Here is my best attempt at a trip report! Enjoy!
Booked a three day/two night adult only trip for my DH's 42nd birthday and an
early celebration of our 4th wedding anniversary. We checked in to Pop Century on 4/26 and checked out on 4/28. We had park hopper tickets - our park reservations were Epcot the first day, HS the second, and AK the third. We had never had hopper for our previous trips, so I was interested to see how it works.
Monday April 26; Our flight landed at MCO 30 minutes before the scheduled time - we landed at 8:40 AM. We didn't have any bags to pick up as we only packed carry-ons, so we skipped baggage claim and headed straight to the Magical Express line. We arrived to the ME line at 9:00 AM and were checked in by 9:06 AM. The CM quoted us a 45 minute wait to be picked up, and then another 45 minute ride to POP. There was one family of six in front of us in the ME line. The bus arrived just three minutes after we got in line, and we were on our way to POP by 9:10 AM. When we arrived at POP (9:40 AM) there was no line for luggage services, so we checked our bags in at 9:45 AM. I had hoped that our room would be ready, but it wasn't ready quite yet.
Since we had Epcot reservations that day, and the park wasn't even open yet, we decided to head over to the Skyliner and get in line. The line was long, much longer than I anticipated... it stretched back into the 50's building walkways. However, it moved quickly. After waiting in another long line at the transfer station, we entered Epcot via the World Showcase Internation Gateway entrance just before 11 AM. (...this is also when we got our "Room Ready!" text to my phone.) I had never been to F&G before, so I was really happy to see all of the beautiful topiaries and was also really excited to try some different food at the outdoor kitchens. I tried to keep track of wait times vs. the times quoted on
MDE, but I quickly lost interest in doing so! We only rode two rides at Epcot, Soarin' and Living with the Land... then we were on our way to eat some food and see some sights. I was on the lookout for the Orange Bird festival ears, but it appears that they were sold out because I couldn't find them anywhere. Anyway, we visited The Honey Bee-stro
(Wildflower Honey Mascarpone Cheesecake) and then made our way to Jardin de Fiestas
(Tostada de Cochinita and Taco Vampiro). I was really wanting to go into the Mexico pavilion, it's my favorite! - but the line to enter was so long and I was getting really hot by this point. It was also at this time that I discovered that drinks weren't especially easy to come by... all we wanted was a nice cold Coke and I felt like there were none to be found! Luckily the Refreshment Outpost
(Pineapple Skewer with Tajin) came through for us with cold Coke and also shaded seating near by. The shade was really welcomed, because by now I was
really hot and getting out of the direct sun was wonderful. We continued our trek around the World Showcase and made a quick stop at Hanami
(Frushi and Soy-glazed Pork Shank) before heading back to the International Gateway for an afternoon break at Pop.
We returned to Pop by 3:30-4 and decided to cool down in the bowling pin pool. The pool was moderately busy, but we didn't have to wait to enter the pool deck. It felt so nice to just relax midday... typically we do not return to our room in the afternoon and we are in the parks all day. We are just not used to that Florida heat, we couldn't hang! After an hour or so, it was time to get ready to hop over to MK.
We were the only people on the bus to MK at 5:30 PM, so that was nice! I was so excited to see the new paint job and accessories on the castle, and I know it's controversial, but I love it!
Our son had requested photos and videos of It's a Small World (his favorite), so that was our first stop. We placed our first mobile order from Small World at Pinocchio Village Haus, and it was ready within minutes of us getting off of the ride. We were both pretty hungry, as we only shared small plates at Epcot earlier in the day - so we were pretty satisfied with our meals. I hadn't been on Splash Mountain since I was 7 or 8 years old, and my husband had never been on it - so it was our next priority. It was just as great as I remember, and it was really fun to see him experience it for the first time. Wait times were low for Big Thunder, which is a favorite for DH, so that was our next stop. Park closing was at 9 PM, so we hustled over to the People Mover just in time to get in a quick ride before closing. I was so excited when I found out that it would be open for our trip! We did a little shopping at The Emporium on the way out. MK was not crowded at all, I was actually a little taken back by how few people were in the park that evening. It made for a really enjoyable night! Bus transport to Pop was not ideal (is it ever?)... they were very slow to load people and one of the buses was having mechanical issues, so this lead to a lot of waiting. There were more buses lined up to be loaded, but until that bus with mechanical issues was out of the way there was just no room for another articulated bus. Finally everything got moving and we were back at Pop around 11-11:15 PM.
Next time... Hollywood Studios!