My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

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ImagineerWannabe
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My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Sat 04, 2020 2:04 pm

A trip report was requested over in the Games section (those who don't play should check it out. There's a great round of favourite historical attractions going on right now at Disney Survival Game) on my March trip.
Since I have some time today I thought I'd try writing one again. Here goes!

Night 1:
We went to check out the new Riviera Resort. Wow!! From the lovely flowers...
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to the mosaics by the fountain...
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to the view from the restaurant from the top floor (we didn't eat, just went to check out the view)...
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it's really pretty. The chairs on the balconies even have an "RR" logo formed into the backs.
The lobby wasn't anything super special but the posters around the hallways were neat. I've never seen Inside Out, but I enjoyed the cute poster of the movie in French.
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We took a Skyliner ride over to EPCOT. It paused a few times on the way and the second time seemed to last a while, but we eventually got moving again. We arrived just in time to catch the fireworks from outside the park.
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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Sat 04, 2020 3:22 pm

Day 2:

Shopping and Disney hotel touring day. We planned a day before hitting the parks this trip to check out some fancy hotels we haven’t visited in probably decades.

First up, Downtown Disney (or Disney Springs now I suppose. Old habits.)
I love this Spaceship Earth dress! Who doesn't want to wear a geodesic sphere? :)
But all the Cherry Tree Lane designs are a bit pricey for my budget and I don’t really have anywhere to wear it. So I admired and walked on.
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We started out hotel tour at the Grand Floridian. We caught the piano player in the lobby. He was alternating between classical piano and Disney songs.
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There is also a small band that plays from about 4pm all the way to almost 10pm! I’d forgotten how impressive this hotel is. We even saw some pre-wedding photos being taken with a groom and best man on our way out to check out the pool area and grounds. It was a busy place!

Leaving we got Monorail Black
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which also has a reminder of the colour on the carpet behind the seats.
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We travelled in several other colours over our days at Disney and no other monorail had this nice stylistic little addition.

Next stop, the Contemporary. I really like this picture, except that lamp post cutting right through it :)
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We didn’t stay here long. Compared to the Floridian there wasn’t much going on in the lobby. We did go by the Contempo Cafe bakery section and drool over the cupcakes though.

But even without getting any dessert there, “all was not lost”, because we were ending at the Polynesian, which comes with Dole Whip!
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The twist flavour wasn’t working but the server was doing her best and offered vanilla at the core surrounded by the pineapple. She did a good job and yum!

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by Amy » Apr Mon 06, 2020 9:43 am

How fun ~ loving seeing your photos and looking forward to more soon!

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by horizons1 » Apr Mon 06, 2020 1:21 pm

Hooray, a trip report. Now that the parks are closed, this is even more needed. The lamp post in the Contemporary picture looks like you're circling part of the mural!

I didn't realize the Riviera Resort had a restaurant on the top floor - that is cool. What's the menu?
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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Mon 06, 2020 7:46 pm

Haha, we didn't even look at the menu. We were too busy checking out the view :)

I can't remember what the recommended size was for pictures so if I'm exceeding it let me know and I can get them smaller.

Working on the next day now. Stay tuned!

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Mon 06, 2020 9:18 pm

Day 3:

This morning started very early! Animal Kingdom opened at 8am for extra hours and we made it for 8. I couldn’t get a FP for Flight of Passage even though I only needed one (it’s not my parents thing), so I was attempting to do it first. That strategy didn’t work very well. The line extended all the way to Africa and then looped back to the Pandora entrance. It took 2 hours to get through. I did get some nice queue pictures. This is my desktop background on my work computer at the moment.
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I’m very glad that Animation Academy has found a new home. I was worried about getting in, but the attraction fits way more people than it did at DHS. Lots of space now. We ended up drawing Hopper. I’ve never seen A Bug’s Life and am partial to the cute, cuddly characters, but it turned out pretty well. I was attempting to put the grasshopper in his natural habitat and didn't notice the shadows. There is another antenna, it's just hiding :)
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We got to the Safari in the early afternoon and the lions were out! Usually pride rock is empty but there was both a lion sleeping (not quite tonight), and the female prowling around.
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I had managed to get FP for Navi River so we did that and caught the Lion King show. I ended up seated on the benches on the floor. I’ve never been that close before. I don’t know how the monkey’s keep from getting chalk dust in their eyes. The chalk clouds are quite large pretty much every time they move! I just enjoyed the show so no pictures.

That was it for AK. Back to All Star Sports to get pizza for dinner. We weren’t expecting the pizza to be a rectangle and bigger than the old circle. We got it anyway and ended up with some leftovers. There was a lot more dough in this style, but it was actually a pretty good bread that wasn’t as dense as it appeared. I should have taken a picture of it, but I’m not sure I even had a camera on me at the time.

We were off to Magic Kingdom for the evening. Something is going on with the PeopleMover. It now has lines and a bunch of cars aren’t filled with people but just take traffic cones around for a ride. They paused the ramp up several times as they waited while the line at the top dissipated. It’s always been a favourite attraction of mine for the grand circle tour, but PeopleMover also used to be a great filler ride so you could get off your feet for a bit between other things. Alas on a later day during the trip it ended up taking almost an hour to get through the line and ride after the whole ride paused and had to get reset multiple times. I love the PeopleMover but it could use some TLC. It did show some nice views of the Tron construction.
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In one of the shops, beside a display of shirts with little Space Mountains and classic Skyway cars, was this neat sign with opening dates from various attractions.
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I’ve never watched the fireworks from the Train Station, but given the early morning we wanted to make a quick exit so it was a good location. Worked out well for pictures too.
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Even got one that’s a sort of hidden Mickey :)
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Day ended with falling into bed. Magic Kingdom proper tomorrow!

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by horizons1 » Apr Tue 07, 2020 1:54 pm

Great day. Although it was EMH for Animal Kingdom, I bet they opened the gates at 7 and that's why you got burned on the long wait for Flight of Passage. I remember getting there around 8 for a 9am park opening and the crowds at the Avatarland rope were packed by 845p. That's a bummer though, as it's not worth a 2-hour wait!

I watched a video podcast recently about the lines at Peoplemover and some theories about why it's crazy. One idea was that the ride has new appeal in a Fastpass world where people enjoy just being able to queue for something. Not sure I buy it. Plus it doesn't explain the mysterious cones.
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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by horizons1 » Apr Tue 07, 2020 1:55 pm

ImagineerWannabe wrote:
Apr Mon 06, 2020 7:46 pm
I can't remember what the recommended size was for pictures so if I'm exceeding it let me know and I can get them smaller.
You're good. Keep posting!
No one's gloomy or complaining while the flatware's entertaining.

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Tue 07, 2020 7:46 pm

Day 4:

Today didn’t start quite as early since MK didn’t open until 9am. We roped dropped at Adventureland and walked right on to Pirates. Then my plans fell apart :). Thunder Mountain had an almost hour wait very quickly. Figured out later it was probably because Splash Mountain was down. Oh, and The Haunted Mansion was shut the whole time we were there, which probably didn’t help the crowds at my favourite roller coaster. Again the wait gave me the opportunity to get some nice photos.
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In a way I suppose the delay had a tiny silver lining in that Splash opened up shortly after we finished Big Thunder. People were lined up just hoping it was going to open. We weren’t sure whether to get in line or not but decided to try it for a few minutes. Don’t know how people knew, but it opened up within 10 mins.

We caught the Castle stage show from a shaded turret with a water fountain off to the side. It was a good spot to get out of the hot sun, get a drink, and have a lean against the posts.
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Am I the only one who gets caught thinking the duck is real on the Jungle Cruise dock? I was standing there watching it sit so calmly, just blinking occasionally, and thinking about how surprising it is that it isn’t bothered with all the boats and noise. 10 mins later when it still hasn’t budged I figured out why.
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The backside of water is classic, but this is my favourite picture from our tour around the jungle.
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After Peter (don’t jump Wendy!), Dumbo, and skipping it’s a small world on account of the 40 min line in almost full sun, we relaxed in the Carousel of Progress and the Hall of Presidents. I don’t remember looking at the busts in the lobby before. Maybe it’s the lack of eyes, but Jefferson reminds me of the happy haunt that follows you with their eyes in the library.
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The sun was setting as we took the ferry back to the TTC and headed off to EPCOT for the evening.
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I took a lot of Spaceship Earth pictures since it’ll be the last time viewing this version. Unfortunately none came out very well. This is probably the best earth one I’ve ever gotten though.
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I’ve never been to the Flower and Garden Festival before and it was opening the next day. Some topiaries were out so it was neat to get a quick preview.

We found a spot for EPCOT Forever shortly before it started so didn’t catch much of the preshow music. Maybe I missed it, but I was hoping to hear some Flute Battle :). I was expecting to really like the show, but unfortunately I didn’t find it that spectacular. The kites were cool, and boy do the boats pulling them really zip around! I like the classic music, and shout outs to veggie veggie, fruit fruit are fun, but it didn’t make me want to see it again and again like Illuminations.
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It was extra hours that night so we enjoyed Nemo and Turtle Talk at the Seas before heading out since it’s now on the way to the exit. One small bonus to all the construction walls.

Tomorrow, EPCOT proper!

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Thu 09, 2020 9:27 pm

Day 5:

We were at EPCOT early and after a quick photo of the Flower and Garden bed at the front, we headed for Test Track. The line had formed outside the building and they let us start going in a few minutes before 9am. We were just at the point of going into the design room when they announced technical difficulties. Choices were to wait it out or give up. We figured we’d give it a few minutes. So did a lot of other people and they started to sit down which pretty much blocked the way out anyway. Within 5 mins another announcement was made that it would be down for at least 45 mins. Mass exodus! Didn’t have to step over anyone, the whole room pretty much turned and walked away.

Mission Space won as where to go. Green side is all I do but I find the flight around the earth a little too tame. A return to the moon would have been nice for a replacement of non-spinning Mars. Buzz Lightyear was standing guard outside.
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I had FP for Spaceship Earth again later, but with the lack of Test Track if threw off my plans. Spaceship Earth had a fairly short line so we headed there next before checking out the various topiaries on our way to Imagination. Thumper is so cute and Flower’s eyes were adorable.
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Figment hanging out over by Imagination.
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He brightened up the news that the ride was also down. It closed just as we got there. My luck wasn’t going so well.

This would have been a good time to go looking for this purple wall people use as a picture background. I want to find it but I don’t actually have any idea where it is. I thought it was at EPCOT, and my best guess was somewhere near Imagination but whenever I thought to look for it we were in the wrong area or too tired. So I still don’t know where it is :)

With time before heading to Norway for Frozen FP’s, there were other topiaries to enjoy. Kinda neat how they’re playing up the under construction theme with Pluto (took me a moment to figure out he was holding a tape measure not a piece of meat), Goofy, Chip, and Dale “helping” with tools.
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Ah, my favourite, Sorcerer Mickey!
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The smell of the flowers when you walked by the gardens between Imagination to the Odyssey centre was incredible. In addition to what seems like one of the few washrooms left, it's also the place for a preview of the post construction park

The projection mapping in the ad that is the EPCOT Experience is amazing! The whole area becomes a French picnic when they’re talking about Ratatouille,
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then migrates to Mary Poppins and balloons all over the England area,
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then goes bold for a version of what the finished product might look like.
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Canada! My Canada!
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but what did they do with the film!?! Invisible narrators after the previous one poked fun at them? (not to mention France has really stepped it up with their Beauty and the Beast sing along, so any invisible narrator jokes will now be coming TO Canada). A picture of Niagara Falls when they’re talking about Calgary?! It might go unnoticed except they spent several minutes talking about the falls just before they moved on from Ontario! They did keep the musical ride, but there was hardly any time spent on the Maritimes. I miss Marty :(

Speaking of France, I had no idea they had costumes and sheet music from Phantom and Les Mis in the lobby. Cool!

Going around the lake we found Lady and the Tramp in Italy
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and Winnie the Pooh and friends in England.
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We finished at The Land with a few flights on Soarin with little to no wait in the big queue, just what felt like a long wait after they sort you into theatres. One thing this festival did really well (at least for day 2 :)) was draw the crowds away from Future World in the evening.

In the green house I learned orchids are edible, not that I’m going to be trying them any time soon.
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Magic Kingdom had extra evening hours, so we went back there. I was heading for repeat runs on Big Thunder in the dark. Even lucked out with catching the fireworks from the lift hills. Those fireworks are massive! Closer to Big Thunder than the Castle I think. I like this view from near the Tom Sawyer Island dock.
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We caught the Country Bears on the way out. The cast member was amazing! She had the fairly small crowd howdy-ing, told really fun jokes (puns mostly but we were laughing), and had a whole conversation with Buff! Awesome way to end the day!

DHS tomorrow.

