Disney 2026 Art of Animation

We went to Disney with Jason and Julia Savedra López in June. She has known Mady since kindergarten. We stayed at Art of Animation, we started by flying in at about 8 AM and got there around 12 noon. We checked in and headed to Disney Springs. We decided to eat at The Chicken Guy and then took a boat to Port Orleans to eat Mickey shaped beignets. Oh wait when we got to the airport, Tres set us up a car service for when we walked out. There was a guy holding an iPad with her name on it. The next day we were off to the Magic Kingdom, of course my favorite place. We were wearing matching shirts that said “Disney Squad“. Mady, of course, had her favorite “Totcho’s“ for breakfast. That is tater tots with eggs, gravy, bacon, and cheese with green onions. She gets them every morning. So we walk in Magic Kingdom and it gets me just like always. Great feeling and feels like home. We make all our stops and the walls at Tom Sawyer Island are up. They are building a Car’s Land there now. Tiana‘s Bayou was good. I even rode Big Thunder Mountain. It had been redone. It was smoother but the longer it went the sicker I got. Of course “Pirate’s” was my favorite and always great. Haunted Mansion was good with the floating head of Madame Leota. The person who plays her was actually one of the first women imagineers so it is her face. Her name was Leota Toombs and the voice is actress Eleanor Audley who is also the voice of Maleficent in the original “Sleeping Beauty“. Buzz Lightyear‘s ride was updated as well with better guns that you actually hold in your hand. You also have two different color lasers so you can tell which one is yours. We did our typical quick service for lunch, but dinner was one of my favorites “Ohana“. It’s all you can eat shrimp, meat, chicken, and dumplings with a bread pudding for dessert. Always a treat. We headed back to Magic Kingdom for “Happily Ever After“. I stood on the street to keep our spot for about 1 1/2 hours, but it is always worth it. The nighttime parade was great fireworks were also great and the first time Julia and Jason had seen it. We headed back to the hotel and got ready for “Epcot“ the next day.

The next day We headed to Epcot for Ratatouille. It’s a great ride, especially now that they made it 3-D instead of 4D. Then headed to Hollywood just to eat at “Andy’s Barbecue“ and head back to Epcot. We did all the Epcot stuff and Soarin was a new video which was really cool. We also ate at “Teppan Edo“ which is a Japanese hibachi. I always mess with Mady about that place. It’s her fave so I say “if we wanted that let’s just go to ichi Ban down the street at home“ ha! She rolls her eyes and says the food and atmosphere is better. Don’t tell her, but I agree it is a great place. It ended a great Epcot day.

The third day was Mady‘s favorite place “Animal Kingdom“. We got there early and I forgot my wallet. So I go back and then met them in the breakfast spot that was by Kilimanjaro Safari’s. We rode Kilimanjaro Safari’s first. It’s a great ride and they had a new baby giraffe. So we got pics of her for the first time on the safari. (About the wallet I left my wallet in my shorts so it was in the dirty clothes. I was so worried it was gone so that made for a long bus ride). Anyway, Safari was great then we headed to Pandora and did the Avatar rides. And then to The Lion King Show and Zootopia. I still miss It’s a Bug‘s Life, but the Zootopia show is growing on me. We also watched The Lion King show and it is also a cool watch. We leave fairly early cause we have“Hoop Dee Doo Revue“ reservations one of the great dinner shows at Disney. We have seen the show many times. I was even in the show, but that is a story for that trip in 2016. This time we were in the front row right next to the performers. We laugh the entire show and it also brings back many great memories. The food is great, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese with baked beans. That trip we went to the early dinner at 6:15. After the show we got a lyft home and while we waited, we played the heads up game and laughed and made good memories. They are building another resort right next to Pioneer Hall. I’m anxious to see what that will be like. It looks like it will be on the water and similar to the Wilderness Lodge. Below I tried to post a video
https://photos.app.goo.gl/maezQTPd65quZAAX6

The next day we went to Epcot. We had shirts made, there is a trend going on called “drink around the world“ where you go by each country in the world showcase and have a drink at that country. Then you check off that country on the back of your shirt. Tressa and Jason did it and I had a drink of Tres’s for each one. Plus, I had my favorite grapefruit beer in Germany. We started in Canada and finished in Mexico. There we ate dinner at San Angel. It is a great atmosphere but the food is not that good. I had the pork Osso Buco. It’s just traditional Mexican food not the Tex Mex we are used to in Texas. Anyway we also rode the rides and Test Track has been redone and more modern. My favorite is still “Living with the Land“. But I have realized as I have gotten older I enjoy the less thrilling rides more. Such as Nemo and Frozen. It just helps me relax and remember when the kids were young. That day wasn’t as eventful, but it was fun. I did take a good picture with me and the statue of Walt Disney sitting on a bench. One thing about the dinner we did have some ice cream made from corn. It taste awesome. It was like tasting popcorn flavored ice cream. It even came with popcorn on the side. It was so good we googled where to find some at home.

