WDW May 2023

 As always, summer is flying by! We were fortunate to start our summer on a high note with another vacation to Disney World. When we were there last year for the park's 50th anniversary celebration, we didn't really think we'd be heading back so soon. But as we started talking about what we wanted to do for this summer's vacation, we found ourselves wanting the easy-to-plan escape from reality that WDW provides for us. After running some numbers, we decided we could swing it, so we booked our trip. Since our spring semester at BGSU ends so early, we're able to beat the worst of the summer crowds (and heat!), and we were there for 7 days in mid-May. It already seems like a long time ago, so I thought I'd better get a blog post together!

We stayed at the same hotel we've been going to for a while, the Pop Century resort. It's one of the "value" resorts, so it's pretty reasonably priced, and it has the Skyliner, which has become one of our favorite ways to get around. 

"Welcome Cook Family" on the TV in our room

The view from our building at night

The giant big wheel trike in front of our building

The murphy bed (which we use for naps)

The lobby and "Everything Pop" sign

We tried something different this time and skipped park tickets for our arrival day. Instead, we went to Disney Springs (which we hadn't checked out in quite a while), and had some time to hang out at the Grand Floridian hotel before our fancy dinner at our favorite restaurant, Narcoosee's. This restaurant had recently reopened after a refurbishment, so the décor and furniture are all fresh. The menu's had some updates, too, but our very favorite dessert, the almond cheesecake, is still there. 

me with Lego Elsa, Olaf, and Ana

old car and carriage outside the Grand Floridian

passing some time in the Grand
Floridian lobby, listening to the pianist

newly updated Narcoosee's

bread service with salted butter

seafood charcuterie appetizer

me with our entrée

me and Mark at our table by the window

Mark with his dessert 
(we like it so much we each got our own!)

some anniversary chocolates

close up of the cheesecake

After the more-leisurely-than-usual start, we packed our days with lots of time in the parks. Even though it had only been a year since our last trip, there were two new attractions we got to ride for the first time: Tron Lightcycle Run (in the Magic Kingdom) and Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind (in Epcot). We really enjoyed both rides! Tron is a bit short, but very fun. Lots of people have struggled with motion sickness on Cosmic Rewind, so we were pretty anxious about whether it would be ok for Mark, but no problems! I think it's my current favorite ride--just pure fun. 

Mark & me with the Tron sign

view of the Guardians ride from the monorail

me & Mark with the Guardians sign
and Spaceship Earth in the background

There were also two shows that had re-opened since our previous visit: Fantasmic! and Finding Nemo: The Big Blue...and Beyond. In both cases, they made some updates. We thought Fantasmic! was better than ever, though we were ambivalent about the Finding Nemo changes (still, we were so glad to have it running again!). Since we had a shorter trip, we went ahead and got the Fantasmic! Dining Package so we'd have a guaranteed seat at the show. It's way more food than we need, but we always enjoy eating at the Sci Fi Dine In Theater, and we were grateful for the seats. As it turned out, there was a second showing of Fantasmic! that night, so we got to see it twice! 

Sci Fi restaurant sign

selfie in our car/table in the restaurant

wings & slaw (appetizer)

Mark's burger & fries

my pasta

milkshake for dessert

selfie from our excellent seats at Fantasmic!

jungle scene in Fantasmic!

the serpent

the dragon lights the lake on fire

new water scene with Moana

steamboat finale

Finding Nemo theater sign

selfie in the theater (also good seats!)

scene with the fish in the aquarium

We enjoyed experiencing the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival again--it's really amazing how they transform the park with so many flowers and topiaries. There are always a handful of new ones, along with familiar ones they bring back, perhaps with changes in the plants and colors used. 

selfie with the new topiary at the main entrance

another view of the new Encanto topiary

close up of Encanto topiary

me with the Goofy topiary

me with the Tiana topiary

me with Mickey & Minnie topiary

festival sign with Spaceship
Earth in the background

edible garden in Living with the Land

mini-Figment pavilion in Living with the Land

aquarium display in Living with the Land

dinosaur display in Living with the Land

one of the seven dwarfs...see the 
caterpillar on his nose?

Donald & Daisy topiary

Figment topiary
(made of succulents this year!)

a topiary demo--an elephant!

