We're home. Boy, did that go by fast. Overall, we had a great time! Surprisingly saw almost no rain - the only rain occurred while we were on the bus to AK, and it stopped before we got there. Packed rain jackets and several ponchos, but didn't use any. That's the secret - bring lots of rain gear and it won't rain! The majority of the time the sun was blazing and brutally hot. However, I didn't really mind it - I recall thinking that if I were that hot at home I would have been miserable, but somehow it didn't bother me on vacation. Really, there is plenty of indoor spaces to cool off in, and even covered outdoor spaces for shade.
Crowds were a bit higher than I was expecting, but lower than on previous trips (at other times of the year). Wait times weren't bad, mostly shorter than posted. The longest line we waited in was for TSMM and that was about 45-60 minutes standby. We did not have FP+ for HS because we were doing AK that evening and scheduled them for that park. Speaking of which, when I booked at 60 days I was unable to get FOP, so booked NRJ. The family wasn't too disappointed because we didn't like the Avatar movie, and I personally was a bit concerned about motion sickness. Well, I kept checking anyway, because hey, there had to be a reason the ride is so popular. Lo and behold, about 45 days out, a FP popped up and I grabbed it. Even while in line, I still wasn't sure about riding myself, but my kids insisted. Wow, am I glad I did it! That ride is amazing! And absolutely zero motion sickness. I can't wait to do that one again. We ended up skipping NRJ, as that wait time was over 90 minutes and we were exhausted after a long hot day. Next time.
POR is where we always stay, so no surprises there. It was fine. Food court was hit or miss with crowds, depending on our timing - overall not too bad. I sent a fax a few days before we left explaining how excited we were to be returning, especially this year since hubby and I were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, the same year POR turned 25, and that we had stayed there the same year it opened on our honeymoon. We are a family of 5, so always stay in AB - our only request was to NOT be in any building in the 30's. Guess which building we got? 36. Could not have been further away from everything. I wonder if they even got my fax. Oh well. I got the email with our room assignment while we were at MCO, my family couldn't care less where we were so I decided to roll with it. We didn't interact with the front desk once. Which in hindsight was a bit odd, as if something was missing. Next time I'll check in with the front desk upon arrival, even if I do online check-in. It just kicks off the vacation for me.
Well, time to do the laundry...