Trip Report: 13 Days, 2 Resorts and All The Parks!

Day 2 - Epcot

Woke up at 6:45 to grab Guardians Virtual Queue. Our group was 8 people and 6 (our family) did not want to buy Genie+. We have it for all days since we bought before the June 8, 2022 cutoff and grabbed the whole trip. The plan was to rope drop and go straight to Ratatouille. I was able to get a Guardians Virtual Queue and did not realize that I actually bought it as well, so we were all set to go on that twice. Win (albeit pricey). We also booked Soarin' for 10ish (only for me and DW).

We missed the Epcot bus and the next one said 35 minutes. Hollywood Studios bus came quickly, so we decided we would change plans and jump on that one and hit the back entrance of Epcot. Great plan. But we missed rope drop. We simply did not leave early enough.

By the time we got to Ratatouille, there was already a 2-hour line and we had a LL we had to make. Off we went to Guardians of the Galaxy. Guess we should have waited for the Epcot bus and saved all that walking. My DW decided she did not want to go on Guardians and since that left one extra band, I sat out while our 6 family went. When they got off, I went with my SIL.

This was my second time on the ride. First time I got queasy as I don't do well on rides that spin (think teacups... ugh). I want to love this ride and I do love the beginning before the big spins. I also love the music, et all. But I got queasy again, so I told the family they could take my band when we returned for the Virtual Queue and 2 could go back twice (3 times in one day for 2 of them).



After that, we decided to head to Soarin' as the line said only 45 minutes (per the app). When we got there, it was 80. Ugh. My DW and her sister used my band and went ahead on the ride with our Genie+. I remained in line with my BIL and the 4 kids. We played games in line to pass the time and I had a chance to visit with everyone and just be with family. The kids were great. As always, it was a great ride.

While we waited, my DW and her sister also went on Figment and did some shopping and catching up, so that was a bonus for her to get time alone. After we got off, we all decided to hit Figment as a family and the 8 of us waited about 15 minutes. The parks are crazy busy!!

After the rides, we ate sandwiches we made. Remy was still crazy long line, so we again skipped that one and headed around the World to hit Germany. In Germany, we grabbed some beer and fig vodka shots (mmmmmmm). I ran to the bathroom before we were about to leave and lines must have gotten crossed, when I came out, everyone was gone.

With my backpack.

And my phone.

I figured my DW would know I would head to our Virtual Queue at Guardians, so I headed that way solo. Once there, I did not see them, so I went to one of the blue umbrellas and asked a Cast Member to send a text for me, they gladly did. I met up with my DW and the rest were on the ride. The virtual queue was 45 min at that time, so her and I did a little shopping.

When the family came out, no one wanted to wait again for 45 min, so we just let the 2 expire we had on our bands. Everyone was tired, so we decided to head back to SSR for swimming and dinner, which was about how the rest of the night went. We sent the kids to swim and made dinner. Decided to deliver dinner and eat by the pool, so the kids could swim a tad longer. So we had a picnic at the pool area, which was cool.

After getting everything back and cleaned up, the kids hit the showers, then bed. The adults stayed up and chatted until midnight. All in all, good day with family but the crowds made it hard to get on more rides.

Note: We tried to switch to Epcot as they really wanted to do Remy, but there was no availability so we made a plan to do HS and then hit Epcot at 2 and try again.

Day 4 - Animal Kingdom

Rope drop was a must as we wanted Flight of Passage twice (once on early entry stand-by and then again on a LL. We were up at 5:30 and everyone was standing at the bus stop by 6:15 as we wanted to be in line for the early entry. The bus came around 6:25 and off we went to AK. Arrived before 7 and all 8 of us were in line about 8 in, so all good there. Right at 7, we booked our LL for FoP. So all set for a great day!

FoP is my all time favorite. I could ride it 5x a day eery day while I was at Disney. My family (other than DW) have never been on it and I have been pumping it up, so I was excited we were finally going. Around 7:20 they started letting us into the park. We all got scanned and then the big rush, walk do not run, was in full swing.

Once we got to the bridge area, the CMs walked us the rest of the way and kept things very orderly. We ended up walking the entire time, no stops all the way to the room with the Avatar, so could not have asked for better. Took about 20 min total including the walk to get on the ride. All 8 of us were in one room and we were hooping and hollering before, during and after the ride. It never disappoints. Everyone clapped and said it was awesome. My SIL kept saying she was still "processing."



