Overnighter Epcot/All Star Music/Disney Springs
Spouse and I did a semi impromptu trip to DW to do Epcot and Disney Springs. I had checked earlier last mont which days were best to visit DW with smaller crowds. The last week in January won out! Departed from the western Sun Coast of Florida early Tuesday morning. Only a 2 hour trip. I-4 merge traffic onto the highway the last 17 miles was the only issue, slowing traffic to less than a 20 mph pace the last 5 miles before the DW exit. But weather was great. We arrived at Epcot parking lot around 8:30. All Star resort stay got us into the parking lot free of charge. Quick entry through security and into the park in less than 5 minutes. Early entry morning for resort guests so we walked right in and rode Spaceship Earth. Walked through the new Starbucks eatery. Nice and spacious! Walked through the Creations gift shop. Seems to have less merchandise than the old store. We did get genie plus and got Ratatoulle 4:20 time and applied for virtual queu for Galaxay at 7 am but all groups were filled. We later applied for Galaxy at 1 and got boarding group 127 for 6 p.m. But our time kept getting pushed back later and later with it finally being set for 8:14 pm by which time we were long gone from Epcot. We tried several of the food booths set up for the Arts Fair. The american adventure food booth was disappointing. A meatloaf based item that was bland. Didp a walk on to the boat ride in Mexico pavilliion. 9 am to 10 am crowd of course was small in world showcase areas. The park in general definitely had one of the smallest ever Epcot crowds in the morning that I had ever seen. We did a genie plus lightning lane ride on Soarin after 11 am which was the time we could do our second genie plus request. Lunch was at Fish and Chips in World Showcase. Still tasty after all these years. The Galaxy pavillion looks good from the outside. The old Wonders of the World Pavillion was closed off from walking into it, so I am not sure what it is being used for these days. We people watched and walked around some until our Ratatoulle time of 4:20 via lightning lane. We enjoyed the 3d attraction but both remarked that for those waiting 85 minutes in the Standby lane, we weren't sure the brief ride was really worth that much time invested. You would think the park reservation system would guarantee specific maximum wait times under an hour as a way to enhance guest experience. We decided to not wait around for our 8 pm Galaxy boarding group and drove over to All Star Music. Signage to reach the correct building wasn't clear so I had to go to the front desk to get a map and directions. Then I tried to use my smartphone to gain entry to room which did not work. I finally realized I could use my magic band. Building 6 at Music facing the "forrest" on 3rd floor was our room location. Pretty quiet spot. Parking lot not too far away. An elevator is available. Ice machine not far away. Room was one of the remodeled rooms over the past 3 years. Decor is much better than before. A murphy bed is in the room with the King size bed. Refrig and coffeemaker. Room could use a microwave. Upgraded adding of barn doors and glass sliding door in tub/shower is a plus. I recall the old curtain days when that was all that divided sleeping area from bathroom. The room had 8 pillows to use! All fluffy! No lotion in rooms which is different and the liquid soaps in shower are the norm now I see. So be sure to bring lotion with you! Food court is about a 5-10 minute walk. Variety of fast food items and breakfast items. To save money if you can purchase milk and juices outside of the Disney area as what is charged for small items is overpriced to include a bag of potato chips a $2.50 plus. Or go to the gift shop and buy one $4.49 bag of chips. No problems with the room or stay at Music. If you are on a budget and spend most of your time at the parks, the All Star resorts are the places to stay on the Disney property. We drove over to DS the next day. We arrived at the Lime garage just before the opening time of 10 am so we had to keep driving to the next lot, the Orange garage. Glad to see that security is screening everyone stiil in these wild wild west times. Noticed that the NBA place that was built just before Covid is now totally gone. What a waste of money and time! Hope Disney puts a family friendly and free attraction there to replace it. Disney, why not let ticket holders use a free attraction there inside that building after they leave the parks and go to DS for meals, shopping?? Anyone listening??? We ate at Treffalina excuse the spelliing. Decent Italian food. The birds outside are very aggressive. So if you eat outside keep an eye on your bread as the birds will go for it if left unattended! Did our usual rest in the rocking chairs at guest relations before getting back onto I-4 for the ride home. It was around 3 pm when we headed back and that seemed to be the best time to beat the slow rush hour traffic headed West. A good quick stay. We will likely do it again prior to the crowds increasing for summer. Forgot to add. We loaded up with sweets at Gideons Bakehouse. About a half hour wait in 10:30 am stand by line! Also, advice. Unless you plan to stay in a park until late at night, or can walk to your resort or he gondola back, don't bother to do the 1pm Galaxy queu. The original time you will get will be pushed forward at least 3 hours.
