Party tickets for Very Merriest After Hours are just over $100 bucks each. Thinking it would be like the after hours events we’d done before, we jumped at the chance to purchase tickets before the party sold out.
I’m not sure if we weren’t thrilled with the event because it was held at Magic Kingdom, (we’d always done Animal Kingdom before where the rides we love are), or if there were more people, or because a couple of the rides broke down, or exactly what it was we didn’t like so much. It was probably a combination of all those things. But whatever it was… the party was barely merry. I even skipped riding Test Track and Space Mountain…
A comparison…
AK (Animal Kingdom) after hours we rode our favorite rides multiple times.
VM (Very Merry) we rode a few rides that we didn’t care if we rode again.
AK had a very limited number of people and there was ZERO wait to ride even the most desirable ones.
VM was shoulder to shoulder until around 11:30 PM and there were still waits to ride anything.
AK had an awesome light show and lighted floats on the water in Pandora.
VM had a nice Christmas parade.
VM had snow.
We had a good time, but not an amazing time. The Disney magic wasn’t even close to what we experienced before. Not a total disappointment, but absolutely disappointing. I’m thrilled we got to go — so were Ben and Coco. I loved spending extra time with my son and granddaughter celebrating the upcoming holiday — I hope they felt the same about the extra time with me.
My biggest complaint is that even the premium, paid experience didn’t feel like Disney. Why?
Not one cast member referred to Coco as a “princess” as they’ve always done in the past.
None went out of their way to smile except for the robot wavers as you exit the park.
Workers in shops would just walk right in front of shoppers (GUESTS!) without saying “excuse me.”
And even though you expect Disney prices, it doesn’t feel magical to get gouged at every corner for more and more money.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, but even when we visited in 2015 it was a 1/2 day park. There simply wasn’t enough to keep us busy for a full-day outing. It’s not that way anymore! All the really amazing stuff that Disney has to offer is at my favorite park.
Our park hopper passes bumped us here multiple times this trip. Allow me to once again say that even though Disney is “limiting” the number of people at each park by requiring reservations in advance, that limit is set MUCH TOO HIGH for their “guests” to truly enjoy what’s offered. It was crazy busy at every single park on every single day. Animal Kingdom was no exception… although Magic Kingdom, it seemed to us, was the busiest overall.
The Tree of Life honors animals and the place they share in the circle of life. This 14-story bad boy has the images of more than 300 animals hand-carved into the trunk. Because we didn’t do Kilimanjaro Safaris or Kali River Rapids this time — it’s the closest we got to animals unless you count the caged monkeys, birds flying (macaws maybe?) and the one anteater that fascinated us.
Everything about this park is perfectly done. Joe Rohde was the lead Imagineer of Pandora and I think I might be in love with the old dude sporting tons of earrings. He retired January 2021 after a 41 year career.
Animal Kingdom also has popcorn — a staple of Coco’s diet!
Besides popcorn, here’s where you’ll find the Yak & Yeti Restaurant and Flame Tree Barbecue — both amazing. We ate breakfast at Yak & Yeti’s quick service more than once this trip.
We hit Pongu Pongu (“party party” in the language of the Na’vi) every single trip for the ‘Night Blossom’ drink with boba balls because Coco loves them and she’s the boss. Ben and I like them too, but sometimes opt for the alcoholic versions.
Of course, there’s a ton of snack kiosks that feature every kind of goodie you can imagine… including ice-cream. Ice-cream is messy business when it’s almost 90 degrees and you’re wearing a black skirt.
Ben and I always share access to the photos taken by the other via Google Photos when we’re at Disney World. I laughed as I browsed some of his shots. It seems Animal Kingdom is also a magical place to take selfies. 😉
And now that we’ve covered the food and park basics, tomorrow I plan to rave about the best ride on the planet earth and my second favorite ride — both located within Animal Kingdom in Disney World. Until then…
Epcot (my 2nd favorite park) is home to the World Showcase where you’ll find lots of shops and eateries. There are 11 pavilions that represent 11 countries positioned around a reflective lagoon. They are: UK, US, France, Morocco, Japan, Italy, China, Norway, Mexico, Germany and Canada.
Canada is where you can find my favorite restaurant on the planet — Le Cellier. Best. Steak. Ever. (Sorry Dad.) My more adventurous traveling partners love the Japan pavilion — both for food and for shopping. Even when we visit Japanese restaurants close to home, I’m the only one at the table with a fork. I’m no fan of sushi.
