Trip Report Tu in ‘25 *Live-ish*

Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tu in ‘25

These lyrics came to mind when I thought about my trip reporting. (I also thought, Here we go AGAIN but the above sounds much more poignant.) It’s now that time of year when my Disney trips are frequent. And this Disney Senior loves sharing her visits with y’all because your engagement makes it fun!

Yes, there will be stuff that’s the same. Yes, there will be surprises (too soon for the reveals). And yes, there will be sun rises!

Spring break countdown is at 4 days.

Since this intro needs a picture, here are Tu.

 

[radiorae]

This sign was puzzling. I've seen Encanto but I don't recall a reference to "party pants."

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It happens super quick! The dad says it right after the Bruno song when he barges into the room.

It looks like you and Em had a really nice time, especially at lunch! It’s always nice to find those pockets of peace in the parks

 

[RememberWhen]

Woody would totally rock a Hawaiian shirt. 100%.

 

[Tuvalu]

You can’t fix stupid

Nope, not even with duct tape.

It happens super quick! The dad says it right after the Bruno song when he barges into the room.

It looks like you and Em had a really nice time, especially at lunch! It’s always nice to find those pockets of peace in the parks

Thanks for the party pants confirmation!

“Pockets of peace in the parks” is a wonderful description!

Woody would totally rock a Hawaiian shirt. 100%.

I know, right!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

When we entered our room there was a towel creation on the bed.

I must have still had AK on my mind as I blurted out, “It’s a butterfly!”

“I think it’s a bow,” Em corrected.

Other than the towel Mickey head that was on the bed our arrival day, this butterfly bow was the only towel creation we received all week. While we were pleased that our room was always serviced before we returned from the parks, we never got more than one hand towel (hello, TWO SINKS!) or two washcloths (a couple days we didn’t get any washcloths.)

Em and I put on our swimwear and sunscreen and headed for the pool. We waited for the geyser to finish fully erupting before crossing the bridge.

The former bar-turned-spa is now used for recreational activities like tie dye. It was only open for an hour or so each afternoon.

Em filled our mugs with ice water to keep us hydrated.

This spring flower bed was gorgeous!

We found loungers and spent the next couple hours on them. The breeze was cool so we did not spend much time in the water.

 

[lindawdw]

It does look like a bow to me but I can see how it could look like a butterfly also! I have to say that the Boulder Ridge pool is my favorite spot to relax on Disney property!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

It was our 4th night and we’d yet to have dinner in a park. That was about to change.

Now before y’all get excited, dinner was no biggie. And we did not purposely go to the MK for this meal. We had other reasons for going to MK and wanted to grab a bite from a quick service restaurant first.

Not paying the big bucks for Cindy’s Royal Table but we’re goin’ in anyway!

And after briefly gazing at the mosaic murals, we exited out the other side.

The weather was still conducive to al fresco dining, so Em grabbed us a table on the upper deck of Pinocchio’s Village Haus.

This was the view.

She didn’t know at the time she would get dinner and a show. She regaled me with the tale when I returned 15 minutes later with our food. (The breadsticks were surprisingly good!)

Three women with British accents were at the table next to ours. Em was facing them while my back faced them. We spoke in lowered voices as not to make them uncomfortable, but their actions fascinated Em and she wanted to share with me.

The women had purchased several menu items and began to “set the scene” as it were. For 10 minutes there was intricate moving of breadsticks and French fries to get the right angle, while one of them took pictures and the other recorded video. A woman in blue posed, pretending to eat the breadsticks.

Then they just sat awhile.

Then two of them began cutting the food into pieces, pretending to eat the pizza while one of them filmed. Woman in blue finally took a small bite and smiled at the camera.

“I can’t figure out what’s going on,” Em whispered to me. “They don’t appear to be live streaming or vlogging. They aren’t talking much. Just moving the food around, taking pictures and pretending to eat it.”

Em and I were just about finished with our meal when she noticed the women had finally started eating, thirty minutes after they’d set the food trays down.

She did manage to take a discreet picture.

Maybe they are famous across the pond?

 

[Tuvalu]

Reasons 2 and 3 why we came to MK. (Reason 4 was QS dinner; Reason 1 to come.)

The asteroid shake was mine of course. I had been craving one since arrival day. (Oh who am I kidding - I’d been craving one since my last one in February!) Em had the dish of chocolate, which she had been craving.

Followed by a twilight Peoplemover spin, our favorite time of day to ride.

Kind of hard to see, but I caught a light cycle in action on TRON.

 

[lindawdw]

I just love that boat ride over to the MK from WL! I have to say that we rarely ever dine at Pinocchio's Village Haus but you certainly had a great table view from your perch above! Those young women must have been writing a food review because why would you purposely wait until your food got cold to eat it? I must ask where you got that Asteroid shake which looks so yummy!!! Peoplemover is a must ride every trip to MK!

