| Magic Kingdom Memories and a Disneyland Day  Tanya's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Happy Saturday to ya, I for one am so glad that the weekend is here! Not that I've had a terrible week or anything like that, but it was a week where there was such a constant change and I just had to be ready for adjusting to the ever moving schedule. If you know me well, then you'd know that I am an absolute stickler about schedules and I get very annoyed when things don't go as planned and require some adjustments. RIGID. Yes, you can say that's me on some levels, but over the past few years I've had more that my share of practicing on my flex and in turn have become quite amazing (if I do say so myself) with my ability to readjust and fix things on the fly.  While it is far from my favorite thing to do, I have learned to not be effected negatively and to push through and find a way to make things work. And that practice was something that was needed from me on many occasions this week. So yes I am thrilled that the weekend is here! With the July 4th holiday upon us next Thursday and how very full my upcoming schedule is, I really feel as though the next couple of weeks have the potential to just fly on by in a blur. In fact I sort of feel as though the entire next month has that same potential of just flying on by and becoming a complete blur. So with that in mind, I'm gonna give a little extra effort to actively focusing on being in the moment.  And to follow in theme with the rest of this past week, as I have been traveling vicariously along side Travelin' Elisa at WDW. Today I am going to share some memories of my most recent trip to the Magic Kingdom. Since we were staying on property, our days at the parks also started 30 minutes before the scheduled opening. And being the schedule stickler that I am, some of us (the ones who are use to keeping the long hours that I plan) were out extra early everyday and into the parks before the general public. *the rest of our group showed up a couple of hours later inthe morning.  You might recognize the cap that I'm wearing... Elisa are twinsies with a few of our caps! (c)travelincousins.com  Cosette loves Lady and the Tramp (c)travelincousins.com  The castle is back there (c)travelincousins.com  On Main st. (c)travelincousins.com  In Fantasyland (c)travelincousins.com  Getting on the It's a Small World ride (c)travelincousins.com  It's a Small World after all (c)travelincousins.com  It's showtime! (c)travelincousins.com  The sun was definitely in our eyes! (c)travelincousins.com After a little more sleep time, the rest of our group showed up to to park to join in on all the fun.  Autopia time (c)travelincousins.com Next up for us was the TRON Lightcycle Power Ride which debuted in 2023. Due to the newness and popularity of this ride, in order to even be eligible to get into the physical line, one must begin by getting into a virtual queue via the Walt Disney World app with opportunity beginning at 7am. We were fortunate enough to gain access to the queue and then once our time was called we headed on over to the attraction. The excitement that Cosette and I to go on this ride was twofold, one because we had already experienced the ride original at Shanghai Disney and knew how much fun it was, and two was because we were excited that Dave and Dominic were going to ride for the first time (as they did not travel to China with us). Jet and Chaplin had opted to not go on this thrill ride (it was a bit much for them) and Andrew had opted to stay behind and wait with them.  Excited to ride Tron (c)travelincousins.com The rest of our day was filled with food, fun, rides, shows, shopping, staying until Park close and of course watching the Happily Ever After spectacular night show.  The lighting was amazing (c)travelincousins.com  These shows do get quite crowded (c)travelincousins.com And then fast forwarding back to the here and now, or maybe I should say the yesterday. Here on the west coast Cosette had actually spent the day at Disneyland along with some friends!  Cosette and friends (c)travelincousins.com  Woof Woof (c)travelincousins.com And while Cosette was at Disney, I went Ice Skating with Chaplin (who is still breaking in her new skates).  Chaplin on ice (c)travelincousins.com The afternoon was still young, so after our time on the ice, us girls had decided to hit the mall. Jet and Chaplin had found much to their liking, building onto their summer wardrobe. As for myself, I couldn't remember what exactly I was even looking for, but once it hit me "sunglasses" I had easily found 2 pair while we were still shopping in Nordstroms. And before we left the mall Jet had surprised me with a perfect blouse for me to take on my trip to Costa Rica! Dinner was at the Bee Hive - which is what we endearingly call Jet's place. And for dessert, Chaplin had made a delicious Cantaloupe Sorbet - in which the ONLY ingredient was Cantaloupe!  