

Sunday was MK, and once again early entry at MK never really works for me. By the time I usually get there, the main heavy hitters have a sizable line. But I wasn't deterred, I just hit up It's a Small World with very little wait and rolled with things. After that, I was pretty much hitting up the usual attractions. Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion (which I got to experience the 3D sound in the stretching room which was really nice!), Big Thunder, PotC etc.

Jungle Cruise

This got a very recent update, out with the natives and in with the monkey mayhem. Overall, the updates were totally fine, each one fits well with the ride, and they all have their corny jokes like every other scene. And in the case of the rhino gag, you've got some good visual gags added to the very top. It's a good change!

PhilharMagic

An already good 3D show got a whole new Coco scene squeezed right in, and it's a most welcome addition! The scene is really nice and fits in with everything else save for just a slightly jank cut into the next scene, but it's only minor. All in all, I'm glad for the update since you never see this kind of thing happen with a show like this.

TTA Peoplemover

I'm so glad to have this back, it's one of the better rides to take a nice little break on. Got some good views of Tron construction as well.

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor

That acronym...anyways, got to check this out for the first time and it's a cute little show. Naturally this one really depends on both the performers and the audience, but the ones I had in my show worked really well together, so there were a good number of laughs to be had in here.

For Lunch, I made my way to the Contemporary for a rather new addition!

Steakhouse 71

This is a very swanky new restaurant, love the classic decor and the food really delivered. I had the Bacon & Eggs appetizer and that was friggin' delicious. Everything tasted great on its own, but when you got a little bit of everything together that is a perfect bite right there! I also had the Stack Burger which was very tasty, definitely the kind of burger I was hoping to get at a Steakhouse!

Later for Dinner, I went back to the hotel to try another place I've been wanting to for a while.

Boma: Flavors of Africa

This place gave me the right kind of dilemma, I took a look at everything they have, and I had no idea where to start because it all looks so good! This place has a very good spread, with a lot of items you're not going to find elsewhere. I'm not gonna' go through the entire list of what I had, since just in the salad department alone I had at least 5-6 different items. But everything I had was really good, and those Zebra Domes are a wonderful dessert to finish it all off.

After Dinner, I made my down to Epcot for a few rides and to check out something recent which I've heard plenty of good things about.

Spaceship Earth as a Beacon of Magic

When it was first announced that SSE was going to be getting a whole bunch of LED lights fixed to it, I think the general reaction was a big "Alright then". It's a bunch of lights, neat. But what we all didn't know was, with a bit of good programming and some good music, we were all in for a surprise.

At dusk, the lights come on for the little Beacon of Magic show, which is nice. But the real show kicks in a little while after that, when SSE briefly turns off for its own show, and the Epcot Anthem show it does is simply stunning. When those lights get cranked to max, it's a truly stunning and BRIGHT sight. Pictures and videos don't really capture the effect it holds, everyone around lets out a gasp. It's a short but incredibly sweet little show, and who knew that a bunch of lights would be one of the better things to come out of this 50th anniversary? Granted, that says a lot about the 50th anniversary in general, but I'm glad they did this since it shows there's still a spark here and there.

After that show, it was back to the Magic Kingdom and straight to Space Mountain before Enchantment started, and after a ride through Space it was then a mad dash to Seven Dwarves Mine Train before Enchantment ended! Thankfully I made it there right on time since once that finale hit, there was a mob of folks heading right to the entrance and I avoided a much longer wait for the ride! A couple more rides here and there, and I had a Dole Whip to finish the night off.

Next up is the final day, a good partial one to finish things off, and my general thoughts.

 

[Tobias]

Day 4: A Sweet and Funny finish.

Day 4 was a pretty chill day, mainly hitting up a few things one more time at Hollywood Studios and Epcot and trying a few new things. Star Tours and Muppet Vision are still fun, though I can't help but notice they really don't get much of a line anymore.

For Lunch, I finished the trip off with a place I've never been to before, but one that's always been in the back of my head for quite a while.

50's Prime Time Cafe

This one requires a bit of an introduction. Way back when my family and I first went to WDW, we were deciding on which restaurant to make a reservation at. While the food sounded better at Prime Time, we weren't sure about the gimmick of the servers reminding you to keep your elbows off the table, eat your veggies etc. We went with Sci-Fi Drive-In which had the better sounding concept, since that's right up our alley. Unfortunately, Sci-Fi Drive-In ended up being the only bad time we've had at a WDW restaurant. The theme of the place is great, but we had a server who didn't know the dining plan at all, food came late and or missing, and the food that did come was just...there. The theme is great, but everything else was memorably bad.