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by horizons1 » Apr Fri 10, 2020 11:10 am

Great updates. That projection mapping in EPCOT Experience looks cool in the pics and what I've seen on YouTube. Would be great to see it in person.
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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Sat 11, 2020 8:06 pm

Day 6:

The Star Wars upgrades aren’t a huge draw for me to Hollywood Studios. I had a FP for Smugglers Run but had a goal of switching it to Slinky Dog Dash. I was able to make the swap for a 4pm time while in line just after rope drop for Slinky already. It was a fairly long wait first thing, but a super fun coaster! Bonus, we had a plan to go again :) We played Midway Mania 3 times throughout the day which was also fun. I do better at it than Buzz Lightyear.
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I don’t even remember what we did next, some shows I think. Little Mermaid is still cute :) Runaway Railway had just opened the day before and shortly after noon the line was down to just under an hour and a half so we hopped in line.

The line started outside in the sun but they had water and umbrellas set up which was very considerate. A few cast members were playing the game where you act out what’s on a flash card while the other guesses what it is. They were trying to get the people in line to play. I saw some other guests playing variations of the game amongst themselves by just giving clues instead of acting out. That seems easier.
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The queue has cute posters from Mickey shorts. I have no idea if they’re actual movies or not. This was one poster I especially liked.
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From the queue outside, it moved to a queue inside through several rooms. While in the last portion of queue we saw a few tech guys come out of, what we would learn was, a preshow room. Wished we had seen them over at MK on the day when the PeopleMover kept stopping. They’re reassuring something is being done to address whatever the problem might be :)
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***Skip the next image if you want to avoid preshow spoilers***

The preshow ending was sooooo gooooood!! Explosion of the screen and fantastic entrance into the final queue. From the side I could see a bit of how it was done, but unfortunately (although expected) they herd you far out of the room before the reset.
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The ride itself feels pretty short after the movie ride which was a lengthy attraction, and Daisy’s section takes up a very large space, but it’s well done. I was worried when I read about a waterfall, but looked behind me to avoid any feeling of falling. Next time I know what it’s like and that I don’t move, so can take in more of the section. The tech is good!

A great picture by the exit.
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I did wander around the Star Wars area. I wasn’t expecting cast members costumes to blend in quite so much. When there were adults dressed up as well, you had to do a double take to check for a name tag :)
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The Chewie head caught my eye in this little side corner area of the market.
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If you buy a droid, of course the first thing you want to do it test it out! Right across from a shop selling droids is the droid test area. What a fantastic idea! Just from watching a few minutes it looks like BB-8 styles are a bit tricky to get the hang of controlling.
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We took the Skyliner back to EPCOT. It was getting a bit windy so I was glad it was still running. Rain was rolling in for overnight. We had a nice view flying over Caribbean Beach with the new Guardians of the Galaxy building dominating the skyline. Spaceship Earth is getting dwarfed.
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Dinner was the veggie platter at Morocco, one of my favourite meals. We took a quick trip through Mouse Gear before heading out and this little guy was poking out just asking for a photograph.
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One final topiary on this Easter weekend: Mickey and Minnie looking very sweet with their paint brushes and bucket ready to help out. Spaceship Earth at night made a nice background.
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Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter!
Last edited by ImagineerWannabe on Apr Mon 13, 2020 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by Amy » Apr Mon 13, 2020 10:24 am

Wow ~ very nice photos and report ~ thanks ImagineerWannabe!
I remember seeing there was a collision with the PeopleMover so maybe they had to do some finagling with cones to make sure there was more empty cars to even out weight distribution or something like that? I don't know. Glad it's become more popular so it won't go away, but sad it is having that long of a wait.
I'd love to have one of those Sorcerer Brooms for my yard ~ that would be a fun display! Sounds like you had a nice balance of waits and walk-right-ons ~
Happy Easter!

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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by horizons1 » Apr Mon 13, 2020 11:48 am

Great update. I am confused by this when you were describing the queue for Runaway Railway:

"While in the last portion of queue we saw a few tech guys come out of, what we would learn was, a preshow room. Wished we had seen them when the PeopleMover kept stopping."

Huh? Peoplemover at the Studios?
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Re: My Fourth WDW Trip Report-March 2020

Post by ImagineerWannabe » Apr Mon 13, 2020 7:37 pm

Ah, hehe, yes, I see that could be a bit confusing. I meant that it would have been reassuring to see techs when we were at the Magic Kingdom and the PeopleMover kept stopping and having to be reset.

We were waiting in line at the top when it happened once, debating whether to go through with it, and the cast member cycles a bunch of things on the panel and I think there really was a reset button.

Drafting the final day tonight. Should be ready to post tomorrow.

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