Trip Report: Walt Disney World 2018

Walt Disney World

Sunday, 22nd April 2018

Back to the Polynesian Village Resort (and Aotearoa) - no view of fireworks from my hotel room this time, but I could watch the monorail pass by.

Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

View of Monorail passing Aotearoa Longhouse

I'd made a FastPass reservations for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in the evening and had time to meet a few characters beforehand.

Tigger & Winnie the Pooh

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

I'd planned on leaving the parks before (or during) the fireworks started to avoid the mass park exodus. However as I was leaving Tomorrowland I came across an isolated corner behind the rocks. Obviously not the best view of the fireworks themselves but I could see the projections clearly and it was a lovely quiet place to watch so I stayed.

Happily Ever After Fireworks

Having stayed to watch the fireworks after all, it was now time to wait for the crowds to disperse. Unfortunately it was now raining pretty heavily but fortunately there were no lines at The Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean, which gave me the perfect opportunity to see the new auction scene in the latter.

The Haunted Mansion

Pirates of the Caribbean

Monday, 23rd April 2018

You can't stay at the Polynesian without having Tonga Toast for breakfast!

Tonga Toast from Capt Cook's

Off to Animal Kingdom and my first visit to Pandora (fortunately I'd managed to secure FastPasses for the land's two rides, although my Flight of Passage FP wasn't until Saturday). On the bus on the way to Animal Kingdom, I got chatting to Lori, who was also staying at the Polynesian. We actually ended up bumping into each other a few times over the next few days - at the Happily Ever After Dessert Party and later on in the week on the way over to the Magic Kingdom. Fittingly, the last attraction we went on together was "it's a small world"!

I decided I'd head towards Flight of Passage to see how long the line was. Given that at just gone 8am it was pushing three hours, I quickly abandoned that idea and went over to Na'vi River Journey, which had a far more reasonable line and I ended up catching up with Lori, who'd had the sense to go straight there!

Pandora

Na'vi River Journey

Over to Africa and one of the best Kilimanjaro Safari rides I've experienced - we had sightings of pretty much every species, including a whole group of Bongo, Augustus the baby Hippo, Stella the baby Elephant, cheetahs and lions.

Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail

Back to Pandora prior to lunch at Tiffins, which has already established itself as one of my favourite restaurants. The "Welcome Back" postcard was a unexpected addition to the Joe Rohde print diners receive at the end of their meal.

Night Blossom @ Pongu Pongu

Tiffins

Snake River Farms Wagyu Eye of Rib-Eye @ Tiffins

Oasis

Below: One of the twin Sumatran Tiger Cubs born last year. Anala and Jeda are the first Sumatran cubs to be born at the park.

Maharajah Jungle Trek

Pandora

Festival of the Lion King

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Rivers of Light

After viewing Rivers of Light, I headed back to Pandora to see it at night. As the line for Flight of Passage was "only" around an hour I decided to get in line for that. I'm pleased I did as the FastPass line bypasses the room shown below. The only downside to spending the time in line was that the park had closed by the time I exited and so did not have the opportunity to properly take in Pandora at night.

Avatar Flight of Passage

Tuesday, 24th April 2018

No lines for rides today - just a relaxing wander around the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. View more photos of the flowers, topiaries (and food!) here.

My first stop before checking out the flowers was the Character Spot - no line yet for Joy and Sadness so they were able to point out some of their favourite memories to me.

Joy & Sadness

Mickey Mouse

Butterfly House

Donald Duck Topiary

Coco/Dia de los Muertos display at Mexican Pavilion

Frozen Ever After

La Cava del Tequila

Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros

Inside Shanghai Disney Resort Exhibition

Leaving Epcot for a quick drink at Abracadabar prior to an early dinner at The Flying Fish. I stayed away from the Bacon Manhattan this time!

Abracadabar, Disney's Boardwalk

Blueberries, Limes, and Sea Shells @ Flying Fish, Disney's BoardWalk

Beauty & the Beast Topiary

Wednesday, 25th April 2018

Starting the day with another vacation breakfast tradition!

Mickey Waffles @ Capt Cook's

Let The Magic Begin

The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History

Frontierland

Big Thunder Mountain

As much as I enjoy the ride, I don't often go on Splash Mountain. However it was a hot day and I figured I'd dry off soon enough if I got wet.

I got wet.

Splash Mountain

Mickey's Royal Friendship Faire

I had lunch at Tony's Town Square Restaurant to take advantage of the Festival of Fantasy Parade dining package. This remains my favourite Disney parade. The wonderful Maleficent dragon float has of course since made the headlines by catching fire but I hope Disney will have it back in service in due course.

Tony's Town Square Restaurant

Disney's Festival of Fantasy Parade

Aladdin & Jasmine

My first visit to the Jungle Navigation Co Ltd Skipper Canteen - but had to save room for the Happily Ever After Dessert Party!

Jungle Navigation Co Ltd Skipper Canteen

Happily Ever After Dessert Party

Happily Ever After Fireworks

Thursday, 26th April 2018

Back to Epcot before taking a Friendship over to Hollywood Studios for a day full of Star Wars!

Spaceship Earth

SeaBase

Animation Courtyard

Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away

BB-8

As much as I want to try different restaurants, I can't stay away from The Hollywood Brown Derby!

The Hollywood Brown Derby

I was expecting to find quite a line for Star-Lord and Baby Groot but there was hardly anyone there (so I went straight back in line!). Definitely one of my favourite Disney Meet & Greet experiences. Baby Groot is just adorable.

Star-Lord & Baby Groot

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Preview @ Walt Disney Presents

For the First Time in Forever - A "Frozen" Sing-Along Celebration

Another Dessert Party! My first viewing of Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular. It's great to be able to pop in and out of the Dessert Party to meet characters when the lines are short. More photos of the various Star Wars attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios can be viewed here.

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular Dessert Party

Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular

Friday, 27th April 2018

Be Our Guest Restaurant

Country Bear Jamboree

Magic Kingdom Resort Launch

Disney Springs

Anything Goes @ Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar

Fried Chicken & Doughnuts @ Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'

By this point in the week, my feet were pleased to spend the afternoon sat in an air-conditioned theater watching Avengers: Infinity War. Having resisted the purchase prior to watching the film, I then headed back to Super Hero Headquarters to buy the limited edition MagicBand.

Avengers Infinity War Opening Day

Limited Edition Infinity War MagicBand

The BOATHOUSE

Each evening, as I'd wandered past Trader Sam's Grog Grotto, I poked my head in to see whether they were at capacity - they always were so I tended to head for the Tiki Terrace rather than wait. However, as I was heading back to my room, I noticed a guest talking about a cupcake with a Cast Member. It turns out it was the Grotto's third anniversary and there were special cupcakes to celebrate so obviously this made it worth grabbing a pager and hanging around. My plan to stay for one drink (and the cupcake) was scuppered after striking up conversation with Hannah (who works at the resort) and Patti - with particular thanks to the latter for bribing to stay with a Krakatoa Punch.

On a related note, whilst I quite often get into conversations with people on my trips to the US resorts (and have been fortunate enough to make genuine friends along the way) I've not had quite so many lengthy chats with fellow guests before.

Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

Third Anniversary Cupcake @ Trader Sam's Grog Grotto

Saturday, 28th April 2018

After an unexpected late night, it wasn't the best morning for my alarm not to go off! Still, that 20th Anniversary cupcake counts as breakfast, right?

Disney's Animal Kingdom 20th Anniversary Decorations

Disney's Animal Kingdom 20th Anniversary Cupcake

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Pandora

One of the highlights of my trip was the Caring for Giants tour, a close-up look at the elephants on the Kilimanjaro Safaris - complete with name-tag "made from 85% elephant poop fibers".

Caring for Giants Tour

I've wanted to visit the Art of Animation Resort since it opened (as a Disney obsessed child growing up I'd have taken a stay at a hotel with giant Disney characters over somewhere like the Polynesian any day!) and finally made it over there. As I love Cars Land, I particularly wanted to see the Cars wing and was delighted to get photos without any pesky humans shattering the illusion!

Disney's Art of Animation Resort

Back to Disney Springs for dinner at The Edison - well worth a visit for The Bacon Clothesline alone. I then went back to Animal Kingdom so I could have more of a look around Pandora at night.

The Edison, Disney Springs

Pandora

Sunday, 29th April 2018

Toy Story Land opens at Disney's Hollywood Studios on June 30th. This was the closest I could get of a sneak peak (save for the models on display at Walt Disney Presents).

Toy Story Land Construction

Minnie Mouse

Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple

March of the First Order

Voyage of the Little Mermaid

I had lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In Restaurant on my first trip to WDW in 2004. I have no idea why it's taken me so long to go back. Actually, I suppose I do - as mentioned above, I can't resist the Brown Derby. Anyway, it was fun to go back.

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant

Citizens of Hollywood

An early evening back at the hotel, via Epcot (before finally succumbing to Pandora's Disney charms - one rabbit hole I've been trying to avoid!).

Spaceship Earth

Monday, 30th April 2018

Unfortunately my flight home had been moved forward so I didn't have much more than the morning to enjoy. Whilst I'd originally made a FastPass for Flight of Passage over at Animal Kingdom, I decided to cancel that and head for the Magic Kingdom instead as I'd just have the short trip back to the hotel prior to catching the Disney Magical Express to the airport.

Filming was taking place in Central Plaza for Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings.

Stephen 'tWitch' & Allison Holker filming Disney Fairy Tale Weddings

Let The Magic Begin

The Jungle Cruise

Captain Jack Sparrow's Pirate Tutorial

A final meeting with talking Mickey Mouse in Town Square, who has since fallen silent. I've always been frustrated by the comparatively dull curtain backdrop for this Meet and Greet given the surrounding décor so was delighted when Mickey wandered over to his dressing table to smarten up for his photo!

Mickey Mouse

Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party

"Sharing the Magic"

Back to the hotel in time for a visit to the Tambu Lounge and a final wander around the hotel prior to leaving for the airport.

Backscratcher @ The Tambu Lounge

Disney's Polynesian Village Resort