Day 5. We woke up with an agenda and that meant buying Genie+ online which has now replaced Fastpass, so that we can cover most of the rides we would want to take. So we camped around in the friend’s room, trying to figure out how Genie+ works and then praying we would get a slot for Slinky Dog (apparently known as the most popular ride). It’s a game of fastest fingers first, and it was stressful

And I must say I was very proud of myself for getting such an early slot. lol

After an intense morning, we set out for Hollywood Studios which we could take the skyliner to get there. I really enjoyed taking the skyliner to be honest

The sky was getting brighter as each day progressed, not that we woke up late. lol. It was just that the early hours weren’t so early anymore

But still, this was at 7.15am and omg, look at the crowd

I’m truly amazed whenever I saw kids that were so energetic early in the morning, wondering where did all the energy come from while 3 of us were just barely awake from our slumber

We had a plan, and so did everyone else. And that was to get to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. We even studied the map so we knew where we were walking

But it turned out, we didn’t really need to. Cos everyone was going the same way 😀

We took a long walk in cos we got separated from the friend’s husband. It was so stressful. I felt like we got death stares from people whenever we said ‘Excuse me, we had someone infront’ cos they probably thought we were trying to cut the line

Conclusion: Don’t leave the queue. lol

Well, we made it eventually. The whole experience was quite amazing

They had all the aircrafts and spaceships on sets, and that was before you go onto the ride

And then we went into one just for the briefing of the ride

Which it took us to another level

The characters were so well made

And they had all these imaging in place that seemed like they were coming after you

In all, I had to say this was a pretty cool ride. If you are a Star Wars fan, you would probably love it

And the wait time after we came out? 120 minutes standby time

But to me, it was just Star Wars lor. Ha

So a photo instead 🙂

We walked around the premises and checked out the marketplace that was also designed in theme. Very impressive

We went on to Millennium Falcon next since the wait time was only 25 minutes. Well.. it was okay I guess. Nothing memorable. I guess if you need to hide from the rain, you can consider this

And then it was time for Slinky Dog. I really love Genie+ so we don’t need to queue. If you are someone who don’t enjoy queuing that much, you should probably consider getting it

Well, it’s a kids roller coaster. I’m seriously confused why this ride was so popular, and it was 120 minutes wait time when we came out. I don’t get it. lol

But I love the colours here. So cheerful

And then we got a slot for our next ride – Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway via Genie+

According to DTB, you could reserve for your next ride every 2 hours so we were diligently timing our rides

Went to catch Muppet Vision 3D that only had a wait time of 10 minutes. Well, probably gave a sense of how popular this ride was.. before heading out for lunch

Hollywood Studios like its name suggest, really did look the part like sunny California with its palm trees lined up and buildings alike. So it was really pretty cool

Lunch was at Dockside Diner which we had the Shrimp Salad Roll, Smoked Fish Dip, and the friend wanted to try the PB&J Uncrustable

It wasn’t our best meal. The buns were decent but the sauce a little sour and the chips were way salty (I mean, what’s new?) We concluded the best out of all was the apple slices. lol

And halfway through, I heard music from the parade coming through so the curious me went to check it out

Only to find Woody and Buzz and I was like huh? That’s it? 😀

The heat was getting too unbearable for us we decided to move away from our lunch spot

And went to queue for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Which had a wait time of 90 minutes. Gulps

It was a long wait outdoors as we slowly inched towards the front and you could see everyone was just patiently and tiredly waiting. Well, it got better when we finally reached the tower

And look who we saw that were there to entertain us!

They should do this for every ride. It would make queuing less tiring. lol

I love this ride. I would take this again if we had time. And surprisingly we only queued 45 minutes for it. And that’s underpromised, overdelivered. Well done

Since we had time, we went to catch Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy before heading to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railaway

Which I was entertained by the Chinese-themed design

I thought the whole ride was quite cute as it took you to find all the characters

So after our last unsatisfying churros, we decided to hunt for churros again. Cos churros + theme park is a must right?

