Sassagoula – Helen's Happy Place

Today we are off to Animal Kingdom. This park has my favourite ride on property so looking forward to this.

Again we utilised Lightning Lane before we left and booked in a ride (Nav’i River Ride), with the intention of doing a DAS as soon as we got there for Flight of Passage.

This park used to be a half day park but since they added Pandora (the Avatar section) there is more to do now. However, for some bizarre reason they have now decided to close before it gets dark. I saw this is ‘bizarre’ as Pandora was designed to light up at night with bioluminescence on the ground and on the plants, and rocks, etc (if you’ve seen Avatar then you will know what I mean).

When we got there both Dinosaur and Expedition Everest where showing as pretty much walk-ons so we went to Dinoland and did Dinosaur first. Definitely not a favourite of one of my children, so often this is a once and done ride. It is a dark ride and VERY intense as you try to escape earth before the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs hit! Expedition Everest is the big roller coaster in Animal Kingdom with a backwards section in the dark. As we had early entry due to staying in a Disney resort the standby line was only 10 mins so we did it that way – anything around 5-10 mins on a lot of rides is pretty much a walk on.

We decided to then go down to Pandora as it was nearly time for our lightning lane that we had booked at 7am. As we were walking past the lake we saw the new Kite Tails show starting so stopped to watch. Disney has tried to do a number of different shows at this location and none of them have been really successful (though I liked Rivers of Light). This was okay but I wouldn’t stop to watch it again. It was giant inflatable kites of Simba, Zazu, Timone, and Pumba which were pulled through the air by speed boats. A nice diversion but little else.

What it did do though was delay us enough for Kali River Rapids to open at 9am. One of my daughter’s favourites as she loved to get wet we decided to do that on the way to Pandora. I got drenched!

Then Pandora. Nav’i River Journey always seems to get mixed reviews. It’s a gentle dark water ride and some consider it boring. I actually like it – but I’m also a fan of the movie. The design of the ride is a clever mix of a standard river ride with plants and rocks, and projections.

But Flight of Passage. If you have never ridden this then it is so hard to explain. You are riding on the back of a banshee through Pandora and it is the closest I have ever come to feeling as if I’m flying. The ride seat is like a motorbike so it is like you are straddling the banshee. To make it seem even more realistic you can feel the banshee ‘breathing’ against your thighs. It only lasts 4.5 minutes but it is so worth the wait – which can still get up to 2.5-3 hours on busy days. This is the ride in Animal Kingdom that you need to purchase a lightning lane for. It hasn’t lost anything in the four years since we last rode it. Still AMAZING!

After doing Flight of Passage we headed back to the resort for a snack for lunch. This is one of the best bits about staying at Port Orleans – the beignets! They are a bit of a Disney World institution. Last time we were here they were available from Sassagoula so you could order them as part of your meal. They’ve now moved them to the Scat Cat Club Cafe next door. They are quite big and so we ordered 6 between the 4 of us. They are basically a French doughnut which were introduced to New Orleans in the 18th century and are served hot. Of course, being Disney, these are Mickey shaped. I did treat myself to a mug in the resort shop so that I can remember the feeling of being sat in Port Orleans while I’m at work 🙂

Beignets from Port Orleans French Quarter

We are deciding to try and spend the hottest time of the day back at the resort for a rest – let’s see how well that works out. So after a break we headed to Magic Kingdom for the evening. We split up and the kids went off together while my husband and I rode the People Mover and did Carousel of Progress. People Mover has the added bonus of getting a good view of the new Tron Coaster that is under construction. There is also a point where the ride goes through the Space Mountain building in total darkness – like you literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. We got stopped in that section and were there for quite a while. Eventually they turned the lights on so we got to see what most people don’t see. It wasn’t an evac though and the ride did start up again.

We all met back up and did some more rides together. The plan had been to stay for the fireworks but it looked like a storm was forecast so we decided to head off back to the resort a bit early. Leaving at the time that the park closes – or when a storm starts – is never a good plan as the queue for buses can be really bad!

An early start – though not as early as we had planned – this morning and after breakfast at the resort we got the bus to Hollywood Studios. We weren’t sure how the new booking system worked for the DAS so tried booking a ride whilst having breakfast. We then realised that you do actually have to have scanned into the park before making the reservation, which is fair enough. We were however able to book a lightning lane at 7am so we got that done for Slinky Dog Dash.

Central hub area at Port Orleans French Quarter

Once at Hollywood Studies (and the bus stops have been moved since we were last here and it is a LONG walk!) we first locked in a DAS ride for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad – a new ride since we were last here. We then headed straight for Star Tours as the wait was very short. I don’t normally ride this as it is not good for motion sickness. However, this year I have decided to take motion sickness tablets each morning so I thought I’d see if they made a difference. They didn’t really, so I will sit out this ride if the rest of the family want to go on it again.

