Well, I'm only about six months late, but I'm finally going to write up our January trip to WDW! It feels like another lifetime, given all that's happened since then. We had a great trip, and especially in hindsight, with no vacations in our near future due to COVID-19, we're really, really glad we took this trip.
This was our second January trip (the first in 2019), made possible again by BGSU's winter session and late start to the spring semester. We flew down on Sunday, 1/12 and stayed through Friday, 1/17.
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On the bus, headed to Magic Kingdom
just before noon on arrival day. |
We stayed at Pop Century again, where we've been very happy on our last several trips. This year, we enjoyed a new perk: access to the
Skyliner, the gondola system that connects a few hotels, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. It turned out to be a great way to get around, with lovely views.
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| We stayed in the 70s, our favorite section (great location). |
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| We use the murphy bed for naps! |
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| larger than life decor outside our building |
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| walking toward the main building and food court |
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| Skyliner station at Hollywood Studios |
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| the gondolas are pretty quick and quiet on the lines! |
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| inside one of the stations |
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| selfie in the gondola--we often had one to ourselves! |
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| Mark relaxing for the ride--so nice to be able to sit! |
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backstage view of the France pavilion
in Epcot from the Skyliner |
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| another Skyliner view |
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| waiting to board in the Epcot station |
Last year, we got to see some Christmas decorations at Epcot; this year, they were still up in all the parks, for the first few days of the trip. Each park's decorations were different and themed to match the park (and specific areas within the park).
The ones at Animal Kingdom were my favorite:
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| close up of the large tree at the park entrance |
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| decorations at dusk--so beautiful! |
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| lantern cranes |
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| little holiday touches were everywhere! |
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| small tree in Africa |
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| wreaths from recycled materials in Africa |
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| another clever decoration on a lamppost |
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| me with the huge tree! |
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| a different feel for the decorations in Dinoland |
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| a full view of the big tree |
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| after dark..it was so beautiful! |
Here's Epcot:
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| the tree inside the Mexican restaurant |
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| giant tree in the American pavilion |
...and Hollywood Studios:
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| silver garlands at the entrance |
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| decorations on lampposts |
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| wreaths on storefronts |
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| Hollywood Blvd |
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| the giant tree in Echo lake |
...and Magic Kingdom:
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| toy drummers and candy cane posts |
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| the giant tree at the entrance |
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| lamppost wreath |
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| a different vibe in Tomorrowland |
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| holiday landscaping at the railroad station |
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| on Main Street |
As always, the food was a highlight. We were able to go back to one of our most favorite signature dining restaurants, Narcoossee's, and we tried a few new places, too--like the Yak and Yeti Local Cafe in the Animal Kingdom and a fantastic Mexican restaurant, La Hacienda de San Angel, in Epcot. And lots of delicious snacks along the way.
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| our typical breakfast at the hotel (we split) |
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| Casey's Corner mac & cheese fries and corn dog nuggets |
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| Sleepy Hollow chicken & waffles |
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| Pizza Rizzo salad & pizza |
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| Ronto Roasters in Galaxy's Edge |
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| Ronto wrap, chips, and jerky |
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| Yak & Yeti Local Cafe egg rolls, chicken, and rice |
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| fish & chips window in Epcot (so simple, so good!) |
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| Mark at La Hacienda |
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we split three appetizers--they were amazing!
(pardon the bad photo) |
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| our fantastic server brought Mark free B-day ice cream |
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| shrimp & grits appetizer at Narcoossee's |
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| scallop gnocchi |
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| our all-time favorite dessert: almond cheesecake |
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| just about to dig into dessert at Narcoossee's |
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| one of several ice cream cookie sandwiches |
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| Mark tried a classic Mickey ice cream bar |
We had the park hopper again for this trip, so most days we visited two parks. As expected, we enjoyed some of our favorite things, like the Festival of Fantasy Parade in the Magic Kingdom, and some new things, like Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (and two new attractions) in Hollywood Studios and the Epcot Forever evening show (the temporary replacement for Illuminations). We also caught the first day of the Festival of the Arts at Epcot, which happened to be opening day for some updated and new attractions: the O Canada movie, a Beauty and the Beast sing-along movie, and a new environmental movie in The Land. Here are some pics from each park.
Animal Kingdom
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| posing with a statue of Simba, Pumba, and Timon |
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| at the Tree of Life |
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| the Up! bird show in Asia |
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Mark got to do some easy audience participation:
they had a bird fly through the aisle between these guys |
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| Expedition Everest in the background |
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| in Pandora |
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| my selfie technique needs some work...we're still in Pandora |
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| enjoyed these amazing tumbler/acrobats in Africa |
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| spotted some lions prowling on the safari |
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| and a very friendly giraffe! |
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| a new show with macaw parrots--so stunning! |
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Mark's name came up on the screens
in the Expedition Everest queue :-) |
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| we caught Kevin out and about! |
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| the Finding Nemo musical is truly excellent |
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| a different view with Everest way in the distance |
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| Rivers of Light |
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| love this elephant lantern! |
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| this show had also been updated since our last visit |
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| Tree of Life Awakenings |
Epcot
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| coming in on the Monorail, we could see the ongoing construction |
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| more construction views |
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| a new display in Morocco |
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| also in Morocco |
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with Spaceship Earth...
this may be the only pic we got together in Epcot! |
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| caught the Monorail in action! |
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| with an Epcot backdrop |
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| a backdrop for the upcoming guardians of the galaxy ride |
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| me with a Festival of the Arts sign |
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| Figment is the mascot for the Festival of the Arts |
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| a paint-by-square mural for the festival |
We spotted a few character chalk paintings around World Showcase:
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| Diego from Coco in Mexico |
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| characters from Robin Hood in UK |
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| not sure who this is...in Canada, maybe? |
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these kites were a cool effect in
Epcot Forever |
Hollywood Studios
The new Star Wars land, Galaxy's Edge, was super impressive:
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| Mark in the marketplace area |
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| more marketplace |
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| and Kylo Ren with Storm Troopers |
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| inside the queue of Smuggler's Run (one of the rides) |
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| part of Rise of the Resistance (another ride) |
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| enjoying some atmosphere after lunch |
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| another view of the land |
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| the Millennium Falcon! |
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Mark got a couple good selfies of us
with the Millennium Falcon |
And from elsewhere in Hollywood Studios...
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| Toy Story Land (very early in the morning...) |
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| with the Chinese theater |
Magic Kingdom
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| with Prince Eric's castle |
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| on the Peoplemover |
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| the view of the castle from Tomorrowland |
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| the castle from Main Street |
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| the railroad station |
From the Festival of Fantasy Parade:
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| Ana & Elsa |
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| Merida from Brave |
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| the dragon (which is back to breathing fire!) |
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| Beauty & the Beast |
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| Tinkerbell |
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| evening fireworks |
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| and castle projection show |
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| these projections are great! |
We always enjoy these trips, and we're extra thankful we had the January vacation since our summer trips had to be cancelled. The downside to winter travel, of course, is when you are greeted by a snow storm back in Ohio!
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our apartment parking lot when we got home...
it was not a fun drive back from DTW, but we made it! |
We've been planning to take a big WDW trip in 2021, the 50th anniversary year. There's a lot of uncertainty in the world at the moment, so we'll see, but I do hope we'll be back before long...it's a magical place!
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