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 that 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).
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.
For lunch, we ate at the Sci-Fi Drive-in Theater Restaurant (left). Sci-Fi is located on Commissary Lane, not far from Galaxy’s Edge. The theming of the restaurant is an old Drive-In. Diners sit in booths that look like cars from the 50’s and enjoy their dinner while watching trailers for ridiculous sci-fi movies and commercials for the concession stand. We ate here once when I was a kid and I really enjoyed it so I wanted to bring Chris. While the food is good, expect burgers and fries, you choose Sci-Fi for the theming.
This day we waited in the longest lines of the weekend, but with the Studios being such a small park, we still ended up riding everything we wanted multiple times. We did Rise of the Resistance twice, Slinky Dog twice, Midway Mania twice, and Smuggler’s run twice. I even finally got to ride Rock n Rollercoaster (I could never justify the wait last trip), but it didn’t live up to Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Storyland.
