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Trip Report Tu in ‘25 *COMPLETED*

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.

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MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
This would be my 4th stay at Sports, the most recent one being 10 years ago with our middle son (father of the Tuva Twins.) However our first family stay was way back in June 1994, about six weeks after the resort opened. Surf’s Up was the only building available for occupancy; Touchdown and Center Court would open soon after.
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LOVE the family's retro photos!! :joyfull:
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

Woody and I had a private bus ride to Animal Kingdom. It was delightful to be at the park with the sun shining! (Y’all may recall our monsoon experience in August when we made a special trip over to pick up a Passholder Crush magnet for Em at Discovery Trading Company.)

Our first Christmas tree of vacation! As my friend @Tony the Tigger would say, “Merry November!”

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The park was very festively decorated, starting with garland at the tapstiles.

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I love the Merry Menagerie and was so excited to see that the puppets were out.

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Woody and I then headed to Pandora for a very late lunch. As is often the case when we dine at Satu’li later in the day, the food was meh. There was only a tiny portion of slaw in our bowls and the noodles were very dry. The beef was okay. We were starving so we ate most of our meal anyway.

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93boomer

93boomer

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
Sunday, con’t

Woody and I had a private bus ride to Animal Kingdom. It was delightful to be at the park with the sun shining! (Y’all may recall our monsoon experience in August when we made a special trip over to pick up a Passholder Crush magnet for Em at Discovery Trading Company.)

Our first Christmas tree of vacation! As my friend @Tony the Tigger would say, “Merry November!”

View attachment 896342

The park was very festively decorated, starting with garland at the tapstiles.

View attachment 896343

I love the Merry Menagerie and was so excited to see that the puppets were out.

View attachment 896344

View attachment 896345

Woody and I then headed to Pandora for a very late lunch. As is often the case when we dine at Satu’li later in the day, the food was meh. There was only a tiny portion of slaw in our bowls and the noodles were very dry. The beef was okay. We were starving so we ate most of our meal anyway.

View attachment 896346
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Love those puppets. I miss seeing them. The penguin is my favorite.
Yeah eating at Satuli end of day is not the best. I think they just empty everything out. 😩
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

Woody and I took the picturesque path out of Pandora into Harambe. A band had the crowd dancing and we stopped briefly to watch before entering the queue for the Safari. The wait was posted at 15 minutes but it wasn’t that long.

There was beautiful sunshine and a nice cool breeze so there were lots of active animals in view. We also experienced a “giraffic jam” which was fun for those of us already in a Jeep on the savannah, but not so fun for those behind stuck behind us. (Standby wait increased to 45 minutes after our Safari.)

If you feed them, they will come! 🦒

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The elusive Rafiki was even out and about….

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….as was a cheetah.

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Goats were playing, not huddled under the porch to avoid rain.

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It was the BEST ride we’d had in a long time.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

Our next priority was to see this -

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Lines had been horrendous for this recently-opened show and I was thankful for the manageable wait. Woody and I enjoyed seeing the carvings on the Tree of Life up close for the first time in years.

These posters (pictures?) attempt to set up the backstory before entering the theater. (Spoiler alert - they don’t!)

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I thought the light fixtures in the lobby were cute. Sadly they did not photograph well. (100% user error! :hilarious:)

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Our verdict? It’s fine - although we weren’t really sure what was happening in the frenetic film (“What is going on?” I whispered to Woody, who shrugged.) However the audio-animatronic Clawhauser was fun and the entire attraction was not at all frightening, unlike its predecessor. (“It’s Tough to be a Bug” caused our ten year old son to stand up mid-show and scream, “Get me out of here!” He never saw it again, even as an adult.)

Is it a must-do? No. But let’s face it - no attraction in AK (with the exception of the Safari) is a must-do for Tu! 🤣
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

I asked Woody if he was interested in riding Dinosaur one last time.

To my surprise he answered, “sure.”

It was a year ago at this time that Em and I thought we were riding Dinosaur “for the last time” since Disney had announced the ride was closing at the end of 2024. Well, I’ve had a few “last rides” since so I honestly won’t know until my next trip if today was truly THE LAST.

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We watched the entire preshow with a room full of guests, something I hadn’t experienced in a while. The second preshow room was also full so when those doors opened there was quite the back up to get to the load zone.

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The attraction was in good condition (I’d read some technical issues had been repaired) and was entertaining. It’s never been Woody’s cup of tea and he’s always kept his eyes closed once the chase is on.

Imagine my shock when I saw our ride photo.

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Dad kept his eyes open on Dinosaur! I quickly texted Em.

She couldn’t believe it either.

Dusk had fallen and it was nearing park closure. Woody and I enjoyed the lanterns and lighted garland on Discovery Island as we strolled out of the park.

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One word to describe our time in AK?

Delightful!
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

We had only a short wait for the bus to All Star Sports. I had received our room text while we were at AK, so after getting off the bus we moved our car from the main building to the parking for Center Court Building 5.

IMG_9775.jpeg


We dropped our bags in the room and headed for a light dinner in the food court. I believe we each had a kid’s chicken quesadilla. No pictures because the area was chaotic, service was slow, three of the four beverage dispensers were broken (and the fourth only had a couple spigots that worked) and the food itself was not photo-worthy.

