Trip Report Shrouded In A Daft Disguise *COMPLETED*

Two weeks ago today, I returned home from the most surreal Disney vacation I have ever experienced.

During my last visit in February, I couldn’t have imagined having to wear a face mask and have my temperature taken before being allowed into a park. “Social distancing” wasn’t part of my vocabulary. Hand sanitizer was something I carried in a little bottle in my purse, not something in giant containers at the entrance/exit of every attraction.

No park hopping? No Fastpasses? No FIREWORKS :jawdrop: ?!! Not even on my radar screen.

Like a bolt out of the blue, the pandemic struck and life was dramatically altered. For everyone. And there is no Magic Mirror to tell us when it will be over. For me the pandemic has been a reminder to take nothing for granted ~ and that there can still be joy in the darkest days.

My name is Tuvalu and I have been a WDW annual passholder for nearly 25 years. I was raised on Disney and so were my children. The parks have always been my “escape” from real life. Could they still be an “escape” in the midst of a pandemic? After months of quarantine, I was ready to find out.

My daughter Em was my travel buddy. My husband Woody had reservations, but not for our safety. He was concerned we’d struggle with the restrictions and disappointment with all the changes. He wanted us to come back happy and wasn’t sure we would. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure we would either. After much research and due diligence, Em and I felt prepared to embark on a vacation with few expectations.

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Full disclosure ~ I‘ve wrestled with writing a report of our trip. The pandemic and subsequent events have caused much division on this Disney fan forum. I’ve always considered the trip reports section to be a “safe space” and hope it stays that way. My goal is to provide entertainment to the reader, nothing more.

With that in mind.....

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slipperalwaysfits

Well-Known Member
Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh sure, you start it the week I go back to work and am so overwhelmed getting school ready, I can't keep up!!
J/k...happy I'm here but definitely :geek: :geek: late to the party!

The pandemic and subsequent events have caused much division on this Disney fan forum. I’ve always considered the trip reports section to be a “safe space” and hope it stays that way. My goal is to provide entertainment to the reader, nothing more.

I am really glad you wrote this report! They are always entertaining and a nice escape from real life. The mask, etc are necessities for now but that doesn't mean you still can't enjoy a trip!

The ability to tolerate mask wearing in summer heat and humidity was naturally a concern for us (but something we ultimately found much easier than we thought.) We felt as prepared as we could be going into the unknown.


So glad to know this!!

And there was even a three o’clock parade!

Whoa, whoa, whoa....I thought the 3 o'clock parade was at TWO OCLOCK!!!

Next up was a fave whose days may or may not be numbered.
Okay, this is a safe space, so no hijacking the report with a debate here. I love SPLASH as it is currently but it is no secret that I am completely, totally, utterly princess-obsessed, so I am very excited about Tiana coming to town!!!!!!!!

Suddenly we heard noise and turned around to see rafting chipmunks!

YAY!! I wish this would happen more often! I'd love to see rafting Chipmunks! :geek::geek::geek:


“You’ve been up since 4:30 am, traveled 8 hours in the car, spent the last two hours in the heat wearing a mask....you’re going to hit the wall eventually. Doesn’t it make more sense to hit that wall at the resort, after we’ve unpacked and enjoyed a nice meal?”

I hate it when my kid is smarter than I am.
Yeaaaaaaaahhhhhh, mom and I have had very similar conversations over the years......

Nope! I was standing in front of our door when I took this picture (intending to show off the “hidden Mickeys.”) Room 1533 was the first room in the complex. We couldn’t have asked for a more convenient location.

Didn't even notice the Hidden Mickey's till you pointed them out! Not so hidden anymore!!??!:p:p:p


Toiletries were individual size (no large pumps in the shower.)

Not pictured is the placard describing all the “enhanced cleaning” the room received. (I want to know why the rooms aren’t always cleaned that way. :bored: ) All literature ~ and pillows that would normally be on the sofa and chairs ~ have been removed. No sofa pillows made it difficult to be comfortable while sitting or reclining, as the sofa is very sturdy and has no “give” in the cushions. I ended up putting extra bed pillows on the sofa for comfort.

The TV remotes were sealed for our protection.

I understand the part that some of all this hurts the environment, but in such a heavily trafficked locale, shouldn't they ALWAYS clean like that? And have individual toiletries...and sealed remotes?:bored::eek:

“Are you sure?” I asked. “We can have Roaring Fork soft serve any day this week but we can only have lava cake here.”

Sometimes the Mom is smarter than the kid.

So glad you got your nachos and amazing dessert. Sometimes, okay, many times, mom has put me in my place with a "think about the impact of your choices...."type quote like this... Good job, Moms!


(after being asked if she was wearing a belt buckle) Em deduced it had to be the double metal clasp on all her Loft shorts. (Be warned, ladies.


WOWZA!!!!!!! THANKS FOR THE WARNING AND THE BRAND NAMe!!!!!!!1 I've got shorts like this and I definitely don't want to set off alarms!!!!!

I am glad you are here, I am glad we are all here together and I know it isn't trip-related but any cute stories about Tuvalette and Tuvaleen would be amazing! :geek::geek::geek:
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Yes. My father used to say Horses sweat, Men perspire, Women glow.

By the way, I don’t think you look toasty, hot, or uncomfortable at all. And I love your masks!
Thanks for your kind words, @wishicouldgomoreoften!

Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh sure, you start it the week I go back to work and am so overwhelmed getting school ready, I can't keep up!!
J/k...happy I'm here but definitely :geek: :geek: late to the party!

