This is the fifth and final installment of this trip report! If you missed parts 1, 2, 3 or 4, click on the corresponding number to catch up.

Our relaxing lunch at Gasparilla Island Grill was followed by boating back to Magic Kingdom. Once inside, we walked back to Frontierland to meet our friends and a few other friendly faces.

It was nice to see the bears out and about even with the attraction getting redone. I have no desire to move to Florida, no shade to anyone who lives there, but when I see those bears faces I feel at home. Here’s hoping I still feel that way (you thought that previous sentence was a joke??) when the new version of the Country Bears debuts later this summer. The latest news, including some of the setlist, does not have me optimistic but Henry, Wendell and the gang are family. I will support them to the bitter end, like Dom Toretto in whatever sequel number they’re on in the Fast & Furious series. Let’s move on before I devote 3 paragraphs to a Country Bears-Fast & Furious mash-up movie…

The afternoon was apparently animal theme without me realizing. At least, that’s what the photos would have me believe. More on that in a minute. Small World had a short wait during parade time so we enjoyed a ride through there.

As I’m writing this post, Melissa and I are celebrating our 11th anniversary! We’ve changed a lot in those 11 years, hopefully for the better and we enjoy our lives together more than ever. One thing that hasn’t changed in those years is that we get on the Teacups, she spins like mad and I take photos of her. The amount of pictures I have like the one above is in the triple digits, at least. I love every single one.

After a few quick rides in Fantasyland, we made our way over to Adventureland. I stopped here along the way as it’s become one of my favorite views in Magic Kingdom. The forced perspective it brings out is really beautiful and a reminder that we don’t just have to be talking about Main Street buildings being as tall as they seem when it comes to that theme park term.

Back to the animals! I give Magic Kingdom plenty of grief but their version of the Jungle Cruise is beautiful. Even these smiling elephants think so! Not sure about the hippos though.

Our Lightning Lanes started to stack up for the day and we walked over to Big Thunder Mountain. Is there a better feeling in Disney theme park-dom than when Lightning Lanes or FastPasses or whatever term they choose to use stack up for like 3 rides in a row? Instead of waiting an hour for one, you’re through 3 of the most exciting attractions in that same hour. Genie+ is plenty frustrating to me still but Magic Kingdom is one of the best places to use it. Thanks again to our friends, Dana and Ty, for treating us that day!

A few more animals for good measure!

With the sun beginning to set and a few clouds rolling in, the sky’s color started changing. It was a beautiful evening as we walked from Big Thunder to Haunted Mansion, stopping multiple spots along the way. That included looking at the progress of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. My photo of that from February is definitely not relevant anymore so here’s a timeless castle and water view instead!

Our productive afternoon had made us pretty hungry. Seeing 999 ghosts can really whet your appetite. We decided to eat dinner at Columbia Harbor House, the best counter-service option in Magic Kingdom. I had the salmon and enjoyed it. Melissa had the kids meal shrimp which ended up being nearly as much food for $5 less. The Shrimp Boil or Lobster Roll are still my favorite options here though.

We hustled off after dinner to grab a spot for Happily Ever After for the group. That was fairly successful outside of a few kids on shoulders blocking the camera view more than anything else. Happily Ever After remains one of my favorite nighttime spectaculars of all time. Wondrous Journeys and it share a similar tone and I just slightly prefer the Magic Kingdom show.

I mentioned in the previous installment that we had our boarding group for Tron Lightcycle Run called early in the day but then it broke down. That gave us the chance to go anytime we wanted during the day and our friends wisely chose the nighttime. What a brilliant facade and lighting package!

I’ve already shared my thoughts on Tron Lightcycle Run and how the on-ride experience just can’t quite keep up with the visual allure the attraction has from the outside. That said, it’s really fun! I’ll be eager to ride it again and again over the years. For now, here’s a few more photos of the futuristic blue structure.

In short, at least go look at Tron at night even if you rode during the day! We decided to call it a night after that and head back to our hotel. That happened to be Pop Century, our 6th hotel in 8 nights. We might have took split stays a little too far this go around!

The next morning saw us up to get a spot in the virtual queue for Cosmic Rewind. We got another hour of sleep after before meeting back up with our friends at Primo Piatto for breakfast. I’ve raved plenty about that spot! If you’re staying at a Skyliner resort, I’d call this counter-service spot at the Riviera a must do. The breakfast sandwich above is okay but the Lemon Blueberry Pancakes are fantastic!

After eating, we hurried off for another ride on Cosmic Rewind. I liked the second ride more than the first, which I liked quite a bit already! This coaster should be one of the more re-rideable attractions in all of Walt Disney World thanks to the soundtrack change, thrill and show scenes that can be a little hard to grasp as you zip by the first time. Despite my concerns about fit, the Guardians coaster is one of the best rides in all of Walt Disney World.

We walked over to Spaceship Earth and got on without much wait in the late morning. The paintings above seemed as if they were part of Festival of the Arts but could be there year around. In light of the recent (and constant) conversation about Iger’s preference to tie everything to IP, I’m always interested in who signs off on things like those paintings. I may be the only one! It’s cool to see some artwork for an original and iconic attraction.

