Tag: Epcot

Presidents Day at Hollywood Studios

On May 13, 2024

Storm Troopers

After two straight days of rain, the sun finally came out for our last day at Disney World. As it was the only park we hadn’t visited yet, we planned to spend the morning at Disney Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios has always been my least favorite park at Disney World, but my opinion changed about it during our trip in 2021. After recently riding Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland, I wasn’t as eager to return to Hollywood Studios (partly because it was forecast to be 10/10 for crowds due to the Holiday) as I expected after our last visit. After going back and forth about it for a while, I finally decided that we would start the day at Hollywood Studios and then utilize our Park Hopper to head back to one of the other parks after lunch.

We got up early on our final day to head to the Studios, but first, we made our only Individual Lightning Lane purchase of the trip for another ride on Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind at Epcot. We headed to the Studios for early park entry and got right in line for Rise of the Resistance (top). After riding it multiple times, the theming and immersion of that attraction and the whole Galaxy’s Edge area are amazing, but the cast member interaction was noticeably less than on my first ride.

After our first ride of the day, wait times were already high. We headed to Toy Story Midway Mania, which is always enjoyable. After that, we waited in a long line for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, because I was not too fond of it on our last visit to the Studios and I was hoping it would redeem itself with another ride through but it did not. This is a controversial opinion within the Disney Fan Community, but I prefer Remy’s Rattatoi Adventure at Epcot for the same ride system. Runaway Railway is very jerky and I just do not like it. It’s safe to say that I will skip it the next time I’m in the Studios like I did in Disneyland. Finally, we went to Muppet Vision 3D (which needs an update, if you ask me), and by that point, it was 45 minutes before our lunch reservation and all of the waits were higher than that so we ended up sitting on a bench outside 50’s Prime Time Cafe just waiting to be able to check-in.

This was my second time dining at 50’s Prime Time, the last one being when I was about 10 years old and the waiter yelling at you schtick gave me anxiety so I have avoided it since. People online love 50’s so I figured we would give it a chance. I considered telling our server that we were not interested in getting yelled at, but instead, we just followed all of their rules and were able to eat our food in peace. The food at 50’s Prime Time is old-school classics, as the name implies. I had the Chicken Pot Pie and Chris had a sampler with meatloaf, pot roast, and fried chicken and the food was all good, but it was honestly boring compared to the other places we had eaten earlier in the trip. If you have picky eaters in your family, or you want your children to get yelled at on vacation, 50’s is a great choice, but in the future, I will probably skip it for more adventurous cuisine.

Journey of Water inspired by Moana

After lunch, we hopped on one of Friendship Boats for a leisurely ride to Epcot. It was the final day of the Festival of the Arts so we spent some time wandering around appreciating the art that was mostly covered up during our Epcot day because of the rain. We also walked through the new Journey of Water inspired by Moana. It is a walkthrough attraction and it will be an enjoyable way to cool off in the hot Florida summers. It was a beautiful illustration of the water cycle and had some great photo ops as well. In my opinion, this was a great addition to Epcot’s World Nature neighborhood.

Livin' with the Land

We rode a few of our favorites including Livin’ with the Land and Spaceship Earth again and then it was time for our Lightning Lane. Once again, Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind was so much fun! After that, it was time for us to head back to Pop Century, grab our bags, and make our way to the airport. At the time, I was disappointed by the crowds and the high wait times of visiting Disney World during a holiday weekend, but looking back on it, with the exception of Monday, we were able to ride pretty much everything we had wanted to. We said we were going to take a couple of years before heading to Disney World again, but Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (R.I.P. Splash Mountain) opens next month, so we will see how long we can stay away!

Thanks for stopping by! Check out our NEW Go See Do Explore Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

A Rainy Day in Epcot

By Ashleigh

On April 29, 2024

In Disney, Travel

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

Our second day in Disney World was spent at Epcot. We got up early and were able to secure our Virtual Queue Reservation for Guardians of the Galaxy, another new to me attraction. Then we hopped on the Skyliner to the park for early entry and the rain had already started. We headed right from the International Gateway to ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. We rode Remy during our last trip on the day after it opened and I loved it! I have to say it lived up to my memory. I would have loved to ride it again, but by the time we were done with the ride, it was already up to a 45-minute wait so we headed to the Land and a short wait for Soarin’, which is another of my favorites in Epcot. Because of the 100 Years of Magic Celebration, Soarin’ Around the World was replaced with the original Soarin’ Over California (Soarin’ Around the World returned to Epcot after our trip). It was great to experience that version again and I would’ve ridden it again, but once again when we got off, the line was already long so we had a stop for breakfast at Sunshine Seasons, which was my favorite Quick Service in Epcot before COVID. It is pared down now, but it served its purpose.

We got a quick ride on Living with the Land and then headed to Test Track to ride single rider, but by the time we got there, it shut down due to the rain. At this point, everything else had longer waits than I would typically wait for any attractions, but we to get out of the rain, we waited 30 minutes for the Seas with Nemo and Friends. I’m not proud of it, but at least it was dry. From there, we headed to the Canada Pavillion to see the updated film with Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy of Schitt’s Creek fame. The film had me reminiscing about our 2022 trip to Vancouver and realizing there is way more of Canada than I have seen. I did miss the funnier Martin Short version of the film that we saw last time, though.

After that, it was about time to get some lunch and we decided to try some of the Festival of the Arts booths. First, we went to Pop Arts and had the grilled cheese and tomato soup, which was delicious but we realized that eating at the booths in the rain was unpleasant. Our sandwich got soaked and the soup was watered down, but overall it was pretty good. While we were eating and trying our best to stay dry, we got our notification that it was time to join the Virtual Queue for Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind.

Just like with Tron, it was a long wait with the virtual queue, but all of the other attractions had long waits at the time and we were enjoying getting out of the rain and drying off a little. Before this trip, I had never seen a single Marvel Film and didn’t know much about the Guardians of the Galaxy. The exhibits in the queue told a lot of the story and I was excited to see Terry Crews, who is always funny. The attraction itself was amazing (and is the most expensive roller coaster ever built)! We got Conga by Miami Sound Machine and I think that song has the best energy to accompany that ride. If you don’t mind rollercoasters, I highly recommend you ride Guardians of the Galaxy. We enjoyed it so much that we actually bought an Individual Lightning Lane for it later in the trip and we watched the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies when we got home.

I was glad we didn’t eat too much before riding Guardians, but once we were off the ride, luckily the rain let up and we enjoyed more of the festival booths. Since it wasn’t raining we went back to Test Track and were able to ride it. Wait times were still pretty high for everything else we wanted to do, so we decided to head back to Pop Century to rest and dry off before dinner.

Dinner was at a restaurant I’ve always wanted to try in Epcot, San Angel Inn. If you have ever been to Epcot, this is the restaurant inside the pyramid in the Mexico Pavillion where you can watch the boats of the Gran Fiesta Tour float by while dining, similar to Blue Bayou in Disneyland. San Angel Inn gets very mixed reviews online, but we have been having a lot of authentic Mexican food at home lately and this lived up to our expectations. I do not understand the hate this restaurant gets online. It is not TexMex; there are no free chips and salsa, but everything we ordered was wonderful! I would dine there again in a heartbeat.

Luminous

After dinner, we rode Gran Fiesta Tour and headed to find a spot for the fireworks. The cold, rainy weather really worked in our favor this time because there were not a lot of people left in the park at this point. We were able to find a spot on the bridge from England to France, with only a few umbrellas blocking our view. This was my first time seeing the new Luminous show. I was not a fan of Harmonious in 2021, if you didn’t camp out to get a spot right by the water with the right angle, you didn’t get to see the projection screens. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t like wasting my precious theme park time camping out for a fireworks spot so it didn’t work for me. Luminous greatly improved on Harmonious, in my opinion. While our view was slightly blocked by umbrellas, we were still able to appreciate the show. I also enjoyed that the show is a mix of music from Disney films and original music. I think this show does a good job of blending what people enjoyed about Harmonious and my all-time favorite theme park firework show, Illuminations into one, modern show with good music. I recommend you don’t skip Luminous when you’re in Epcot!

Luminous

Since we watched the fireworks from the Bridge by the International Gateway, we were able to get out of the park fairly quickly and were able to get on the Skyliner before a line formed. If the weather was better, we probably would have headed back to end the night in Magic Kingdom, but at that point, I was just looking forward to taking off my wet shoes and getting some sleep before an early morning at Animal Kingdom the next day.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out our NEW Go See Do Explore Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. To read more about this trip, be sure to read our Long Weekend at Disney World Trip Report. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Long Weekend at Disney World

By Ashleigh

On April 15, 2024

In Travel

Hanging with Walt at Dreamer’s Point

In 2021, we took a long weekend trip to Walt Disney World for the 5oth Anniversary of the Magic Kingdom. While it was crowded, we had a wonderful time. A few years had passed and some new attractions had opened up, so we decided it was time to head back to the most Magical Place on Earth. Because of my teacher’s schedule, we decided to visit during President’s Weekend. After booking our trip, I read several articles about how it is one of the busiest weekends of the year at the parks. I renewed my TouringPlans.com subscription and read all of the tips I could find to beat the crowds, but I figured it wouldn’t be as busy as it was for the 50th Anniversary.

On our last trip, we splurged to stay at Coronado Springs, a Moderate Resort, and we didn’t think it was worth the money for the way we visit Disney World, so this time we went back to the value resorts and stayed at Pop Century. There have been some updates since we last stayed at Pop almost 10 years ago. Now, there is the Skyliner, a gondola transportation system that takes guests from Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera Resort to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Since Epcot is my favorite park, we figured spending a little extra (over the All-Star Resorts, the other Disney Value Resorts) and staying on the Skyliner made sense.

Skyliner at Epcot

Back in 2021, we only had three days in the parks, and we devoted one day to Magic Kingdom, one day to Epcot, and one day to Hollywood Studios. Since we had an extra day on this trip, we decided it was time to go back to Animal Kingdom. We also added on the Park Hopper this time so when we accomplished everything we wanted to at one park, we were able to leave and enter another park on the same day.

It had been a long time since I visited Disney World in February and the weather was much different from June or October. It was chilly (highs in the upper fifties, and low sixties) and it rained for two days straight. I am used to Florida’s afternoon showers, but this was something else. Everything was soaked. I am still recovering from walking two days in wet shoes (rookie mistake, I know).

Here is a preview of what is to come:

Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Day 2: Epcot

Day 3: Animal Kingdom

Day 4: Disney Hollywood Studios

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back in the next few weeks as I recount our days in each of the parks. Check out our NEW Go See Do Explore Podcast, available wherever you listen to podcasts. To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! For my list of gadgets to make your travels easier, click here. To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Wordless Wednesday: Epcot at Night

By Ashleigh

On March 9, 2022

In Disney, Travel

Spaceship Earth at Night

One Day in Epcot

By Ashleigh

On March 8, 2022

In Disney, Travel

Figment Fab 50 Statue

Epcot has always been my favorite park in Walt Disney World and on typical trips, it is the first park that I visit. I’ve always loved the Edutainment aspect of the park and it makes me sad that they are slowly fading it away in favor of more Disney characters. Figment has always been one of my favorite characters and I loved discovering his Fab 50 statue (above)!

Unlike the Magic Kingdom, a lot has changed at Epcot since our last visit to the parks. In 2014, we knew Maelstrom was closing and were able to get a final ride through before the transition to Frozen happened. Soarin’ Around the World was also new to us as the original closed in 2016. And the big attraction of the day was Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure officially debuting the day before.

Rattatouille Sign

After a long day at Magic Kingdom celebrating the 50th Anniversary, we got up early and got in the virtual queue for Remy’s (above). Even though I signed in right at 7:00, we were in boarding group 64 (if I remember correctly) with an estimated boarding time at 3:00. Being its second day officially open, it broke down a few times during the day. I think it was closer to 5:00 before we were able to enter the actual queue. This was my first time ever using Disney’s virtual queue system and I was surprised by how long the actual line was once our group was called. We probably waited almost an hour before getting to board our mouse vehicles. Overall, I really enjoyed the attraction. I liked it a lot better than Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios which uses the same trackless ride system. I probably wouldn’t wait that long to ride it again, though. I tend to draw the line at a 45-minute wait.

This was by far our longest wait of the day. Just like on the 50th, wait times were much lower than I expected. We probably ended up riding Soarin’ five times, Gran Fiest Tour four times, Living with the Land three times, Test Track three times, and Spaceship Earth three times. The only other attraction with a long wait was Frozen Ever After which I don’t know that I will ever need to ride again.

Gusteau's Sign in Remy's Rattatouille Adventure

This was also my first time at Food and Wine Festival in Epcot and it was the first weekend day where all of the booths were open. I was told it is best to avoid weekends at Food and Wine if possible because the park fills up with locals, but we were only there for the weekend, so we had to make the best of it. It was definitely crowded but we started with lunch at the booths before it got too busy. Everything we tried was good, but none of it lived up to dinner the night before at Skipper Canteen.

As much as I was ready to crash before the fireworks, we made a point to stay to see Harmonious. Harmonious combines a typical fireworks show with fountains and lights combined with music from popular Disney music. Unlike Illuminations, which was the epitome of Epcot nighttime spectaculars in my mind, Harmonious is hard to appreciate if you don’t have a good view of the lagoon. Where Illuminations told a moving story that fit into the theme of World Showcase, Harmonious just kind of stings a bunch of fun Disney songs together. From what I was able to see, it was a fun show and I will probably watch it the next time I’m in Epcot, but I wouldn’t park hop from another park to see it as I had done with Illuminations.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check back next week to read about our time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! To read about some of our previous trips, visit my Trips Page. If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page and follow me on Instagram! You can purchase prints on Fine Art America. To see inside my camera bag, check out my updated Gear Page.

Pin This:

Monorail Monday

By Ashleigh

On March 20, 2017

In Disney, Travel

Its always exciting when you go through your old pictures and you find one that slid under the radar when you looked at them before. Since its been a few years since our Disney trip, I was going through my photos and stumbled on this shot for Monorail Monday! Between the Disney groups on Facebook and the ads for Pandora: The World of Avatar, I’ve really been missing “home”!

It is nice to go through old photos and realize how much you’ve grown as a photographer. I was still pretty new to the DSLR game back then and I really relied heavily on auto ISO. This photo was taken in the middle of the day in the sun at ISO 1250 and f/20. Why did I do that? I can’t wait to go back there with my new knowledge and (hopefully) better gear and see what I can get!

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page.

Happy New Year!

By Ashleigh

On January 1, 2016

In Disney, Travel

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

By Ashleigh

On May 16, 2015

In Disney, Travel

If you’ve been following my blog for a little while, you may be familiar with the fact that I am a bit of a Disney ~~fan~~ nerd. Even as a kid, Epcot has always held a special place in my heart. Personally, IllumiNations is the best nighttime show at the parks. Does it have the Disney music we all know? No. Is it something young kids are going to appreciate? Probably not. Will I cry like a baby if they ever decide to change it? Most likely.

So, on my last trip I knew that I had to put a day aside and bring my tripod to shoot IllumiNations. This was the first time I ever attempted to get a quality (read – long exposure, not taken with a cell phone) photo of fireworks and I must admit it was team effort. My husband watched the view finder and told me when to fire with the remote shutter. One tip for anyone looking to shoot IllumiNations, get closer to the rail along the lagoon. We parked on the opposite side of the sidewalk and by the time the show was over, most of our shots were ruined from all the heads in front of us. But, I think this one turned out pretty good.

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr!