Trip Report Whose Trip Is It Anyway?

It's mine. But it wasn't supposed to be.

The vacation to celebrate my <number redacted> birthday with my beloved Woody was supposed to happen at the end of January and included time with @lindawdw, @ajrwdwgirl and a few other forum friends. But a predicted ice storm and a couple other extenuating circumstances caused us to cancel our plans two days prior to departure.

This trip was supposed to be a belated birthday celebration for my mother during winter break for my brother's family. I was going to accompany her and assist with her mobility challenges. The day after we canceled my birthday trip, Mom announced she no longer wanted to go to WDW and insisted Woody take her place since the resort was already paid in full. (She did have several local celebrations on and around her actual birthday.)

Our airline tickets were refunded and since Woody prefers driving from Atlanta we added a couple nights to our trip. No spoilers yet, just a math problem.

Winter break + Presidents' Day + Mardi Gras + Lunar New Year + Snowbirds = A crowd collision of massive proportions

When: February 14-19, 2026
Where: Disney's Art of Animation Resort
Who: Tuvalu and Woody, with family introductions to come

 

[Minnie1986]

Wednesday, con’t

My dear Woody also persuaded me to buy LLSP for TRON.

View attachment 913429

“Isn’t it one of your favorites?”
Me: “Yeah, but…”
“Isn’t it your birthday celebration?”
Me: “Yeah…”
“Then why are we even having this conversation?”

Woody’s wisdom was much appreciated when we strolled past the very long standby line.

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Once inside, the wait after the merge can be 15-20 minutes (even longer for those of us who like the front.) TRON is slow to load and I am always anxious that there will be a breakdown, making that boring wait even longer. (I’ve been burned before!)

Happily no breakdown today.

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Although Woody said he was disappointed I didn’t ride hands-free.

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I said I had already shown off in Little Mermaid. I didn’t need to do so again!

“Isn’t it one of your favorites?”
Me: “Yeah, but…”
“Isn’t it your birthday celebration?”
Me: “Yeah…”
“Then why are we even having this conversation?”

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

We browsed a few shops before our final LL.

When Woody and I first experienced this new offering in November our reaction was, what in the world did we just watch? Since then I did a little research, read some reviews and was ready to give the attraction another try.

The “ads” before the film were clever.

The target audience for this Flick (see what I did there? ) is anyone who enjoys watching (or more accurately scrolling) Tik Tok videos. It’s not necessarily generational.

Zootopia Better Zoogether! is a series of fast-paced short clips, sort of related, with lots of action. Once I understood it was not supposed to be a cohesive story, I was able to appreciate it for what it is, not what I expected it to be.

And I like Clawhauser.

Thus ends our unplanned AK afternoon.

But we weren’t returning to our resort. Yet.

 

[mysto]

And I like Clawhauser.

Well, he was modeled after Woody.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

That’s ok - we can still be friends!


IT IS!! Already counting the days until my next one. Spoiler alert: 8 days.


Thanks for the info. I was a years-long All Ears fan back in the day when Deb Wills owned it.

I was a big fan of All Ears when Deb owned it too. I actually wrote articles for them for Seniors at Disney. I really enjoyed working with them and writing those articles. I'm not a trained "writer", but just someone who loved Disney as a Senior and had fun writing those articles. Deb is sorely missed.

 

[Tuvalu]

I was a big fan of All Ears when Deb owned it too. I actually wrote articles for them for Seniors at Disney. I really enjoyed working with them and writing those articles. I'm not a trained "writer", but just someone who loved Disney as a Senior and had fun writing those articles. Deb is sorely missed.

Did you get to meet her? I've met her twice. Met Laura Gilbreath and Debra Martin Koma too. My absolute favorite meet was with Jack Spence, as I loved his writing style and the Disney history/backstories he shared.

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

Woody and I did not go far.

@Tiki Traveler I had no idea that you had walked these hallowed halls just ten days earlier! AKL is a beautiful resort and I enjoyed both my stays here. However before the first stay our family discovered the wonders of its African buffet.

None of us are adventurous eaters but we all loved the food here, and made several trips with family and friends in the early 00s. Though I’ve only done dinner, I’ve heard good things about breakfast at Boma and it remains on my “some day” list!

I was happy to find this same-day ADR, which precipitated our decision to visit AK beforehand.

We were seated within a few minutes of our arrival. However it took for-ev-er for our server to acknowledge us (with a wave of her hand). Then we had wait a bit longer for her to come to our table and take our drink order. We were hungry and she alluded that we could have helped ourselves to the buffet, though neither Woody nor I would have felt comfortable going to get food without having spoken with her first.

Our server did not seem to be overworked but merely inattentive. We could see the frustration on the faces of guests at her other tables around us. We asked for our check well before we needed to, anticipating a long wait (which it was).

Poor service was the only negative to our meal. The food was great!

Highly recommend the chicken corn chowder. I could have made a meal of it!

But then I would have missed out on the delicious smoked meats and other sides.

We left the restaurant after 8 pm and since AK had closed at 7, we took the bus to DHS. And then (for the 3rd night in a row!) we rode the Skyliner back to AoA.

It had been a very full day - two parks, 12 attractions, shopping, two table service meals and a brief resort break.

One more day to go.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Did you get to meet her? I've met her twice. Met Laura Gilbreath and Debra Martin Koma too. My absolute favorite meet was with Jack Spence, as I loved his writing style and the Disney history/backstories he shared.

