07Jul18 Blizzard Beach and Disney Springs

When we were planning our week at Disney and factored in our late arrival, we decided to start the vacation on a "slow" pace. The 4 theme parks are always a draw for us as we enjoy them, but spending our first day at Blizzard Beach water park allowed us to rest after our travel day. Our morning started out with quick service breakfast meals from our resort, but as mentioned above, we had a slight issue with our dining plans. Seems that the dining plan for 5 of the 7 of us did not transfer correctly so I had to stop at Guest Services to get things straightened up while the other 6 were chosing their meals. Within 5 minutes of explaining the history of the bookings and that 5 of us were paying for our meals this morning, the cast member I was working with said not to worry, go enjoy my breakfast and she will come find me as soon as she has the reservations updated. It was not more than 10 mins when she came into the dining area, advised me that our dining plan was now updated and when we finished our meals to bring the 5 receipts (paid meals) back to her and she will refund the cost. It's "magic" like this that puts a Walt Disney World vacation in a category on it's own.

By 9am we were on the Disney bus heading to Blizzard Beach and our excitment was building. We couldn't wait to hit the wave pool, lazy river, family raft, as many individual slides as possible (including Summit Plummet for some) and of course soaking up some Florida sun. With so many slides at this water park and a lazy river that offers a few “surprises” it’s always tough to name a favorite, but I have to say the Toboggan Racers offered some great challenges amongst our group.

The evening was just a quick hop to Disney Springs where we headed to dinner at Splitsville. This was our first meal at this restaurant which is a full service bowling alley, bar and music venue. The meal was outstanding with huge portions for everyone. The highlight has to be the nachos that were shared between 5 of us and with just a slight dent made. Dessert, well we were already full from our entrees, but our server made some suggestions and let’s just say we can’t thank him enough!

08Jul18 Hollywood Studios and the new Toy Story Land

Our first park was on the itinerary for today and as we headed out from Art of Animation, there was a buzz for both the traditional rides, but also the new Toy Story Land had just opened on 30Jun18. By staying at a Walt Disney Resort, we had the opportunity to pre-book 3 fast passes for each day and the new Slinky Dog coaster was going to be waiting for us at 6:40pm. So you may be thinking, how are you going to spend all day in the smallest theme park….the answer is easy, take your time and enjoy what the park has to offer! On arrival, we witnessed the march of the storm troopers and even if you aren’t a star wars fan, it’s still an impressive/interactive event that you must experience. Our first fast pass for the day was Tower of Terror and even though a few in our party were “feeling” the coming drop, we were fired up. On our way to the “hotel” we were stopped just outside the movie theatre where 3 “park guests” were trying to decide what movie to watch that day. Let’s just say, the decision was very entertaining as there was some very unique twists on what I believed were some classic movies. In the end, I believe no movie was going to be seen and Paige found out about her “surprise” birthday party as the 3 of them headed down the road still “discussing” their relationship.

On to Tower of Terror with a short fastpass line waiting for us, yet the nerves started to get the better of one of our group, my youngest son. What many people miss out when the “nerves win” is that the ride lines are entertaining to themselves with an opportunity to “walk away” from the ride at the last moment. I encourged him to follow through the queue and as the rest of our party boarded their elevator, we were escorted to the switch rider waiting area. This area allows the “nerves” to settle and when the group returns, we have the opportunity to “switch” so up to 3 people can return on the ride without going through the queue again…a great concept that Walt Disney World came up with.

Next on the list was a visit to Toy Story Land where we entered Andy’s backyard and viewed the world from the perspective of toys. Toy Story Mania was our next Fastpass and it’s a ride that really brings out the laughs/competition with everyone in your group. Let’s just say, if you play right, you just might not feel your shoulder for an hour afterwards. We skipped out of Andy’s backyard and headed to a Galaxy Far Far Away as we took on Star Tours, a classic ride with a new twist. Since it was pushing 34 degrees plus humidity, we opted for a cool rest stop and a bite to eat followed by some more time in air condition by checking out Frozen, A Sing A Long. Don’t think this is just for young kids who want to sing the classic “Let It Go”, this is a full production with laughs, songs and a few surprises for all ages.  Other stops were at the Muppets 4-D movie and Indiana Jones Stunt show which brought us to late afternoon and it was off to dinner at Hollywood and Vine. This is a buffet dinner with 5 characters that you get to meet, but a great perk is the Fantasmic Dining package which allowed us VIP tickets to Fantasmic without lining up.

After dinner it was off to take in Alien Encounter and then the new Slinky Dog coaster…both impressed me, but I have to say Slinky Dog coaster is so smooth that it can rival the coasters in the other parks. The night ended with us heading to Fantasmic where we had centre row seats for the show which is something I recommend everyone to checkout. While we waited for the show to begin, there was an opportunity for a few of us to meet up with Aerosmith on Rock’N’Roller Coaster because of our VIP tickets to Fantasmic. Let’s just say the “LA highway” did not disappoint and the only coaster that loops in Walt Disney World brought a lot of laughs and good pictures. The only thing we missed was the Star Wars Fireworks, but you always have to leave something to bring you back another day!

