[Trip Report] Walt Disney World (Florida), November 2023
Hi everyone!
At long last: welcome to our Walt Disney World trip report. This took a long time to put together. Our trip was, on-balance, amazing, but it was not without its unique challenges and pitfalls. In spite of the struggles we had, we’re excited to go back again, probably pretty soon, like next year. This trip was my gift to myself for my 32nd birthday. I looked forward to it even when it was just the spark of an idea in 2020 - something that kept me going in an uncertain, brutal world.
Before you start reading, Ryan wants me to disclaim that even though his energy was low throughout the trip, he had a great time overall. We discovered quite late in the trip that he was very sick, and until that point, we were both frustrated and confused by his apparent lack of energy and interest in this trip that had become my whole world as a result of months and months of careful planning and research.
Please enjoy our trip report! And if you haven’t already, you can read our superlative awards for this trip, and stay tuned for our critical review. You can see all of the photos from this trip in our album.
Day 0: Flying in
Our Disney World trip got off to a rocky start when we found out Hurricane Nicole would make landfall at the same time as us. When we got word that our red-eye flight on November 9 was canceled and the Orlando airport would be closed, I scrambled to rebook. The earliest we could get there was November 11, around midnight. We were going to lose a whole day in the parks, so I booked 2 more nights onto the end of the vacation and a new park reservation.
We left Seattle 2 days later. At the airport, we stopped by Skillet for a late lunch. We rode first class for maximum comfort - no sense in having sore limbs and backs before we toured the parks. Ryan and I didn't get to sit together (and our seatmates were not interested in changing seats).
We landed without incident and waited (a long time, so much for Alaska's guarantee) for our bags. Someone picked up my big checked bag! I didn't know what to do. Ryan eventually asked if we could check the name on the bag, and we verified it was ours. We then waited in line for a taxi, which eventually took us to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The airport felt crowded and chaotic.
We put our stuff down and went straight to bed (after buying Genie+ for the next day) in preparation for our first day at the parks.
Day 1: Disney's Hollywood Studios
I got up bright and early at 6:30 AM. We did not get much sleep the night before. I had promised Ryan that we would arrive in the parks as close to early entry opening time as possible, without trying to "rope drop" - that is, to get to the parks well before official opening time, meaning that you have to wait behind a rope until a cast member lets you in, so that you are among the very first to enter the park. It's the waiting at the rope that gets Ryan. ("Why get there early if you just have to wait?")
That said, I was impatient to get to the parks after I booked our lightning lanes, and I was nervous about the amount of time it would take to ride the bus to Hollywood Studios from the Animal Kingdom Lodge, so I shuffled us out of the room before 7:30. And technically, we did not rope drop - they let us in to the park early, around 7:50. I immediately deviated from our touring plan and directed us toward Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, a new-ish dark ride where little train cars wandered around a neon cartoon wonderland. It was one of our favorites! We sang "Nothing Can Stop Us Now" for the rest of the trip.
The weather that morning was foggy and humid. We made our way back into Toy Story Land. Our plan was to tour Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge that day, and have a late lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In. As we got in line for Toy Story Mania, I mobile ordered us some breakfast snacks: Ronto Wrap for Ry, Lunch Box Tart (fancy pop tart!) for me. Ryan and I competed fiercely at Toy Story Mania, and he eventually won by a large margin. We rode Slinky Dog Dash next. The ride queues in Toy Story Land are among the best and most evocative in the whole resort. The ride buildings and structure provide a lot of opportunities to stuff little zones with giant-sized children's toys, and reveal the story of how a child played with those toys.
After Slinky Dog, we went to pick up Ryan's breakfast. We stood at a table in Galaxy's Edge while I drank coffee and Ryan ate his breakfast Ronto wrap, which was unfortunately dry, but a spiked cold brew topped with foam and cocoa puffs perked us up. We looked around the market plaza and speculated about the use of the control panels above the doors. (Who uses them? Just droids? Why are they up so high?) I should have known better than to ride Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run with only coffee in my stomach, but I did it anyway. Ryan and I sat in the Engineer seats and pushed buttons whenever something broke. I think we had the same assignment last time we rode this ride at Disneyland in 2019. One of our pilots was over the age of 6, so it wasn't the roughest possible ride, but I felt a little woozy afterwards. Millennium Falcon is probably the ride that makes me most motion sick these days.
We headed back into Toy Story Land for my seasonal hot chocolate lunch box tart. It was hard to find seating nearby - seemingly every family was at Woody's Lunchbox for a bowl of tater tots and gravy (I really let Ryan down by not ordering him a bowl too). We decided to wait in line for Alien Swirling Saucers afterward, where we played with a giant switch in the queue.
