WDW Feb 19-26 trip report

[bronxgirl]

I apologize in advance if I leave some things out or described things wrong. Sometimes it feels like everything blurs together.

My husband, our 12 year old daughter and I went to Disney World during the week of President's Day break.  We knew going in this trip would be very different from our pre-COVID trips.  For starters, our expenses were way higher than any previous trip even though we cut back more in many areas. We also love meeting characters and getting autographs so we knew that would be different.  Although this trip was very different from previous trips, it was still extremely fun and we had a fabulous time.  the "magic' is still there.
We stayed at Pop Century- our first time staying in a value resort. It was fine for our needs and the small size of the resort was very convenient. Although the rooms were small, the space was arranged well and I loved the Murphy bed set up.  I loved having skyliner access.  that was a really great perk.

Day 1:
We arrived at MCO around 9 in the morning and took a Lyft to Pop.  Our room wasn't ready yet so we checked our bags with the bellhop and had breakfast and looked around the resort.  Then we took a bus to Disney Springs and walked around there for a little bit.  We had lunch at Blaze and dessert at Sprinkles. When we got back to Pop our room was ready so we settled in and took a little break. In the evening we took the skyliner to Epcot and walked over to Beach and yacht club. We walked along the water and took some pictures and headed over to the Boardwalk.  That was really fun. We had never been there before.  We saw some street performers, got some food and hung out for a little bit.

Day 2:
We went to Magic Kingdom for our first park day.  We got there really early and rope dropped Seven Dwarfs.  That was really fun.  it was my daughter's first time riding it.  She was too scared on our previous trips, but loved it this time.  We were off by 8:45 and went to barnstormer and rode that.  We went on various rides throughout the day and hit almost all the big ones, except Big Thunder Mountain. We also met Mickey at his meet and greet.  We had lunch at Columbia harbor House.  We didn't get dinner because we had plans to go to the fireworks after party. Around 7 we headed over to check in and found a good spot in the garden.  the new fireworks/ projection show was amazing.  I really enjoyed it and I was so glad to not have to fight the crowds to find a spot to watch it.  When the show was over we headed over to the party.  that was really fun. We had our own assigned table. For dinner we had cheese and crackers and fruit, which was really good.  i also had a lot of wine.  Then for dessert we had many, many desserts.  Some were better than others, but they were all good. When we were done with the party we were able to squeeze in a ride on Space Mountain before closing. Than we took the bus back to the hotel.

Day 3;
We went to Animal Kingdom.  We started out in Pandora and did Naavi River after a relatively short wait and Flight of Passage after a very long wait. They were both really cool. Then we walked around Pandora and had lunch at Satulli Canteen. After that we saw the Lion King show, went on the Safari, rode Dinosaur, and hung out in the Boneyard which my daughter enjoyed. Befoe we left we rode Flight of Passage one more time.,  So fun! Then we went to Animal Kingdom Lodge to have dinner at Boma.  

Day 4:
This was our Epcot day.  We got up early to rope drop Remy. We were making great time, but then the ride broke down. we spent some time waiting, but gave up. We went to the front of the park to do Soarin'.  After that Remy was back up so we went to that.  we waited about 2 1/2 hrs in line, but the ride was cute.  Then we had lunch at Reagle Eagle (very good) and did some stuff in World Showcase.  Eventually we waited another 2 1/2 hours in line for Frozen, and that got treats in the Norwegian bakery.  We went to the front of the park and did Test track and Nemo and some other stuff over there. When it got closer to 9 we met up with my husband who had already found a good spot for us to watch Harmonius.  That was a great show.  

Days 5 and 6:
We went to Hollywood Studios both days.  Both mornings we rope dropped Rise of the Resistance and it was amazing!! The first day we did Mickey and Minnie next and the second day we did Smuggler's run.  This was our first time in Galaxy's edge and in Toystoryland and we loved them both.  Over the course of two days we did all the rides (except Star Tours because it broke down when we were going to ride) saw all the shows, and did some character meets.  We had lunch at ABC Commissary both days.  the first day we had dinner at Woody's Lunchbox and the second day at Backlot express. I also rode Smuggler's run 3 times in a row doing the single rider line and that was really fun. I'm really happy about how much we accomplished. 

Day 7: 
We went back to Magic Kingdom to finish up our park visits.  We focused on the rides we didn't get to do the first day and rode our favorites again. We had lunch at Pecos Bill's and had ice cream sundaes for dinner at Storybook Treats.  My daughter and I rode Seven Dwarfs during the fireworks show and we actually got to see the fireworks while riding the roller coaster which was really cool. Af6ter that we met the Princesses and rode Seven Dwarfs one final time.

Day 8:
Our flight home wasn't until 9:45 so we had time to relax. We packed up and checked out of our room at 11 and left our luggage with bell services.  then we went to Toppolino's for Brunch.  It was sooo delicious. we also walked around the Riviera a little bit and went back to the Boardwalk.  We spent some time looking around the Boardwalk hotel and relaxed in a lounge area.  Eventually we went back to our resort and walked around until it was time to head back to the airport.

[Patsy Baloney]

Wow, you got a ton done! What a fun trip!

[eddy]

I am very impressed with what you all got done!

[zarapipe]

Did you purchase genie plus?

[meganew]

That sounds like a great time and I’m impressed with how much you were able to fit in! Especially in HS. Did you use the genie+ system at all?

[nicolewi]

Thanks! I really enjoyed reading this. Sounds like you had a great time and got to do a lot! I am also curious about Genie+.

[jamie.1022]

Did you have reservations (specifically lunch) at all of the restaurants where you ate?

[mrsslocombe]

Mar 9, 2022 11:38:56 GMT -5 jamie.1022 said:

Did you have reservations (specifically lunch) at all of the restaurants where you ate?

All the places she mentioned are quick service but they do offer mobile ordering.

Highly recommend mobile order. FYI if you pick a window but don't think you will make it on time, you can just postpone to whatever time you need. They don't actually gather your food until you select "I'm here make my order." So if you place an order well in advance but are stuck on line, just move it to a later time.

[jamie.1022]

Mar 9, 2022 18:07:10 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

Mar 9, 2022 11:38:56 GMT -5 jamie.1022 said:

Did you have reservations (specifically lunch) at all of the restaurants where you ate?

All the places she mentioned are quick service but they do offer mobile ordering.

Highly recommend mobile order. FYI if you pick a window but don't think you will make it on time, you can just postpone to whatever time you need. They don't actually gather your food until you select "I'm here make my order." So if you place an order well in advance but are stuck on line, just move it to a later time.

Thanks!! We have reservations for dinner every other night but everything else were just winging it.

[bronxgirl]

Mar 7, 2022 15:20:25 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

Did you purchase genie plus?

We did for both our Magic Kingdom days and our first Hollywood Studios day.

[bronxgirl]

Mar 9, 2022 11:38:56 GMT -5 jamie.1022 said:

Did you have reservations (specifically lunch) at all of the restaurants where you ate?

Two of the restaurants we ate at: Boma and Toppolino's, are sit down restaurants.  I made reservations at the 60 day mark. We did counter service for all our other meals but used mobile order everywhere we could.  I really liked it.