Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Tag: Walt Disney World

• A Day at Epcot – Part 1

  Posted at 9:46 am by taryngirl, on December 1, 2020

  

  11/14/2020

  Recapping a little bit from my previous post, Disney After Covid (which focused mostly on safety and Covid procedures)…

  I was presented an amazing opportunity to visit both Disney World and Universal Orlando. I am a Disney Vacation Club member and had several points available to use thanks to a canceled trip back in May, I’m an Annual Passholder, and had a free flight thanks to Southwest Airlines points. That covered the Disney portion of my trip. Universal Orlando invited me to stay on property and experience the parks for a few days, so I could see how they are keeping guests safe while still having loads of fun!

  My travel day started off with a 2:50 a.m. alarm to wake up. (I am NOT a morning person unless I’m traveling!). My cousin Alex was my travel partner. We left around 3:40 a.m., and drove to the Philadelphia Airport, arriving around 5:10 a.m. at our parking lot. We went with Smart Park on this trip. I really just look around to see who is cheapest! Upon arriving at the parking lot, we were picked up in a shuttle with two other travel parties. We felt very safe. Everyone was wearing masks and the driver was wearing gloves.

  Once at the airport, security was a breeze. Everything is still normal…shoes and coats off, everything on the belt and through the scanner. Everyone in the seating area was social distancing. Our flight was scheduled for 7:05 a.m. and we landed and had our luggage by 9:45 a.m. A note about Disney’s Magical Express…it is not the same! They no longer send you yellow tags in the mail or get your luggage and deliver it to the resort. YOU must get your own luggage from Baggage Claim and take it to the Magical Express with you. We flew Southwest, so our terminal was the A Terminal. We had to get our luggage from there and head over to the B Terminal to get on the Magical Express.

  A fun thing I overheard at the Magical Express desk while we were heading to check in…they were expecting 6,458 passengers on the Magical Express on this particular day. The supervisor I guess?? was filling in the workers behind the desk so they knew what to expect. We got in line at 9:57 a.m. Be aware that they are using assigned seating from back to front, and using only every other row. The person checking us in told us where to sit. We were on the bus by 10:08 a.m. and departed at 10:20 a.m.

  We arrived at Bay Lake Tower at 10:48 a.m. and were the first stop. We may have actually been the only stop as it seems everyone got off here… We headed into the lobby. We wanted to check our luggage with Bell Services and head to Epcot. We also wanted to change into our shorts because it was hot!

  This is one thing I did comment on the survey they gave me. Because there is no luggage delivery anymore, Bell Services is CRAZY! Be prepared for longer than usual waits to actually check the luggage with them.

  

  We finished changing and got organized, checked our luggage, and then were at the bus stop at 11:35 a.m. There is no monorail to Epcot at the moment. The bus arrived at 11:45 a.m., and we made it to Epcot at 11:55 a.m. We were hungry for lunch and decided to start with some food booths! We decided to go counter-clockwise starting in Canada because we knew we wanted to eat something from there!

  One of my favorite restaurants is Le Cellier (in Canada), but it’s on the pricey side. The items at this food booth are some of my favorites!

  

  

  

  

  These did not disappoint and were tasty as usual. I absolutely LOVE the soup with the pretzel bread dipper! We continued on and our next stop was the World Showplace Events Pavilion, located between Canada and the UK. I have never seen this open for this particular event, but they do have other events there. I was interested to check it out, and it housed several food booths!

  

  

  

  

  The Liquid Nitro Cake Pops came highly recommended to me from friends who had already been there, so of course I had to try one! I went with the Twix version.

  

  This was really good and different! By this point I was already full, but I still had some items on my list that I wanted to try. Here are some pics from along our way.

  

  

  

  Our next stop was in Germany at the little caramel store, Karamell-Kuche. This is a must do for me every trip! It has some of the best snacks. There were some new offerings this trip, possibly just seasonal? I had to have the Gingerbread Salted Caramel Buttercream Cookie Sandwich!