It was then time for Star Tours! Having learned my lesson from Millennium Falcon, I put my sea bands on. We enjoyed reading the destinations on the departure board in the queue. A classic attraction in my opinion! I love seeing a new story every time. The frame around the ride, that you're on a legitimate tour operation, hasn't stopped charming me. My favorite part might be the fake departures and arrivals on the big screen in the queue. We took the energy down a notch and saw the also-iconic MuppetVision 3D, went window shopping in the Batuu marketplace, saw the Green Army Men drum corps play, and poked around an exhibit about Disney and saw a trailer for Strange World. By this time, the weather was sunny.
I was so excited to get lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In. I had never eaten there before, even though I've been to Disney World a few times, and I knew Ryan would love the old movie clips playing on the big screen. Our server was hilarious and made jokes about the clips as he passed by. Ryan had a burger with onion rings and a Magical Beacon cocktail, and I had the smoked wings, more onion rings, and the Orbiting Oreos shake. All of our food was delicious - the wings were tender and juicy, and the onion rings were fresh and crispy and had good integrity.
After seeing the loop of old movie clips in the restaurant exactly 1.5 times, we left to go enjoy Rise of the Resistance. We were unfortunately stuck in line with some local teens, who talked loudly through the first part of the ride. There's a long section of the experience before you actually get in your ride vehicle, where the story gets explained - that's what the teens talked over. We managed to shake them after we were captured by the First Order. The ride was incredible, but it stopped right at the finale! Usually when a ride stops, it starts up again quickly. But this time, the lights came on and cast members arrived to evacuate us from the ride. They asked us to put our phones away, and led us carefully through a (very uninteresting) backstage area, and back out to Galaxy's Edge.
It was getting late in the afternoon, and we wanted to rest before we went to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks dessert party. I really wanted to ride Tower of Terror, which went down while we were at lunch and hadn't come back up. We went to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (still inexplicably starring Aerosmith), where Ryan enjoyed taking a close look at the (real) instruments and production gear in the studio. Since so many rides were down, even the Lightning Lane took a while to get through.
After that, we swung by a little stand at the entrance for a slushy and caught the next bus back to our hotel. We napped for a few hours, then got dressed for the party.
Main Street was packed with people leaving the park or finding a spot to watch the fireworks when we arrived at the Magic Kingdom. We signed in at Tomorrowland Terrace and hit the dessert buffet. I'm still thinking about the butterscotch pudding topped with caramel popcorn. The snickerdoodle cookie sandwich was great too! Ryan enjoyed the savory offerings - next time, it would be cool if they had more cheeses to choose from! We enjoyed our sparkling wine and coffee until they shuttled us over to the grass to wait for the fireworks to start.
While we waited, we watched while a crane filmed something we couldn't quite see in front of the castle - this turned out to be "The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration" - which was accompanied by projections on the castle and a beautiful bonus fireworks display! An entertaining surprise. We couldn't hear any audio from the staged performance. We watched Disney Enchantment, which brought a tear to our eyes when Tinkerbell ziplined over the park. It turns out, we were the magic all along!
I insisted that we ride at least one ride to avoid leaving right after the fireworks with everyone else. We squeezed past the crowds to Adventureland, where the Jungle Cruise was the Jingle Cruise for the holidays. Skipper Serena (first name Skipper, last name Serena) took us on an entertaining ride. We grabbed some potstickers for a snack and left the parks to get some rest for the next day.
Day 2: Disney's Animal Kingdom
We got up bright and early again to make early entry at the Animal Kingdom. I got us out the door close to 7, and we waited at the rope in Asia before getting in line for Expedition Everest. Rope dropping is not fun, but walking on to Expedition Everest is great! Then we walked on to the always-terrifying Dinosaur, then made our way to Pandora, where we stopped for breakfast: sausage biscuit for me, pineapple-cream cheese lumpia and multicolored frozen margarita with popping boba balls for Ryan, from Pongu Pongu. Once Ryan felt restored, we rode the visually stunning Navi River Journey. We saw more filming taking place in Pandora to promote the new Avatar movie on the same holiday special we saw being filmed at the Magic Kingdom. Cast members were asking people to put their phones away and gently prompting people to pass by the filming area quickly.
I then treated Ryan to one of my least favorite attractions at Disney World: It's Tough to Be a Bug, a 3D movie with animatronics inside the Tree of Life which assaults your senses. Ryan liked it. I let Ryan guess why I sat on the edge of my chair, sealing my mask over my face (spoiler: "bugs" run under your seat, and a stink bug fires on the audience). We needed a snack after that, so we grabbed some hash brown bites from the Yak and Yeti Local Food Cafes and watched a few character flotillas sail by.
