Today’s photo report features a whirlwind of park hopping madness that happened all before noon. I managed to rope drop Disney’s Animal Kingdom, pop over to EPCOT, and finish my morning with the droids of Hollywood since most of the stars have been booted.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Wilderness Explorers, are y’all ready for a wonderful morning in Disney’s Animal Kingdom? Mission: Find the Dug popcorn bucket from Disneyland’s Pixar Fest.

I started my day by starting a new row in the Unicorn Lot of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. That meant I was as far away from Nana’s typical princess parking as possible.

After trekking into the park for “rope-drop,” aka park opening, I began the mission: to confirm whether the Dug popcorn bucket from Disneyland’s Pixar Fest, had made its way to Walt Disney World. Unfortunately, he was not here, but at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, there are plenty of animals to keep you occupied.

Right after you enter the park, there is a pond. The mornings are the best time to visit because the animals are eating breakfast and are most active. If you miss the morning rush, don’t worry, just try to catch a peek when the animals are eating lunch.

Since I couldn’t find the Dug popcorn bucket, I decided to go visit Russell and see if there was anything he could do to help. Unfortunately, Russell was busy meeting fans and then had to run off to collect another Wilderness Explorer badge. Rest assured, though, as a member myself, I am fully qualified to observe the wild all on my own.

Granted, these animals don’t have Dug’s speaking abilities, but they are special in their ways.

If you find yourself over at Creature Comforts, the Starbucks location at Animal Kingdom, make sure you take a moment to check out the Cotton-Top Tamarin Monkeys. Earlier this year, the Disney Cotton-Top Tamarin family welcomed triplets! This is incredible as they are a critically endangered species.

I also spotted an Animal Keeper feeding lettuce to our tortoise friends who seemed like they were not quite ready to start the day, opting for a little extra cuddle time. Looking at this picture now, though, I cannot stop laughing at the Ibis peeking through the bushes at the bottom right.

Before leaving Animal Kingdom I had to stop by “It’s Tough to be a Bug!” out of pure nostalgia. During this year’s D23: The Ultimate Fan Experience, Disney officially announced that this show will be replaced with “Zootopia Better Zoogether.” Are you excited for this update? I am cautiously optimistic.

I barely made it to my car before the sky began to fall. Welcome to Florida summer! Now, with my rain gear on, we are on our way to EPCOT!

EPCOT

When I got to EPCOT, I noticed that the light bar on the left side was still beaming red. Usually, these are only on at night as part of the Spaceship Earth light shows. The right side was not on and the color never changed.

EPCOT has been struggling with the newer light additions both in the front entrance and in the World Celebration Gardens. Hopefully, with a little testing and adjustment over time, they will have a better solution. I do like these effects when they are working correctly.

Things have changed a lot from my last photo report over at Test Track. Now, not only the center top but the entire middle section of the canopy has been removed. In the concept art that Disney previously shared, there was no canopy and it seems like the general reaction to the future look of the ride’s exterior has been positive.

I was never a fan of the canopy in front of Test Track, but I do think there should be more canopies in other places around the parks. This would give guests more opportunity to enjoy the Florida sunshine or retreat to safety when the sky falls. I don’t think the entrance or exit of any attraction should have this, though, as it causes backups when it does rain.

Over at Mission: SPACE, refurbishment continues, but the Earth was NOT SPINNING!!! We just spotted it spinning again a little over a month ago. Cast Members were unsure why it wasn’t working today, but it is such a cool and kinetic feature to this entrance. I will keep you posted if I catch Earth spinning… again.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

When I made it to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the rain had really started to come down off and on, so what better place to make a pit stop than at Trolley Car Cafe, aka Starbucks? Call me basic all you’d like but both the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Iced Apple Crisp Cream Chai are officially available as of today, and I couldn’t be happier.

After the rain had slowed some, I made my way over to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge to see if any new droids or droid parts were available. Unfortunately, those were not the droids I was looking for. Disneyland recently got the A-LT Droid with legs that fold out.

After speaking with one of the local Batuanns they assured me that Mubo, owner of the Droid Depot, was still programming these new droids for our Eastern rim.

Here’s a WDWNT Pro Tip: Get shoe covers for rain! As someone in the parks just about every day, I consider these a must-have for our Florida parks. I am a total brat when my feet are soaked and cold, and these do a tremendous job of keeping most of the rain out. So if you also don’t like the feeling of wet socks on a summer day, I would highly recommend getting a pair.

Hope you enjoyed park hopping with me today, and no, I never got Nana’s princess parking at any of the three parks today… She must have a deal with Mickey.

What was your favorite park from the day? Let me know in the comments. I’ll see you in the next photo report!

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The post PHOTO REPORT: Park Hopping 8/22/2024 (Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Checking on the Test Track Refurbishment, & More) appeared first on WDW News Today.