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Trip Log:
Started my day with a leisurely breakfast at Chronos Club and then headed out to the Magic Kingdom. We ended up with our own bus to the park and arrived just as the rope drop was happening. Followed the crowd into Tomorrowland and walked onto Buzz Lightyear then the PeopleMover. Walked around through Fantasyland and waited a couple minutes for it’s a small world then strolled along the Rivers of America and through Frontierland. Boarded the Walt Disney World Railroad. Disembarked at Main Street Station to catch the Dapper Dans. Made our way up Main Street and through Adventureland to reach Frontierland. Caught the 11am Country Bear Jamboree and then roamed around before deciding to head to Columbia Harbour House for an early lunch. After lunch watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade from Frontierland. Walked back through Adventureland and down Main Street USA. Exited and boarded a Ferry to the TTC then a Monorail to Epcot. Since we could not park hop yet caught a bus back to Coronado Springs and relaxed in the Chronos Club for a while. Set out for Disney’s Hollywood Studios next. Arrived during the heat of the day and the lines were more than our patience. Decided to take a walk around the park stopping at One Man’s Dream then passed through Toy Story Land, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and the Echo Lake area before returning to Hollywood Blvd. Decided we were done at the Studios. Took the Skyliner over to Epcot and strolled around World Showcase and World Celebration. Stopped by Connections Café then set off on a loop around World Showcase starting in Canada. Stopped by the bakery in France and ate in Morocco. Stopped by Japan and tried out the Ducktales game. Saw a few songs of Flock of Seagulls then continued on around taking topiary pictures. Walked through the Shanghai Disneyland gallery and then ended up back by the 50th statues. Tried out a MagicBand+ and then strolled around World Celebration a bit as I headed toward the front of the park. Watched the first Beacon of Magic then caught a bus back to Coronado Springs. Decided to disembark at the first stop and walk through the resort to get back to the room. From our room watched Epcot Forever then called it an early night.
Thoughts & Observations:
- Continuing my Chronos Club breakfast thoughts.. today the offerings were back to the same as the first day. So it appears there is a two day rotation of offerings. They are not bad but as I have said before I would really like to see some type of waffle, pancake or French toast.
- We had great bus luck to reach the Magic Kingdom this morning. Walked out and a bus showed up. No one else got on and we pulled away. So had a private transport to the park arriving just before park opening. This was odd to see. Also we commented how if we needed to get somewhere we would never have this good of luck but since I had no plans or time commitment things went smoothly.
- We reached the hub and made our way to the resort early entry just as they stopped scanning and the rope dropped for everyone again.
- Decided to visit Buzz Lightyear first, not sure why… the attraction has seen better days and really could use an update. It would be nice to see it updated to at least the Disneyland version of the blasters… ideally to the Shanghai version of the attraction.
- We had decent timing and were ahead of the crowd it seemed as we visited our first attractions of the morning. As we disembarked the queues behind us for Buzz, PeopleMover and it’s a small world were all substantial where we basically walked onto each.
- I wanted to enjoy some entertainment at the park today but the only live entertainment on the schedule were the Dapper Dans and of course the set I stopped by to watch they were on the Trolley which meant I got to see them for a minute. There was no Main Street Philharmonic performances listed and no other groups.
- The Country Bears did not open until 11am. We were there for the first show of the morning which was maybe half full. Always nice to see the bears even in their abbreviated show.
- For lunch we went to Columbia Harbour House. I still find it annoying that the cast members are out front telling you to mobile order but you cannot order some items on the mobile menu. For example if you want just shrimp or fish you have to go to the register. You can order just chicken but other than that you have to get the trio on the app. Luckily the line was short since we were there before noon.
- Festival of Fantasy Parade is still missing several performers. After seeing Magic Happens at Disneyland with a full cast and a lot of energy it was disappointing to see this parade. On the plus side though they still have a number of Cavalcades in addition to the two parades daily.
- The 2pm Park Hopping restriction really annoys me. We finished lunch and were ready to go elsewhere but could not for a couple hours still. We ended up taking a round about way back to the resort to check out the afternoon offerings at the Chronos Club.
- Not sure why but we decided to head to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the afternoon. Wait times were longer than my patience and there was nothing going on but we still went in the heat of the day. I did one loop of the park and decided I had enough and we headed for the Skyliner. There was a definite lack of shade throughout the park and a lot of guests moving around and long waits for the few attractions in the park.
- World Showcase was busy as you would expect for a Friday night.
- The big news at Epcot is more Harmonious equipment had been removed. Only two LCD barges remained in the lagoon.
- I had some time so I decided to give the Disney’s DuckTales World Showcase Adventure a try. This is an interactive game in the PlayDisney App that is similar to previous ones in World Showcase where you can trigger effects in various countries. I decided to try the Japan mission since I was nearby. I thought the game consisted of a lot of reading and a little action. The effects did work and were a little interesting but overall the game was not that engaging for me. I want to try it again on a future visit with my nephews.. I think they are much closer to the target demographic.
- Spent some time trying out a MagicBand+. I walked up to several of the 50th Anniversary gold statues and had the PlayDisney app on. After some random waving the sound effect did trigger but the app did not log the visit. I had to walk away and back several times and fiddle with the app and wave to get it to trigger and notice I was there. While doing this a number of other guests did walk up to give them a try and they all had similar experiences. It was very random when it would trigger sound. No one else was using the app, most did not even know you could. Once I explained it none were interested in trying it either.. they just waved their band. If it worked they listened if not they shrugged and moved on.
- I called it an early evening and headed back to the resort as the sun was setting. Had ok bus luck again and no delays returning. I opted to disembark at the first stop at Coronado Springs (which is stop #2). I wanted to get some pictures of the resort and see how long the walk was from this stop. It is a good walk. If I would have walked at a faster pace and not stopped for pictures I may have beaten the bus around but it would have been close.
- From my room I was able to see the Fantasmic fireworks with no problem. Seeing Epcot Forever was a tad more challenging with the angle and reflections. You could see them but my pictures did not come out well. I probably should have gone upstairs to the Chronos Club for a better view but I was working on some posts and wanted to relax.
Pedometer Information for the day:
| Steps |
22,428 |
| Miles |
10.27 |
| Walking Time |
3:38 |
Addition Blog Picture Posts from today:
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