In following trips, we mainly stuck with both Hollywood Brown Derby and Mama Melrose's. But between then and now, we would always come across folks who've been to Prime Time and really liked the food. And later we would hear that when it comes to the interactions with the servers, it's very akin to Whispering Canyon Cafe...something which my family and I have loved from day 1. So this place has always been in the back of my head, and I finally was able to snag a reservation to see how it is...

Well, I'm definitely kicking myself since I really enjoyed this place! I had the chicken pot pie which was great (emphasis on the chicken, since these weren't little cubes, these were like big thigh pieces!), as well as the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Layered cake which was a great dessert to finish with. Now as for the interactions with the servers, it is very akin to Whispering Canyon, where there's a lot of character and shenanigans that can go on. And also like with Whispering Canyon, the servers are good at reading the table to know whether to go in or pull back. For the tables around me and myself, we were all in for the theme, so once the food started getting served, things got pretty funny, pretty fast. And it led to one of the funnier CM moments I've seen in a while.

At one table, there was a kid who wasn't eating their veggies, so my server helped them out with that by singing "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and feeding them much to everyone's amusement including the kid. After that, he noticed at another table the Mom of the family wasn't eating her veggies, so he called her out and said "Do I need to sing BIG Bunny Foo-Foo for you, too?!" That got a great reaction out of everyone, and it caught the Mom off guard, who said she was distracted by her phone and she'll eat her veggies. My server playfully ribbed "Oh, I tell you I'll sing and NOW you change your mind? I'm watching you." and then he walks off. Moments later we hear knocking...from outside...

The Dad at the table pulls the window blinds down and the server is standing outside the building, giving the Mom the "I'm watching you" gesture, and she JUMPED. Meanwhile that entire little corner of the restaurant including myself was howling in laughter, it was funny as heck and that Mom was a good sport cuz' she was laughing after that scare. As my server proudly proclaimed, he knows his way around the entire house. All in all, it was a really good time at Prime Time.

After that, it was a trip back to Epcot for one more ride on Cosmic Rewind and a little bit of more Food and Wine before heading home. A nice relaxing way to finish the trip!

General Thoughts

This was my 5th WDW trip, and it was one of the better ones! Even with the restrictions, it was great being able to park hop again. It was really nice seeing a lot of live shows and entertainment back, and it was also good seeing crowds again. They were totally manageable for this trip, and I can now understand why so many places have been booked up this year. Since it felt like a giant chunk of the United Kingdom was on Holiday over here, I ran into a ton of Brits who were finally able to come down on their trip that they booked a couple years ago.

CM's were great as always, any kind of transportation was a breeze, the same can be said for security with the full body scanners you just walk through. It's amazing how Disney went from one of the worst security processes to the best just like that! With the weather, with exception of Friday evening it really didn't rain so things were pretty nice on that front. Though I wouldn't have minded some rain since it did get pretty hot out the whole weekend.

As for the parks, Animal Kingdom is still good but still needs more attractions. Hopefully something to replace Dino-Rama is announced at D23 Expo, but I'm not holding my breath. Hollywood Studios is better, but it still needs work since the Animation Courtyard is still there. The side of the park with Star Tours, Indy and Muppet Vision could use a bit of change up, since it feels like nowadays it's mainly a passageway just to get to Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land.

Epcot still needs work as usual, the opening of the Play! Pavilion will help, but Imagination is still a dead zone, and SSE does need a refurb/change up. More attractions that people want to go to would be appreciated as well. I will say that the whole Connections area looks pretty darn great! Same goes for the unified signage put up.

MK is still the most complete park, and while Tron is something new, I still feel that attraction is arriving a tad late. Not just due to Uni opening Hagrid and setting a very high bar for Motorbike coasters in the area, but Cosmic Rewind is a really good coaster as well and I feel that's better than Tron, since from the looks of things Tron really doesn't have much to it save for really nice-looking trains and Daft Punk music. Though I am certainly looking forward to Tiana's Bayou Adventure!

All in all, I really did enjoy this trip. There's still plenty for me to enjoy whenever I'm here, and I do hope that there's some nice additions announced at D23 Expo which do happen. With WDW, I see myself coming back here every couple of years or so, especially if a new attraction or two opens up. Until then, I look forward to the next time I return!

-Tobias

 

[belloq87]

At dusk, the lights come on for the little Beacon of Magic show, which is nice. But the real show kicks in a little while after that, when SSE briefly turns off for its own show, and the Epcot Anthem show it does is simply stunning. When those lights get cranked to max, it's a truly stunning and BRIGHT sight. Pictures and videos don't really capture the effect it holds, everyone around lets out a gasp. It's a short but incredibly sweet little show, and who knew that a bunch of lights would be one of the better things to come out of this 50th anniversary?

I am genuinely not kidding when I say I think this is one of the best additions of the entire Epcot “transformation.” A simple marriage of inspiring music, light, and beautiful color that somehow feels completely Epcot-y.

Great trip write-up!