No, sadly, I never got to meet her or Deb Koma, but I had many interactions with them over the years. They were great to work with. I haven't paid much attention to AllEars since then so I don't know much about AllEars now. You are lucky you got to meet the Deb's and Jack Spence too!

 

[lindawdw]

Wow, your day at AK was packed with so many fun adventures!!! We need to get back to Boma for dinner one of these trips as it used to be a regular on my restaurant rotations!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, February 19

Woody and I began our last day sleeping in. This was a bonus day for us, as we typically begin the drive home in the early hours on check out day. After an in-room breakfast and loading the car, we said goodbye to AoA and drove to the park where we’d play until afternoon.

On the way I sent a goodbye text to TEAML, as they were already gone on their adventures. My brother had taken the older kids to Universal/IOA for the first time. (“You think Disney is expensive? You don’t want to know the cost of a one-day park hopper with Express Pass at Universal,” T texted back.)

By the joy on M & A’s faces, it was money well spent. They hit every attraction they wanted and returned to AoA that night absolutely exhausted.

E and L spent the day at Epcot at L’s request. He loves EVERYTHING about the park (he explained all the reasons in a very long answer to my question, “Why did you pick Epcot?” )

I totally get the favorite park thing, L. It’s the reason Aunt Tu and Uncle Woody went here.

I see you’re going through the riff raff entrance! Em joked when I sent her the above.

I can’t remember the last time we parked in the MK lot. It’s been years. Possibly decades.

Of course I took a picture to remember where we’d parked.

Only to receive this notification a few moments later.

SIMBA ONE! Em texted back. (IYKYK)

While onboard the tram, the CM advised us, “Don’t miss StarLIT, the nighttime parade which begins at 7:45 pm.”

Me:

Security at the TTC was surprisingly fast considering the number of people arriving.

For us there is no other option when going to MK from here.

The best view!

 

[lindawdw]

I can't wait to hear all about your last park day at MK! The ferry does have such beautiful views on the way there!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

The weather was the sunniest and warmest it had been all week, and no blustery breeze. It would have been a perfect pool day. However I was very happy to be at the MK. Crowds were also somewhat lighter during the hours we were there.

Where to first?

I was feeling Peoplemover-y.

The spin around Tomorrowland was so delightful that I asked if we could stay on for a second ride. No embarrassing finger symbol - I kept my hands to myself.

We experienced a not so unusual stop in a tunnel.

Skipped a third ride. Someone was waiting for us….

 

[rshell68]

I was a years-long All Ears fan back in the day when Deb Wills owned it.

SAME!

 

[donaldtoo]

London calling.

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I got that “The Clash” reference…!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

The someone.

For the unfamiliar this is my dear friend Kel. We figured out that we have been friends for 25 years! She and her husband moved to FL in 2018 and live about an hour from the parks. Kel loves Disney as much as I do and it is so much fun when we’re able to spend time together.

Did she and I sing along with every scene? You betcha! But the theater (with the new seats!) was mostly empty, we did not sing louder than the soundtrack and most importantly - there was no sudden stop with the silence broken by our voices!

 

[MinnieM123]

Thursday, con’t

The someone.

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For the unfamiliar this is my dear friend Kel. We figured out that we have been friends for 25 years! She and her husband moved to FL in 2018 and live about an hour from the parks. Kel loves Disney as much as I do and it is so much fun when we’re able to spend time together.

Did she and I sing along with every scene? You betcha! But the theater (with the new seats!) was mostly empty, we did not sing louder than the soundtrack and most importantly - there was no sudden stop with the silence broken by our voices!

View attachment 914351

Happy to see that you met up with your buddy, Kel, and had a singalong!

By the way, the "new" seats look nice. It's about time they updated the seats!

 

[lindawdw]

Peoplemover is such a relaxing way to start your day at MK! So nice that you got to spend the day together with Kel!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

Kel and I share a mutual fondness for Haunted Mansion. She said it was a must-do and did not care how long the wait was.

How long was it? Couldn’t tell ya. We were catching up with life. I do remember the CM at the merge point trying to get the consolidation of standby and LL guests to move forward by yelling, “If you see dead space, it’s your space!”

Woody told me and Kel to ride together which was either brilliant or a mistake depending on point of view. Riding by himself, Woody got to appreciate the attraction distraction-free.

Kel and I were in the graveyard scene before it occurred to me that I had no memory of the ride photo flash. Wanting a picture of us together in our doom buggy, I attempted this at the end of the ride. Phineas had hitched himself to the top of our doom buggy, but in typical ghost fashion he disappeared the moment I clicked.

Did we get the official HM ride photo?

Oh yes.

What happens when the entire tour is spent chick chatting and you fail to notice all the cool stuff around you, which is the reason you wanted to do Haunted Mansion in the first place?

I rest my case.

 

[cgersic]

That is brilliant!! So nice to have such great friends!

 

[lindawdw]

That photo is so perfect of you both!!!

 

[Minnie1986]

I was a big fan of All Ears when Deb owned it too. I actually wrote articles for them for Seniors at Disney. I really enjoyed working with them and writing those articles. I'm not a trained "writer", but just someone who loved Disney as a Senior and had fun writing those articles. Deb is sorely missed.

That's so cool!