It’s been a busy few days. On Friday we spent the morning in the Florida Mall having a mooch around for a few presents we needed. I can write no more! It’s a really nice mall, a pleasure to shop in. We got everything we needed and had a bit of lunch there in their food court. American malls are nicer than UK ones. Not more spectacular. It’s just that there are so many more of them that they are far, far less crowded. In fact, I would go so far as to say, never crowded. You can walk around the mall and the stores in peace, without hassle or stress.
Friday was a big family day. My almost-cousin Frannie turned 70 and we were driving over to her party near Zephyr Hills, in an area called San Antonio. She and her husband, Dave, have recently moved to Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club, a 55+ community. We are so jealous that they have these fabulous places here and enough of them that the costs are reasonable. They have a lovely bungalow on the gated development, there are 2 full golf courses, an entertainment centre, a huge pool complex plus a smaller pool, a community centre, about 85 different official clubs, travel trips……
Anyway, we took one of our usual strange rural routes over there. Took about 90 minutes. We helped set the room up and then at about 6pm it all kicked off. Fran has always been one of the most fun people I know and her party was no exception. We had the best time. It was lovely to be with all the family. There were about 100 people there. She’s made so many new friends already.
On Saturday we had a full day in Epcot. Or rather, I had a full day. Bob decamped at lunchtime and had a round of golf at Disney Oak Trails. He came back to the park at about 5 and we watched Disney on Broadway – a concert by two fantastic singers who’d been in the Disney shows. We had a mixed time in Epcot. The morning was ok and we had some very enjoyable ride experiences plus it’s a beautiful park, much improved since our last visit in 2022. There are some lovely new areas and the exciting new Guardians of the Galaxy ride (not for us). Loved the Moana and the Way of Water walk through area – lovely landscaping and lovely message
We managed to get on the Frozen ride which we couldn’t get near in previous years. It was nice, an improvement on the previous Maelstrom.
But by the time Bob left at 12, it was getting very crowded. There is an Arts Festival on at the moment with lots of art exhibits all round the park plus many, many associated food pop ups. I did some attractions and explored the country pavilions but really it wasn’t always enjoyable and I do wonder if we have lost the magic of the Disney experience somewhere along the way. It comes to something when I overheard one of the cast members say to a guest who was saying how they’d noticed the changes, “it’s all about the money now”…..
I’ll write more about this at the end of our stay here when I can consider our Disney time over the entire stay. One thing is for sure. We’ve been coming here for 40 odd years and up until this trip, I would always say that staying off park ie in a non Disney hotel made little difference in general. That is no longer true. There is now huge benefit in staying in a Disney hotel much to the disadvantage of outside ticket holders and also locals who might have a Florida pass. Or an Annual Pass. The advantage of the dining plans, the early entry to all parks on all days and the early booking window for the best rides and restaurants is huge.
Today was a better day. Lovely weather, sunny and in the low/mid 70s. We went back to the Magic Kingdom and it was like old times…. not crowded at all… we were walking onto rides. We started our day with a blood-shaking Space Mountain ride which is a roller coaster in the dark simulating a space journey. Then we caught up on all the rides we missed the other day and even reprised some of them. Left at mid-day feeling we’d really enjoyed ourselves. This has always been our preferred pattern. Get to the park early, ride the attractions, enjoy quiet areas, go elsewhere by lunchtime, possibly go back in the evening. This is what the 14 day ticket allows you to do. Or it has in the past. It is predicated on being able to enjoy a good number of rides in the first few hours…
Came back to the Grande Vista, had lunch and then spent the afternoon at the pool. We mused going back tonight for the fireworks show but our legs are stiff. Honestly, we’ve walked miles in the last few days and we do notice it now. Sigh…. we used to absolutely leg it round these parks and those days are gone…..
The latter 3 videos were all taken in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. It’s better and on a huger scale than my poor videos show….