  

  

  

  IT WAS AMAZING! My favorite snack from anywhere in the world. And possibly the single best thing I have ever tasted! The cookie was soft, but had a crispyish layer outside. It was perfect. The buttercream and caramel was so good together! I wished I would have bought more to bring home. We found a table next to Mexico in the area where the band usually performs so we could stand and eat our snacks.

  What you can see in this picture is the line just to get inside the Mexico pavilion. The man holding the sign actually had to cut off the line because it was too long. The wait from here was about a half hour. I think they cut it off because they didn’t want too big of a crowd blocking the sidewalk.

  

  While we were standing there, some cast members came rushing by telling everyone to get to the side, and that a horse and carriage were coming. We had no idea what was going on! All of a sudden, this went by:

  

  

  

  It was brief, but exciting to see! We decided that they do not announce times for these little cavalcades because they don’t want people gathering and lining up. We were just out of Mexico when this one came by:

  

  

  Short and sweet! It was nice to see the characters out and about since there are no real meet and greet experiences at the moment.

  Next up will be the rest of our day at Epcot with dinner at Coral Reef!

  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Epcot, Food & Wine, Karamell-Kuche, Uncategorized, World Showcase | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Epcot, Food & Wine, Karamell-Kuche, Walt Disney World

• Disney After Covid–Safety Precautions

  Posted at 8:08 pm by taryngirl, on November 23, 2020

  11/14/20

  An opportunity arose for me to do a quick trip to Florida to visit both Disney World and Universal Orlando, and I couldn’t resist! Several things fell into place…I had DVC points to use from a canceled trip in May, my Annual Pass was expiring on November 17th, and Universal Orlando offered me an amazing deal that I couldn’t pass up! Throw in the free flight I was able to get with my Southwest points, and that was just the cherry on top. I was excited to check out how things are running post-Covid since I have clients scheduled to travel within the next couple of months.

  This post is going to deal with everything specific to Disney World and the protocols in place at the resorts, the parks and the restaurants, as far as my personal trip is concerned. My cousin Alex traveled with me.

  We started off with a a 7:00 a.m. flight on Southwest from the Philadelphia Airport. We booked offsite airport parking at Smart Park. Starting there, the attendant at the booth was wearing a mask. The shuttle bus driver was wearing gloves and a mask. There were two other parties on the shuttle with us.

  Once at the airport, we did the self-service check in. The workers behind the counters were wearing masks. All security workers were also wearing masks. They still are doing regular security. Shoes off, coats off, and everything goes on the belt through the scanner. Once we got to our gate, people were definitely social distancing and not sitting next to one another. There were constant announcements about mandatory mask wearing, and what types of masks were permitted. They did have some available if needed. Southwest is currently not utilizing the middle seats on their planes, unless there are family members that sit right next to each other. They are seating every row.

  As always (pre-Covid I did these things!), I had my Clorox wipes to wipe down my seat, tray, etc., and my hand sanitizer. The only beverage available on the flight was water, and they had prepackaged snacks.

  In summary, I felt super safe in the airport and on the flight! Everyone was being respectful, wearing masks and social distancing.

  Once in Orlando, we were using Disney’s Magical Express transportation from the airport to our resort. This service has changed! They no longer send you the yellow tags in the mail to attach to your luggage. You are responsible for getting your own luggage from baggage claim and taking it with you to the Magical Express bus! They do not deliver the luggage to your room anymore! Since we flew on Southwest, we arrived on the A side. The Magical Express is located on the B side. This means that we had to go to baggage claim on the A side, then go back up and across the entire airport to the B side and downstairs to the Magical Express location. (They also are not doing airline check in at the resorts. So you also bring your luggage with you when leaving the resort and getting on the Magical Express.)

  Here you can see the plexiglass up at the counters, as well as some signage.

  

  The lanes are numbered and the cast member will tell you which lane to enter. There are signs all along the lanes with these social distance markers.