Whoa, whoa, whoa....I thought the 3 o'clock parade was at TWO OCLOCK!!!

Okay, this is a safe space, so no hijacking the report with a debate here. I love SPLASH as it is currently but it is no secret that I am completely, totally, utterly princess-obsessed, so I am very excited about Tiana coming to town!!!!!!!!

YAY!! I wish this would happen more often! I'd love to see rafting Chipmunks! :geek::geek::geek:

I understand the part that some of all this hurts the environment, but in such a heavily trafficked locale, shouldn't they ALWAYS clean like that? And have individual toiletries...and sealed remotes?:bored::eek:

I know it isn't trip-related but any cute stories about Tuvalette and Tuvaleen would be amazing! :geek::geek::geek:
1. I promise I didn’t start my TR during your busy week on purpose! :angelic:
2. The 3 o’clock parade is only at 2 o’clock during party season, which has temporarily gone buh-bye. :hilarious:
3. Too bad we couldn’t have both original Splash and a Tiana attraction.
4. Rafting Chip and Dale are part of the “pop-up cavalcades” so I’m sure they’ll be around awhile.
5. Amen to deep cleaning, individual toiletries and sealed remotes...always!
6. Would you settle for a cute picture?

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Another example of Em being right. “Mom you need to buy two orange bird sippers, so they’ll each have one.”
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Monday, con’t

Once security deemed Em not to be a threat we tapped into MK.

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Seeing an empty Town Square for the second day in a row was perhaps even more disconcerting than yesterday!

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Suddenly music began to play, signaling the arrival of another pop-up cavalcade.

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This one belonged to Tink!

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Move out of the way invisible people! Em wants to get a good shot of the castle.

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While we were on the boat earlier, we perused the menus for our counter service lunch options. Mobile ordering is now being heavily pushed (more on that later) and I was excited to see that I could finally use a gift card as payment. However I would learn of a stipulation a few days later.....:bored:

I pressed “I’m Here” when we arrived at our destination.

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There were a surprising number of people crowded around the entrance. Two CMs stationed at the door were only allowing in guests who had placed a mobile order. Since we had completed our order, we bypassed those on their devices (who were starting their orders) and were admitted inside. We stood on a marker until directed where to pick up our food.

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Cosmic Ray’s at noon, ladies and gents! :jawdrop:

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Chicken nuggets for Em, grilled chicken sandwich for me. I have to say my sandwich was disappointingly chewy....which was the case the last time I dined at Cosmic Ray’s. Sigh.

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
While not an official “Arty Pooh” it was our first attraction of the day.

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No one else in the queue until we got to this point.

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Next we found ourselves in a little town....and it was a quiet village!

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The Tavern was closed!!

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Was Gaston’s chair there, @krisri18? We’ll never know! :banghead:

No Village Gifts either?!?!

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Perhaps we’ll have better luck Unda the Sea. (As long as the impending storm doesn’t hit first!)

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Safe in our clamshell.

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Excuse me but.......Where are all the strollers?!?

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Never mind, I don’t need to know. Just nice to be able to walk through this former parking lot.

“Small World or Peter Pan?” I asked Em.

“Small World,” she replied, forgetting that the queue began outside building and there were still ominous storm clouds over our heads.

We’d barely made it undercover when this happened.

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A few days earlier this newly-refurbished part of the queue had opened. We got lucky!

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New light fixtures for @Doc Disney.

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Let the storm rage on. We’re going on an indoor cruise.

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And we have front row seats.

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Not only did we remain dry, but the monsoon ended in time for us to make a quick flight to Neverland.

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Hey, @tonystark what time is it?

It’s Mansion time!

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The line length is deceiving. Less than 5 minutes’ time between the above picture and the next one.

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And just 2 minutes later ~

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Seven minutes total and we were inside. Little did we know, however, that the next seven minutes would be spent in this spot.

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We had to wait here while the doombuggies were sprayed down with disinfectant. It would not be the last time we’d have a lengthened wait while attraction vehicles were sanitized for our protection.

Also I have no evidence if either of us nailed the ride photo. A silly spook must have stolen it.
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Since the rain had cleared and it wasn’t scorching hot, we made our way to the wildest ride in the wilderness.

2:10 pm and you can actually see the pavement in this area!

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The plexiglass barriers in the station made our wait extra toasty. It’s always a warm wait in that building but when you take away the cross ventilation it’s pretty brutal.....

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....and sadly the reason we only rode BTMRR once the entire week. (Somebody hand @Longers the smelling salts. I think she fainted!) And since the park closed at 7 pm, there was no opportunity for nighttime rides in the dark (which are far superior IMO.)

Yet we still laughed and screamed. But not “in our heart.” Our delight was audible through our masks.

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We hung around at the exit for a few minutes. I had spotted @coachwnh and his family in line behind us and we wanted to have a proper Magicians meet.

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Years ago (more than 6, it’s in @coachwnh ‘s TR title 😉) I was an avid reader of Coach’s trip reports. He and his young family went to WDW a lot and he always reported LIVE. I loved that as it made me feel like I was tagging along in real time. Additionally, his kids were at the perfect age for Disney magic while mine were grown, and their adventures brought back memories of vacations when my kids were young.

I’m sure you don’t know this @coachwnh, but you were the one who inspired me to begin writing trip reports of my own. (Just as a good coach would! :happy: )

Em and I enjoyed chatting with Coach, Crystal, Brayden and Maddy (now teens! :jawdrop:) Happily, our paths would cross again.
 

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