Oops, We Forgot to Leave Our Weather at Home! A Fantastic Festival of the Arts 2025 TR! (RL Update 3/31!!)

[VAtink]

Day 4, Part 2: Sunny Day = Photoshoot!​

We last left off getting photopass pictures in World Celebration. Since it was so nice out, and it was still before our DAS return and Guardians was still down, we continued to get even more pictures!









After getting a TON of pictures, we headed over to the festival stage to see who was performing that day. I can’t remember who it was, but I don’t think it was someone we were interested in seeing. While there I saw Guardians had just come back online, so we rushed over there.

We made it through the LL quickly and soon were on our train. Everything was going smoothly until it wasn’t. HA! We got to the part at the very beginning of the ride where you’re going up that first hill and the Guardians are on the screens next to you when the ride stopped.

We ended up sitting there for about 10 minutes, I was SO worried the ride would go down again, but finally after what felt like forever, we started moving again! YAY!!!!!

The rest of the ride was normal, and we got One Way or Another. Yes, STILL no Disco.



After the ride, we saw the photopass photo has no line, so of course we stopped!

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After Guardians it was about 10:40 and almost time for our DAS return for the Characters, so we headed over there.

There was a short wait before we were meeting with Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie!

It seems our standard interaction with Mickey these days is showing him how my mom has perfected his toe pop pose!





Similar to our September trip, Goofy was rushing through guests with very little interaction. This made me a bit sad since Goofy is my favorite!



Next up was Minnie! We had a great meet, Minnie loved my shirt with cheese all over it!



She also showed us how to do her pose, which was way harder than Mickey’s, it’s hard to balance like that!

Next up: Food Booth Time!​

 

[Simba's Mom]

Looking forward hearing what you ate and what you thought.

 

[Wood Nymph]

That was a nice way to start your morning. I think every trip could use a nice breakfast in bed.

I would have been nervous about a ride that broke down for such a long time. Although I have thought that it would be fun to be evacuated from some of them.

 

[VAtink]

Looking forward hearing what you ate and what you thought.

We had some really really good stuff! I think the food at this festival is some of the best of all the fests. I'll be posting soon!

 

[VAtink]

That was a nice way to start your morning. I think every trip could use a nice breakfast in bed.

It really is, we don't do it enough!

I would have been nervous about a ride that broke down for such a long time. Although I have thought that it would be fun to be evacuated from some of them.

Yeah, when it stopped there I was pretty certain we'd be evacuated. I'm glad we didn't! It's funny, I vaguely recall being evacuated off of something years and years ago, but I cannot remember what it was! There are definitely a handful of rides I'd love to be evacuated off though.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

WHY is Goofy always in a hurry? I don't get that. But it seems to always be the case.

 

[vamassey1]

I'm finally caught up and enjoying your Mother and Daughter trip.

We were there right before you. We did Farts on opening day and it was way too crowded. You did much better at seeing the arts and eating the good stuff. We even missed out on the paint by number mural.

It's really great to finally see some Epcot photos with the sun.

 

[zanzibar138]

Glad to see you finally got some decent weather! Great photos too.

Strange to hear about your character interactions. We found the complete opposite at that character meet - they really took their time and we got some of the best interactions of the whole trip! Having said that though, we somehow managed to time it for when there was a really short wait so maybe they weren't feeling as much pressure.

 

[VAtink]

WHY is Goofy always in a hurry? I don't get that. But it seems to always be the case.

Yes! The past few interactions he's been so rushed! It's sad, Goofy is my favorite (after Dug...maybe that's why Goofy rushes me)!

 

[VAtink]

I'm finally caught up and enjoying your Mother and Daughter trip.

We were there right before you. We did Farts on opening day and it was way too crowded. You did much better at seeing the arts and eating the good stuff. We even missed out on the paint by number mural.

I am impressed with how much we squeezed into such a short trip. It definitely helped having such gross weather, so while it was cold and wet, at least the crowds were low enough we could see more!

It's really great to finally see some Epcot photos with the sun.

Right? We were so happy to finally see the sun! We just had to get a ton of pictures of a blue sky!

 

[VAtink]

Glad to see you finally got some decent weather! Great photos too.

Thanks! Yeah, we were so happy to finally get some sun!

Strange to hear about your character interactions. We found the complete opposite at that character meet - they really took their time and we got some of the best interactions of the whole trip! Having said that though, we somehow managed to time it for when there was a really short wait so maybe they weren't feeling as much pressure.

That's awesome! We had great interactions with Mickey and Minnie, but for some reason Goofy was super rushed. Even weirder is this happened before with Goofy at this same spot. Oh well, guess we'll just have to try again next trip!

 

[VAtink]

Quick RL update! So I had asked a few weeks ago for ideas on what to do on arrival day for our June trip. Well, it turns out Jetblue has made the decision for me. I got notice this week that my early morning flight has moved to midday now, so no more arriving nice and early and having a full day to do stuff. Now I'll be getting in mid-afternoon, so I'm thinking I'll just spend the day exploring the resort, enjoying the club lounge, and take a solid rest day to prep for the crazy running around that'll come the days after.

