The 50th, 50th & 50th Disney trip - April/May 2022, Day 14 - Magic Kingdom and Swan check-in

[sha9]

The dining report for today is here.

I've not made many notes for today but we were checking out of POFQ and into the Swan with a visit to Magic Kingdom in between. We had a long lie with plans to hang about until check out if that's how long it took. We got packed up then called Bell services to collect our luggage and take it to the Swan. I had double checked the day before that they would take to the Swan as I know they did pre-Covid but you never know what may have changed. It wasn't a problem. They came quite quickly and we just headed to MK deciding to drive so we’d have the car.
We were greeted by these guys when we arrived.

MK was really busy.

We were pretty hungry when we arrived and decided on Sleepy Hollow using mobile ordering. Marie and I have never managed to get here before despite fancying a few things on the menu. Mum & Dad shared a fruit waffle but without the Nutella.

Stupidly Marie got a plain funnel cake and I got the strawberries and cream one.

We should’ve shared one as they were too big and we couldn't finish.
We finally rode Splash Mountain for the first time this holiday with a LL I had made earlier that morning.

We'd normally have ridden this several times by this stage in the trip but a combination of a busy MK, poor luck with Genie plus and not wanting to get wet meant this was our one and only time. I'm glad we got to ride it one more time as I suspect it'll be getting it's makeover next time we go. I'm looking forward to the final result though.
We rode Buzz then decided it was too busy (again). We really didn't enjoy MK as much this time as we normally would. It just felt too busy all the time. If it doesn't settle down we might try later days at MK and see if that makes a difference next time.
We left the park and went straight to check in to the Swan.

We drove up and parked across from the hotel in the guest car park. I find the downside of these hotels is they're not really designed for guests with cars as the car park is a wee bit of a walk. Luckily we got a space quite close and left the car there for the next two days.
The room wasn’t ready so the staff member at check in took my email to let us know when it was. We had booked with Virgin Holidays so no parking or resort fees to pay. We were asked if we had a car for parking fees but I remind him they were included. He then went on to say we also had a $50 dining credit per room due to booking with Virgin. This was a wee surprise as VH have stopped doing the dining credit and there's no mention on the website. There was no mention of the resort fee.
We went to Boardwalk and had lunch at Big River Grille & Brewing Works.

Me and Dad got a burger, Mum the chicken quesadilla and Marie the California burger which was chicken.

This was nice. We sat outside and watched the boardwalk go by. Mum loves the Boardwalk area and was happy just to sit there for ages. While we were eating I got the email to say room ready so we headed back. We were on 10th floor, resort view room (included with Virgin) and adjoining rooms. We could see Tower of Terror and could kind of see Epcot. We had a good view of the water way and walkway to DHS.

We relaxed for a wee while in the room then headed into Epcot around 6ish. We originally had Nine Gardens booked but felt that Chinese two nights in a row might be too much. In hindsight we probably should have left the reservation however we had lunch quite late so had planned to see what the Flower & Garden booths had on offer. We walked in and since we were at France decided to got to Les Halles for lobster bisque. We've previously done this and really enjoyed it however this time it was really busy and we queued for 40 minutes. It came in a bread bowl but we wanted it in normal bowls so she gave us baguettes which I assumed came with it. They didn't and we were charged for them. We were also given large drinks which we didn’t ask for. I was a bit annoyed by then and didn't even take a picture.

We wandered round World Showcase waiting for it to get dark so we could see Spaceship Earth lit up. Marie got a pineapple beer flight and tried to convince Dad to have one but he just had a wee try of each. We decided we needed to get some Flower and Garden food so Marie and I got beef tenderloin tips. Mum & Dad were still ok from the lobster bisque. These tasted nice but we got different sized portions.

Again it wasn't getting dark enough fast enough for us so this is the best we got Spaceship Earth .

We headed back via the boat. This is how dark it was when we arrived at the boat dock.

And by the time we got back to the hotel.

We could see the fireworks at Epcot if we strained to the left. The pictures aren't great but I managed to get a couple of videos.

We watched TV for a wee while then had an early night as we had planned to go to Hollywood Studios for opening the next day.

[Cinderella]

The Swan looks pretty lit up at night👍

[sha9]

Originally Posted by Cinderella

The Swan looks pretty lit up at night👍

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Yes the area is gorgeous at night .

[Goldia]

I'm also looking forward to riding Splash one last time before it gets it's makeover. I think MK always feels busy in the afternoons, especially when there's a parade on as you can't get round it so it feels like we're crammed in.

What a fantastic view from your room! Lovely to see the photos of the Swan at night.

[sha9]

Originally Posted by Goldia

I'm also looking forward to riding Splash one last time before it gets it's makeover. I think MK always feels busy in the afternoons, especially when there's a parade on as you can't get round it so it feels like we're crammed in.

What a fantastic view from your room! Lovely to see the photos of the Swan at night.

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These hotels are in a great location! I’d love to be able to afford the Boardwalk though .