Walt Disney World has a way of winning you over while away from it. No matter how overwhelmed, sweaty or crowded you felt while actually in the parks, a random thought will crawl into your mind while at home under a blanket. Maybe it’s as simple as “I really wish I was on Haunted Mansion right now.” Or for some of us (I won’t say who) the thought is “I need to get back there to gorge on steak while splurging on the Disney Dining Plan.” It’s intoxicating and eventually a trip is booked and steak is gorged on to the point of gaining 5 pounds even though you’re walking 20,000 steps a day. Not that I speak from experience… These thoughts at home lead Melissa and I to booking many trips to Disney World, including one in the fall of 2024.

Not that we dislike Disney World! We have had our share of crowded, sweaty times there but also know how to craft a vacation there to our likings. It may not be my ‘home’ resort or my favorite but I have a great deal of nostalgia for it. Disney World also takes the most amount of research and planning, so sites like this need to take plenty of trips there! At least that’s how I justify as I stare puzzlingly at our bank account.

Through a myriad of circumstances that aren’t interesting to read, we flew from Seattle (where we were visiting family) to Tampa. Without the Magical Express, there’s less incentive to fly directly to Orlando. We like to rent a car for the first night of our trip so we can stop at the grocery store and grab some food on the way into WDW. Tampa happened to be quite a bit cheaper to fly into on this trip so we got a car from there and were on our way. If you don’t mind a few extra steps in the planning process, then this is worth considering. I will admit that the savings are minimal though.

After the hour drive from Tampa to Walt Disney World, we arrived at All Star Movies Resort around 9 PM and settled in for the night. We ended up eating at the hotel’s counter-service restaurants, World Premiere Food Court, and were very underwhelmed with the meal. I could write a review for that but we disliked the food so much that I thought it might deserve another chance before I trashed the place. The food didn’t exactly look appetizing though, as you can see.

We were only at All Star Movies Resort for one night but liked the hotel well enough, bad dinner notwithstanding. It’s a good budget option and probably my favorite of the All Star Resorts. The decor felt like Art of Animation before there was an actual Art of Animation. I’m sure we’ll be back there plenty of times while looking for a cheaper spot to stay. The cost of Pop Century and Art of Animation keeps rising, perhaps rightfully so with the Skyliner access, but the All Star Resorts seem to keep a consistent price.

The next morning we dropped off our bags in the lobby, our rental car (not the Love Bug pictured above) at the lot by Magic Kingdom and were off to Epcot! We didn’t start especially early that morning, as Epcot was open late to guests staying at a Deluxe Resort and we were checking in to Saratoga Springs that day. The plan was to take it pretty easy at Epcot (we were there on Labor Day and weren’t sure what the crowds would be like) but that plan went out the window once we arrived.

To our surprise, Epcot was very empty that day. We grabbed a spot in the afternoon Cosmic Rewind virtual queue, ate a quick lunch at La Cantina de San Angel and then honed in on an afternoon of attractions. Seeing a park so empty was wild and something I hadn’t witnessed for at least a decade, COVID regulations aside.

Actually, we had to start by getting a drink (some candy-tea fusion drink) from Food & Wine and then checking out the icon that is Communicore Hall. That somewhat recent Epcot addition has been panned from every angle at this point so I won’t pile on too much. Like everyone, I just don’t understand how that idea got off the drawing board. I’ll have a more thorough post on the state of Epcot soon but the idea of adding more cafeteria settings to the front of the park is confounding.

We persevered through Communicore Hall to the Land Pavilion and ended up riding everything in there. That wasn’t the original plan but, again, wait times are low. When you have the chance to ride Soarin’ in the middle of the day and only wait 10 minutes, you take it! A crooked Eiffel Tower is well worth 10 minutes. The excellent Living with the Land was a walk-on and we even partook in Awesome Planet. I’d be happy to see them change that show again anytime. It’s not awful but the theater is large and comfortable, primed for something more interesting than what’s in there.

A quick trip through The Seas showed off a wonderful dolphin playing in the water and a not so wonderful Nemo & Friends ride. Journey Into Imagination being reimagined is the project I want to happen next at Epcot. But I am intrigued at how they could revitalize that ride system in The Seas. That attraction is forgotten and not successful, I’d love to see what else they could do with the space.