At that point, we made the dubious decision to poncho up and ride Kali River Rapids. We could see on our fellow riders' faces, who were not wearing ponchos, that they did not know what they were in for. We got gently splashed in the first half of the ride, until the young couple next to us got absolutely drenched, and then it felt like the ride was just dumping buckets of water on us repeatedly. We were soaked from the knees down, which is better than anyone else in our raft fared.
We crossed back onto Discovery Island as a bird show was starting. A dozen brightly-colored macaws flew over us while the cast members explained the various reasons why these birds belong at a place like the Animal Kingdom rather than in your home. The macaws flew only a few feet over the crowd - exhilarating!
Making our way into Africa, we paused to watch a band play, and then hopped on to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Our safari guide sounded a little inexperienced and kept repeating himself. A giraffe ate its lunch mere feet away from our van!
By this time, the park was starting to get crowded, and navigating around strollers was getting to me, and Ryan was tired. We made a plan to grab lunch at Nomad Lounge, and headed back to put ourselves on the walk-up list. Then, it was time to ride the much-hyped Flight of Passage. Nobody talked through this pre-show, which helpfully explains the whole "Avatar" thing for those of us who usually forget that movie exists. It was a fun, thrilling ride, but my eyes had a hard time focusing on the 3D screen correctly, and I got a little nauseated. We sat around and people-watched while we waited for our table at Nomad to come up.
At Nomad Lounge, we sat at one of their outdoor lounge tables, on a big wicker sofa. We drank the "Jenn's Tattoo" and Lamu Libation cocktails - both sweet and refreshing - with the charcuterie plate, which was delicious all-around but didn't have enough bread or crackers relative to meat and cheese. Our entrees came out at a leisurely pace - tuna poke bowl for me and sliders with yuca fries for Ryan. We watched Santa float by on a flotilla as we ate. By then, Ryan was very much ready for a nap, so we headed back to the hotel after appreciating the winter puppets roving around Discovery Island. I explored the hotel, shopped for souvenirs, and admired the artifacts in the lobby while Ryan napped.
That evening, we had dinner at Jiko, which was elegant and tasty. We were totally charmed by the giraffe bread and goat cheese/goat butter compound in the bread service, and the wild boar tenderloin was tender and savory. Ryan had the oak-grilled filet mignon, and I had the short rib. Both were excellent, but the short rib was on another level: perfectly tender clouds of beef. I got the Kilimanjaro for dessert, which fused chocolate with pistachio, peppercorn, and pineapple. The server brought us some adorable truffles for my birthday.
Ryan was not in the mood to hit the parks, so he went back to the room while I took the bus back to Animal Kingdom to enjoy the park before it closed. I entered the park just in time to watch a wintry Beacon of Magic show on the Tree of Life. I walked on to Expedition Everest, where I enjoyed getting to see the view from the top of the lift hill at night. When I went to Pandora to take pictures of the bioluminescence, I noticed there was no line for Navi River Journey, so I rode it again before heading home to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Day 3: Magic Kingdom
Our goal for day 3 was to tackle the "right side" of the park: Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. I also managed, with great planning and preparation, to get us a breakfast reservation at the ultimate bucket list dining destination: Cinderella's Royal Table.
We started off our day with Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, which is similar in spirit (because it's also a "shooting gallery" sort of dark ride) but less fun compared to Toy Story Mania. Space Mountain was as fun as ever, and nothing can beat the views of the park from the Peoplemover.
We rode the Little Mermaid dark ride, which we remembered fondly from Disneyland, then Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and then Ryan decided he was ready for a pre-breakfast snack - he got tater tots and gravy at the Friar's Nook (he regretted that I didn't get him any at Hollywood Studios two days ago). We rode it's a small world, which is badly in need of a refresh (please just get rid of it, it relies so heavily on stereotypes that I don't understand how everyone who works for Disney isn't collectively embarrassed by it). I tried to take my coffee on, which a cast member quickly intercepted and set aside for me. We caught a showing of Mickey's Philharmagic, another old favorite, and checked in for our breakfast reservation.
We waited a while for our table, which meant we had plenty of time for a selfie with Cinderella (not to mention time to people-watch) before the courtier announced our royal entrance. For breakfast, Ryan and I both enjoyed the cocktail flight (the only difference is that Ryan opted for a full-size version of each drink), and I got the beef tenderloin and eggs while Ryan had the traditional breakfast. The included pastry plate was tasty, but not particularly memorable, and my birthday cupcake was just a fun bonus. The potato and cheese frittata with my steak, however, was 🔥
We went back to Tomorrowland afterwards to watch a couple of shows (after doubling back when we realized we left Ryan's hat in the castle). The Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor was a hoot as always, and Ryan took a quick snooze at the Carousel of Progress.