  

  The cast member scanning our bands to enter the bus assigned us specific seat numbers. He had a map of the bus with a dry erase marker, and was marking off the seats he assigned. They are utilizing only every other row and are filling the bus from back to front. We were first in line so got the very last seats! (As a side not, there was a girl next to us who was assigned to another bus. She asked if she could sit near the front, and the cast member told her she could sit on a bench until the bus filled up and then could sit in the front. She didn’t like that answer and proceeded to the bus.)

  

  The Magical Express delivered us to Bay Lake Tower with our luggage. The lobby is small and it was chaotic! This was mostly due to Bell Services and luggage. People who did not have a room ready or were checking out but not yet leaving the resort had to check their luggage with Bell Services. Our room was not ready (as indicated by the text we had received while at the airport). So our plan was to check our luggage with Bell Services and then head to Epcot. A note! The monorail to Epcot was not running at the time so we had to take a bus.

  We waited for a bus and once it arrived, the bus driver assigned us seats using a seat number. He was wearing a mask.

  

  There are dividers up between seat numbers.

  

  Standing is not permitted so the handles were zip tied up.

  

  None of our buses were ever even nearly full. I felt very safe on the Disney bus transportation!

  Once we arrived at Epcot, signs were everywhere!

  

  

  

  Everyone has to pass through a temperature screening.

  

  They used handheld thermometers.

  Everyone also has to pass through security which is very different! They no longer go through your bags. You walk through a metal detector with your bag on you.

  These signs on the ground are EVERYWHERE! Spaced 6 feet apart! Every ride, every kiosk, every store check out, EVERYWHERE!

  

  Up next are attraction queues. The above signs are all along the ground/floor. Also, they are not using every seat/row! This is Journey Into Imagination with Figment. They did only one row per car. This was the same for Pirates, Mine Train and Small World as well.

  

  You know the fun area once you exit the Figment ride? It’s CLOSED! It was so quiet. Normally it’s chaotic with people everywhere. We found this to be a trend for every interactive attraction. (At the end of Spaceship Earth, all activities closed. Pretty much any interactive piece at any attraction is inaccessible.)

  

  This is the queue for Living with the Land. Barriers are up between the rows of the queue.

  

  On the boats, you can see the dividers up between seats. They also were not seating every row on this ride, but there was no line so they were spacing us out.

  

  Here you can see Soarin’.

  

  These signs are all around the popular photo taking areas. There are also cast members carrying handheld signs that say this same thing. They were approaching people who were removing masks for pictures.

  

  Moving onto dining now…

  This is Coral Reef Restaurant, which is a table service location. Everything is one way in, one way out. Every dining location, shopping location, etc. Doors are specifically marked ENTER or EXIT only. They have limited indoor seating and are not using every table. If you want a table service meal, it’s very important that you have a reservation! I saw them turning people away if they didn’t have a reservation.

  

  Another very important note, all quick service locations are MOBILE ORDER ONLY! This includes resorts and parks. Even if you only want a muffin or an orange juice. It’s all on the My Disney Experience app, or you scan a bar code located at the location.

  

  There is no grab and go section that is self-serve at the moment. Drinks are not self-serve either. Once you scan the QR code, it takes you right to the menu for the dining location. Here you choose your pick up time. You do not have to be AT the location to order. You can be in your room, somewhere around the resort, in a ride line, etc.

  

  After that, the menu will pop up and you can scroll through and click on what you would like. You pay right through the app with either you credit card on file or you can add a different card.

  

  Once you arrive at the location you can click that you are here and they will begin preparing your food. Just a note…we found that it took a good 10 minutes or longer for the food to be ready once we clicked we are here. So we began clicking it as we were walking on our way before we got there. Once the food is ready for pick up, the notification changes and it tells you what number table to go to to pick it up. They have multiple stations so people aren’t picking up at the same station at the same time. They are marked with big numbers on the floor.

  After you pick up your food, if you ordered a drink, you move to a different station, and someone will get it for you. This is the Contempo Cafe drink station area:

  

  The food is served in bags that are sealed, and packaging that is sealed. I removed my sticker before I remembered to take a picture!

  

  Next up is the resorts. This was in our Villa at Bay Lake Tower.

  

  You will notice that they are back to individual serving sizes of the toiletry items.

  

  The remotes are packaged in plastic stating that they have been sanitized.

  

  One last picture I took was at the monorail located inside the Contemporary Resort.

  

  We did have our temperature screening and security done here on our way to the Magic Kingdom. This allowed us to bypass those things at the Magic Kingdom.

  Overall, we felt very safe during our entire stay. There are hand sanitizer stations everywhere for use at your discretion. No one is spraying it on you. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone was complying with the mask mandate and social distancing. The only time you could remove your mask was if you were stationary off to the side eating or drinking. If a cast member saw someone walking and eating or drinking, they did remind them of the rule.

  Capacity at the moment is maybe 1/4 of what it is normally. So there were so many less people. Many of the ride queues went way out onto the walkways. Adding to capacity will definitely affect this. What seems like a crowded area really isn’t, because the line is continuously moving. It will be interesting to see what happens once they expand the capacity!

  Posted in Disney, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Bay Lake Tower, Covid, Disney, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort

• A Day Trip to Disney Part 1

  Posted at 11:21 am by taryngirl, on October 29, 2020

  March 10, 2020

  Call us crazy, but everything fell into place perfectly for a day trip to Disney! Super cheap flights on Frontier Airlines out of Philadelphia, an existing Annual Pass for the Disney parks, a fun group of agents that also can fly by the seat of their travel pants, great weather, and MY BIRTHDAY! all led to the booking of a quick day trip. I drove to our office which is kind of close to the airport, and we all drove to the airport in one car.

  

  

  My flight was $60 total, but had I booked sooner, it would have been cheaper! Our flight down was 5:50 a.m., which had us landing at 8:30 a.m. (Traveling is probably the only reason I ever set my alarm!)

  I also want to note, it was around this time that Covid was starting to explode around the country. There weren’t restrictions in place yet for anything, so we felt completely safe going.

  We met up with a few other agents at the airport, and upon landing in Orlando, we rented a car to drive directly to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

  

  

  Because we had an Annual Pass, parking was free at the theme park.

  

  

  

  

  Our goal as soon as we got there was to meet up with a few agents that live in Florida. One of the main reasons we were taking this trip was to check out the new Minnie and Mickey’s Runaway Railway attraction that had replaced The Great Movie Ride. Everyone was hungry so the first thing we did was find some food!

  

  The Baseline Taphouse is one of my favorite places to grab a snack and just sit. The outdoor seating atmosphere is really neat. It was close to opening time there, so we grabbed a seat and waited, then ordered this!

  I have to add this because it was so funny to me! My daughter was messaging me on Snapchat and wanted to know everything I was doing. She does not look thrilled that she was missing this trip!

  

  This is my true partner and crime! This is the last day I’ve seen her because of the virus and quarantining, etc.

  

  It was finally time to check out the ride! I was a little bit cautious, because to me, The Great Movie Ride was iconic for this park. I don’t like change, so I didn’t know how to feel!

  

  

  

  

  

  My opinion…it was fantastic! I was pleasantly surprised! It was so much fun!

  We also decided to meet Darth Vader since there was little to no wait time.

  

  From there, we headed out to Epcot to check out the Flower and Garden Festival. On the way out of Hollywood Studios, this sign was already out.

  

  Up next, Epcot!

  Posted in Disney, Hollywood Studios | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Hollywood Studios, Minnie and Mickey's Runaway Railway, Walt Disney World

• An Evening at Magic Kingdom

  Posted at 12:10 pm by taryngirl, on September 21, 2020

  1/29/20

  From Disney Springs, we took the bus to the Grand Floridian and then the monorail to Magic Kingdom. I think it’s super important to know your options for transportation ahead of time. Sometimes there is more than one option, sometimes things are not operating, etc. Also, don’t underestimate how long it will actually take you!