We continued on seeing Bruno (I can write about him, just don’t talk about him) at the Encanto show outside of Communicore Hall. It was a fine show but I don’t expect to see it stick around very long.

Spaceship Earth was next in the run of attractions and was another wait under 10 minutes. Outside of itinerary practicing purposes, I’m not sure when the last time I’d just walked from attraction to attraction in Epcot. Generally, we’re focused on World Showcase or there to eat! But having the afternoon to take in all of these rides with minimal waits was lovely.

Our time had come for the Cosmic Rewind virtual queue! I was eager to ride it again after my first 2 initial rides in February. There’s a good re-rideability factor on this attraction. Not to mention, it’s just an excellent roller coaster. As much as I’ve rallied against the fit not being ideal, going from Spaceship Earth to Cosmic Rewind is a fairly smooth transition. One of those stories feels forced (the one with the fake history) but they did as good of a job with it as they possibly could. Thematic issues are easy to overlook when a ride is that fun!

We had about an hour to spare before our dinner reservation in the France Pavilion, so we took our time walking back to that area. The afternoon included 6 attractions in roughly 3 hours, moving at a very leisurely pace. We could have fit more in if we really wanted to! On the way to the France Pavilion we stopped off at the UK gardens to enjoy the tea store and take some photos.

My opinion of Chefs de France continues to inflate after our exceptional dinner that night. As I wrote in the review, there’s a certain whimsy and nostalgia I have for the restaurant. It’s a perfect representation of what World Showcase is supposed to be, as I dine there and it makes me want to go to Paris even more. Our meal on that particular night was one of the best we’ve had at Disney World in recent memory!

Melissa and I had a wonderful dinner date so we had to top it off with a show! Impressions de France continues to play in the evenings, which isn’t enough! It is one of the best attractions in the entire park and one of the most romantic in all of Walt Disney World. Just like Chefs de France, the short film is a great encapsulation of an idealized France and makes me want to visit the real place.

We continued our night in World Showcase’s best pavilion with a ride on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. I don’t have as much praise for that attraction as I did for the dinner and the show. But I will say that I’m fond of that expansion area. Imagineering did a great job of not trying to do too much with the space but still making it a beautiful area that fits in with the rest of the Pavilion.

The park had closed by the time we were off of Remy’s but we had the late night hours in Epcot to look forward to. Those meant that we could double dip on Cosmic Rewind rides for the day! That alone made these extra hours worth going to. On top of that, the park was even more empty. We would go long stretches without seeing other people once outside of Cosmic Rewind.

We planned to complete all of the big rides in Epcot, capping the night with Frozen Ever After. Unfortunately, the ride broke down as we were passing the Mexico Pavilion. So we pivoted and went to see our friends and favorite caballeros. As far as rides I unabashedly love for no apparent reason, Gran Fiesta Tour might take the cake. I try to think up reasons why I enjoy it so much when explaining it to people, can’t think of many and then question my love. Then I get back to riding it and I can’t stop smiling!

As you can see, the Mexico Pavilion was very empty! The 11 PM closing was nearing and we wanted to enjoy Journey of Water without many guests around so we walked across the park for that. Here’s a few nighttime photos of the walk.

We basically had Journey of Water to ourselves. At one point I think some kids came barreling through with their parents not too far behind. Otherwise, we were alone to explore this walkthrough attraction. It was fun to take our time through the musical portion, seeing how the notes did interact with the water. We were at prime photo taking time too!

By the time we were done with Journey of Water, it was basically 11 PM and we headed toward the park exit along with a few others. There were dozens of us! Our day was unexpectedly productive and extremely fun. Like I mentioned, our personal Epcot days (without research) are usually spent roaming the World Showcase shops and hopping on a ride or two. This was the inverse of that and we had a blast!

We took the bus over to Saratoga Springs, got our bags and settled in for a night of sleep!

The next morning Melissa was working remotely and I decided to sleep in a little bit before we went for an early lunch at Polite Pig. We hadn’t been to the counter-service barbecue restaurant in a while but having the Disney Dining Plan proved an opportune time. It is generally the best counter-service value on the plan. I had the salmon and came away impressed!

I ventured out after lunch, heading to Hollywood Studios. That’s where we’ll pick up from in our next installment!

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