Day 3 Part 2: Evening at Epcot

 After our whirlwind morning at Animal Kingdom, a small break for lunch and some shopping at the outlet mall we headed back to the parks for the evening. But this time we headed to Epcot (my family's favorite park).

The gate to Epcot was fairly empty so I wasn't surprised when we were able to park close enough to the entrance to just walk right in rather then catch the shuttle. 

You have to get a photo in front of the big ball. LOL 

There is something beautiful about Epcot in the late evening just before the sun starts to set. 

A lot of people were heading out of the park as we were heading in. Great! More room for us. 

Sunset at Epcot! Always memorable. 

We checked the Disney app and Turtle Crush had a fastpass opening so we grabbed it! 

   

Followed by a fastpass for Soarin!!! 

A walk on for Figment! 

And then somebody had the bright idea to catch the boat (just before Epcot closed mind you) through the international gateway at the back of Epcot to the boardwalk for ice cream! We did check at the gate before exiting to make sure we would be able to get back in since our car was parked out front at the Epcot parking lot. 

Mission accomplished! Once we actually found the Ice Cream Shop. Which was hard to see at first since it was hidden behind a bunch of tarp. 

All three of us were in our own little ice cream bubble. But we didn't have much time to waste since we needed to get back on that boat and back through the gate before closing.

One of the fondest memories I have of the boats at the boardwalk was this one year we were leaving Epcot via the boat to catch the trolley back to our car at Hollywood Studios. Because of a tip I got years ago from one of the Disney sites I knew if we times it just right we would be able to see the fireworks from Epcot as well as the ones at Hollywood Studio. No fireworks this time but I never tire of the boat ride. Next trip I hope to explore the Boardwalk early morning (looking into eating at the breakfast with Ariel and Erica at Trattoria al Forno). Next week we hit Epcot in the morning to ride Test Tracks. 

We made it back through the gates!!! You would think after the day we had that we would head back to our bed and crash. Nope! Hubby wanted a few things from Walmart so we headed out of the Disney bubble before calling it a night. What's your favorite park to visit at night? 

First Impressions of Pandora and Flight of Passage Ride

I thought I would do a separate post on my thoughts about Pandora and Flights of Passage. I will start by saying I was not a big fan of the movie so I was concerned that I wouldn't really enjoy the new land at Animal Kingdom. I still have mixed feelings after seeing it last fall, but I get why so many people enjoy it.

The Land of Pandora : I loved seeing all of the cool flowers, walls, foliage and floating mountains. I did get the feeling I was in another world. We didn't actually get to go back and see it at night so I can't speak on that. Honestly, there was so many people at the park that morning and not really knowing the lay of the land I don't feel like we got a real opportunity to explore and get the real feel of the place.

Navi River Journey: As I said in the previous post I liked riding the "boat" ride only because it was so relaxing after getting pass the crazy dash to the land with what seemed like a 1,000 of my closest friends that I did not know. Would I ride it again? Only if I got there first thing in the morning and had a fastpass for Flights of Passage.

Flights of Passage: The ride was very cool. I have to admit because I heard so many different thoughts on the ride experience and how some struggled with jerky movements and even dizziness. Not to mention the warning for those with health issues I kept my eyes closed through certain parts of the ride. If I ever get a chance to try it again I would do it differently. What I did see I liked. And I didn't find the ride any more jerky then the Star Tours ride. I also found the seat to be comfortable. But I could see why it would not fit everyone which is a shame. If you are not sure I suggest checking out the model of the seat that is at the entrance of the ride.

Would I ride it again? Yes. Would I wait in line for hours to ride it? No. If I can't get a fastpass for it on our next trip it would have to have a really low wait time for me to do it again.

The Canteen: We didn't get a chance to check out the food (although I did peak inside). Maybe on our next trip. Everyone raves about the purple drink and the blue dessert so maybe we will put that on the bucket list.

Windtraders Shop and Merchandise: Because I am not a big fan of Avatar we were not looking for merchandise per say so we really just went in to see what they offered. In the end we didn't see anything we wanted and I can't see any of us walking around with a banshee on our shoulder.

Overall I get all the hype behind the land. The imagineers did a great job, and the FOP ride is pretty neat. But I will always be an Epcot girl (World Showcase at that lol). There is something about being able to walk from Mexico to Canada that just makes this Disney girl happy.

Animal Kingdom Day 3 Part 1: First Time Seeing Pandora

It was finally the day we would see the much talked about Pandora at Animal Kingdom. I was excited to see what all of the hype was about but not so much being at Animal Kingdom in the August heat. This is the one park we would probably explore more if we came in the winter time. I just do not do well with heat and for some reason Animal Kingdom is that one park I can't seem to find a place to stay cool. We arrived just as they opened the park.

Everyone was making a mad dash straight for Pandora even though the CM had warned them not to run. Didn't really matter because by the time you got around the corner towards the new land you realized that there was a sea of people just like you waiting to get in. It was the craziest thing I had ever seen. As the crowd started to get larger (yes, there were just as many people behind us as there was in front of us) the CM's started asking everyone where they were headed. We had a fastpass for Flights of Passage so our plan was to see the Navi River Journey first and then come back when it was time for the other ride. Lets just say I was never so glad to have a fastpass for a ride as I did that morning! The cast members directed us towards our ride while it seemed like everyone else was directed to a very, very long line for Flights of Passage.