We went back to Fantasyland to ride Winnie the Pooh, and Ryan decided he was done for the day. I walked him out of the park, did a little window shopping on Main Street, saw the castle forecourt show, rode Buzz Lightyear again, then Mad Tea Party and Dumbo, then got myself an I Lava You float from Aloha Isle (orange Dole whip and pop rocks), rode Peter Pan's Flight, saw the end of the castle forecourt show again, then left the park for a nap of my own.
Dinner that night was at Sanaa. Ryan had a pretty good view of the savanna from his seat. We started, of course, with the bread service, which was as awe-inspiring as everyone says it is. It was hard to pick a favorite condiment, but we especially liked the pickled garlic and the jalapeno-lime sauce. The only thing that could have made it better was some giraffe bread from the previous night. Ryan had a frozen mango margarita with his mango lassi, and I had a mojito. We couldn't resist adding on some samosas with our bread service. For our entrees, we both opted for the signature "Potjie inspired" dish - Ryan had butter chicken and rajma masala, and I had seafood curry and sukuma wiki. I knew I wanted to try the Serradura dessert before we even sat down (apparently Disney's butterscotch pudding game is on point!), and it came with a little bonus birthday panna cotta.
I was especially ambitious on this day, so after dinner I hustled us over to Epcot to ride a couple rides and catch Harmonious, the nighttime spectacular. Ryan kept joking about how all of Epcot was contained "inside the ball," so I had us ride Spaceship Earth first - an iconic attraction, in my opinion, and I was happy Ryan liked it as much as I do. Then, we went over to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which debuted this summer. The lines were sufficiently backed up that we found ourselves waiting quite a bit even though we were in the lightning lane, which kind of undermines the premise of the preshow (we urgently have to evacuate the area and save the galaxy! Except we're waiting in another line...). That said, the ride was incredible. Easily my favorite thing we rode over the whole trip. We were both too thrilled by the music ("September" by Earth Wind and Fire) and the ride to follow the story.
We almost had enough time to ride Soarin' before Harmonious started, but not really, especially since I couldn't figure out how to navigate Future World (what do you mean "it's called something else now") with the construction walls. We rode it anyway (it would be cool if there were variations on the ride, rather than soaring over the same scenes every time) and then found a little ledge to stand on to watch the last half of Harmonious, which was as underwhelming as I expected. I tried to convince Ryan to enjoy the exclusive extended evening hours with me, but he insisted on resting, so we left the park right after the show. I didn't have time to get a drink before Harmonious, so we stopped by the Victoria Falls lounge for a nightcap.
Day 4: Spa Day
We took a planned non-park-day. I had wanted to stay at a couple of different hotels, so we took advantage of this day to relocate to the Beach Club Villas. Ryan had made an offhanded comment while we were at Animal Kingdom that a pedicure would be nice - so I surprised him with a adventure to the Grand Floridian to enjoy the spa.
We started our day with breakfast at Boma. I had heard from a lot of people that it was not to be missed, so we gave it a try even though we don't love the buffet experience as much as we used to. We tried just about everything on the line. The turkey bobotie was great - we'd definitely eat it again, along with the French toast bread pudding. The watermelon seasoned with mint and pistachio was a sleeper hit with me - something refreshing to bring it all together. The deviled eggs were disappointing - more like just a hard-boiled egg with salmon mousse piped on top. Birthday cupcakes were a sweet bonus (but I was too full for breakfast cupcakes). We took one last look at the savanna animals, then grabbed a bus to Hollywood Studios so we could grab a boat to the Beach Club.
Finding the Beach Club Villas is nonintuitive, but after a stop to admire the gingerbread carousel and asking several cast members for directions, we found our room. Ryan hadn't been sleeping well, so he went down for a post-brunch nap while I explored the hotel. He was grumpy that I woke him up, but once he was sat in a sumptuous massage chair for his pedicure, he forgave me.
We didn't have dinner plans, so I chose to take advantage of the fact that we were already at the Grand Floridian. We had pre-dinner drinks and snacks at the Enchanted Rose bar. The warm olives were nice, but the serving of beef jerky we got was particularly generous. I had the lavender fog, which was I thought was both delightful and reminiscent of a drinkable bubble bath, while Ryan had a dirty martini with blue cheese-stuffed olives. We hopped over to Citricos for dinner in the lounge. In addition to a margarita for Ryan and an orange blossom martini (not bad but boozy!!!!) for me, we ordered the strawberry salad (sounded gross to Ry but was perfectly balanced - not too sweet), the sweet corn bisque (just sweet enough), the smoked duck breast, and the New York Strip. Our server Sergio was so attentive and made us feel so special - he poured me a glass of champagne for my birthday, and the passion fruit and key lime birthday truffles were probably our favorite of all the birthday desserts we enjoyed.
We weren't sure when we were going to have time to enjoy the pool at the Yacht and Beach Club, so after dinner we put on our swimsuits and took a dip. The main sand-bottom (!!!) pool wasn't too cold for me, but Ryan preferred the hot tub, where, according to a child of DVC owners, "there is not supposed to be sand" but there was anyway.
Day 5: Epcot (and my birthday!)
I wanted to spend my birthday at Epcot, my favorite park. Once again, we managed to get to the park early enough to rope drop, much to Ryan's annoyance. When they let us out of Canada, we made our way over to Mission: Space, one of my favorites, but Ryan didn't like that the ride broke kayfabe (once you get off the ride, it's apparent that you are not still on Mars, where you landed).
We went over to Test Track, where we designed the smart roadster from hell (™️). The current iteration of Test Track feels sad and sterile, like the sponsor didn't really have the money to refresh the pavilion (at least the ride didn't go down). The high-speed outdoor finale is as thrilling as ever. I made us ride Guardians of the Galaxy again. The post-preshow-pre-ride queue was quicker this time, and we rode in the front seats to Blondie's "One Way or Another." We caught a little more of the story this time, but Ryan's still not convinced the Guardians actually reclaimed the macguffin.
We had to take a coffee break after that, which meant waiting in line at (secret Starbucks) Connections Cafe, because nothing else in Future World (you heard me) was open yet. In all cases, waiting for Starbucks felt like the longest and least satisfying queue in the trip (why do I have to wait 20 minutes for cold brew when all you have to do is pour it aaaaaaaa). But we took the time to refuel and admire the teapots of the world before moving on.
We hit the iconic Living With the Land after that, where I am proud to say I did not have to tell Ryan not to pick the plants in the greenhouse even once (he waved to the cast members working in there instead, who were not enthusiastic to wave back). Then, to The Seas with Nemo and Friends (after a pit stop for a saucy AM white claw) - I think the ride into the pavilion is cute, but Ryan prefers the submarines at Disneyland. Turtle Talk with Crush was adorable - a precocious child informed Crush her favorite human food was "penne vodka." Against my better judgment, we rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment, which continues to be terrible and pointless.
I was excited for lunch at the Space 220 lounge. The host who greeted us asked, "how do you have a birthday in space? You planet." We took our tickets and rode the space elevator to the restaurant, where we had a decent view of the space-scape. We both started with the Imagination cocktail, which was dangerously tasty (the Atmospritz that Ryan later ordered, less so - way too sweet). We went for shared lounge appetizers even though we could order off the prix fixe menu. We got: astro deviled eggs (better than the ones at Boma), starry calamari (rubbery), buffalo cauliflower (outstanding!), and short rib sliders (felt a little "meh" after the short rib at Jiko). No birthday surprises here.
Ryan went back to the hotel for a nap while I enjoyed Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. It's not quite as fun as Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, but I liked it a lot. I grabbed a gingerbread shingle from the Beach Club lobby before heading back to the room.
I was very excited for the birthday evening on the Boardwalk I had planned: Abracadabar for drinks, Flying Fish for food, and Jellyrolls for entertainment. We thought Abracadabar, packed with magic paraphernalia, was totally charming, and I loved the Pepper's Ghost cocktail, but the service was slow and disorganized. Ryan popped out to the Boardwalk for pre-dinner carne asada fries - yum, we'd order those again!
Flying Fish was as lovely as I expected, but super-taster Ryan was thrown off by a fishy aura coming from his cucumber cocktail (my Sauvignon Blanc did not have this problem). I knew before I sat down that I wanted the lobster bisque (creamy, lobstery, what could be better) and potato-wrapped red snapper (delicate and crisp and savory! Lives up to the hype, in my opinion). The servers recommended the New York strip, so Ryan went with that - he loved the millefeuille potato gratin! The 50th anniversary midnight lemon was lovely for dessert (with a bonus birthday message) - not too sweet, lots of textural contrast.
We decided to go back to the room to change before heading back out to Jellyrolls, the dueling piano bar. The cover charge is pretty exorbitant, but in fairness, this was one of the highlights of our trip. We enjoyed some beers and popcorn while we watched the performers play and sing a wide variety of covers (while making fun of some of the guys, the "Pep Boys" in the audience). One performer was more seasoned than the rest, but they all did a wonderful job.
Day 6: Epcot
Even though we had a comparatively rowdy time the night before, we mustered up the strength to have our character breakfast at Topolino's Terrace. We walked over to Epcot's International Gateway entrance and took the Skyliner to the Riviera Resort. When we got there, we learned they were running over a half an hour behind, so we admired the pasta and wine displays and sat down to wait a while - this place could use an extra bar for people who are stuck waiting!
