Disney World 2021

Hello Travel!  Hello Disney!

A year after a COVID forced trip postponement, we finally made it to Disney World!

Per tradition, we visited the week after Thanksgiving.  I find this is one of the best times of year to visit.  The crowds are in the lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the festivities are in full swing, and the weather is perfect.  As an added bonus, my parents (aka Grandma and Papa) were able to join us.

Trip itinerary:

Day 1 - 5: Art of Animation

Day 6 - 10: Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House

Travel Days: 1 & 10 (Sat & Mon)

Magic Kingdom - 2 days, Epcot - 2 days, Animal Kingdom - 1 day, Hollywood Studios - 1 day, Pool/Resort - 2 1/2 days

Art of Animation

We started the trip at Art of Animation resort and used, the now ended, Disney Magic Express to get there.  This was our second stay at this resort, but to help with the high hotel cost of a longer stay, I booked a 'standard' Little Mermaid room vs. one of the family suites we'd stayed in before (about $150/night difference).  Much to my great surprise, Disney gifted us with a little magic and gave us a free upgrade to a Cars suite!  What a great way to start the trip.  Unfortunately this left my parents on one side of the resort, and us the other.  A little more magic, and they were able to secure a suite upgrade at a significantly reduced rate.  Score!  Thank you to the staff at A of A for these wonderful surprises.  

(Side note: A while back I realized that longer trips at Disney mean more $ spent on hotels, which make those high end hotel stays very expensive.  By splitting the trip, I still get to stay at a fancy hotel for half the trip, while balancing that price point with a moderate hotel the first half.  Disney also makes this super easy by transferring your luggage for you.  A simple am drop off, visit the park, return to your new hotel at night, and poof, bags are already there.  Just make sure you get on the correct bus that night!)

Back to the story... Unfortunately the sweet suite surprise mentioned above (see what I did there), was negatively balanced by the experiences we had using the new skyliner to get from the resort to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  The skyliner was installed a few years back and takes the place of the buses to these two parks from Art of Animation, Pop Century, Rivera, and Caribbean Beach.  If you're staying at CB you're probably fine, as that's the central hub for all gondola lines, meaning each park is only one 5 minute ride away.  However, if you're staying at A of A or Pop C, you're sharing the skyliner with hundreds of guests, causing a massive line backup each morning and you have to disembark at CB and reload to your desired park.  This means double the lines.  Somehow this wasn't an issue at night, but each morning we used the skyliner the line was awful.  Between the 'normal' line and the handicapped line, the system was clearly overwhelmed and that was on a 'moderate' week.  I can't imagine how awful this is during peak season.  So much so that I'm now having to write A of A off my resort list.  I'd rather go back to Port Orleans than deal with that skyliner mess ever again. 

Day 1

The first day and half we stayed at the resort, went swimming, and did a bit of Disney Springs shopping with T-Rex for dinner.  I also made an awesome realization on day 2 that if I got an Apple Airtag for my mom, who doesn't have a phone, she could roam the parks at her will while the 5 of us rode rides and we could pretty easily find her when we got done.  (Note the words "pretty easily" cause a woman in a scooter can move faster than an Airtag can update). Thanks to $9 Apple same day courier service, I was able to obtain one and it gave her so much more freedom throughout the trip.

Day 3 - 1st Park Day

Our first park day was that Monday at Magic Kingdom.  We went for the Genie+ perk ($15/pp/day) for 5 of us, and my mom had the disability pass for her.  (Note the disability pass included all of us, but only when she could ride, which at Magic Kingdom, was about 1/4 of the rides... turns out MK is very much not handicapped accessible).  I would describe the crowd levels as 'full' but not packed the week after Thanksgiving, so we were able to get on all the rides we wanted with the Genie+ app without ever really waiting in line.  

Genie +

Side note for a short Genie+ explanation (note Genie+ is NOT Genie planning, which is a different thing).  This is basically a paid Fastpass that isn't preplanned multiple days out.  There is a great blog set here and here and here and here that describe what you need to know about Genie+.  It's a bit confusing but after the first morning, I got the hang of it.  

A few points.  First, purchase this at 6:45am the day of; as your first reservation can be done at 7am and really, it takes about 2 minutes to buy thanks to Disney owning your bank account.  Pull down on the app right at 7am to refresh and make your first selection.  Note that Genie+ does not cover certain rides at some parks (Space Mountain, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Rise of Resistance and a few others)  These are noted by LL meaning Lightening Lane meaning 'give us more money'.  So don't waste time trying to get these right yet. Purchase these after you've made your first Genie+ selection if you're so inclined.  Both go on sale at 7am, but it's better to first get your Genie+ selection then go get your paid LL if you're gonna do that.  Only exception here is the virtual que for Ratatouille, do this right at 7am otherwise you'll have to try again at 1pm. 