I am a bit annoyed, I would have booked a different airline if this was the earliest flight. Plus Jetblue keeps doing this to my flights, although so far this one isn't as bad as others. One time they changed my flight from 7am to 4pm! Oh well, if they change it again and it gets worse I may just cancel and book with a different airline, but for now I'll keep it and just plan for a resort day.

Other than that things have been good. Work is ridiculously busy right now, so I may be a bit delayed in updating these TRs for a week or two, but I'll try to sneak in some update time this weekend. It's also almost peak bloom for the cherry blossoms here, which is always exciting. Love seeing all the spring colors popping up around my neighborhood!

Here's a taste of some of the blooms/pollen producers around my neighborhood! (Serious about that pollen, this year has been the WORST for allergies!)





Alright, that's about it for today. Hope everyone is having a great week!

 

[zanzibar138]

I am a bit annoyed, I would have booked a different airline if this was the earliest flight. Plus Jetblue keeps doing this to my flights, although so far this one isn't as bad as others.

I feel your pain. I went through several iterations of flights from Vegas to Orlando after they kept getting changed significantly (like, departure time moved from 11pm to 5am the next day, or adding a stop plus several hours). Being such significant changes, at least we were offered a full refund, but still very frustrating having to keep going back to the drawing board to find the most suitable flight. We just don't really get that in Australia - once your flight's locked in, the departure time very rarely changes more than about 15 minutes (not counting unexpected delays on the day of course).

It's also almost peak bloom for the cherry blossoms here, which is always exciting. Love seeing all the spring colors popping up around my neighborhood!

OMG so beautiful

 

[vamassey1]

The trees are Beautiful!!!

We have lots of pollen and a layer of yellow covers everything.

 

[emilyann704]

If an airline changes your flight you always have the option to cancel and get your fare refunded to your from of payment. Don't just accept it! Spirit did that to me multiple times, most recently where I'd be arriving home a day later than planned. If the change happens too close to your trip sometimes you're out of luck since the cost of a new flight on a different airline may be too much money.

 

[VAtink]

I feel your pain. I went through several iterations of flights from Vegas to Orlando after they kept getting changed significantly (like, departure time moved from 11pm to 5am the next day, or adding a stop plus several hours). Being such significant changes, at least we were offered a full refund, but still very frustrating having to keep going back to the drawing board to find the most suitable flight. We just don't really get that in Australia - once your flight's locked in, the departure time very rarely changes more than about 15 minutes (not counting unexpected delays on the day of course).

Ugh, that is so annoying! I really don't understand why airlines do this so much. I feel like it happens to almost every trip I book! Like I can understand the schedule changing if you're 7-8 months out, but once you're within 3-4 months the schedule shouldn't change that much.

OMG so beautiful

It really is. I love this time of year (minus the allergies), it's so pretty!

 

[VAtink]

The trees are Beautiful!!!

They really are, I love them! I keep sending pictures up to my mom in MA since it's still pretty much winter there so she can get a taste of spring!

We have lots of pollen and a layer of yellow covers everything.

Yes! I grilled today, and my grill was coated with so much pollen, the whole thing was yellow!

 

[VAtink]

If an airline changes your flight you always have the option to cancel and get your fare refunded to your from of payment. Don't just accept it! Spirit did that to me multiple times, most recently where I'd be arriving home a day later than planned. If the change happens too close to your trip sometimes you're out of luck since the cost of a new flight on a different airline may be too much money.

Yeah, I may do that if they change it again. Right now I think I'll stick with this flight, but we'll see. There are a few other flights with other airlines that are around the same time as my original flight, so I may change later.

 

[VAtink]

Happy weekend everyone! I have another crowdsourcing question for you all. The H20 glow night schedule was recently released, and there is one that falls during our trip, and we are debating if we should go. Has anyone been and would you recommend it? Our original plan for the day it falls was to do the four park challenge again, and I had considered making it a five park challenge (which I really want to do one of these trips), but my mom quickly shot that idea down since it would be too much for her. So our options for that day are either the 4 park challenge and ending the day at MK with the fireworks dessert party, or doing two parks, resting, then H20 Glow Nights that evening.

Anyone have any thoughts?!?! We are sooooo torn on what to do!

 

[jgl130]

Happy weekend everyone! I have another crowdsourcing question for you all. The H20 glow night schedule was recently released, and there is one that falls during our trip, and we are debating if we should go. Has anyone been and would you recommend it? Our original plan for the day it falls was to do the four park challenge again, and I had considered making it a five park challenge (which I really want to do one of these trips), but my mom quickly shot that idea down since it would be too much for her. So our options for that day are either the 4 park challenge and ending the day at MK with the fireworks dessert party, or doing two parks, resting, then H20 Glow Nights that evening.

Anyone have any thoughts?!?! We are sooooo torn on what to do!

My sister and I did it a couple of years ago on our 4th of July trip. We had a great time. There were some thunderstorms that rolled through right as the park was closing to day guests, so it delayed the start by about an hour, but after that it was smooth sailing.

We had never done the water parks before, and honestly that was the way to do it. No real waits, free Mickey bars, and not in the blistering sun!

Count one vote to do it from me!