As I get all Federal holidays off, Andrea and I made our way to Walt Disney World on Veterans Day. It was our first flight in 22 months! We got a r/t ticket for $68, but that was the only good deal of the trip. We rode the Magical Express one last time as it is being discontinued in 2022. We stayed at Pop Century. When we arrived we took the Skyliner over to Epcot and met Bev. We went to Club Cool and tasted new Coke flavors from around the world. We walked around the World Showcase and stopped at a few kiosks at the Food and Wine Festival. We had tuna poke, an impossible burger, and ate at the China quick-service. We saw the new Ratatouille ride in the back of France and we saw the show, which replaced IllumiNations, called Harmonious. It was nice seeing Bev again.
On Friday, Andrea had to work, so I went to Epcot via the Skyliner and rode Test Track and Soarin’. I walked around a little and then went back to Pop Century for lunch. Andrea ordered Hawkers from UberEats and it was amazing. After lunch, we went to Magic Kingdom which was packed. We barely did anything. We rode PhilharMagic and saw the new Coco scene and we ate a creme cheese pretzel and then left. We walked around Contemporary and had dinner at the Polynesian. I had Walt’s chili. The recipe was from the 1950’s. It was mainly cheese and beef. Afterwards, we went back to Magic Kingdom to see the new fireworks show, Enchanted, but it was hard to see as it was so busy.
On Saturday, we woke up early and went to Animal Kingdom. We decided to fall for their trap and pay for Flight of Passage. If interested, read up on the new Genie+ and Lightning passes. The system is evil, but it we caved and it worked well for us, but cost us an additional $25. We were able to ride Dinosaur alone and barely had to wait for the Safari. We were the first batch of people to draw at the Animation Experience at Conservation Station. We walked through the Exploration Trail hoping to see the new baby gorilla, but we did not. We did see a lot of animals though. Around 11 a.m., we were able to go use our lightning lane to go on Flight of Passage. Afterwards, we went to Saratoga Springs and found Worms ‘n Dirt! I love that. We walked to Disney Springs and walked through some stores. We went back to Pop Century for lunch where we shared pot roast which was really good. Then, we went to Epcot. We rode Soarin’, went back to Club Cool, and walked around the festival again. We paid to go on the new Ratatouille ride which was just ok. We came home Sunday after walking 32 miles at Disney in those 2.5 days!