09Jul18 Typhoon Lagoon

So after a day in a theme park, resting your feel/legs can’t be beat by heading to Walt Dsiney World’s wn water park, Typhoon Lagoon. This is the original water park and it truly is all about the Wave Pool here. Zero entry to 8 feet deep, you find your comfort spot and get ready for a monster wave that will “take you for a ride”. If you enjoyed the first wave, well get ready again as the waves roll every 90 seconds! There are some “rest points” in the wave pool as every 30 mins there is a break were only 2-3 foot swells come along allowing you to “bounce” your time away. If you are looking for some further “rush”, then head over to Crusher Gusher where 3 slides are ready to take you on a coaster experience as you find yourself being launched up hills along with some great drops. The newest slide in the park is Capt May’s Adventure which is a raft ride for up to 4 people. Get ready for some great twists, turns and drops, but keep an eye out as you may just find some treasure along the way. If you prefer to slow things down, then once again, head to the lazy river which will have you watching the clouds float by as you drift around the entire park in just under 1 hour. When it comes to dining at Typhoon Lagoon, there are a few spots to choose from, but on this trip, we opted to snack the day away as we had dinner reservations at ‘Ohanas tonight. One of the top snacks…the ice cream sand pail and let’s just say everyone that saw it instantly had a smile on their face along with asking where can they get one!

Tonight was one of the highlights of the trip as we were all looking forward to dining at ‘Ohanas, located in the Polynesian Resort. This meal is an all you can eat, family style, served buffet that will leave you wanting more. Just after sitting down at our table, the meal begins with large bowls of salads, breads and appertizers arriving before our waiters could even get our drinks. The main entrée, well let’s just say how often does a 3 foot scewer arrive at your table with the waiter asking how many pieces of steak do you want, but still sliding an extra 3-5 pieces off. Then every minute or so after that, the waiter is back with another skewer of chicken followed by shrimp and the rotation continues until you really have to “wave him off” as you are ready to burst. Let’s not forget, dinner can not end without dessert so loosen up the belt as you don’t want to miss out bread pudding that will leave you breathless.

10Jul18 The world awaits – Epcot

Back to the theme parks today and we continued with a journey around the world with Epcot. Split into 2 sections, Future World, where you find attractions such as Soarin’, Mission Space, Test Track, Turtle Talk, the Living Seas and a few more along with World Showcase where you can learn, dine, drink yourself around the world with 13 countries. Our day had us start “slower” by arriving in Epcot around 10:30am and headed towards World Showcase to checkout the Frozen ride located in Norway. Let’s say we all enjoyed this unique visit to Arendale with the bonus of staying out of the heat for about 25mins. After Norway we hopped to Mexico where you enter a local Mexican town complete with a market place and dining. There’s also another opportunity to “sail” through Mexico with the 3 Calaberos in search of Donald Duck who seems to be missing. With the temps pushing 34 degrees, the perk to Epcot is most of the attractions are indoors so we headed off to Test Track (had some technical issues so we will have to return another day), Mission Space where we split into 2 groups for an orbit around Earth for those of us that wanted to take it easy while the others headed to Mars with a little more “danger”. Soarin’ was next on our list and let’s just say, it’s a ride that we could do again and again! Another great way to beat the heat is to spend some time in the Living Seas where you can watch dolphins, sharks, turtles, stingrays and hundreds of other fish from “inside” their world. There is also the Nemo ride which is a cute way to see Nemo and his friends as you glide by in your “clam mobile”. With this trip, we had the park hopping feature so we decided today was a great day to hop back to Hollywood Studios for dinner at 50s Prime Time Café. What was great about hopping today was taking advantage of the Walt Disney World boats as we sailed from Epcot through the Boardwalk Area and over to Hollywood Studios in just under 30 mins. What better way to rest some tired feet and beat the heat.

12Jul18 – Animal Kingdom

Being our final park to visit, there was a buzz as we were all looking forward to seeing the animals, but the Pandora, The World of Avatar was the priority. We had a fastpass for Flight of Passage which currently has to be the best ride in all of Walt Disney World and possibly the Orlando area. There are long lines for the ride, but it truly is so worth the wait and the queue line is very entertaining so you won’t be disappointed. One tip…once on the ride, take a second to actually look around to your left, right and immediately above/below you. There is a “rest point” in the ride that allows you the time to look around. The Kilimanjaro Safari ride was a great chance to see a few of the animals very close to your safari truck. I would suggest trying the safarai 2-3 times throughout the day as you really see different things each time. For the roller coaster lovers, it’s Expedition Everest and our group had a mix of seasoned and new riders so that was so much fun watching the reaction. The front of the train offers some great views, but if it’s about “action”, you want to sit at the back and remember, just go with the flow to truly enjoy the speed. For meals, we stopped at Flametree BBQ for a midday snack where it really is all about BBQ. The seating area is very large here so make your way to the back for some great views and quiet time. Dinner was at Rainforest Café which is located at the front of the park. The meal was one of the best during the trip and desert…well let’s say you want to leave room. After dinner was back into the park for Kali River Rapids for a raft ride that allows you to cool off.