Woody and I were two for two in meh Disney meals today.

Upon entering our well-themed Sports room 🙄, we noticed a strong cigarette smoke smell.

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Both of us have a strong sensitivity to cigarette smoke so right away we knew we might have a problem with the room. Once we discovered that the deadbolt on the door was broken, the thermostat would not regulate the room temperature and the TV was unable to cast we knew we had a room problem.

I offered to go to the Front Desk and inquire about a room switch. (It was Woody’s birthday trip after all.) A CM greeted me in the lobby and as luck would have it he happened to be a manager. I began by telling him about the broken beverage dispensers in the food court and all the frustrated guests. This was news to him, so he excused himself to notify someone who could fix them. (I’d told him I did not mind waiting.)

When he returned I explained the multiple issues with our room. He apologized and then disappeared into the back as they always do. He seemed a little too pleased with himself when he announced we were being moved to a “preferred room” at “no additional charge.” (How generous!)

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that location was irrelevant since we’d be leaving first thing in the morning. And that I knew the difference between a standard room and a preferred room was a whopping $10.

Woody had to let me in to our Center Court room since our account had already been switched over to a room in Surf’s Up. We grabbed our bags and made the very short walk between buildings.

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Our new room was in okay condition (no smell!) and fine for one night, but Woody declared, “No more value resorts!” as we settled in to sleep.
 
DisneyDreamer08

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Sunday, con’t

We had only a short wait for the bus to All Star Sports. I had received our room text while we were at AK, so after getting off the bus we moved our car from the main building to the parking for Center Court Building 5.

View attachment 896775

We dropped our bags in the room and headed for a light dinner in the food court. I believe we each had a kid’s chicken quesadilla. No pictures because the area was chaotic, service was slow, three of the four beverage dispensers were broken (and the fourth only had a couple spigots that worked) and the food itself was not photo-worthy.

Woody and I were two for two in meh Disney meals today.

Upon entering our well-themed Sports room 🙄, we noticed a strong cigarette smoke smell.

View attachment 896774

Both of us have a strong sensitivity to cigarette smoke so right away we knew we might have a problem with the room. Once we discovered that the deadbolt on the door was broken, the thermostat would not regulate the room temperature and the TV was unable to cast we knew we had a room problem.

I offered to go to the Front Desk and inquire about a room switch. (It was Woody’s birthday trip after all.) A CM greeted me in the lobby and as luck would have it he happened to be a manager. I began by telling him about the broken beverage dispensers in the food court and all the frustrated guests. This was news to him, so he excused himself to notify someone who could fix them. (I’d told him I did not mind waiting.)

When he returned I explained the multiple issues with our room. He apologized and then disappeared into the back as they always do. He seemed a little too pleased with himself when he announced we were being moved to a “preferred room” at “no additional charge.” (How generous!)

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that location was irrelevant since we’d be leaving first thing in the morning. And that I knew the difference between a standard room and a preferred room was a whopping $10.

Woody had to let me in to our Center Court room since our account had already been switched over to a room in Surf’s Up. We grabbed our bags and made the very short walk between buildings.

View attachment 896773

Our new room was in okay condition (no smell!) and fine for one night, but Woody declared, “No more value resorts!” as we settled in to sleep.
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I have stayed at all the value resorts and the only one I’ve had problems with is Sports. Not sure if it’s coincidence or if Sports truly is the bottom of the barrel 😂 But like you, little things like coffee and other self serve drinks always being empty, things broken in the room, really strong sewer smells by the pool etc. After our stay at Sports back in 2016 I swore I’d never stay there again.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
DisneyDreamer08 said:
I have stayed at all the value resorts and the only one I’ve had problems with is Sports. Not sure if it’s coincidence or if Sports truly is the bottom of the barrel 😂 But like you, little things like coffee and other self serve drinks always being empty, things broken in the room, really strong sewer smells by the pool etc. After our stay at Sports back in 2016 I swore I’d never stay there again.
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I remember reading about your AS Sports stay and immediately thought of you while I was waiting for the manager to return to the Front Desk. I knew you could relate to my saga!
My other never again is CBR - and that was after just a one night stay. 😒

k8einwdw said:
I hate that you guys had such a bad experience with AS Sports! We were at AS Music last week and had a great experience.
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I'm so glad to hear your family had a great stay at AS Music! Looking forward to reading all about it. :bookworm:

Zipadeelady said:
Christmas Festival GIF by HULU


I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't read it with my own eyes. :hilarious:
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I give props when props are due! :happy:
 
DisneyDreamer08

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
I remember reading about your AS Sports stay and immediately thought of you while I was waiting for the manager to return to the Front Desk. I knew you could relate to my saga!
My other never again is CBR - and that was after just a one night stay. 😒


I'm so glad to hear your family had a great stay at AS Music! Looking forward to reading all about it. :bookworm:


I give props when props are due! :happy:
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I didn’t love CBR either. The theming and food were great but the resort is just too big. I don’t think I would stay there again either.
 

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