Trip Report Get in the Car, We're Going Home! LIVE *COMPLETED*

Surprise!

I could have titled this "That Time We Went to Florida and Didn't Tell Anyone" but I didn't want to plagiarize @Doc Disney. ;)

@Longers, you were right ~ we are sneaking in another trip before April. :D (I could not leave you in suspense until April, @blgauger!)

@amjt660 told me to get back to WDW soon ~ and I didn't want him to go through TR withdrawal. :joyfull:

And both @LisaBelle and @MegRuss626 asked me to "keep 'em coming!"

So here we go again......

Believe it or not this trip was birthed a mere three weeks ago. I was looking at Em's school calendar and noticed she had a long weekend for President's Day. I jokingly said, "Road Trip!" and before I knew it I was booking a room, making ADRs and choosing FPs.

Em requested we keep our plans secret ~ she's tired of the "You're going AGAIN??!!" comments ~ and the clandestine element made our anticipated adventure that much more exciting.

Well, the cat's out of the bag now. :cat: (Speaking of cats, Woody is lovingly caring for Poly and Kona in my absence. And yes, he was "in" on our secret.)

Em and I will attempt a duo LIVE report. You'll discover the trip deets as we go along.

@Tony the Tigger, you totally picked the wrong day to go to MK....you should have stuck with Friday!

@bee, too bad we're not staying at CSR this time....we'd pop by!

Departure:
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Told ya I'd see ya real soon!
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Click to expand...
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
It amazes me that people think the entire MK is open for morning extra magic hour, when all the Disney literature clearly states only "select" attractions in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland (and lists the specific names) are open. When Em and I joined the line for 7DMT the lady behind us said to her husband, "This line is too long. Let's go ride Big Thunder Mountain."

Being the helpful soul that I am, I explained that only rides in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland were open.

"Well that's BOGUS!!" she huffed back at me as they left the line.

As we exited 7DMT, the family in front of us said, "Let's go to Pirates and Jungle Cruise now!"

Again I intervened and explained those rides were not open yet.

This time I was profusely thanked by the mom and dad for saving them steps across the park.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Since we were not in the castle hub area shortly before 9 am, we cannot confirm (or deny) if the new Welcome Show was performed on the castle stage. But we heard one firework blast, so we guess yes. Not sure how early non-resort guests are allowed into the park on EMH mornings.

Now that we've made it to the hub, it is picture time!
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(As if we didn't know Tink would wind up in our palms! :facepalm:)
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
You already saw what we did next.... a little ice cream action. (Don't judge, we're on vacation! :joyfull:)

We had about 45 minutes before we needed to check in for our lunch ADR. I suggested Little Mermaid, since there is never much of a wait. The sign said 25 minutes (we have found 20 minutes to be the "default" setting and have always walked right on) so we joined the line.

Made it into the first room and stopped. Crept along for a bit and stopped again. Stopped for a few in Scuttle's room. As we turned the corner and saw the circular waiting area (which we have always made fun of...:I mean, is there ever enough of a line to fill that room?) our jaws dropped.

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And soon we found ourselves in that circle! At least I got a nice light fixture pic. :rolleyes:
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Turns out the ride was having LOTS of mechanical issues, and kept stopping. Our ADR time had arrived but there was no way we could leave the line. So we waited.

And when we finally got on, we got stuck here for several minutes.
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We were 20 minutes late to check in for lunch.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
The CM at the desk said, "My, you're late."
Me: "It was Ariel's fault. She had us trapped under the sea."
CM: (laughing) "Enjoy your lunch!"

Remember I only booked this trip 3 weeks ago? Was able to score this:
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As always, Em found a table in our fave dining room.

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And guess what? We had TURKEY for lunch. (I know y'all are shocked! :joyfull:)

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I complained about this on our last visit and it seems the dark chocolate with the "Be Our Guest" inscription has been permanently scrapped for this lesser quality chocolate.

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Big Hair

Big Hair

Well-Known Member
Wow, take 10 days off to go to WDW and you don't realize how much you have to catch up when you get back. Can't wait to hear your report on rivers of light. If I would of stayed current on the net on my trip I would have realized the soft opening started while I still had 3 full days to go.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
It would have been so convenient if the MPB had been operating. We would have jumped on at the Frontierland station and ridden to Main Street to avoid the crowds. Instead, we had to dodge our way through chanting teenage girls, marching band geeks (no offense to any current or previous marching band participants or their parents), seniors in wayward ECVs and way-too-many double strollers.

It was quite the obstacle course.

And it meant we were given to temptation to browse in here:
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Yep, the Emporium is under scrims.

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We left with our wallets closed, @epcotisbest :).

The Dapper Dans were performing in front of the fire station but we were time crunched and did not stop to listen. Next time, @ajrwdwgirl.

As packed as MK was, even more folks were pouring in as we left. On our way to the Pop bus stop we discovered new restrooms in the bus depot area. What a great (and likely appreciated by parents!) addition.

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