English tea garden

flowers with the monorail line
in the background

more flowers

snowflake topiary

flowering bonsai tree

another bonsai tree

this Shishi-odoshi garden was one of
my favorite new things

water makes the bamboo shift, making noise by
striking something like a tambourine or chimes

more of this garden display

we spotted this cast member pruning
the Winnie the Pooh characters first
thing one morning! 

succulent butterfly topiary

Bo Peep topiary...see the live lizard on her elbow?

geese topiary

another cool garden in the Japan pavilion

It was also fun to see some of the extras they put in for the 50th celebration still around, like the golden statues. I noticed a few I didn't get pics of last time around! And this year is the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company, so there were nods to that in various places around the parks, too. 

Nemo & Dory

Bambi & friends

Stitch

Pinocchio 

100th merchandise display

Mickey & Minnie 100 Years

100th sign in Epcot

me & Mark with 100th sign at Animal Kingdom

As always, the food was a big part of the experience. We were intentional about going back to our usual favorites, returning to some places we hadn't been in a long time, and trying some new things. Not everything was a hit, but we had more successes than misses. 

the bounty breakfast platter--our usual (we split :-)

fried food basket at Columbia Harbor House

Flower and Garden Food Booths

another food booth on a different day

salad & sandwich at the Riviera 

view from our table--we took
a while to relax here

a favorite: ice cream cookie sandwich

oatmeal cookie cream pie

funnel cake topped with ice cream

theme park pizza! (and salad)

chicken & waffles sandwich

Twix cookie

orange cream milkshake topped with donut

peanut butter M&M cookie

After enjoying it so much on our last trip, we splurged again on the Fireworks Dessert Party at the Magic Kingdom. Although it's still a pleasant way to see these fireworks while avoiding the worst crowds anywhere in the parks, we weren't so sure of the value this time. It also reminded me how badly I do with all-you-can eat situations...I definitely overdid it on the sweets and felt miserable for a while afterward. I think we'll skip this add-on next time!

dessert party sign

selfie from our fireworks viewing spot

star light up toys a couple of cute kids brought 
and passed around to everyone before fireworks

castle view

fireworks & projection show

more fireworks

dessert party...good but too much!

Overall, we had a great time. It was a bit surprising how many new things there were to do compared to just a year ago, and the crowds were actually lower, too (maybe pent-up demand has started to fizzle out?). There are some other changes we're not wild about, like the paid Genie+ that has replaced the previously included Fast Pass system. We did buy it for two days, and it definitely saves a lot of time in line...but it's pricey. And we noticed again, like we did last time, that more rides have unplanned downtime than they used to. This can really throw a wrench in your touring plan, and that did get us off on the wrong foot a couple of mornings. On the other hand, we had exceptionally good luck with the free virtual queues that allowed us to ride both new attractions multiple times. 

Here are a few more pics from around the parks to wrap things up:

Animal Kingdom

us with the Tree of Life

after years of looking, we finally spotted Divine!

see her now?

me with a dinosaur we hadn't seen before!

Expedition Everest ride photo 
(a perk of Genie+)

safari selfie

close up of a turtle on the Tree of Life

we had perfect timing to catch "Winged Encounters"
(the show about their macaw parrots)

the drummers do a show periodically on the river

Hollywood Studios

selfie with the Chinese Theater
(it had recently rained)

mist in the Tower of Terror line

Tower of Terror ride photo

another Tower of Terror ride photo

us with the Tower of Terror
(the photographer recognized Mark from when
she was recently in the color guard at BGSU!)

Daisy & Donald

us at the Hollywood Studios entrance

Tron scene in the projection show.
We were able to stand so close!
There was hardly anyone there (due to the rain).

another scene from the projection show

Epcot

lights on Spaceship Earth across the lagoon

Epcot Forever fireworks

more fireworks

Mark killing some time outside Epcot
(we arrived a bit too early for park hopping)

on Spaceship Earth...we both made faces for the pic!

selfie with Spaceship Earth

mariachi band

equipment to remove the rest of the 
barges from the previous evening show

me & Mark with Spaceship Earth
and the new fountain

Magic Kingdom

first morning selfie with the railroad station

a water break in Gaston's tavern

Mark & me with the castle

Space Mountain ride photo

selfie on Small World (for Pop-Pop)

castle moat drained for some work
(maybe removal of 50th decorations)

riding the WDW Railroad (it had been
closed for years due to Tron construction)

Tron & Space Mountain from the Peoplemover

selfie on the Peoplemover (one of our favorite rides)

watching the Festival of Fantasy parade
from a different shady spot in Liberty Square

Mark & me with the castle (again, different day :-)

we got to sit in the rocking chairs on
Main Street for a few minutes!

We are so thankful that we can take these vacations, and we're already looking forward to next summer's big trip: our Alaska cruise!