When we finally sat down, our bucket of pastries and pog juice arrived almost immediately. We stuck to our brunch faves: coffee and a mimosa for me, bloody Mary for Ry. We took snaps and selfies of all the characters, but we didn't have an autograph book. It was almost more fun to watch the characters interact with other guests than meeting them ourselves (shy babies! Grown men who love characters! we're here for it). Ryan went for two fried eggs with sausage and potatoes, with a mini quiche on the side; I had the sour cream waffle, which was light and crispy.
We rode back to Epcot after breakfast, where Ratatouille (which we planned to ride first) was down. I wanted to explore World Showcase before our exclusive tequila tasting, but Ryan wanted to sleep off breakfast, so he went back to the hotel while I walked around. I admired the desert rally racing exhibit in Morocco (where I learned about an all-women's 6-day rally race, where the most efficient racing team wins), went souvenir shopping in a few different pavilions, and walked around the long way to the junction between Future World (did I stutter) and World Showcase to enjoy a mini-lunch of spam musubi and sparkling pineapple wine from the Hawaii booth. In true Food and Wine Festival style, I ate on top of a trash can. I looped back to International Gateway to meet Ryan.
We hustled over to Mexico to make our reservation at La Cava del Tequila. We had to wait a moment, so they sat us down outside the bar with margaritas. When our tequila tour guide Hilda arrived, she took us out of the pyramid and across the way to a closed restaurant, where she taught the two of us about tasting fine tequila. What an experience! Hilda was from Tequila, Mexico and was incredibly knowledgeable about tequila. Ryan and I both felt like we learned a lot (and I now have a taste for expensive tequila). She sent us away with another top-shelf margarita. Ryan had his own food booth snack: pho from the noodle booth, but he had a real standing table to eat at instead of a trash can. We had several hours until our Frozen Ever After lightning lane window came up, so we went back to the hotel to rest.
Once we were hungry for dinner, we went back to EPCOT to snack our way around the world. I had heard good things about the Canada beer cheese soup, so I decided to stand in line for it (where a couple convinced me to also order the filet mignon) while Ryan got fish and chips. The Canadian food did not disappoint - the soup was warm and satisfying, and the itty-bitty steak was melt-in-your-mouth tender and more flavorful than your average filet mignon. We did a little window shopping in Japan, but the only thing we bought was a pineapple coconut sake mist - bright and refreshing! Ryan said the hot beef sandwich he got from the USA booth was the best food booth snack he had all night. I knew the apple strudel in Germany wasn't good and I got it anyway and - turns out, it was tough and chewy just like everyone said. Luckily the noodle gratin and bratwurst were great. Ryan also gained an appreciation for grapefruit beer. He ended up buying some Haribo gummy candies from the German shop.
After just one more snack each (egg roll from China for Ryan that he enjoyed but I didn't think was worth it; school bread from Norway for me that is distinctive and interesting but I wasn't actually in the mood for it) and a cruise through the Norway gift shops and stave church exhibit, we rode Frozen Ever After. I love the animatronics in this ride, and their soft little faces lit up with projections. Ryan's face in our on-ride photo is one of total awe:
We called it for the night and went back to the Beach Club.
Day 7: Disney's Hollywood Studios
On this day, we figured out that Ryan not only was feeling sick, but, like many, many people at the parks during our trip, had likely been sick the whole time (seriously - people were coughing and sneezing, constantly, everywhere). We also had to switch hotels again, this time to the Yacht Club. The hotel-switching thing was well-intentioned but got extra-complicated because of the hurricane, and at this point we were clearly feeling it because Ry left his phone in the room. The hotel sent us an email just a few hours later telling us they found it - so that turned out alright.
I was really excited to ride the Tower of Terror that day, but unfortunately, it was down all day long. We wouldn't get to ride it at all on our trip. Ryan insisted on breakfast as soon as we got to the parks, so we got in line for Starbucks and a cupcake, and mobile ordered a hot dog and a spiked hot chocolate flight. The mobile order from Fairfax Faire hit the spot, the cupcake not as much (sometimes if it looks cute you just have to try it). We caught the next showing of the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, which perplexingly uses film cameras as a prop, still, but is as entertaining as always. We went to the Frozen Sing-Along after that, where the performers onstage knocked it out of the park, but nobody in the audience sang along (unless you count coughing and sneezing).
For lunch, we went to the Hollywood Brown Derby. We weren't able to figure out who most of the caricatures on the wall were. Martinis were a natural fit for our lunch - I got their signature vodka martini, and Ryan got a dirty gin martini. We started with the shrimp cocktail, which we kept seeing on menus and not ordering. We also split the duck, Cobb salad, and macaroni and cheese. We'd go back for the Cobb salad alone! The perfect theme park lunch entree.
After that, I insisted on riding Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway again to cement the experience in my memory. It was just as fun as the first time, but we didn't feel like the experience was that different (despite the trackless system that allows for variable path choices on the ride). Then, we had to ride Rise of the Resistance again in hopes that we'd get to finish it. I would have left mad if we didn't get to ride it all the way through. We were successful, and we even had a better pre-show experience. I got to stand close to the screens where I could understand the dialogue better, and no teens were talking over the dialogue either. Ryan posed with the stormtroopers after we got captured by the First Order, I think hoping that they would yell at him to get back in line (they did). Satisfied, we left the park to pick up Ryan's phone and rest at the Yacht Club.
That night, we had a late dinner at California Grill to enjoy the Christmas party fireworks (without buying a Christmas party ticket). The menu was exciting - we had a hard time picking what to eat. I went for the sushi trio, Florida black grouper, and Grand Marnier creme brulee. Ryan got the short rib wontons, the steak, and the cheese plate. Everything was top-notch - the cola-braised short rib wontons in particular were incredible (I think the takeaway is to order short ribs at Disney World). The grouper was luscious in texture and well-complimented by the green curry sauce. To drink, I had a San Francisco mai tai, and Ryan had a blackberry sour. The server slid us a slice of confetti cake with extra rainbow sprinkles for my birthday, which was light, fluffy, and subtle. The Christmas party fireworks started just before dessert. What's not to love about a fireworks show? The songs were all Christmas carols, so it felt a little generic and doesn't stick out in my memory. That's okay! We enjoyed the rest of our meal, took a few photos in front of the hotel, and ended our day.
Day 8: Disney Springs
Time for another non-park day! The plan was shopping and brunch at Disney Springs. Ryan wanted to use the minifigure factory at the Lego store, and I wanted to buy cookies from Gideon's Bakehouse - both things that require waiting in line or in a virtual queue. While Ryan waited in line to sign up for the virtual queue, I browsed around the World of Disney. We met up outside where Ryan was getting a (bright blue, glittery) Arendell slush. I convinced him to go for the Korean BBQ poutine, which was very tasty. The Daily Poutine is very thoughtful about selecting poutine-friendly fries that absorb sauce and toppings without getting soggy. We shopped around for a bit before our brunch reservation at Homecomin'.
I'm willing to bet this was Ryan's favorite meal of the trip. It's brunch, so we started out with cocktails, obviously. Ryan had the Proud Mary and I had the over-the-top Southern Mary (and coffee). We also got the church lady deviled eggs, which I'd like to figure out how to make at home. Ryan went for the Hallelujah Biscuit with a colorful side salad, and I got the fried chicken and donuts, which is a lot of food!! We took the leftovers to go, but not before taking more than a few bites of hummingbird birthday cake. It had what seemed like a grape soda reduction on the plate, which was unexpected and amazing??? We couldn't leave without getting a souvenir cocktail sipper full of their moonshine cocktails on tap - the server recommended the off-menu "pink golfer": half sweet tea shine, half pink lemonade shine.
We wandered over to Gideon's to see how long the line was. I wanted to buy some cookies to take home, freeze, and enjoy post-vacation (all cookies are long gone at time of writing). When we asked the cast members how to get into the virtual queue, they saw my birthday button and waved us inside. Their cake slices looked so decadent! I wish I had been there at sunset to buy the dark coffee cake cookie. We bought a pistachio toffee chocolate chip cookie, a cookies and cream cookie, a pumpkin crumb chocolate chip cookie, and a triple chocolate cookie. I can confirm that they did freeze well and they were all delicious. I wish I had bought more of the pistachio toffee.
We decided to quit while we were ahead and call it naptime. Our plan was to go out later to Trader Sam's, and try to get some Ohana noodles from Tambu Lounge. This didn't really work out in practice. When we got to Trader Sam's, we learned that the wait for the Grog Grotto was a few hours long (even though Ryan tried to bribe the cast members). We put our names on the list and went out to have a drink on the tiki terrace, where a cast member was playing live music. Our server was awesome and successfully upsold Ryan on an "extra spikey" Spikey Pineapple (with a float of 151) and slid a glow cube into my Polynesian Pearl ("disco pearl!").
We then decided to try our luck at getting some Ohana noodles. The second floor of the Polynesian resort was total chaos and lacked any sort of flow. After much consternation we figured out how to get a table at Tambu lounge, where we ordered some noodles and wings. The noodles sadly did not live up to the hype - they were way too sweet, and they tasted unbalanced. We didn't have the patience to wait around for our table at Trader Sam's to come up, so we just ended up leaving after that. If there was one thing that we did that didn't feel "worth it," it was probably our excursion to the Polynesian resort.