There’s not been one visit to Disney that we’ve left the Japanese pavilion unscathed. Who knew blue crocks are the perfect compliment to a kimono? 😉
We’ve gotten counter food at every pavilion at one point or another with the exception of Morocco. Not sure why, but we pass it up every single time. We typically have one sit-down meal in the China pavilion — Nine Dragons. It was closed due to COVID for over a year and just reopened a couple months ago. There was not a reservation to be had almost a month in advance. 🙁
While Epcot has around 40 attractions, there are only 10 rides — including the new one where you get to be a rat — Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Currently, there’s a virtual queue to ride it. Our assigned group was projected to board at 1:00 PM, but that got pushed to 4:30 PM – and then to after 5:00 PM. Good thing the “in line” wait was short. It’s a cute ride but not one I would wait over 40 minutes in line to ride.
Directly after the ride, we stood in line FOREVER to get crepes from La Creperie de Paris because they’re said to be amazing. People who claim that lied. Blech!
Mission: Space is a good ride, and I still love Soarin’ even though it was a bajillion times better before they upgraded the visuals. Although Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind is coming in 2022, it’s going to take more than that to pop Epcot to the top again in my book.
Good bye for now, Epcot…
Only “one more” for the nice list – sure hope it’s me!
Tomorrow’s post will be… drum roll please… Animal Kingdom. While Epcot has my favorite restaurant, Animal Kingdom is home to the best ride on the planet. Period. No room for negotiation!
With park hopper tickets, we visited all the parks multiple times with the exception of Hollywood Studios. We rode everything there last time around and enjoyed the Star Wars area… just not enough to go back this round. No matter the park, Coco wanted popcorn from every vendor. Soon as one box was empty we were purchasing another.
The fruit and Nutella waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow is amazing — and we watch for the spring roll truck in Adventureland like it’s our job. The cheeseburger one is my favorite, but we also tried the 50th anniversary special. It tasted like a White Castle cheeseburger and I’m not a fan of hot pickles.
Not sure why, but Disney World serves up the BEST bacon ever. Add to the bacon one other thing we’re all a fan of…
We like Magic Kingdom for the classic rides most — like It’s a Small World. With the new ‘non-fast pass’ system, at times the wait was 60-minutes even for this ride. While it’s a staple, I will not wait an hour to see dolls dance no matter what they’re wearing. I’ll do 10-minutes.
Another classic, simply-can’t-miss-it ride is Haunted Mansion. I remember taking Ben when it was scary to him, and Coco when it was scary to her. But it’s not that way anymore. We rode with ghosts 4 or 5 times this trip. I think the photo below was taken on our 5th go around:
The outside of the Haunted Mansion is so awesome — almost as good as the ride itself.
We never miss Mickey’s PhilharMagic show and love it every single time. The new Coco scenes added were great. And you can’t go to Magic Kingdom without helping the dwarves mine up some jewels, right? It’s ok if you feel sorry for me because I’m sitting alone. 😉
While Magic Kingdom is what most think of first and foremost when Disney is mentioned, it’s now my 3rd favorite park. Tomorrow we’ll travel to my second favorite park. Guesses?
Disney World is still magical — but it’s also jam-packed with people, has incredibly long lines for rides and food, is more difficult to get to, and is now pay-to-play in many instances. Park Pass Reservations are required — you have to pick where you want to go early enough for it to still be available.
Disney is no longer offering transportation services from the airport to onsite properties — that’s gone. They’ve also resorted to hiring outside bus companies with non-Disney drivers to supplement their driver shortage and it’s still standing room only to get to the parks from resort hotels. Good luck getting a good driver AND a seat.
If you’re lucky enough to reserve the park you want to go to, be prepared. The only time I’ve seen Magic Kingdom busier than last week was after Christmas and New Year’s Eve a few years back. Even our spring break trip pre-pandemic seemed to have fewer people crammed into Main Street.
In case you don’t already know, in addition to reserving the park you want to visit, there are also a ton of other changes that all mean LESS service and MORE money. Ticket prices have gone up and Fast passes have been eliminated — replaced with Genie+ and Lightning Lane options. To bypass the standby line, some rides require you to purchase both Genie+ AND a Lightning Lane pass.
The castle is gorgeous during the day and at night…
If you purchase a Photopass, a Disney photographer scans your magic band, takes your photo (after you stand in a loooong line) and you can download the digital version from the My Disney Experience app. For more money, you can buy prints. These are my two favorites of Ben and Coco from Photopass session one:
And now for the Photopass fail! Below are two photos taken at the same time — same day — same people…
In a matter of 5 seconds, I grew huge breasts — like Dolly Parton even. Coco is totally convinced that someone edited all the front facing photos of me taken during that session. I’m convinced I made the right decision when I didn’t have implants back when I once considered it.
More on the Magic Kingdom park, rides and food tomorrow.