Unfortunately, this was also pretty average although it did fare much better than the previous one. All I could say was, I definitely had better churros in Singapore *shakes head*

We went on to A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration cos indoors + aircon was a good idea

 I felt that it was quite magical cos they used the ice flakes as effects. Really A for effort. It would be better if Elsa had come out earlier cos I felt she had really little screen time. I was also entertained by the guy sitting beside me cos he really sang along. lol

We were trying to find things to do before our next Genie+ reservation so we popped in Star Wars – The Adventures Continue. The wait time mentioned 30 minutes, but we were in within 2 minutes..? lol

So on the way to Toy Story Mania (also another popular ride), we found Chip & Dale, supposedly having a panic on the grass patch

Not sure if they were entertaining themselves or entertaining us

But I was entertained by the commentary that was coming from the person standing behind me. Ha

And we waltzed right into the queue with our Genie+ while the wait time was showing 120 minutes standby

All I can say was I’m really bad at it. Don’t laugh. I tried it once in Shanghai and it didn’t work for me too. Sighs, let me go to a corner and do some self-reflection

We were actually quite tired and I really think the heat made it worse. So we decided to leave the park earlier to head to Disney’s Yacht Club Resort instead

And Donald and Daisy bid us goodbye on the balcony 🙂

And then we ran for the friendship boat cos we saw it docked, and we didn’t want to wait 15 minutes for the next one. It turned out we weren’t the only ones running. lol. It was a nice ride to the resort and I must say the resort is a beautiful one. Modelled after a New England-style yacht club, the place speaks elegance and it felt really nice to just hang around here

They even have a life-size shipwreck meant as a recreation area

We wanted somewhere to rest and so we found ourselves at Beaches & Cream soda shop cos I spied an icecream float on their menu. They asked if we had a reservation and I was like.. we need a reservation to dine at Soda shop?! Truly bewildered

But this said soda shop was pretty crowded cos it was hot and sunny and everyone just wanted soda or icecream. lol

So the friends shared a banana split that looked too huge to finish while I had my root beer float which was so delicious in this weather

The coolness of the icecream + drink also left us feeling pretty cold after awhile so we packed up and left..

For dinner. lol. Which was at Yachtsman Steakhouse, located just inside the hotel

It was a popular place cos there were so many people waiting for their tables outside and we were the last to be called even though our reservation time was at 5.35pm

We were introduced to their beef at the entrance before being brought to our seats

Complimentary Bread Roll:
Sourdough w Sunflower Seeds / Onion Pullapart

We were intrigued by the onion one cos the name sounded so cute. And as the name suggested, you pulled the bread apart to eat them. We really enjoyed the bread here. The onion one was fragrant and buttery. The sourdough was soft and you can taste the sunflower seeds in it

16 oz Rib Eye Steak w Blue Cheese-Shallot Butter

The friend had her eye set on the rib eye steak, even before she entered the restaurant cos the last rib eye she had was amazing. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. All I can say was I had better steaks in Singapore

Truffle Mac & Cheese

The friend’s husband went for the M&C cos we haven’t had a decent one and it’s USA. Personally, I’m not a fan of M&C so I don’t really know how to appreciate. So well, it’s okay I guess?

Roasted Seasonal Mushrooms

Mushrooms were decent though a little heavy in terms of flavour. I felt it can be toned down a little cos steaks on its own is rich enough

8 oz Filet Mignon

I was so disappointed with the filet mignon. Like I was expecting a tender piece of meat. The filet mignon came too dry and I’m not sure if it’s cos of the doneness we had requested. The friends requested for medium so well, I felt like they left the steak out in the open for too long. And I really wondered if we could send the steak back to the kitchen

The only consolation was the fries. Oh, I’ll recommend the fries

In all, it wasn’t a good meal. I would probably not want to return again

We took the boat back to Hollywood Studios and while onboard the caption was cracking lots of lame dad’s jokes and only one person was laughing to it. Well, it was too lame for us to react but I was glad he entertained one person. The plan was to head back to HS and continue whatever we left off. But when we reached HS, saw the dark grey clouds that were looming over us, we changed our minds and caught the skyliner back to hotel. lol

Well, sometimes an early night is good too 🙂

Day 6

We left a little later today cos the struggle to wake up early was setting in. And the queue for the skyliner was unbelievable long so it took us some time to reach Epcot. By the time we reached the park at 7.35am, the park was already opened. lol

But hey, such beautiful skyline at 7.05am

Since we already took the popular rides the previous time, we decided to prioritise by taking photos this time, and also leisurely exploring the different pavilions

Cos when would you be able to have such peaceful shots with nobody in frame right?

Welcome to Morocco! and yes, that’s a very happy me 😀

We went down to America and Italy and basically by the time we finished with photo-taking, it was already 9am. lol. Time flew by

So we went to catch our first ride of the day – Soarin’ Around the World

Basically it is a ride that takes you around the world while you are airlifted. It was very cool cos there was sensory in play

I really love it. And I definitely preferred in the top rows even though the frame was in curvature but at least I don’t see legs dangling down in my frame

We popped next door for Living with the Land where the boat ride takes you on a greenhouse tour

It’s quite educational and the slow ride gave you enough time to rest, if you are tired

Then the friend wanted a photo with the ball

And here’s the said ball

It was really challenging cos there were so many people walking behind and it was really all about catching the moment, in that split second. But glad we both managed a decent shot 🙂

And uh after this, we stoned out while waiting for Food & Wine to commence. Ha

I love how we just gave up doing something and rather not do anything. That’s why we are friends. lol

and it’s back to Part 2 for Food & Wine. We went around to find a tree so that we have a cool spot while still having lunch before venturing out to see what other kiosks were offering

The Alps

Warm Raclette Swiss cheese w Alpine Ham, Baby Potatoes, Comichons & Baguette / Wine Flight

I waited a long time for the raclette. I don’t know why. It felt like everyone had theirs and I was just waiting for mine. To be honest, the cheese was really good, though the ham was a little salty. It would probably taste even better if the cheese did not harden so quickly. The wine flight was surprisingly good too. I approved

Kenya

Piri Piri Skewered Shrimps w Citrus-scented Couscous

Kenyan Coffee BBQ Beef Tenderloin w Sweet Potato and Corn Mealie Pap and Kachumbari Slaw

Quite a surprise. The food was actually pretty decent. The beef reminded us of satay. lol

and a beer flight for the friend’s husband

Spain – Seafood Paella w Chorizo & Shrimp

I actually liked the paella. I thought it was the best dish out of all we had. The rice was infused with the seafood broth and there were 3 real prawns, like fresh prawns and not those frozen shrimps. It was yummy

Japan

Spicy Salmon Donburi / Hana Fuji Apple Sake

Well, the donburi tasted like sushi roll in a bowl. Like if you close your eye, you would probably think you are eating those fancy combination roll from Ichiban or Sushi Tei. And the sake, tasted like apple juice

China

Dandan Noodles w Spicy Pork, Sichuan Sauce, Peanut Butter, Sesame & Green Onion

While I was getting this noodles, I was surprised to see such a long queue at the kiosk (like people were standing out of the line). I was like why does everyone like Chinese food so much?! Well, the noodles tasted like pasta in peanut sauce. It was strange

Refreshment Outpost – Dole Whip in Waffle Cone (Watermelon)

The friend got her dole whip but probably regretted getting the flavour. Ha. It did not taste anything like watermelon, more like raspberry & blueberry? Very strange

We decided to take a break from the heat and that meant chilling at Brew Wing for awhile before moving to find Coastal Eats. So we picked a table and tried to get a slot for Guardians of the Galaxy again. When it’s free and the ride is good, you just gotta do it

Coastal Eats

Baked Scampi Dip w Shrimp, Scallops & Baguette

Every time I had to step out of the shade and into the heat, I gave a long sigh. lol.

Oysters Rockefeller

So we came back to where we were hiding cos aircon was a better idea. I thought the flavour was quite similar from both dishes and it was a little salty. So there wasn’t anything memorable

And then I wanted my cider before we leave the park

So we went to Appleseed Orchard where there were so many people getting a drink as well

I wanted to order the non-alcoholic Apple cider but the wait staff wanted to see my ID. So I was like okay? I handed her my passport and she still insisted on seeing my ID. I was like that’s my passport? And she went no, I need to see your ID. I was really getting annoyed cos the passport IS my ID, like what other ID you want??

Thankfully her colleague stepped in and went, she gave her passport so that’s okay. The wait staff suddenly had a lightbulb moment and went oh? this is a passport? Wah I wanted to roll my eyes and tell her, yah, it says PASSPORT on the cover. I was really annoyed x10

Honestly, I thought I was ordering a non-alcohol apple cider so I don’t know why she needed my ID. So it turned out, I don’t really know which drink I ordered

And since we didn’t have much we wanted to do and the heat was so bad, we went back to our hotel to rest before coming back out for Guardians of the Galaxy

The weather was so much more pleasant later on. Like no sun, no heat and just cool air. And we took a boat ride across the river again cos lazy. lol

Back to the line again

and I was mighty pleased to be in the first car, again. What are the chances?

This was probably my favourite ride. I could take this over and over again and I would recommend anyone to give this a try

So I wanted to ride Soarin Around the World again cos I liked it the first time but sadly the second time wasn’t as great cos we were at the bottom row which the experience was just different. Thankfully it was only a 25-minute wait for the ride

Went for dinner at Regal Eagle Smokehouse which was at the other side of the park. Sometimes, the parks at WDW is so huge I wish I can just teleport. By the time we reached the restaurant, we were famished. Thankfully there weren’t much people at the place

Looks pretty dark

Memphis Dry-Rub Pork Ribs

But it smelt pretty good too. Maybe we were just hungry. lol

Kansas City Smoked Half-Chicken

I thought my chicken was decent. It was tender, not dry but the smokiness/rub was a little unique. I don’t really know how to explain it but I was expecting a sweeter BBQ sauce

Power Green Salad w Chicken

And the friend’s salad which was just a huge bowl of vegetables. I hoped she liked it

Caught Harmonious as our last To-do list for the day cos one can never leave Disney without some fireworks right?

I find it just okay only to be honest. I felt that the fireworks at MK was definitely better and more magical. Like this was just, well a show to me

We had to catch the skyliner back to our hotel but I guessed the whole world was also heading back. Look at the queue omg. We waited around 40 minutes before we finally got on the skyliner. And I could tell we were really tired cos nobody was speaking much on the way back. If anyone didn’t know, they probably think we had a bad day at Disney. lol

Day 7 – last park day and we chose to end it with Magic Kingdom. We left our room at 7.10am hoping to get to the park by 7.45am. But when we got to the bus stop and saw the queue…

OMG. The whole world was up and the queue was so long. I thought I was queuing for an attraction. The buses to Magic Kingdom usually arrive 10 minutes prior to the stated time so if you want to get on the bus,  you probably need to work your timing a little. Because the line was so long, we also saw unfair practices which I shall not elaborate here. So in the end we only got on the 5th bus but the good thing was, the bus came every 5 minutes. lol

 7 Days of Magic

I really wonder how we managed that. lol

Well, the castle was packed with people taking photos. We took ours quickly (or actually we didn’t really care. lol) before we moved on to other areas

I told the friend this shot can be a photo inspiration to others. The background not bad right!

And here’s one together with our super long legs. lol

We went to the friend’s favourite ride from the park – Splash Mountain which we waited about 20 minutes. Well, it was a pretty short line cos when we came out, it went up to 45 minutes Sadly, this ride will be replaced by Tiana’s Bayou Adventure by 2024. Reason being “Song of the South” was criticised for perpetuating racist stereotypes. It’s abit strange, given the ride had been around for so long

But it was really such a cute log flume ride

Goodbye Splash Mountain!

We walked over to Pirates of the Carribean.. which I had no recollection what the ride was about. lol. Standby time stated 55 minutes but we got in within 25 minutes. We actually didn’t mind queuing for this cos it was aircon and indoors and it was pretty enjoyable waiting in line

Enchanted Tiki Room was up next! Uh, it’s show of birds and flowers singing. If you are short on time, you can give this a miss. But if you are too tired and need to hide from the sun/rain, you can come here

The friend’s husband wanted the chicken waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow so we decided on that for lunch and omg, that was the best thing in Magic Kingdom. Like I highly recommend it. Initially we only ordered one portion but after gobbling it down, the friend went – I think I can have another portion of it and I was like LET’S DO IT! lol so I proceeded to order a second one, and we finished everything. That was how delicious it was

After a very satisfying lunch, we were ready for food coma and that came in the form of Country Bear Jamboree. I really napped in there

Well, we did catch some of the bears as we were leaving. I personally don’t think they were very cute…

Okay fine, cute is subjective. Moving on.

So as we were walking down the path, we spotted some ropes being held up and yes, they could only mean one thing

A parade was on the way! I had to say the weather on our last full park day was much more comforting and enjoyable like no heat on you kind so we were really just enjoying the park as much as well

I really love MICKEY 🙂

We wanted somewhere to rest so we walked to The Hall of Presidents which well, featured all the individuals that had served as Presidents of the United States

Before moving to Main Street Bakery cos I was just craving for an ice blended mocha

While the friend got her iced green tea

And then we went to take more photos cos it was good weather 🙂

We indulged in the friend’s husband in his Carousel of Progress which was basically a 20-minutes show that you stay seated and enjoy the aircon in the dark. The best part was.. there was no queue. How awesome. It also reflected how popular the attraction was

Since Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade was starting soon, we decided to chope a place to watch or more like I choped a place while the friend went walking around

And sent me this. How cute. By the time I was contemplating whether to join her, she told me oh, all of them suddenly ran away. I was like yah, cos the parade is starting and she should also come back soon. lol

I thought it was a new parade. It turned out we had already watched this parade the previous time under the tree. Oh wells, at least this time we managed to catch it up close

and personal. I have no idea he’s bashful or sleepy. but HI!

and Donald doing his dance with the bubbles floating around. It was very funny how the staffs were repeating not to let the kids run after the bubbles before the parade started

❤

We went back to the hotel after that cos we had nothing else we wanted to do so I made use of the time to pack since it would be an early morning for me the next day. We were entertained by a super energetic bus driver who didn’t stop providing commentary throughout the whole journey. I told the friend. Wah this is really passion. lol. I don’t think I could have his energy

Came back to the park later in the evening but first, dinner. Chose Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe cos I spotted a BBQ Chicken Sandwich on their menu while the friends went for the cheeseburger. Surprisingly, the barbecue chicken sandwich was pretty tasty, like how you would imagine BBQ sauce to taste and the chicken pieces were tender. This was probably the 2nd best thing in Magic Kingdom. lol

Added Chilli Cheese Fries cos burger + fries is a must right?

And the fries were also decent. Not bad at all

Time-check: 7pm. Our favourite question was – what are we going to do next? So I suggested lets go for something which we needed to queue an hour for so that by the time we come out, we can go chope place for the fireworks. Else we would be asking each other this question again

And so that came in the form of Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. I concluded anything that you need to use a tool to compete, I suck at it. lol

It turned out, we only waited 30 minutes for it? So we still had lots of time on hand. OH MAN

In the end, we went back to Carousel of Progress cos that will take up 20 minutes of our time. lol

By the time we exited the ride, the friend’s husband asked if we would like another round and I was like err…. maybe lets go find a place for the fireworks

To our horror..

The whole world had the same idea and it was only 8.15pm! The show only starts at 9pm fyi. We walked a few rounds before we decided to squeeze ourselves into the line cos there was simply no space to stand. I’m not kidding. If you got separated here, you probably can’t find your way back

And it was an amazing 20 minutes of firework show

Fireworks in Disney is truly one of a kind

It would make you feel like all your money spent in there was well-spent. lol

So when the show ended, that came our next challenge – getting out of the park. When we turned back..

OH MAN. How long would we take to get out?

But surprisingly, we got out in 10 minutes. Well done, everyone was very co-operative

The next best thing was by the time we got to the bus bay, all the buses were there waiting and it was just one bus after another. Well done again

So at 9.50pm, we boarded and head back to hotel and that marked the end of my Disney adventure!

It had been very fun, though tiring. And a friend along makes alot of difference

My recommendation is to go with a like-minded friend cos not everyone can do this craziness together, aka wake up early and queue 1-2 hour for a ride. If you don’t have patience or love Disney so much, you might already flip on the first day. lol

And with that, I was ready to move on to the next part of my trip!

Read here for my previous travelogues:

Travelogue: Walt Disney World – Epcot and Magic Kingdom

Travelogue: Walt Disney World – Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs