Disney World May 2021 - Day One
So our first day at Disney was meant to be a slower starting day since we arrived so late the night before. But that wasn’t entirely the case. We met my parents for breakfast that morning before heading to Epcot. I want to say it was round 8:30 that morning if not earlier. I am having trouble remembering entirely. But either way, it wasn’t quite sleeping in, but compared to other days, I suppose it was!
After breakfast, we had some time, so they guys went back to our rooms to put up our refillable mugs and get some medicine for my mom and dad to take for their headaches. So Melody and I took some selfies while we waited.
We got in line for the Skyliner around 9:20 am or so. The line was fairly backed up already at this point for people wanting to go to Epcot. Epcot opened at 11, but rumors were they actually opened closer to 10. I was hoping to be there before that point, so at one time we actually considered taking the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios and just walking to Epcot since that line was already opened. But I was afraid they were checking for park passes or something, so we chickened out. In the end, we could have done that, but we waited. The line started moving at around 9:40 or so, and we were on the Skyliner at 10 headed to Caribbean Beach Resort where we then had to hop off and get in another line to catch the Skyliner to Epcot. We had to wait at CBR for about 15 minutes or so in a line there. I really do wish we had went to Hollywood Studios and just walked looking back, but now we know.
Epcot security was a breeze, and we were in and headed to Soarin’ by 10:35. So all in all it took us a little over an hour to get to Epcot after lining up at 9:20.
On our walk, I was sure to have Brad snap another picture of me by the fountain at the Imagination pavilion. I try and get one every trip with Brad since our honeymoon, but I haven’t succeeded. First: May 2013 (honeymoon); May 2015 (anniversary trip); February 2019; and May 2021
We headed straight to Soarin’. Melody was finally tall enough to ride, and we planned to leave Epcot after lunch. Not knowing if we would return that evening or not, we wanted to make sure she got to ride it first thing. We sat her between Brad and me. You can’t see in the pictures below, but they did have plexiglass between every so many seats due to COVID. So like we had plexiglass between my parents and us. The ride itself Melody said she loved. It was so funny to watch her during the ride. She kept picking up her feet during each transition, ha. As far as the wait goes, I think it said a 50 minute wait, and we waited 35.
Next up was Living with the Land. It was of course a walk on. And Brad had to get a picture with his glow in the dark ears from Aloha Ears. I have to be honest, the plastic barriers were not attractive, and I did not feel any “safer” because of them.
Next up we had planned to go to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, but it had like a 45 minute wait. While I was certain the wait was not that long, we did not want to get stuck in that line and miss our lunch reservation. We only had about one hour before we had to be in France, so it wasn’t practical. Instead we headed to Journey into the Imagination with Figment. We waited about 15 minutes, but we caught a glimpse of Joy from Inside Out. With Melody’s fear of characters, I actually enjoyed getting to see them this way.
As we headed to France, we saw a princess cavalcade. Another unpopular opinion, I prefer these over parades!
Epcot was definitely crowded as you hit the World Showcase. While I have seen it worse, for sure, I didn’t love the crowds since we were supposed to be there during a limited capacity environment due to COVID. And while I was thankful for the outdoor mask requirement being lifted, if we were not vaccinated, I am not sure I would have felt comfortable there. I mean social distancing was not even thought of.
Brad also got some pictures of the Harmonious barges. They are definitely an eyesore as they are, so I hope they are planning something magical to happen with them to make it prettier for sure.
We had lunch reservations at 1:15 pm at Chefs de France. Unfortunately their menu had changed, so there was really no benefit in going at dinner time as there was in the past. So we opted to do lunch here since I could not get a lunch reservation at Garden Grill. Lunch for me was fairly light and nice before heading out of Epcot for the day. I will do a review soon about the new menu offerings. Oh and Melody wanted to take pictures of her rolling her eyes…
After lunch we opted to exit through the International Gateway and catch a bus to Animal Kingdom using The Beach Club. It was a shorter walk, and it was a short wait with no crowds too. I think we waited maybe 5 minutes on the bus.
This was our first experience with buses this trip. They still had barriers and sections number, but we were literally the only 5 on the bus.
We made it through Animal Kingdom security and were in line for the Kilimanjaro Safari at 3:15. We had about a 25 minute wait. I didn’t love our driver. She kept yelling at people to properly wear their mask (which I get), but then she didn't even wear hers while we were on the safari. You may say she is away from everyone, but she had the same plastic barrier separating her as we did. Again, I don’t care for them, but I knew going in some rides had them. The giraffes came extra close to our vehicle this trip which made for fun pictures.
At this point, Melody’s behavior was so bad. I know a majority of her issue was how tired she was from all the traveling and getting up early. Plus she did have a small cold. But she also acts so bad when around our parents. I think she feels she can just get away with more, and they will also do more for her than we would. She always wanted to be held whenever we waited in lines, and she complained about any walking she might have to do. Well we decided to let those that wanted to ride Flight of Passage to head that way. I think the wait was only like 45 minutes. So I took Melody and headed over to DInoLand. While The Boneyard was still closed, I knew she loved TriceraTop Spin (a dinosaur version of Dumbo). She was my Melody when we did this. We rode the ride twice before she asked for a snack. So we stopped and got a bucket of popcorn. Then we rode it another three times before my parents came back. She didn't complain one time about walking or standing.
Once my parents and Brad got back to us after Flight of Passage, my dad rode the ride once. Then he and Brad headed over to Expedition Everest. My mom then rode with Melody several more times.
Our original plan was to eat dinner at Restaurantosaurus, but due to my poor planning, I didn’t realize they closed at 5 even though the park was open until 7. So as soon as the guys finished, we opted to just head back to the resort and eat dinner there. We did stop and grab a photo as we were leaving though.
I felt like we spent so much of our day walking and do very little ride wise unfortunately. But I think that is also the new normal until Fastpass+ comes back in some form. It was a fun day, and I am glad I got to end it with such a happy Melody (even if she was mad she had to get out of her stroller for a picture)!
