WDW Weekend Trip: Day One

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: With spring break and Easter in the rearview mirror, our Disney annual passes came out of blackout so we decided to make a trip to the parks for an impromptu weekend adventure. We had some baseball commitments that allowed us to get away to Central Florida so what better way to make the best of the trip than by a visit to Disney.

When we got to Disney, we headed straight to Epcot for a day of exploration to kick off our Saturday. Once the rope drop we hit Spaceship Earth with no-line. While I typically skip this one for later in the day, we had FastPass+ for Test Track that wasn’t until 9:20 so we had a little bit of time. Spaceship Earth is always a great way to get a reprieve from the Florida heat as the slow moving dark ride will easily put you in the a/c for at least twenty minutes, but this early in the day that wasn’t a factor.

After we concluded with Spaceship Earth, we headed towards Test Track. On the way there, we noticed that Mission Space had only a ten minute wait, so we decided to ride that before Test Track. I am not a Disney expert and I am not up to date with all the changes, but the ride has changed since the last time I rode Mission Space. In the past, you launched into space and made a trip to Mars, however this time you just blasted odd and orbited around the planet before returning to Earth. I like this ride but I think it would be a lot cooler if the ride was responsive to the joystick controls. I know wishful thinking and not possible since it’s a ride and not a simulator but come on, wouldn’t it be cool to actually be in control of the spacecraft.

Upon return to Earth, we headed over to Test Track. The FastPass+ is pretty convenient since in this short amount of time, Test Track was already sporting a 45 minute wait. I am gonna take a moment and whine a little bit here but I am not a fan of the new Test Track. While the ride track and premise is unchanged, the redesign from vehicle testing to vehicle design was a big let down. The ride just isn’t the same without the head on game of chicken and the crash test. I can understand that things need to change to keep things fresh, however classics are fine just the way they are. Test Track is still my favorite ride at Epcot, but I still miss the old Test Track.

Once we finished Test Track, we took a little time to enjoy the topiaries of the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. Nestled between the two sides of Future World, they had a butterfly garden. Butterflies are a great reminder of special moments in life. Seems like life’s memories are highlighted by butterflies and seeing them always reminds me of these special moments. The butterfly garden gave me wonderful ideas however anyone know me, I can’t grow a garden to save my life.

We then made it to the Imagination Pavilion for a Journey into Imagination with Figment. This playful journey through the five senses always give the family a laugh. I always see something new each time I ride a ride like this and today I noticed that they were doing tickle tests in the laugh lab. I don’t how that works, I don’t know anyone who is ticklish, not even me.

At the conclusion of the ride, we checked the My Disney Experience app and saw that the line for the Frozen ride at the Norway Pavilion was only 20 minutes long.  Since this was one of the newly refurbished rides, we decided to head over there and ride it. When we got to the ride, the line extended way outside the queue and the cast member said it was a 55 minute wait.  Not sure why the app and the sign still said 20 but it wasn't worth a wait that long. So we headed one country over to Mexico and rode the Grand Fiesta Tour.  If you never been, thing It's a Small World but Mexican music and Donald Duck hi jinx.  The Mexico pavilion is one of my favorite.

We then headed back into Future World to The Seas with Nemo and Friends.  Hope aboard a clammobile and head to the Sea Base but along the way you see the story of Nemo and meet all of his friends.  When we reached the Sea Base, we watched the sea life in the large aquariums.  An interesting did you know, when built in 1986 the aquarium here at the Seas was the largest saltwater aquarium in the world and it held that record until the Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005.

Our final stop in Future World was the last remaining pavilion, the Land.  We hopped on the Living with the Land boat tour for a journey through the plant and vegetable greenhouse to see the technology and research that is being done here at the park to better grow fruits and vegetables.  At the end we attempted to ride Soarin but the 95 minute wait was a huge deterrent so we headed out to World Showcase.

We made the 1.2 mile trek around World Showcase, photographing the pavilions and viewing the characters made out of flowers and hedges as part of the Flower and Garden Festival.  I think this is where are the crowds were because the park instantly got uncomfortably crowded.  We made a stop in the American Adventure pavilion for a funnel cake and a pretzel.  The funnel cake was good and so was the pretzel however one warning, the pretzel comes with cheese and I highly recommend staying away from the cheese.  Not sure exactly what it was but it was disgusting.  I was reading the label and it said cheese flavored cheese and that it was genetically engineered.  No thanks!  As we finished, the American Adventure show was about to begin so we headed in to watch that.  This is probably my favorite show in the park, but then again we all know I am a history nerd.

When the show was over, we finished the trip around World Showcase and headed back to the car.  We had a commitment off property we had to make.  Once it was over I had planned to go to the airport for some plane photos however it was beginning to get dark so the lighting wouldn't have worked out.  Instead we decided to hit the parks again, this time we went to Animal Kingdom.

We headed straight to Kilimanjaro Safari once inside the park.  We skipped over the brand new Pandora as this new section of the park deserved a little closer exploration then what we had as we were trying to beat out the rain.  Riding the safari at dusk was a great experience.  The animals were very active and made for an enjoyable safari.

When the safari was over, we headed towards Everest, however the storm line was chasing us and I didn't want to be caught on a coaster when it hit so we opted for Dinosaur instead.  This ride is a must ride each time we go to Animal Kingdom.

After we got off the ride, we headed back outside and that is when the skies opened and we were instantly soaked.  We found a dry spot and waited out the lighting but it was too late, we were already soaked.  I hate being soaked, especially wet socks and sneakers so once the heavy lightning passed we made our way out of the park and to the car.

We then went to the hotel and checked in to our room for the night.  Typically when we go to Disney, we always stay at a resort on property just for the ease of the transportation, whoever when planning this trip last minute I had a deal that was too good to pass up.  We got a room at the Red Lion Hotel located in Kissimmee.  It was so closed to the parks, it actually felt like it was easier to get to the parks from here than it was from most of the Disney properties.  The hotel looked a little run down from the outside, but the rooms were nice inside and that was all that mattered.  If we were staying multiple nights and were looking for a resort, this is not the place, but if you are going to be out exploring all day and you just need a place to recharge at the end of the day, this is where you need to go.

It was a fun day exploring the parks.  Busy too. Logged over 25,000 steps and had a lot of fun.  Plus managed to get off property for a little while and still return with time left to continue exploring Disney.  Tomorrow's adventure is Magic Kingdom.

Be sure to check out the Epcot and Animal Kingdom photo galleries for photos from the parks.