 

[Tuvalu]

I have to say that we rarely ever dine at Pinocchio's Village Haus but you certainly had a great table view from your perch above! Those young women must have been writing a food review because why would you purposely wait until your food got cold to eat it? I must ask where you got that Asteroid shake which looks so yummy!!!

We also came to the food review conclusion but for what? Vlog? Blog? Family and friends? Em said their method was bizarre. There was more to the story but I only had brief notes and Em wasn’t available to share her recollection.

The Asteroid shake is from Auntie Gravity’s.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Enjoying your trip report as always but your photos this trip are especially…

Can’t make it to Disney right now so happily following along.

So glad you and Em had a great trip!

 

[Tuvalu]

Enjoying your trip report as always but your photos this trip are especially…

Can’t make it to Disney right now so happily following along.

So glad you and Em had a great trip!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

We had spent the previous three nights listening to the Happily Ever After soundtrack without actually seeing the fireworks.

That had to stop!

Reason #1 for coming to MK tonight.

Standing next to us was an older couple with a middle-aged friend. The wife had saved a pair of paper 3D glasses from a MVMCP years ago, and she had taken them from her purse to show the friend.

“I wonder if they’ll still work?” she said loudly enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear.

She put them on and shrieked, “They do! I can see Mickeys!!”

So she left the glasses on “oohing and aahing” for almost the whole show.

I say almost because she, her husband and friend were tricked by the “false ending” of HEA when the narrator says, “Now go, find your Happily Ever After.”

They obeyed and left, missing the fabulous finale!

Meanwhile Em and I sang along with the outro as we walked from Liberty Square to Adventureland via the shortcut. Extra Hours for deluxe resort guests began in 30 minutes, but we weren’t up for a late night especially because we’d be back first thing in the morning. Rope drop always trumps park close for us.

The castle hub was a sea of humanity and those who wanted to exit the park were being directed to the Cast Members Only gate between The Crystal Palace and Casey’s. So Em and I were treated to a backstage view of the Emporium and the parking lot for the Main Street Vehicles.

There have been many grumblings and complaints on this site about the ongoing refurbishment of the Emporium (less merchandise, giant wide aisles, loss of period theming) but Em and I came to the conclusion that the main reason the store now has a “thoroughfare” is for guest safety. More people will be able to quickly evacuate the park after fireworks (or the upcoming night parade) with another route (in addition to the backstage routes) since Main Street always has the chaos of crowds going in both directions.

We always breathe a sigh of relief after we are through the train tunnel (another choke point) and have a little more space to get to transportation.

Tonight we made the choice to ride the boat since it was the easiest to get to.

We were happy to see a big boat (rather than a water taxi) arrive. We’d already had a lengthy wait and knew we would be accommodated.

Although it was a bit disconcerting that the captain kept referring to ECVs as “electric chairs.”

We sat in front and enjoyed the night breeze (and views!)

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, April 10

Lifeguards were in training early this morning.

(BTW @MissingDisney for the 4th morning in a row I did not see any pre-dawn bats! )

Em and I were on a boat back to MK less than 10 hours after we’d left. It was very peaceful on the water this morning.

The King Kong crane!

Though a ride on the double decker bus was tempting, we wanted to get a couple attractions done during early entry.

 

[Tuvalu]

Arty Pooh! (Had to. Was wearing a Pooh & Piglet shirt. )

Afterwards we scurried to Neverland.

There were no Tinker Bell special effects in the queue. (Were they working on Tuesday? Couldn’t tell you, we were too busy chick chatting with Kel.)

Without the sprinkling of pixie dust will we be able to fly?

We were!

 

[MickeyCB]

So many questions. Why would you think you aren't going to be caught? There's cameras EVERYWHERE!!!
Second, obviously he or she was caught. What did they do with/to him?
And last, if you are going to steal a momento from Disney, why wouldn't you choose one with an identifier on it?! This could have come from anywhere including the theme park down the road!

 

[RememberWhen]

I’m 100% going to think “electric chairs” from now on!

 

[Tuvalu]

So many questions. Why would you think you aren't going to be caught? There's cameras EVERYWHERE!!!
Second, obviously he or she was caught. What did they do with/to him?
And last, if you are going to steal a momento from Disney, why wouldn't you choose one with an identifier on it?! This could have come from anywhere including the theme park down the road!

 

[Tuvalu]

I’m 100% going to think “electric chairs” from now on!

Us too!

 

[lindawdw]

Love your fireworks pictures! We always enjoy the boat back to WL in the evening versus the crowded monorail! I'm impressed that you made it to MK Early Entry again!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Love Em's Walt Disney World hat..... thinking I may need to get one this Fall.