After your first ride selection you can make a second Genie+ ride selection either (1) after you've passed the second check in (aka old fastpass) entrance on your current selection or (2) 120 minutes has passed since you made a selection - starting 2 hours after park opening.  This is much easier with examples.  For this, assume the park opens at 8am.  

Example 1 - You made your first selection at 7am for Peter Pan and the return window was for 8:30am - 9:30am.  If you are prompt, and check in at Peter Pan right at 8:30am, you pass the second "check in" at 8:32 am, you can immediately make another Genie+ selection.

Example 2 - You made your first selection at 7am for Peter Pan and the return window was for 3:30pm - 4:30pm.  Given the park opens at 8am, you can make your next Genie + selection at 10am (having then two active ride reservations at once - this is called 'stacking').  Presuming, you forgot and made your second selection at 10:37am, your subsequent selection could be at 12:37am or after you've fully clicked onto either of your two active reservations.  

Basically just remember this.  Either 2 hours after last ride reservation is booked (not checked in) or after you've fully checked in to a ride a Genie+ ride, you should be going in to make another reservation.  Most rides have two 'check in' points to prevent line jumpers.

Magic Kingdom Con't

Back to our day.  We arrived at the park around 8:15am for rope drop at 8:30.  It was one of those days that the park opened 30 minutes early to those staying at a Disney Resort, so we were able to scan in and get in line for rope drop at Tomorrow Land.  A few short minutes later and we were in line for Space Mountain with only about 20 folks in front of us.  Given Space Mountain isn't on Genie+ (and I didn't want to pay $7/pp for LL ticket) it made sense to go here first.  Jesse (6) was pretty nervous but after the first ride he was hooked.  While we were on the ride, my parents were at guest services getting the disability pass.  Note, the pass isn't for those with minor mobility issues, it's truly for those who can't walk at all or have other disabilities making regular line que's impossible.  We met up with them and continued our day, mostly making use of the Genie + as described above.  In addition to having a packed day of rides, we also saw a few mini parades (2-3 floats), and an appearance by Stitch!  Stitch was one of the only characters we saw the whole trip which was quite amazing considering he's Jesse's favorite.  How lucky!  Jesse was beside himself with excitement.  While at the park we also used mobile ordering for all lunch orders, which made it much more pleasant.  

That night for dinner we ate at Jungle Skipper Canteen.  After many many trips to Disney, I'd never eaten here, and I gotta say, I've been missing out.  The dinner was really good and the beer and wine selection was also very good.  We had such a good time at dinner we opted to relax and give up seeing the fireworks and castle show to enjoy our dinner a bit longer.

Of note, we bought the popcorn bucket here and carried it the rest of the trip.  $2 refills can't be beat and make a quick, cheap snack.

Hollywood Studios

Day 3 was spent at Hollywood Studios.  It was our only day at this park so we got here right around opening to hit up the rides we wanted.  Given it's generally a much smaller park, we basically did everything we wanted in a single day with time to spare.  Again, I got Genie+ for 5 of us and used some of the advanced methods described by the blogs above to ensure we got tickets for Slinky Dog Dash.  It's a pretty fun ride, but nothing I'd stand in line for hours for.  (Also probably explains why we didn't do 7 Dwarf's Mine Train at all on this trip).  

Given my husband is a Star Wars fan, we spent considerable time in Star Wars land.  As much as I'm not into the movies, the land is really well done.  We didn't eat here, but next time I'll try hard to get reservations.  We also got to see Chewbacca and ride Millenium Falcon and Rise of the Resistance.  Honestly, both were fun, but unless you're really into roll play, I was much more enthralled with Ratatouille in Epcot.  We did manage to get mom on Rise of the Resistance but it came with a high level

of drama and unplanned excitement.  It involved a lot of maneuvering, me jumping across the seats to help, and mom almost landing on the floor instead of in the car.  For a relatively new ride it's completely unacceptable that Disney made this one so difficult for any handicapped person to use.  Come on Disney.  I'm so proud of my mom for riding, but she won't be doing that again.  PS - that thing on Max's shoulder is called a porg; he named his Hickey.  It talks and is magnetically attached (with a pretty weak magnet).  He got it at the creature stall.  Things we didn't do: $100 custom remote controlled droid (make reservations) and $212 custom built light saber (which somehow used to only cost like $45).

The highlight ride for Max was Tower of Terror, which he rode several times, and Jesse loved Millenium Falcon which he did twice with Jeremy and Papa.  I think the best ride in Toy Story Land is actually the Toy Story ride which is a series simulated 3D games each lasting 30-45 seconds.  

That evening we stayed for the illuminated show on the Chinese Theatre, but it wasn't much to write home about, which is generally what I'd remembered from 3 years ago. 

Point to note - getting to Hollywood Studios from A of A involved the gondola, long lines, and huge headache.  See above for why I won't be staying here again.

Epcot

I woke early to make sure I was on the app and ready for the Ratatouille virtual que right at 7am.  I pulled down hard on the app to refresh the screen and quickly clicked the button to join the que.  We got group 32.  I had no idea what that meant until later in the morning when the app told me that my estimated arrival time was 12:50pm.  This changed throughout the day and I just kept watching it.  Once your group is 'called' you have an hour to get over to the ride in France (FYI, you are NOT notified via text, so better keep checking the app).  Also, heads up, it's not in Italy, which for some reason I thought it was.  BTW - this is an amazing ride and I almost paid for a LL to do it a second time.  (You can only ride via LL $$ or virtual que) It's on my top 5 attractions throughout all of Disney World. Between the immersive nature, the larger than life scenes and the technology, I was blown away.  The cars themselves are very impressive, between the way they move and the feeling that you are floating on frictionless surface.  It was one of two times during this trip when I questioned my career choices.  After I'm done with medical, I may need to go work as an Imagineer.  

Given we were going to Epcot twice, which was largely driven by my ability to only reserve Le Cellier for dinner the last day of our trip, we opted not to get Genie +.  The only ride we didn't get to do was Test Track and it wasn't worth the $15/pp for me.  

Our first day at Epcot we bought the kids Olaf's Scavenger Hunt which involved them finding small Olaf statues throughout each country and collecting a prize at the end.  For $10/pp it kept them entertained and I would have done it even without the prize.  Unfortunately, the prize they were told about was a lanyard, but the stores were sold out and they only got this small silly pouch thing.  Which basically meant that mom (aka, me) had to get them lanyards so they weren't so disappointed.  This of course then lead to purchase of a few pins throughout the trip.  At least they are now hanging from their wall that they can see every day.

Dinners at Epcot were at Tutto Italia and Le Cellier.  Note, dining reservations can be made at 4am EST 60 days before your trip.  Also, you can check throughout your trip using the Disney dining app and you'll probably get lucky to find something, though it may not be your first choice.

Animal Kingdom 

When planning this trip, I only planned a single day at Animal Kingdom park.  In retrospect, I really

forgot how much I like this park.  I think it's grown on me over the years.  I'm not sure there's enough for 2 full days, but we definitely had a great time and I could see 1 1/2 days.  We didn't get the Genie+ perk for this park either, but that's likely cause Mom could ride most of the rides and so we used her disability (DAS) pass.  The only ride we really had to wait for was Everest (she couldn't ride) and at most it was 25 minutes.  

Some of my favorites are the Kilimanjaro Safaris (best in the am or later evening), Expedition Everest, Lion King show at Harambe Theater, Pandora Flight of Passage, and Dinosaur.  The Lion King show is outstanding and was the second time this trip that I thought to myself that I may have to quit my job to become an Imagineer.  What a great job to bring joy to millions of people.  I highly recommend making time for this show.  This was also our first time on Pandora Flight of Passage and more props are due to Mom who managed to embrace this ride and see it through.  The ride 'car' is more of a seat you mount bike style that locks you in with a very tight back rest.  It was another difficult one for her to mount, and the ride has a significant motion component.  I had more trouble than I thought I would with the 3D image, but the family seemed to really enjoy it.  I personally enjoyed it, but preferred Soarin' at Epcot.  Something about my eyes being able to focus on the image.  

For lunch we did mobile ordering and ate at Satu'li Canteen.  Wow.  I was blown away how delicious this food was.  Highly recommend this place for lunch or dinner.  Between the 6 of us we had the chicken, beef, and shrimp and they were all very well done.  Jeremy had the tofu salad and he loved it.

Also, if you're here with little kids, or just need a break, check out the Bone Yard in dinosaur land.  

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House

After several days at Art of Animation (A of A) we headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House.  In one word, this place is GORGEOUS, especially at Christmas.  The lobby is simply stunning, pictures don't do it justice.  Like a multi tier wood lodge, it's cosy and warm with a giant Christmas tree in the center.  We spent several nights sitting on the couches with a night cap and having lovely conversation.  Thought we didn't splurge on the safari view (after all a 'normal' room was already expensive), the rooms were huge and spacious and it turns out we had a partial view of the safari anyway.  We also had a view of the pool/hot tub area and flamingos.  The pool itself is a nice size with a single slide that's fun enough to entertain young ones but really doesn't hold a candle to the beach club slide.  I'm told at Kidani Village the pool has two slides, but, after visiting that side, we realize the lobby area is much smaller and it's more villa/timeshare.  

The first night we arrived we got there just in time to use the night vision goggle setup to view the savanna.  We only happen to see one animal but it was a cool experience.  We also took advantage of the hot tub, of course.

Given the need for some relaxing time after 5 long park days, we spent the whole next day at the resort. 

We got up for breakfast at Boma, which was so delicious that I was able to score a second breakfast reservation for the next day.  This tops my best breakfast buffet list and is a must-do if you're in the area.  The rest of the day we hung at the pool, played at the arcade, became cartoons (see aside) and checked out some of the activities in the kids club.  For dinner we cleaned up and walked over to Kidani Village for dinner at Sanna.  This restaurant features African cooking with Indian flavors and was a nice change from traditional Disney fare.  Though it's good, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.  Boma, yes.  Ah, I'm still thinking of that brunch.

Very Merry After Hours Christmas "Party"

Aside from the park and resort days, we opted to splurge for the Very Merry Christmas Hours while the grandparents headed back to the resort for the night.  This is similar, yet different, from the Very Merry Christmas Party of earlier years.  First, it starts at 8pm (with 7pm entry) and not at 7pm (with a 4pm entry).  Basically this means that you get 5 hours for what you used to get 6+ for.  The park essentially closed at 8pm to all who didn't have a Christmas Hours wristband (including rides and stores).  Given the party is more ride focused than in previous years (which was more entertainment focused) it was probably good that my parents didn't make the splurge.

First, the parade.  The nighttime Christmas parade was a bit shorter this year, but this time had some new floats and came with the addition of immersive smells.  As each float came by you could smell the theme of that float.  For example, Clarabell's cooking float smelled like chocolate chip cookies, and one float smelled like peppermint, another like pine.  This was a nice touch that made it magical.  In fact, the first time we saw the parade from a side view walking from one attraction to the next.  I was impressed enough that we took time out of rides to watch it again but from a premium viewing spot at midnight. 

Throughout the night they had free ice cream, popcorn, soda and water.  They also had cookie and hot chocolate stands.  All of which was met with great excitement from two little boys until they realized there was only so much they could reasonably consume without getting sick.  

The big highlight of the night is that the attendance is greatly limited and given the tickets cost a small fortune, the lines for the rides are basically non-existent.  First, we hit up Space Mountain three times in a row, maybe more, and Astro Orbiter, which at 9pm was getting quite chilly.  Coming off the ride we found ourselves in the middle of a Stitch dance party complete with snow and a really fun DJ!  I could have spent hours here just listening to the music and dancing the night away.  Jesse and Max were in their element.

After some ice cream and dancing we made our way over to Magic Carpets, multiple trips down Big Thunder Railroad, Splash Mountain (where mom took the brunt of the water spray) and other Disney classics.  We watched the fireworks from the ride on Splash Mountain which was pretty cool.  I managed to hang on to my phone and not loose it on the Big Thunder Railroad this year. 

As the night came to a close, we finished up on people mover.  In my opinion this is a highly underrated ride; something about the calming movement and views of the park make it a classic.  We ended at 1am carrying two sleeping boys and watching the Christmas stage show at Cinderella's castle.  A few more cookies on the way out and we made it home around 2:15am.  

Back soon?

Each time I visit Disney I learn something new and find magic I hadn't experienced before.  I found spending two extra days at the resorts was the perfect balance to the craziness of the parks and having enough relax time that you don't feel you have to 'do it all' in one day.  I learned that Disney Springs (once named Downtown Disney) is now a bustle of high end shops packed together so tightly you can barely walk. I found a new favorite hotel in Animal Kingdom Jambo House and three new restaurants to add on my go-to list: Boma, Jungle Skipper Canteen, and Satu'li Canteen.  

I'm so glad we were able to get away after a long year of work and quarantine and very grateful that my parents were able to join us.

Until next time... 

Merry Christmas.