Trip Log:

I was up early and finished up packing.  Unfortunately a few bands of rain were forecasted so I stuck around the Boardwalk to let them pass through vs being out in the parks and getting wet.   By a little after 9am the rain had mostly cleared so I set off for EPCOT.  Decided to stop by France and use single rider for Ratatouille which turned out to be a walk on.   Once back outside it started to drizzle a bit so I found a bench under and awning to sit and let it blow through.  Then I set out walking around World Showcase.  Paused again in Germany for some more rain then continued around to World Discovery and World Celebration.    Back to World Showcase to wrap up my tour with Canada and the United Kingdom.  Exited the park at the International Gateway and walked back to the Boardwalk.  Returned to my room to meet the rest of my group and pick up our bags.  Spent some time in the lobby then out to meet the bus back to the airport. No delays checking in so grabbed a bite to eat in the food court. No delays with TSA either. Found a spot to wait then boarded the flight back to Los Angeles.

Thoughts & Observations:

• Today is the last day of my visit and time to pack up and head home. The weather forecast called for some passing showers early this morning then some clearing.   I did not want to get wet or deal with rain before my flight, so I opted to spend the morning in the room packing up and waiting out the rain. It was due to end around 9am.
• Disney has started a small scale return of the airport checkin/luggage service. Right now it is at the value resorts and only for Southwest.  So it was no help to me.   I always found this to be a great service not having to deal with getting your bags to the airport and bypassing the airline checkin counters.   Maybe by my next visit the service will be more broadly available.
• We had a 12:15pm bus pick up today.   We asked at the front desk and the gave us an extended check out to 11:45am so we did not have to hassle with checking our bags for a few hours and could leave them in the room.
• The rain showed up as predicted so my decision not to go to a park early looked to be right.  The radar was looking more favorable in the 9am hour so after spending some time walking around the boardwalk I decided to walk over to EPCOT for a few hours.  That seems the safest thing to do to not have to rely on any transportation.
• I decided to take a walk around World Showcase.   First stop France. Ratatouille single rider turned out to be a walk on which was a nice way to start my visit.   As I exited I could feel some drizzle so I sought cover and watched a light rain blow through.  Once it did I set off visiting Morocco, Japan, the American Adventure area and Italy.  It started to drizzle again so I sought cover near Germany and watched it blow through.  Once it did I continued my lap around the park.
• This morning Test Track was cycling cars so I caught a few glimpses of them as I walked through World Discovery.  Star Lord was also out this morning greeting guests near Cosmic Rewind.
• Returned to the Boardwalk by 11:30 to meet the rest of my group and get out of the room by 11:45am.  
• Our bus showed up on time and we headed to the airport no other stops after.  We shifted our bus to one 30 minutes earlier than scheduled to allow for extra time.  Of course that meant everything today went faster than usual and we ended up with a lot of extra time.   For example the bus pulled into one of the first spots right next to an elevator. Went up the elevator and we were at the Delta checkin which had only one person in line.  We ate lunch in the food court and had no delays and even the TSA screening only had a few people in front of us. 
• Our gate assignment was one of the gates at the end of the concourse where there are a handful of gates and not a lot of seating. The area was congested as usual.  Our gate was changed then as the inbound plane was arriving. It was moved to the 90s so we had to walk to the opposite end of the terminal.   I had not been down there and this section was much less congested and seemed more recently renovated than the other.   Our plane showed up but there was no ground crew to guide it in so there was a delay there. We boarded only slightly late but then had to sit and wait for fuel and for catering.  They actually closed the door on time and pulled the jetway away but we sat there waiting for the catering truck which finally was able to show up.
• The flight home was uneventful and due to favorable winds we arrived a few minutes early even.    I was disappointed as usual with the Delta meal options.   I find it odd you order a full meal like short ribs and they do not have a roll or bread with it.  I was hoping to have the option of a Shake Shack Burger but no such luck as I was heading the wrong direction (the LAX outbound afternoon flights have that option now).
• No delays getting our bags. The bus to the parking lot was very full and crowded but it was a minimal wait.  Even traffic going home was better than expected and we reached home just after 9pm.

Pedometer Information for the day:

	Part 1 - EPCOT Spent my final park hours taking a lap of EPCOT while trying to stay out of the rain. 3 Images Per Page Our traditional format with medium size images and you can click to enlarge 1 Large Image Per Page A large image and you can navigate using buttons on the screen or your arrow keys Mobile Device Friendly One image per page and you can swipe
	Part 2 - Travels Home My trip back to Orlando Airport and home to Los Angeles. 3 Images Per Page Our traditional format with medium size images and you can click to enlarge 1 Large Image Per Page A large image and you can navigate using buttons on the screen or your arrow keys Mobile Device Friendly One image per page and you can swipe

Addition Blog Picture Posts from today:

• All My Picture Posts from Tuesday, April 8, 2025