A long line at Cosmic Rewind plus a few other stops meant that it was already lunch time! I’m now seeing why I gained some weight on this trip. When there’s only two photos between food pictures then that gives all of the explanation needed. On top of that, there’s not a single vegetable in sight. Maybe we can count the sauerkraut on this bratwurst as one? Sommerfest, the Germany Pavilion’s counter-service spot, is a hidden gem. Their menu is so small making this place basically a cart, so it’s not on the scale of some other options. It essentially boils (which is not how they cook the meat) down to if you like sausages or not. If you do, then you’ll enjoy this! The beer selection is solid too.

Some Flower & Garden topiaries were starting to pop up at the end of our trip. Hitting the last few weeks of Festival of the Arts at Epcot is a real sweet spot in that you get a taste for both festivals.

We stopped into The Seas to view some animals before going over to the DVC lounge. After spending a good amount of time in Epcot this trip, we kept a relaxed pace for the day and enjoyed some sitting around here and there.

That combined with beautiful weather made for a pleasant afternoon. I spent time outside of the Imagination Pavilion, watching the monorails pass by every few minutes. The inside of the pavilion certainly has problems but the outside is still whimsical.

One of the interactive parts of the festival was painting by numbers. Guests would get a number and a little bit of paint, then you’d find that number on the wall and fill in a square with the paint. This led to a cool mural. We were nearing the end of the day when we experienced this and the cast member needed some extra squares filled in so we happily obliged! I thought this was another mark in Festival of the Arts favor.

We also enjoyed some ducks and ducklings nearby! Which park has the best ducks, you might ask? Stay tuned in 2029 for the answer.

After taking a ride on Living with the Land, we found out that our flight the next day was delayed by a little over an hour. That was fine with us as it left before 6 AM. But, since it left so early, we hadn’t planned to get a hotel for the night. The plan was to stay at Magic Kingdom until midnight, take our time on the way out and then get our bags before Lyft-ing to the airport around 1 or 2. Not ideal but workable.

We realized that with the flight delayed over an hour, we could switch it to later in the day without a charge. That meant we had to get a hotel for the night and, you know, actually get sleep instead of pretending that we were still in our college years. Sorting through all of that, and eventually booking a cheap hotel by the airport for a late morning flight, took a small chunk out of the day but made our travel home so much easier. Moral of the story: Stay flexible!

Cotton candy skies had crept in while we were in the Land Pavilion, so we walked over by Spaceship Earth to enjoy them! Epcot is perfect around sunset. I generally like the lighting on Spaceship Earth, although it can be overused. Strangely enough, I think I like it most before it’s completely dark and the lights blend into the colorful skies.

But then I see this stunning view and I immediately switch my position to “Spaceship Earth looks best in the dark!” Just kidding, mostly. Journey of Water is wonderful at night because of this view and a few others. I’m not sure the exhibits are as easy to observe, at least a few of them, so there’s some give and take. Overall, I think I prefer the walkthrough attraction at night though! Do both if you have time, walking through only takes about 15 minutes.

Epcot’s World Nature (I had to look up the name, I’m never going to remember these new ones) is in a funny spot, at least for me. With Journey of Water, Living with the Land, and the aquarium section of The Seas, there’s an idealistic practicality to them. Imagineers did a fantastic job whimsically showcasing scientific, some would even say dull, things like water cycles and growing plants. I know the Imagination Pavilion isn’t technically a part of this sub-section but the building fits in with this idea.

On the other hand, it’s painfully obvious that much of this area needs work. Journey of Water notwithstanding, the design of some buildings is lacking and there are a few rides that probably need to be retired. Before I saw this new walkthrough attraction, I was fairly pessimistic about the area. Now, I’m fairly excited about where it’s going!

We ended our time in Epcot and Disney World watching a couple of shows. First came Disney on Broadway for Festival of the Arts and then Luminous The Symphony of Us. The former wasn’t quite as good as the previous few times we watched on that trip but still worth seeing. The latter was… Well, I’ve already written my thoughts. I try to see or ride everything twice before reviewing them. That’s not always practical but if I come away not liking it at all, I make a point of doing something for a second time unless it’s time sensitive.

Luminous just isn’t for me and that’s okay. The exposition is too much and the emotional moments don’t sink in like they do for others. I also can’t get over the lack of punctuation in the title but that’s neither here nor there. Even if I don’t love that specific nighttime spectacular, I do love everyone gathering around World Showcase Lagoon. With respect to Disneyland’s Fantasmic, this is the best venue for a show. Maybe it’s the idea behind World Showcase that really sinks in; harmony is so infrequent in big groups of people that you can’t help but feel a warm belonging in that space.

We left shortly after the show ended, wanting to take advantage of the extra few hours of sleep we finagled our way into. A stop at Pop Century to pick up our bags and have a mediocre dinner was the last thing before catching a Lyft to our airport hotel.

I started part 1 of this trip report by mentioning our short break from Disney World. After a couple years off and revisiting, I was happy with what I came back to. The parks aren’t without their frustrations but they each are unique and worth visiting. The resorts and the food impressed us throughout the trip. With what seemed like an annoying few years for Hollywood Studios and Epcot, I was reminded about what I love about those places. Our February trip was a blast and we are looking forward to getting back there. Before we do that, there’s a little thing called Fantasy Springs opening first!

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