After the ride, we decided to quickly head over for the safari before the park opened and the line got long. As we walked over, the line for FoP was all the way to Africa and then wrapped back around. The app said 90 min wait. Uh no. More like 3 hours or more. It did update to 145 min about 30 minutes later. We stopped checking but wow was that line long.

Safari was basically a walk-on and we were able to see everything except no giraffes, which was a first. However, the male lion was perched up on the high rock in full display, and the females were also both out where we could see them. That was awesome. Our guide was also very very good. She talked about the Elephants how they dislike bees, so now farmers were raising bees in order to keep elephants away. That was new info.



After the safari, we headed back over to FoP for our 2nd flight and everyone again loved it. My SIL said she enjoyed it even more the 2nd time, since she could actually enjoy knowing what was coming and just look around. I enjoy it after my 50th time!! LOL Love this ride. After our 2nd ride, we shopped in the Pandora shop and then we went out and bought everyone drinks and cheese/pineapple snacks. The kids loved the fun drinks with "banshee eggs" and we enjoyed our run drinks and green beer.

Next up, we went over to the Yeti to see if the standby line was bad. It said 40 min, so we jumped in line and waited. My DW opted out and waited for us. I had not been on this ride in some time, so was not sure how I felt about it. Turns out, it is a but intense and has some round sections, which I don't do well on. I did ok and I do love the big drop, but this is one I would pass on most of the time. The kids and rest of family loved it.

From here, we went on over to have some lunch before catching the Birds of Prey. Lunch at the stand by the bird show, it was good. And so was the bird show. They brought back the old show without the UP characters. I like this version better. We had really good seats.

After the show, some folks wanted to go back on Yeti. Me, DW and SIL decided to go watch the Macaw Parrot show by the tree. We LOVE watching these birds, they are so majestic.

After the show and ride, we all met up at the tree and called it a day at the parks. Headed back, had some food and played the new game we bought at Star Wars land. Great day.

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom

I set the alarm for 6:45 and got up to book our LL FoP plus a Safari. It has been busy and we really want a good Safari. After booking, reset alarm and grabbed another 90 minutes to get well rested. Woke up feeling great, ate breakfast and then left for the bus. Bus took a bit but we got there and headed over to Africa to get on our Safari first. We had a LL, which was good, since the line was already 30 min.

This time, plenty of giraffe (I posted a pic from today in the previous Safari collage) and NO lions. Our guide was not the best, he did not pause much for pics.



After the safari, it was time for our FoP ride, so off we went. I simply LOVE LOVE LOVE this ride. My #1 fav. It was especially good - maybe it was placement or mood, either way, love the ride. Always a thrill. After the ride, it was lunch, so we decided to hit Satu'li Canteen. There was a 30-min wait, so we grabbed some drinks and got a table.

There are a few new items on the menu due to Avatar: Way of The Water, so we tried those. The first was the Ocean Moon Bowl, which is Blue Noodles, Tuna, Watermelon Radish, Pickled Daikon, Rainbow Carrots, Avocado, Cucumbers, and Red Cabbage with Miso and Sweet Soy Drizzle topped with Micro Cilantro. It looked good so DW got that and said it was delicious. I got beef and drank my margarita with Banshee eggs.



After lunch we walked the animal trail and there was a lot of gorilla activity! We also went to Rafiki's and went to the petting zoo and visited with the animals. Very casual walk and just a nice afternoon. The weather could not be better. We then walked over toward the Yeti and shopped in the shops over there. DW found a sweatshirt she liked and bought it.

We also hit "It's Tough to Be a Bug" as we had not been on that in forever as well. So much fun but some of the little kids were terrified (screams and shouts at the right times). Never thought this ride was good for little ones, kinda scary. I forgot the bugs at the end on the seats. Laughed.

After that, we decided to call it a day and head back. We are still tired from the hard 3-day "run" with the family and kids, so just wanted to rest. We ate again at the resort, as we still had food to finish. Called it an early night.

Nice! Good to see you here!

Great trip report and pictures!

Wow, great TR! Nice, long trip so you can take it easy. So nice to have a rest day as well.

If you don't mind me asking -- what is that site you're using as your image host? I went to dvcations.com and it's just your trip report directory, and doesn't look like it's set up as a website or anything.