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Trip Log:
Started off my morning with breakfast in the Chronos Club then headed down to the bus stop around 8:15am. I arrived at Disney’s Animal Kingdom about 30 minutes later. The Safari was showing a 15 minute wait so headed that way. It took just over 15 minutes thanks to a good 5 minute pause, seems some animals were in the road as Lightning Lane was stopped too. After our Safari walked through Gorilla Falls then boarded a train out to Conservation Station. Took a look around then returned to Harambe. Next stop Asia. Found a spot to try and catch the Space X Launch, saw a little of it, then walked through the Jungle Trek. Decided to quickly return to Africa and made it into The Festival of the Lion King with just a few minutes to spare before the 11am show. Wandered through the Tree of Life Garden and then Dinoland USA. Continued around by Everest and decided to stop at Yak & Yeti for lunch. After lunch we were leaving the park and saw the Safari had a 15 min wait posted so walked out there. It turned out to be a near walk on. Then returned to the bus stops and caught one back to Coronado Springs Stopped by the Chronos Club for a snack and to relax. Then the room to switch out some items before catching a bus to the Magic Kingdom. First up a grand circle tour of the park aboard the Walt Disney World Railroad. Then walked out to Tomorrowland for the PeopleMover. Spent some time walking around the TRON area and through Fantasyland. Circled the castle then stopped by Sleepy Hollow for a snack then went for a cruise on the Liberty Belle. Once back ashore strolled through Frontierland and checked out some of the work going on there. Passed through Adventureland and the hub to return to Tomorrowland. Spent some time in the TRON area checking it out after dark. Around 8:40 decided to head for Main Street and find a spot for Happily Every After. Once the fireworks concluded joined the mass of guests exiting the park and boarded a bus back to Coronado Springs to call it a night.
Thoughts & Observations:
- The plan was to sleep in today… I was up and moving around by 7am though.
- Stopped by the Chronos Club just after 7:30 for breakfast. Our timing was better and the club was mostly empty. The continental breakfast was an average selection. I would have liked to have seen some French toast, waffles, pancakes but maybe those will come on a later day. Also they had sausage as the meet but no bacon. The croissants and bread I ate were all very fresh. I did not try the muffins or pastry.. my taste is more plain than what they had available. It will be interesting to see what changes from day to day.
- We had good bus luck and total travel time from walking down to the bus stop until walking into Animal Kingdom was about 25 minutes including waiting for a bus, travel time, security, and park entry lines.
- The Kilimanjaro Safari line was at 15 minutes and took us about 18 minutes due to a stoppage of almost 5 minutes, assuming animals on the roadway. We were near where the trucks pass under and none came for several minutes. Our trip was average. There were a fair number of animals out and moving around. We did get to see a croc snap at a bird (missed the picture though since I was not focused on the area since the crocs usually do not do anything).
- Walked through Gorilla Falls and took the Train out to Conservation Station. Nothing of note from either. I still wish you could get the vet schedule online or posted before boarding the train.
- There was a SpaceX launch from KSC this morning so we made a point to head to a spot that had a clear view east. This turned out to be in Asia looking toward Everest. One other family had the same idea and was standing near us watching the stream of the launch and then looking. We were able to see it for a few seconds but it was not that good due to the lighting/clouds/etc.. unfortunately.
- Stopped by the Festival of the Lion King and it is great to see the full show back, even the kids participation is back. After all these years the show continues to pack in full houses all day long which is great to see.
- Just after noon we decided to go to Yak & Yeti for lunch. The line was out the door but we decided to see how long. They were telling guests between 30-40 minutes depending on party size. With the Landry’s card our wait turned out to be under 5 minutes. We had a great table by the window on the second floor and a good experience overall.
- As we were leaving the park I checked the wait times on the app and it showed a 15 minute wait for the Safari again. We decided to go for a second ride and it turned out to be a 5 minute wait only. They were filling an accessible truck and had more space so we were directed up there. This meant a little longer to disembark and a little more time on the truck. There were a good number of animals out and moving around again.
- We decided to go back to Coronado Springs to regroup before the evening and stopped by the Chronos Club to see the Light Snacks offerings. The club was quiet so it was nice to enjoy the view, have something to drink and some snacks.
- Next up was the Magic Kingdom. We had to wait a few minutes for a bus to arrive so it took almost 30 minutes from walking down to the bus stop until I was inside the Magic Kingdom.
- The 50th Anniversary decorations are mostly gone and Disney 100 decorations are taking their place throughout the parks. The Magic Kingdom has a Disney 100 sign at the park entrance with the Floral Mickey Mouse. This sign looked a tad odd and out of place to me.
- It was great to see the Walt Disney World Railroad back in operation after way too many years being closed due to TRON construction. That was our first choice and we went for a grand circle tour of the park. Most of the trip is as it has always been. The new tunnel and TRON integration are not that interesting. I would have liked to have seen something done inside the tunnel vs just a plain tunnel.
- Next up is my other go to attraction, the People Mover to get a relaxing look at Tomorrowland. I always enjoy the views and just sitting back and watching the world cruise by.
- Spent some time walking around/through the TRON area next. It is kind of out of the way and isolated. It is not well integrated and the views did not seem as impressive as what I remember Shanghai being like. All the metal railings and fences really stuck out and were not impressive. Shanghai has more glass and sweeping vistas. It seems odd to me that most of the queue is outside and exposed to the elements. A portion is covered but a large portion is just wrapping on the walkway.
- Rounding out my transportation trifecta this visit went for a cruise on the Liberty Belle. It is always nice to cruise the Rivers of America on a comfortable evening.
- Revisited TRON after dark to see how the lights were. Again the Magic Kingdom version came up short compared to Shanghai. It looks ok but it no where near as impressive. The Shanghai version is much more integrated into the land and the translucent canopy was much more interesting to see.
- Found a spot on Main Street USA near the Cinema for Happily Ever After. It was nice to see the show back. I do enjoy it much more than Disney Enchantment. I was disappointed in the Main Street projections though. They were very hard to see and just did not seem to plus the show from my vantage point. Also the speakers seemed to just be blaring the soundtrack and it sounded distorted at times which did not enhance the experience at all.
- The bus ride back was a tad slow. I showed up at the bus stop about 9:20 and a bus pulled up but they had to switch drivers. I arrived back at the Gran Destino Tower at 9:55pm.
Pedometer Information for the day:
| Steps |
22,869 |
| Miles |
10.47 |
| Walking Time |
3:44 |
Addition Blog Picture Posts from today:
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