The next day was Hollywood Studios all day. The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster had changed to the Muppets. It is the same ride but themed by the Muppets. We had that for our first fast pass at the beginning of the day. I don’t ride it, but I went through with them until you get on the ride so I could at least see the beginning. Especially since the ride is the same, and I have ridden it before. I like Tower of Terror and Tressa doesn’t which is funny because she likes the thrill rides more than me and Tower of Terror is a top thrill ride. We went to the villain show next. It is a fairly new show and it is a fun one. You get to listen to a couple of Disney villains try to win over the audience. So at the end, we decide which villain is most misunderstood. My favorite ride at Hollywood is “Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway”. It has taken the place of the Great Movie Ride. But I love it and my favorite is Mickey Mouse so that helps and the ride is nostalgic to me. We head to Star Wars land and had reservations at Oga‘s Cantina. Always fun because it reminds me of when I was a kid watching Star Wars. We sat in a booth that resembled where Han Solo and Obi-Wan sat. We had drinks and went on to ride the two Star Wars rides. Smuggler’s Run is a little different and has Mandalorian and Grogu in it. I was the engineer in it because it is virtual and I would get sick if I was the driver. Rise of the Resistance is always good. On this trip, we were with some guys from England that had never ridden it. So it was funny to watch them react to everything. We ate at Disney’s 50s prime time. It is like being at your grandma‘s house to eat. It has a black-and-white TV playing old shows and you aren’t allowed to have your elbows on the table and you are scolded if you don’t eat all your vegetables. That night we went to Fantasmic. It is one of Mady’s favorite shows and it is great and has fireworks and a great theme song. The only negative is it starts at 9 PM so if you’re at the park all day, you have to sit in the stands for about 30 to 40 minutes before it starts. But it is always worth the wait. We enjoyed the show and headed back to Art of Animation to get ready for our last day “Magic Kingdom“ again.

The next day started with breakfast at the hotel then off to Magic Kingdom. We ended the trip at Magic Kingdom. Walking in and getting to Main Street is so nostalgic. I get emotional and especially being our last day. We road all the normal rides and went to all our favorite spots. Jason wanted to eat the buffalo chicken strips at cosmic rays. They were great and brings memories because that’s what we eat there ever since the kids were little. Mady said I wasn’t showing any emotion on the ride pics so I made a great one on seven dwarf ride. We had a couple drinks at The Beak and Barrel. That is such a great place. Oh yeah, we even went by Sir Mickey’s and we all got pixie dusted. We ate at Tony’s and saw a great parade. The Cannoli was phenomenal. We sat on the opposite side of Main Street for the fireworks. The reason was we all had lightning lanes for “Tron“ after the fireworks. Touching on the fireworks, they still make me very emotional. Seeing how much it affects, Mady makes me even more emotional. A couple of years ago I was mentioning how I missed “Wishes“ Mady said “but dad Happily Ever After is my Wishes“ It really made me think, it was very deep to me and I feel she will feel that deepness forever and now it hits me hard, especially at the end when I see Tinker Bell fly from the castle. It brings me back to when the kids were young and how it’s just things that I miss nowadays. After the fireworks we had lightning lanes for Tron. I hate it, but Jason said “ maybe it will be better because it is at night”! Didn’t work!! it still made me sick. So afterwards I stayed behind with Tressa so I could keep from puking! Mady and them took off to Tiana’s. They only had 20 minutes. Anyway, they’re headed to Tiana’s and we went down Main Street. I hate popcorn and went back to the room.
The next day we visited a couple hotels and then got ready to leave. This trip was just as special as all the others. We had two special people, Jason and Julia with us and every trip I take with my family brings back memories and makes me want more. Can’t wait to share Disney with all my family again, including my soon to be grandchild “Jaicy”

Y’all be safe out there!