The Navi River ride is cute and great for small children who can't get on Flights of Passage but it can appear spooky of your child does not like "dark" rides (we encountered one child who was not happy that her parents were making her ride lol). I agree with everyone who said its too short, but if you get there first thing in the morning and you are looking for something relaxing after fighting the crowds just to get in this area then its not that bad of a compromise. I know for me it was a great relief to not have to stand in line with all of the other people waiting to get to FOP. And we walked right on (later that day the wait time was ridiculous for both rides). As I am writing this post on June 12th the wait time is 60 min. for Navi River and 135 minutes for Flights of Passage. When we went people were waiting up to three and four hours.

When you come out of the Navi River ride there are these cool drums built into the "tree" formations. Be sure to check them out. At night (and maybe even during the day) I think you have an opportunity to be a part of a presentation that they do with them.

We walked around and took some pictures but we wanted to hit Its Tough To Be A Bug before coming back for our fastpass at Killimanjari Safari at 10:35.

There were people lined up so far back that they were on the bridge between Pandora and the bridge that takes you to Festival of the Lion King.

My daughter being serenaded for her birthday.

One of my favorite shots from that morning! 

Us exploring (aka getting lost lol).

Found this wall by accident even though it was on my bucket list for this trip. We kept getting different directions from the CM's as to which was the best way to get to the Tree of Life.

Found it! 

Another favorite shot. I love the scenery at Animal Kingdom (just not the heat lol).

I was really surprised at how many animals we got to see on this trip. Sometimes when its this hot (I believe it was in the high 90's) the animals are not as active. Can you blame them? I have to admit nothing takes a candle to our first time doing the Safari. We had a guide from Africa and his accent made the ride seem more realistic. And I actually miss the poachers scene. All in all its still a great ride for someone who knows she will never go to Africa, but some of the magic seems missing with some of the changes that have been made over the years. 

I didn't take any photos on our way back to ride Flights of Passage. We went through the Fastpass line pretty quick (our pass was for 11:45). And we were so excited to not have to wait in line that it didn't even cross my mind to document it (you can't videotape the actual ride anyway, and I was too busy holding on to the back of my "Banshee" to snap a photo with my phone LOL. ) But we did take photos at the famous Moss wall (Tip: which you can find right after you exit the ride and have come down the steps in front of the restaurant and shop). 

We popped in the shop briefly. Grabbed a snack and some water out of our bags before making our way back to catch the Festival of the Lion King at 1:30. 

I love, love, love the Festival of the Lion King Show. But again I was a bit disappointed this time around because I noticed some changes to the show (clearly I don't do well with change lol). I can't put my finger on it and may have to go back and look at one of my old trip videos but I think they have eliminated some of the songs because there seemed to be something missing. Also this was our first time seeing it in its new location. A few years ago I got to see the Broadway version of Lion King when my daughter and husband surprised me for my birthday. At the time I remember saying I actually liked the park version better. Now I am not so sure.

Before heading out of the park for lunch, and a bit of shopping we thought we would go and visit our favorite (well my favorite) Disney couple. It was the first time I have gotten to see them in their Safari gear and also (I think) the first time I have taken a picture with them together. Something else I can take off of my Disney Bucket list (I may do a video about this next week so stay tuned). Also if you haven't seen it you will have to go and look at a video my daughter Quisha and I did. It was my first Disney tag video. Stay tuned for the next trip installment when we head to Epcot for a fun filled evening. Thank you to those of you who have been supporting my blog and youtube videos!

Disney Target Haul (Mother's Day)

Its bad enough that Target seems to suck you in when you go into the store and you find yourself buying things that were never on your shopping list. But now they had the nerve to go and stock the store with all of those irresistible Disney merchandise. LOL The family indulged my love of Disney around Mothers's Day and I got to go on a little shopping spree. 

Go and watch my youtube video to see what the inside of this beauty looks like (and yes that was a shameless plug). 

I'm still kind of sad that I wasn't able to find the clear cosmetic bag. But these two bags are pretty cute in their own right.

Of course a girl needs to have Mickey and Minnie corn holders. 

I looked at these pins for the longest time before picking them out. You can't go wrong with classic Mickey. And the bandanna is too cute. I searched several Target's before I finally found the Mickey earrings! 

I have special plans for these but you will have to go to my YouTube channel to find out (link below). 

You have to have lotion and mints when you go to the parks right? Tin (purchased along with Mickey Hand sanitizer a week before when I went Target hunting lol) was filled with jelly beans but I ate them all.

How do you resist a Minnie Mouse t-shirt when she looks at you like that? LOL

And of course my prized possession. My Mickey Mouse rug. My Disney Target Haul video is now up, so please go and watch. Subscribe and like the video! And don't forget to hit that notification button if you would like to know when more videos go up.