After a long hiatus, I went back! - Trip 1 - Days 3 & 4

(Me) - Former quasi-Disney expert, just past 50 years old.
(Dad) - Loves travel & adventure still, just past 80 years old. (P.S. Still rides rollercoasters) <= Okay, I admit that part worried me too.

Resort:
Disney's Yacht Club

Dates:
September 5-10th

Day 3 – Magic Kingdom

This was our day of “changing plans on the go”. Originally, dad & I were going to eat breakfast at the Grand Floridian Café. In the past, I liked the Eggs Benedict & we really liked how serene it was compared to 1900 Park Fare. Sometime the day before when I was relating our next day’s itinerary to my dad – he said that he wanted to eat at Ale & Compass again. It surely was easier to get to for us (we would have to either hire a Lift or take a bus to Magic Kingdom and ten Jump on the Monorail for the 8:00 am reservation). So, our day began the same as previously, we just ate different entrées, and it was yummy as ever!

Today was also the first time that my dad had to navigate “parking” on the bus with his scooter. I was hoping that he would not get frustrated in the process. He is still a good automobile driver, and he did great on the scooter. The bus drivers were all fantastic on our entire trip so that gave him expert advice and occasionally helped him to steer at times. Dad just stayed in the car on the bus because he said he could take up on less seat that way. How nice! He also could see better from it out of the bus. I think the only scary thing was that he turned left too quick the first time coming off the bus ramp which meant his back left wheel caught some “air” and then thumped down hard. Both the bus driver and my eyes popped because he could have flipped over in the scooter. After that I would always remind him to go straight even further than he thought it was necessary before turning left or right when coming down the ramp. He did just fine thereafter.

I wanted to concentrate on the rides that we missed the previous night, so we rode everything in Tomorrowland except Space Mountain because it had broken down and stayed that way all day & night. We got an additional “Fastpass” because of that. I don’t remember what we used it on, but with Genie+ we had stacked a bunch of rides by the early afternoon thanks to that glitch and the 2-hour rule.

Speaking of that we got to ride Seven Dwarf’s Mine Train. What fun! We thought it was great. I loved the Heigh-ho song and the dancing animatronics! Then afterward we found Gaston’s Tavern. We shared a giant cinnamon bun. With that energy, we were ready to do a few repeat rides from the previous night. I wanted to give a shout out to the Small World ride. At the end of the ride, I saw my name! Nice touch. I used to look for my name on the racks in stores when I was a kid, got I used to the fact that it was just not going to be there because it is rare. Seeing it projected on the wall made me feel special. Anyway, little touches like that caught our eyes because I don’t think it did that back in 2011 (or pre-magic bands).

Another change was suddenly necessary. About 2 hours before our dinner at Skipper’s Canteen we thought that we were not going to be hungry yet. So, we switched it to the only other available time, 9:00 pm. That made us happy that we could do that with the Disney App. Then about 3 hours later our tummies were grumbly. We ate a “snack” as Sonny Eclipse sang to us. We got an order of chicken fingers and an order of French fries to share using the mobile app. I did not notice that the chicken came with fries and the fingers were bigger than chicken nuggets. So, we got filled up again on this “snack-meal”. Dad and I decided to totally cancel Skipper’s Canteen and just have some more “snacks” if we got hungry again. I was a little disappointed to miss Skipper’s Canteen though, because I had heard good things about it.

We went to the laugh floor with the Monsters. They were funny and a couple of the kids were cute and funny too. Kids have a way of telling jokes & you can’t help laughing to encourage them for being brave enough to tell them. :D After that we visited the Carousel of Progress. Dad remembers seeing a version of this show at the NY World’s Fair. Both shows allowed us to relax and digest. When we got out, dad wanted to wait by the sign at Tron, so we did not miss this ride! 😊

I did not know that the My Disney App would alert you when it was time to get in line, so we found a wall to sit on and watched the board and the people getting off as the sun set. I was hoping for a night ride and we had done every ride that I wanted to experience between this day and the previous night already. The first thing we did was read the restrictions board. Dad got a little quiet and I knew he was considering if he should really ride. I was going down the list too, thinking, I do think I should let him ride it. ☹

We were stationed right by the measuring stick for little kids to determine if they we tall enough to ride. Every time a little kid would be happy that they were tall enough, dad would smile. He also pointed out all of the people who he thought were older than him coming off the ride. I guess we sat there close to 2 hours contemplating whether this was a good idea or not. Then finally, our number came up and we got in line.

First of all, nighttime is the right time to ride Tron (if you can)! The canopy looks terrific then. I loved the way that they digitized us. I was totally geek-ed out (I used to be an IBM Mainframe Programmer & I’ve watched the Tron movie a bunch of times). When we got on our bikes just before the fast launch, I told my father – that he’s the best dad -ever! He told me I was the best daughter – ever! (Don’t tell my siblings, lol). We sped through the grid! Our on-ride picture was great – dad looked so determined and happy! I had a wide grin on my face. In the end, we were so thrilled. Dad insisted that we get pictures in front of the sign to capture the moment. Dad holding the Tron Rings was my most favorite picture that we took all trip.

After that we returned to YC happy and healthy. We were Ready for Day 4, Animal Kingdom.

Day 4 – Animal Kingdom

This was a day of new discoveries. The World of Avatar was not there our last trip. I even watched the movie on Disney+ so I would know more about it in advance. I think it was the same story as Dances w/ Wolves, lol but with really tall blue people. Just kidding, it is a breath-taking film, and I could not imagine how Disney could capture it in a theme park. Dad had seen Avatar way before I did, so he was very eager to go.

After our usual breakfast at Ale & Compass (we were regulars now), by now they even knew that I only drink milk with breakfast – not coffee – hee-hee! We took the bus over to Animal Kingdom.

I have not really mentioned the weather yet, but early September in Disney World is hot and sticky. I used one of those portable neck fans every day to keep a breeze on my face until the sun would set. In my opinion Animal Kingdom is the most humid of all the Disney Parks. However, there was this line of bad weather heading our way from across the Gulf of Mexico that we heard about on the morning weather report in our room. It was something in the back of our minds. The cloud cover made for better conditions in the park and there was a wind, so this was the only day I did not need my neck fan. It was in my backpack though. The same place where dad’s neck fan remained all trip. He never gets hot!

Thanks to Genie+ we were early to ride through the safari and all the animals were bit more alert than I remember them being in the past. I think they like a break from the heat and humidity too, lol. It was a lovely ride and then we headed to Pandora. Our first ride there was Flight of Passage. Now I do not know if it was just me, but the signs for it was rather … hidden or rustic or not looking like an attraction. We wandered around for a while taking pictures and wondering where the rides were. We finally had to ask the residents of Pandora. I think they thought we were strange. Everyone else seemed to know after all, lol. We had lightening lane passes which meant we did not see “Hank in the Tank” <= (I had to look that up afterward for this report). In commercials I distinctly remember seeing an Avatar floating in water, I think. Well, the ride was stupendous even without seeing that visual in person!!! We were flying on a Banshee in a gorgeous alien world! Wheee … Dad was grinning from ear to ear, I glanced quickly to capture the moment – but then was worried I’d feel car-sick (or would that be banshee sick?). :/ No worries, I was still fine & it was worth the risk. Dad was bopping along after that ride, and he declared it was the best one of all! (Even better than Tron!!!) :D

We took a tranquil ride on a River, and we listened to a projected Shaman sing beautifully. The creatures were a little spooky and yet stunningly gorgeous too. I could have relaxed there all day. But alas, we had much more park to explore.

Originally, we had one main goal on this trip for my dad to ride Dinosaur. In all our trips before something would keep him off that ride. Once dad got a headache after conquering the Yeti on Everest. Once or twice before, he was there in Animal Kingdom and somehow, he missed experiencing the ride.

By the time we got to the Tree of Life area, the sky was darkened it was slight past mid-day and the wind was blowing more than before. We watched the palm trees swaying and armed with the knowledge that heavy rains were heading our way ... We left Animal Kingdom for YC. Dad has still not ridden Dinosaur! With the refurbishment coming, he might have missed his last chance. We had reservations for Boma that night, but since the weather was yucky, I cancelled that too. When we got to the hotel room dad watched TV and I took a nap. We ate quick service at the YC that night since we no longer had dinner reservations. Oddly enough dad said that the room was freezing – I thought it was comfortable, but I adjusted the thermometer higher to make him happy. I did not know it then, but there was a reason why he was so cold. Oh well, we probably need the extra rest …

When the weather cleared up, we went to Epcot to round out the evening. We concentrated on watching the fireworks mainly. However, a really nice cast member let us attend the very last show of Turtle Talk w/ Crush and she snuck us into the theater first through a “Cast Members Only” door - so Dad did not have to leave his scooter and he could get situated in place without delaying the show. Crush was very lively and informative. There was a newly engaged couple that asked for advice for a long, happy marriage. Crush was thrilled to give them good advice to them, very Koo-Koo-Kachoo! It was really sweet and lovely.

We watched the fireworks from a bench in front of the Seas Pavilion. We could only see the high ones and the glow of the lights. The music was not as loud here so it made for a nice relaxing end to our day. We could talk freely, and it was a nice backdrop to talk about how we are healing from losing mom and we talked about the future. It was a really good time to reflect. We stayed on that bench watching the crowds leave toward the front entrance until we could easily go back to our room in the YC without feeling like we were fighting the tides of people rushing towards us.

Next: Days 5 & 6 + The Conclusion of Trip 1

Sorry your dad missed the opportunity to ride Dinosaur!! Very nice, relaxed couple of days!!

I have a feeling Dinoland won't be touched for a while so hopefully your dad will have a chance to experience it. I will miss it if/when it ever gets redone to something else.