Wine and Dine RunICOT 2018 Day 2 -3 Quick Takes
Day 2 started with Extra Magic Hour at Disney's Hollywood Studios. As was pointed out in another thread, the walk from the Boardwalk is now an extra 5 - 8 minutes due to the New Bus Stop construction for the Studios.
Bag check and entry was slow, but moving. Most the crowd (as expected) walked back to Toy Story Land. Before I reached the start of the new land, I reached the queue for Slinky Dog. The Cast Member had a sign stating it was 65 Minutes. I turned about face and went for a stroll down Sunset Blvd, but Ian did get in (on) the line and shared that it was only about 30 minutes.
After riding Tower of Tower back to back 4 times, I felt satisfied with my "extra hour". Met up with the rest of the RunICOT crew later in the day and we did our Fastpasses, jut before storms rolled in. We took shelter in the Backlot Express and were surprised by the Tornado Warnings. When the weather cleared we called it a day and heading back to our hotels.
Day 3 started with the Extra Magic Hour at Disney's Animal Kingdom. They were moving people into the park as early as 7:30 am for the 8:00 am start. The line for Flight of Passage was at the giant seed pod, but moving at a very steady pace as they filled the "queue" area. I was off the ride by 8:15 am with the ride starting operation at 8:00 am, so that did not seem too bad, plus the queue area is very enjoyable. The river ride was posted up to 25 minutes at that point, so I opted to wait for my Fastpass later in the morning. Snacked on a Lumpia and enjoyed it quite a bit, kind of like a Sweet Pineapple Spring Roll. Did my three Fastpasses and had lunch at Flame Tree before heading to the Magic Kingdom to meet up with the rest of the RunICOT crew. Magic Kingdom was pretty crowded but got in most of my favorites (Tiki Birds w/ Dole Whip stop, Haunted Mansion, Carousel of Progress). Ate at Liberty Tavern for the first time and did the Wishes Dessert Party with Plaza viewing for the second time. Still really like the Plaza viewing and would recommend for those looking for a great view with out need to stake out a spot far in advance (the desserts are just icing on top). With fireworks done, took a nice stroll to the Contemporary and grabbed an Uber back to the Boardwalk. Really convenient, waited only about 1 minute at still a bargain at <$10 with surge pricing.