  

  

  

  

  I can honestly say in all of my trips to Magic Kingdom, I have never seen the Main Street Philharmonic band performing! This was quite a treat. Maybe because we always hit rope drop at Magic Kingdom, and they don’t perform until the afternoon? We are usually heading back to room at this time or busy on rides. This was a pleasant surprise!

  

  We had a FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so headed there first thing. That’s my favorite ride in Magic Kingdom! From there we headed to Country Bear Jamboree since we had to wait a little bit for our next FP+ at Pirates of the Caribbean.

  

  

  When we exited the show, these characters were all out on the street having a dance party! I have never seen this happening, but have seen just random bear characters walking down the street.

  Our next stop was the Enchanted Tiki Room. Also a Disney classic! A great spot during a rain shower or a super hot day!

  

  

  Have I mentioned that I LOVE my iPhone 11? These pics were taken in very dark conditions with no flash. From there we headed to our Pirates of the Caribbean FP+. After leaving Pirates, we made our way toward Tomorrowland. The Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party was going on.

  

  

  We had a FP+ at Peter Pan, so I think we rode on the People Mover then made our way to Fantasyland. After Peter Pan, we went to the Haunted Mansion. I just LOVE how my pictures turned out here!

  

  

  

  

  After that, it was time to make our way to a spot to watch the Happily Ever After fireworks. Of course we had to walk past the Tangled bathrooms! This area is so gorgeous at night!

  

  

  Fireworks tip…to start, people seem to stay on the sidewalks and out of the streets. You CAN stand in the street. My tip is to stand either to the right or left of the castle on the street about mid-hub. Make yourself big, because people will start filling in and you don’t want to be squished! (Although with Covid right now we don’t really have to worry about this…but when things return to normal!). If you know you want to go to a ride in Tomorrowland, stand to the right. If you want to go to Adventureland stand to the left. It’s a complete mob scene right when they are over. We tend to stand still for a little bit until the crowd starts to disperse.

  

  

  After this amazing display, we did head back to our resort. We were checking out from All Star Movies and heading to the Contemporary Club Level! <—————–Up Next!

  Posted in Disney, Magic Kingdom, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Happily Ever After, Magic Kingdom, Touring Plan, Walt Disney World

• Breakfast at Disney’s All Star Movies

  Posted at 2:42 pm by taryngirl, on March 19, 2019

  2/27/19

  I really try to eat Mickey waffles every time I go to Disney.  This trip was no different!  I checked the online menus before staying here and was super happy to see them listed!

  We were heading to Epcot today and weren’t in a super hurry.  We had some FP+, but they were for later and we weren’t planning on rope dropping anything.

  We stopped at the food court on the way to the bus stop.

  Here are the various menus for the different “windows.”

  

  There really is something for everyone.  They also have the grab and go cases available, cereal, bagels, pastries, etc.

  Chrissy opted for one of the Breakfast Flatbread Pizzas and a side of Potato Barrels.  I tried a bite and it was yummy!  

  This is my go-to meal.  Mickey Waffles with Sausage (no bacon, so extra sausage) and Breakfast Potatoes.  SO GOOD!  I don’t know what it is about Disney sausage, but it’s my absolute favorite.  Especially with the waffles.

  

  I would also have this the next day for breakfast…

  Posted in All Star Movies, Dining Review, Disney, Quick Service, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged All Star Movies, Dining Review, Disney, Foodie, Quick, Walt Disney World

• Magic Kingdom V.I.Passholder Event

  Posted at 9:29 am by taryngirl, on March 12, 2019

  2/26/19

  The V.I.Passholder Event is the entire reason we took this quick trip!  It was advertised we could check in from 6:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.  However, we noticed this set up in Fantasyland and had a chat with the Cast Members.  They said we could check in starting at 5:00 p.m.  So we did!  There were a few different check in areas around the park so we didn’t have to go all the way out to the entrance to get our wristbands.