Cantaloupe Sorbet (c)travelincousins.com I'm about to sit back and watch some Yankees Baseball, so it's time that I sign off. Until we meet again. Ciao 4 now, -Travelin' Tanya | Magic Kingdom & Wilderness Lodge  Elisa's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORLANDO, FLORIDA Howdy, Howdy! Well folks this is a recap of our fourth day in Disney World for which we spent in Magic Kingdom and a short trip to Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort.  (c)travelincousins.com Well, needless to say, end of June is not the best time to visit Orlando because of the excruciating heat. And this June did not disappoint in terms of the high temps!! We started our day with a pretty enjoyable Disney transport bus ride to the Magic Kingdom with an early 8:30 am arrival as a result of our Disney Vacation Club status. After a short walk down Main Street USA, past Cinderella's Castle, we took a sharp left towards Adventureland, where we queued up at the entrance to this section for our mad dash for our first ride, Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road rollercoaster.  (c)travelincousins.com  Big Thunder Mountain RailRoad (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com We breezed right through and it was super fun to kick off a Magic Kingdom day! We headed over towards Tomorrowland, since Gianna was the only one who wanted to ride Space Mountain. Yes - Kelsey and I begged off (chickened out is more like it) as we did not like the sensation of going on a rollercoaster in complete darkness lol.  (c)traveincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Space Mountain from the water (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Gianna on line in Space Mountain (c)travelincousins.com  Photo taken of Gianna during her ride (c)travelincousins.com So by this time, the temps were approaching high 80's with equally high humidity and the sun was seriously blazing. Kelsey and I walked over to the Merchant of Venus, which was previously a merchandise shop (to the best of my memory) and was not a fairly open space with tables and a snack bar to get inside somewhere with air conditioning. Unfortunately, this place was not open yet BUT, there was slight opening in the door from which the cold A/C air was flowing!! We stood there quite enjoying the cool air until it opened (about 10 minutes), at which time, we went in and sat.  Standing in front of the door crack from which cold air was keeping us cool in the oppressive heat! (c)travelincousins.com  Our refuge from the heat waiting for Gianna (c)travelincousins.com  Cool posters (c)travelincousins.com That's the thing about the heat - it really tires ya out! Anyway, we decided since we were in Tomorrowland, we would hit Kelsey's favorite ride - The People Mover - because of its relaxing nature and overview of the Magic Kingdom. We hopped on, took a selfie and then came to an abrupt stop!! Apparently, there was some kind of technical issue and they had to shut down the ride!!!! We were so upset! - it totally messed with our relaxing vibe.  (c)travelincousins.com  (Thought you might enjoy this video I found on Youtube.) HEADED TO DISNEY'S WILDERNESS LODGE RESORT  My mandatory photo of the girls in front of the castle - 2024 Trip Photo (c)travelincosuins.com It was about 11 by this time and we were debating whether to wait on lines in the blistering sun or get something to eat. Kelsey was very hungry so we opted to do something different in keeping with our "resort hopping" and headed over by boat to Disney's Wilderness Lodge for lunch. Cruising along Main Street, we made our way to the dock to catch the water taxi to Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Incidentally, you can sail around Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake to other resorts including Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.  (c)travelincousins.com  Main Street (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  on the water taxi (c)travelincousins.com  The Grand Floridian (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Villas of Wilderness Lodge nestled within the trees (c)travelincousins.com  Wilderness Lodge (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Cool slide at the Wilderness Lodge pool (c)travelincousins.com  Lunch was at Geyser Point Bar & Grill - and open air outdoor restaurant which, in spite of the heat, had a delicious breeze! They had a few yummy vegan options on the menu, both of which I ordered! The first of these was their Mac & Cheese Bites and the other was their Veggie Burger. Gianna and Kelsey both ordered the Fried Chicken Sandwich with french fries.  (c)travelincousins.com  Mac & Cheese Bites (Vegan) (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  Veggie Burger with homemade kettle chips (c)travleincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com Gianna was really not feeling well - from the heat - so we opted to go back to Magic Kingdom and catch a bus back to the hotel for a few hours before heading out for the evening back to Magic Kingdom. The good news is that this park is opened until 11pm! In any case, our plan was to go on more rides, have dinner and watch the fireworks for the second time during this trip. (First fireworks show was Day 2 in Epcot.)  Returning to the Kingdom!! (c)travelincousins.com We were planning "pot luck" for dinner - meaning that we did not have a dinner reservation for tonight. So, the plan was to do something at one of the quick service places. As we were departing the bus and walking into the park, I took a chance and checked availability at The Jungle Cruise Skipper Canteen -- and lucky enough, we got a reservation!! With a little time, we headed over to It's a Small World only to find out YET ANOTHER RIDE on our trip had technical difficulties and was forced to shut down for a while. So, we ran over to Pirates of the Caribbean, which we hadn't been on since the girls were little. We had a group of young people behind us in the same boat who were hysterical laughing and talking loudly in Japanese. While it was funny, it was also annoying. After that, we decided to pop into the Enchanted Tiki Room, which is always a cute show!  Jungle Cruise Skipper Canteen for dinner!! (credit WDWMagic)  (c)travelincousins.com The Skipper Canteen has always been one of our favorite Magic Kingdom restaurants! There are plenty of vegan options and it has a great vibe! Dinner did not disappoint, as you can well see from the pictures. We all shared the Falafel and then Gianna and I decided to share the Vegetable Curry, while Kelsey opted for yet another Chicken dish - Crispy-fried Chicken with Chili-Soy Glaze, Jasmine Rice, and Pickled Vegetable Slaw. (no picture - she dug right in!!) We all ate way too much, because the secret menu also included cheesy bread! (No dessert tonight!).  Falls Family Falafel A secret recipe of Chickpeas, Garlic, Onions, Lemon Juice, and Herbs served with House-made Edamame Hummus and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (Plant-based) (c)travelincousins.com  Curried Vegetable Crew Stew A favorite of the Crew Stew Crew (especially Stu). Seasonal Vegetables and Pineapple Tofu in a House-made Curry Sauce served with Coconut Rice (Plant-based) (c)travelincousins.com After we rolled out of the restaurant, we decided to get on a 40-minute wait for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Ok - now we were getting pissed off - ANOTHER TECHNICAL ISSUE that caused the ride to shut down. I must say, Disney World is not quite the same in a number of ways. First, the ride shut downs are constant. In all the years I visited, there were never ANY ride shut downs. Secondly, they have cut back on park entertainment - singers, the Main Street Parade, the shows at the castle and others that I can't even remember. Third, there are less food carts and vendors around the park. The prices have gotten out of control for entry. Lastly, there is much less staff to help and clean. I never remember seeing so much debris, empty bottles and trash on the ground. In fact, one of the things that Disney was famous for was its pristine cleanliness. No more. Don't get me wrong - we had an amazing trip! But, we all noticed the big difference. Disappointed about the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, we decided to walk over to Tomorrowland to give The People Movers a shot and luckily, it was running and there was no wait.  Finally on the People Mover (c)travelincousins.com  "Tron" - the newest rollercoaster ride in Disney (view from People Mover) (c)travelincousins.com Kelsey checked if It's a Small World was open yet and guess what? - IT WAS!!! So we decided to hop on and it was the perfect ride to end our Disney trip!! We were all dog tired by the end of this day. A few last photos and we headed back to our hotel - The Riviera - the newest Disney resort property. We absolutely LOVED IT!!! I'll tell you more in the next blog about the hotel!!  (c)travelincousins.com  (c)travelincousins.com  It's A Small World - last ride of this trip! (c)travleincousins.com Things we learned on this trip
On that note - I bid you adieu!! -Travelin' Elisa |