With the opening of Galaxy’s Edge in 2019 (the new Star Wars section) this is the park that has had the biggest changes since we last visited in 2018. And, as a huge Star Wars fan, the bit my husband was looking forward to the most.

Well, it is impressive. For those that know the park this sits where the Cars show used to be. As you head towards The Muppets 3D show there is now a new tunnel to the right of it and this acts as the transition between Earth and Batuu. It really does work as when you emerge from the tunnel it really does feel like you are in a different world. The centre showpiece is of course the giant Millennium Falcon – not sure if it is to scale or not, but it felt like it was. We explored the merchandise shops briefly and walked on around through Toy Story Land and round to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad as it was time for our DAS.

The final scene in Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

This ride is in the Chinese Theatre at the centre of the park and replaced the much loved Great Movie Ride. I was sceptical when I heard about this ride, mainly as it uses the new style Mickey and Minnie cartoons. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This also uses the trackless ride system and is very cleverly done with projections that completely change to environment that you are in. You go under the sea, through a fairground, and dance a waltz in Daisy’s Dance Studio (along with a very violent conga!). Definitely recommended.

As soon as we had scanned into the Runaway Railway we went on to the app to lock in a DAS return time for Rise of the Resistance but not till a lot later on. By this point the heat was starting to get to me. The rest of the family wanted to do Alien Swirling Saucers which REALLY makes me feel ill, so they did that whilst I sat in the air con watching the film about Walt Disney ‘One Man and his Dream’. Sentimental, but I do love it.

Lunch was at the ABC Commissary. Hollywood does suffer from a small selection of indoor sit down quick service restaurants and we were lucky to get a seat here.

The prime purpose of this trip (we will be back many times to Hollywood Studios during our trip) was a visit to Oga’s Cantina, for which we had a booking. This is one of the hardest to get reservations on Disney property and is the bar from the first Star Wars film.

Our reservation was 3.30 but it was about 3.45 when we got in. The bar is very small and cramped. There are a few booths around the edges, and some tall tables for standing at in the middle. There is also standing space at the bar. You don’t get a choice on where you go and we were lucky enough to be seated at one of the booths – though that doesn’t mean you get a booth to yourself. There were two other parties there with us.

The experience is 45 mins long and so if you are going I would recommend looking at the menu in advance to decide what you want.

I had a Jabba Juice and an Oga’s Obsession.

The headline drink is the blue milk which my daughter had but wasn’t keen on.

My overriding memory of this experience is that it was loud. I did use my air pods as I guessed this would be the case and the noise cancelling did help. Would I recommend this? If you can get a reservation and you are a massive Star Wars fan, then yes. But I do think it is a ‘once and done’ thing. There have been lots of complaints online about the whole set up. If you have kids and get sent to a standing area then they will either be looking at the front of a bar or the legs of a table (as they won’t be tall enough to see the top of the bar or table). People have also not being happy about the fact that you are on your feet all day in the parks and they book this thinking that it will be a nice rest for 45 mins, only to find out that they have to stand. I’m glad we did it (and very glad that we got a booth) but wouldn’t book it next time.

Then it was time for Rise of the Resistance. This ride did not open when Galaxy’s Edge did and so is the newest ride in the park. This uses the trackless ride system that was first used at the Ratatouille ride in Disney Paris (which has recently opened at WDW). The biggest thing that got me about it was the sheer scale of it – at one point you enter a room with full sized AT-ATs! The pre-show is very good. For those who aren’t aware the pre-show is technically part of the queue and introduces you to the ride. However for wait times they measure until you enter the pre-show as it makes the queue seem shorter! When your feet ache that extra time you spend on them during the pre-show seems to last forever!

Part of the pre-show for Rise of the Resistance.

The idea behind this ride is that you have been captured by the order and taken to their ship. This happens during the pre-show and you are taking in a group of 8 for an interrogation about the location of the Rebel base. However, during the interrogation you are liberated by the resistance and then you enter the ride vehicle as you try to escape the ship.

As I said, this is a trackless ride, but far more advanced than anything they’ve done before as it involves two levels and so the GPS system has to communicate over those two levels. We have heard that this ride goes down a lot due to technical issues. The ride itself is good, but it is the theming that ranks it up to an excellent experience.

We were getting tired so headed back to the resort for a dinner (quick service from Sassagoula) and an early night.

Tag: Sassagoula

Settling in – Sun 24 July

First full day – Sat 23 July