  

  They actually were having technical difficulties with the iPads that were scanning our Annual Passes or MagicBands.  She ended up having to manually input our numbers.

  

  You can see the time of the even was 10:00 p.m. until midnight officially.

  

  After we got our wristbands, we headed to use our next FP+ that Chrissy secured immediately after Winnie the Pooh.  This would make FP+ #5 for the day.  It’s a Small World!

  

  I swear I see something different every time I ride this!

  Right after we scanned in to the ride, my friend secured our 6th FP+…Pirates of the Caribbean.

  We were getting hungry for dinner, and we had discussed previously that neither of us had ever eaten at Casey’s Corner!  So that’s where we decided to go.  It’s located on the corner at the end of Main Street, and you can definitely smell it when you walk past!  We knew we were going to share something and decided on…

  

  Buffalo Chicken Loaded Fries (These were AMAZING!  I loved them!)

  

  Footlong Chili Cheese Dog (Also AMAZING!)

  

  The fries were so good.  I can’t imagine Buffalo chicken on a hot dog though!  I despise the yellow squeeze cheese.  So was super happy that this was shredded cheese on the top!  This was plenty of food for two of us.  They did allow us to upgrade from regular fries that come with the meal, to the specialty fries for a slight uncharge.

  From dinner we headed to Adventureland.  We had a little bit of time to kill before our FP+ at Pirates, so we went into Tortuga Tavern to have a seat and do some work on our phones.  It was starting to become a more regular rain so we had to poncho up!  (I never take a Disney vacation without a poncho.)

  

  After Pirates, we hit our 7th FP+ Splash Mountain.  It had started raining and we were wet anyway, and we had ponchos to wear the entire time!  So off we went.

  

  After Splash Mountain, we headed towards the castle.  We had reservations for the After Fireworks Dessert Party, so we had to check in first at Tomorrowland Terrace.

  We received our wristbands and were escorted to one of the grassy areas.

   

  

  Even though it was raining, the fireworks were still amazing!

  Posted in Disney, Magic Kingdom, Quick Service, Touring Plan, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Annual Passholder, Casey's Corner, Disney, Event, Magic Kingdom, Quick Service, Touring Plan, Walt Disney World

• Magic Kingdom Afternoon Touring

  Posted at 9:42 pm by taryngirl, on March 5, 2019

  2/26/19

  After checking out the room, we headed to the bus stop.  There were only 2 other people in the bus line for Magic Kingdom.

  We arrived around 1:30 p.m.  The weather was perfect!  A little overcast, not raining yet!

  

  We made our way towards Tomorrowland.  We originally were going to ride the Peoplemover, but the line was ridiculously long!  So we skipped it and hit Carousel of Progress instead.  

  Next we hit Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin with our first FP+. 

  We both hit some great targets!  And got stuck in the Zurg room.

  From there we decided to get a snack on the way to our next FP+.  I had been eyeing some new ice cream cones that were announced!

  

  ALOHA ISLE

  They had just added a new cone here called the Hei Hei cone, which I just had to have.  My friend opted for this masterpiece, which has also been on my snack list forever!

  Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Dole Whip!  You can pick vanilla, pineapple or swirl.

  

  I had a bite and it was really delicious.

  Hei Hei Cone–pineapple dole whip with raspberry soft serve in a blue cone.

  

  This was good.  It was a little more sour than I was expecting!  But it was still good.  We found a spot in Frontierland to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade that was going on.

  

  After the parade, we headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to use our FP+.  Then, for the first time since the new presidency, we checked out the Hall of Presidents.  My friend, who is a history lover had never seen it and she was excited!

  Onto our third FP+…the Haunted Mansion.

  

  Right after we scanned through with our FP+, we secured a 4th FP+.

  We took a quick jaunt through Fantasyland and went straight for Pooh to use our 4th FP+.

  

  I had to check out the shop that has tons of ears!  I love these Small World ones!