Day 9: Magic Kingdom
For our last park day, we returned to tour the "left side" of the Magic Kingdom: Frontierland, Liberty Square, and Adventureland, with a late lunch at Be Our Guest restaurant. It was also the day of our last hotel change: to the Boulder Ridge Villas at the Wilderness Lodge. We got to the park a little after opening time and rode Big Thunder Mountain first. After that, it was obviously time for a snack, so we went to the egg roll cart at the entrance of Adventureland, which was fragrant and steamy on that chilly, wet morning. I liked both the pastrami and cheeseburger flavors, but they threw Ryan for a loop. It was starting to rain a little, so we ducked into the Enchanted Tiki Room (have we, as a society, moved beyond the need for this show?), and then Pirates of the Caribbean, and then it was snack time again.
Leading up to and throughout the trip, I tried to warn Ryan that 2 iconic Disneyland foods are just not the same at Disney World: corn dogs and churros. Nevertheless, Ryan saw a sign proclaiming "churro nuggets" and ran right in to Pecos Bill's to order some (I was grumpy that we didn't mobile order them). What he got, after a considerable wait, were the driest, hardest, blandest little churros. He couldn't say I didn't warn him. I distracted him from his pain by showing him the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade, and then the (weird, hilarious) Country Bear Jamboree.
The rain really started coming down at that point, so after a failed attempt to see the Hall of Presidents (too long until the next show) and ride the riverboat (closed for rain), we poncho'd up and made the dash to Main Street to grab some souvenirs we'd been eyeing - a 50th anniversary sweatshirt for me, and a Donald Duck sweater for Ryan. It was pouring rain, and I would have been happy to stay in the rapidly-emptying park, but Ryan was not. I had just the place in mind: we took a boat to the Wilderness Lodge so we could grab refreshments at Geyser Point. We requested a seat at a lounge table with big comfy sofas, where we took our disposable ponchos off and put on our souvenir garments. We opted for a snack of edamame with my black cherry mule and Ryan's bloody Mary. The Wilderness Lodge is themed after the Pacific Northwest, so naturally we examined the menu to assess its authentic PNW-ness.
After a relaxing time out of the rain, we went back to the park for our lunch reservation. The rose on the menu that I wanted was not available, but Ryan found his new favorite grapefruit beer. I picked the potato-leek soup with caviar (mistake) and the Duroc pork chop (primo), and Ryan had the French onion soup (this was the move) and chicken. We sat in the ballroom, which is surprisingly dark, and the Beast came through a few times and walked by the tables. We were running close to our Haunted Mansion lightning lane window, so our server boxed up our dessert trios for us. That was the last ride we rode, and it felt like it was over so quickly. We milled about the gift shop and eventually admitted that it was time to leave the park. I bought a marshmallow on a stick as a final snack, and we again took the ferry to the Wilderness Lodge.
It took us way too long to find the Boulder Ridge Villas from the back way in, but we eventually found our way to our room after passing several areas that were under construction. We were supposed to go to Steakhouse 71 that night, but we admitted to ourselves that we weren't feeling up to it, and ate fries with a chili-cheese-brisket dip and other delicacies from the hotel restaurants (as well as our desserts from lunch). We sat in bed together and reflected on our trip.
Day 10: Disney Springs and Return Home
On our last day, we packed everything up once and for all, and took a bus to Disney Springs for one more brunch and any last minute shopping we wanted to do. We went to Wine Bar George, where, as it turns out, George himself was working the host stand that day. He showed us to our table, where we ordered a frozé and a freaujolais (frozen rose and frozen Beaujolais, respectively), an appetizer of cheese flamed tableside, a chicken salad sandwich for Ry, and "The Big Board" to share - a charcuterie board with 6 cheeses, 5 meats, and assorted condiments. What a high note to end on! Even the chips that came with Ryan's sandwich were exceptionally light and crispy. Everything on the board was delectable - every combination of components we tried was great, and there were actually more than enough bread and crackers.
After lunch, we got the last few things we needed to buy, including a Christmas ornament commemorating our trip, and one last refill in our Homecomin' squeeze bottle. We took the bus back to the hotel, a Lyft to the airport, the tram to the terminal, and the plane all the way back to Seattle. Our cats were happy to see us when we got home.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end of our trip report! Once again, you can see all of the photos from this trip in our album, and if you want to know more about the best things we ate, drank and did, you can read our superlative awards. The critical review is yet to come, and that will be the final installment in this series of posts on our Walt Disney World 2022 trip. See you real soon!