  A good option for boys!

  And a good option for those that prefer Villains.

  

  Super cute graduation ears!

  

  Up next…Magic Kingdom PM Touring!

  Posted in Disney, Magic Kingdom, Touring Plan, Uncategorized, Vacation, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Magic Kingdom, Touring Plan, Walt Disney World

• Disney’s All Star Movies Resort

  Posted at 9:35 pm by taryngirl, on March 2, 2019

  2/26/19-Part 2

  We made our way to the room after lunch, so we could drop off some stuff from our backpacks, and to get good pictures and videos of the room!  Prior to the trip, I had requested a specific room through Touring Plans.  I really wanted a refurbished room and had read that they for sure were finished with the Love Bug section, so I chose one there facing the “garden” area vs. the parking lot.

  This was the Love Bug section:

  

  Our room was in this specific section, but not facing this courtyard area, rather we were facing the parking lot.  It was no big deal at all though…WE GOT A REFURBED ROOM!

  The sleeping area.  The table folds down when you pull the queen sized Murphy bed down.  It’s a regular mattress!

  

  The beverage center.

  

  That door slides closed to section off the bathroom sink area.

  

  Separate toilet and shower area with another sliding door.

  

  Property map

  Some other pictures from around the resort.

  The Fantasia section

  

  The pool

  

  The pool bar

  

  The arcade

  Overall I was very pleased with this resort!  I’ve never stayed at any of the All Stars.  I was expecting it to be completely crowded with people and noisy.  It was the opposite!  I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again in the off season, or for a quick trip!

   

  Posted in All Star Movies, Disney, Room Review, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged All Star Movies, Disney, Resort, Room Review, Standard, Value, Walt Disney World

• A Quick Getaway – All Star Movies!

  Posted at 2:57 pm by taryngirl, on March 1, 2019

  2/26/19 Part One

  I received an email invitation for a Disney Annual Passholder after hours event.  In checking my calendar…I was free. In checking flight prices…they were dirt cheap!  In checking with a travel buddy…she was free to attend also!  What start out as a 1 day trip, ended up being 2 days. 

  The first step was getting reservations for the event.  They are extremely limited in number and it’s first come first served.   Success for us both! 

  The next step was booking a resort.  I was able to find a room at All Star Movies with an Annual Passholder (AP) rate.  Total cost…$238 including tax for 2 nights in a Standard room.  And finally, I had to book my airfare.  I fiddled around with Philadelphia and Harrisburg.  I was able to get good pricing on way down to Orlando from Philly with my friend.  But my return flight would be to Harrisburg. Total cost for airfare was about $90 TOTAL on Frontier.  (I usually fly Southwest form Philadelphia.  Just last August Frontier began service from Harrisburg.  I also recently became a Den Club Member.  Harrisburg is actually closer to me and an easier drive, so I was excited to try it!). We also realized this would be a birthday trip for both of us!  

  I was up at out the door at 4 a.m. for the drive.  Our flight was smooth and we arrived a half hour early into Orlando.  Since we were only coming for two park days, we packed everything in a backpack to use as our personal item.  With Frontier Airlines, the flight is usually cheaper but you pay for each “add on”.  Carry on baggage, checked baggage, choosing a seat…these all have costs.  See HERE for full information on Frontier’s policies.  

  We headed for the Magical Express which is located on the B side of the airport.  From landing until arrival at our resort, it was about an hour.  Our Magical Express had stops at Coronado Springs, All Star Sports, All Star Music and finally our resort, All Star Movies.  It was a packed bus!

  

  Our plan was to check in at the desk even though we had the room number texted to us.  We wanted to get our birthday buttons, decline mousekeeping so we could get a gift card, and make sure my Magicband worked since it didn’t at the airport.  (I had completed online check in and got the text that our room was ready while we were on the Magical Express.). We also wanted to get lunch at the food court and then head to the room to drop things off.  

  Here are some pictures of the food court!  We made it there at about 12:45 p.m. which is prime lunchtime and it was surprisingly EMPTY!  The food court has several different “bays” that you can order from.  Here is an overall menu featuring all of the bays:

  

  Grab and Go section

  This surprised me!  A wine display!

  

  (Dining Plan Eligible)

  

  We both decided to order from here!  I honestly couldn’t decide.  I get too overwhelmed with too many choices.  I was running around from bay to bay trying to narrow it down.

  I opted for the Meatball Sandwich and it came with 2 sides.  I could pick from chips, a roll or a side salad.  This was actually a lot of food for the cost I though!  The chips were amazing and the meatballs were really good.  The castmember was also very friendly and talkative. 

  My friend ordered the Spinach Artichoke Pasta and also got two sides.  I’m assuming it was good because she ate it all!

  Overall I really liked the variety and the quality for it being a “value’s” food court!

  My friend decided she really wanted dessert so she went back up for this Cookie Dough.  Since she was wearing her birthday button, they gave it to her for free!  It was also very good!

  

  Part 2 up next…the actual resort and our room!

  Posted in All Star Movies, Dining Review, Disney, Quick Service, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged All Star Movies, Disney, Disney's Magical Express, Food Court, Food Picture, Foodie, Magical Express, Walt Disney World

• Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party!

  Posted at 8:46 pm by taryngirl, on February 24, 2019

  8/17/18

  We were toying around with heading to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or not.  It had been so hot, and it was the very first party of the year.  We knew it would be crowded!  But how could we go all of that way and not do it right??  So we bought our tickets.  Some side notes.  DVC members could actually enter the party at 2 p.m. if they wanted.  2 hours earlier than the normal 4 p.m. entry.  Even though party hours are listed as 6 p.m. until midnight, you can technically enter at 4 p.m.  The party festivities don’t begin until 6 p.m., but you still can ride rides or eat, etc. until then!

  We didn’t bring official costumes for this.  But we did have ears!  So we opted for those.  It was SO HOT AND HUMID!  So we were glad to not be wearing anything heavy.   Here we are leaving Bay Lake Tower on our walk over to Magic Kingdom.

  

  When you get to the turn styles, you will enter at the ones with the cast members all dressed in their Halloween uniforms.  They will get you a wristband which is used to let cast members know you are there for the party (and paid for it!).

  You also can pick up the special brochure that outlines everything special for the event.

  

  Here’s a snippet of a video.  When you enter through the gates and get past Tony’s, you will go the back way…not up Main Street!  So you are actually behind the buildings on Main Street.  Here you will see special merchandise, maybe some trick or treating, maybe some special photo opportunities, etc.  You will come out near Tomorrowland.  You can also see some other costumes!

  This is just one of the trick or treat trails.  Traffic moves one way so the line keeps going!  It was packed!

  

  We were a little bit hungry, so we hit up Columbia Harbour House.  Surprisingly, this is the only food picture I have from here!  This is the Garden Salad with Chicken from the Kid’s Menu.  Came with two sides and a drink.  It was CHAOS in here!  They forgot one of my sides and I didn’t even go back to the counter to get it.  This was the perfect size for my hunger at the moment!

  

  From there, we hit a few rides.  We also stopped by the dance party in Tomorrowland before making our way to the front of the castle for the fireworks and parade.

  

  We got a really good spot in front of the castle.  It was crowded!

  

  There was a Hocus Locus show going on in front of the castle.  We were a little too far away to see it.

  

  This parade is probably my favorite parade!  I love the costumes on the live characters, and my favorite is the grave diggers!

  

  

  Our loot from trick or treating!

  

  Our PhotoPass pics!

  

  I’ve done the Halloween Party 3 times now.  I’m not sure I need to do it again!  The price seems to go up each year.  My kids have both experienced it at least once.  I would like to do the Christmas Party though one more time!

   

  Posted in Disney, Magic Kingdom, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Uncategorized, Vacation | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Magic Kingdom, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, Walt Disney World

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