Trip Report Shortest Retirement in History?

Justin Bieber lasted 2 weeks.

Tom Brady lasted 40 days.

I, Tuvalu, outlasted them both. Not by much, mind you. Yet if not for the encouragement of some forum friends - along with some unusual circumstances - you wouldn’t be reading this.

Unusual circumstances, you say?

Around Thanksgiving my beloved Woody learned his presence was required at a work conference. In Orlando. At Universal.
Just down the road from Walt Disney World.

Woody said I could accompany him if he drove (rather than flew) to Florida. And that we could leave a couple days early and have some Disney time together.

Well you don’t have to ask me twice!

I’d be on my own during the conference. Since the majority of Universal’s attractions don’t appeal to me, it didn’t make sense for me to buy Uni tickets when I could visit WDW for free with my AP. Being solo, I thought it might be fun to do a live trip report so y’all could be my virtual companions!

Turns out I won’t be alone while Woody is occupied after all. Some friends that you have seen in my previous TRs (and one you haven’t) have offered to play with me. I can’t wait!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Thursday, April 4

@Zipadeelady - it’s our annual AK visit!

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It goes without saying that we did not make it in time for 7:30 am EE. However we were only a few minutes late - and could not believe our eyes that the line for Kilimanjaro Safari was backed up allll the way to the Lion King theater! Now we have been in the extended queue for this attraction (which is after entering) and if that was already full, we were looking at a wait of at least three hours.

No Way José.

Though I hated to do it, I opened the app and bought Genie+. The safari was my only must-do since the animals are always active on a mild and cool day, which it was. So for $29/pp plus tax, I secured an 11-12 pm return time for us.

Em requested Dinosaur since standby was 5 minutes. On our way there we saw Launchpad McQuack.

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We walked straight into the preshow theater when Claire Huxtable was reprimanding Grant Seeker.

Had I remembered that Photopass is included with Genie+, we would have posed better.

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A whole morning at Animal Kingdom! These are the moments in your trip reports that make me so happy.

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

We had plans to spend the evening at DHS. Sixty days earlier I’d booked dinner for Mama Melrose so Em could have the margarita she likes. But since the marg at La Hacienda has taken over the #1 spot - and she really liked the margarita at Baseline - Em said she didn’t need to go to Mama’s so I canceled.

This freed us up to have a quick service meal with family. My brother T, his wife and kids were also down for spring break, but were only spending a couple days in the parks. They were at DHS, so we texted a time and place to meet.

Five pm at the Frozen sing-a-long. Em and I were there. No sign of them. We hung out in the back of the covered preshow waiting. A text from T that they were “on their way.” At 5:15 the doors to the theater opened (show was at 5:30) and Em and I headed inside.

A few more texts followed and in my head I heard Dr. Seeker’s shouts, “You’re not gonna make it, you’re not gonna make it….”

At 5:29 Em nudged me and I turned to see my brother and his family being seated in the last row at the back of the theater.

They made it. (Dr. Seeker knew they would!)

Let it snow.

 

[Swissmiss]

Sorry (well not really, because I still stand by my position that Em should not try to reign in her Mama).

 

[Tuvalu]

Sorry (well not really, because I still stand by my position that Em should not try to reign in her Mama).

No need to apologize. It was my choice to leave my curiosity alone.

 

[the_rich]

I don’t suffer from motion sickness, thankfully, I’m just loud

My brother in law, who does get motion sick, made the bad decision to get on the ride anyway. So I was also distracted by how it would affect him. It wasn’t good. He was done for the day after GotG, in fact had to sit for ten minutes with his head down before we could even leave the ride exit area

Ha. I had to sit for about a half an hour before I could leave. Then it took another 2 hours and eating before I felt normal again. I do want to go on it again tho lol

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

Em and I met T’s family outside the theater. We discussed where to eat and landed on ABC Commissary due to proximity. I was just about to submit a mobile order when Em cautioned me to wait. She noticed protestations from the younger ranks - the combatants being 13, 11 & 9.

There was a battle cry for burgers. ABC Commissary doesn’t offer the typical kid fare of burgers, hot dogs or pizza. I suggested Sunset Ranch Market.

In doing so, Em and I made the ultimate sacrifice for family - our burgers were so awful that Em declared the food, “one of my top 5 worst WDW meals ever.”

But the troops were happy.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em and I planned to watch the 8:30 pm Fantasmic performance. We wanted to see the updates and had tried to do so last summer, when the show was canceled due to lightning as we waited. (We ended up watching a YouTube video of it back at the pool condo.)

T’s family had more attractions to accomplish and were planning on Fantasmic at 10 pm.

But middle child M had another idea. “Can I go to Fantasmic with Aunt Tu? I can watch the show two times in a row. Pleeeeeeze??!!”

M and I are buddies. I was there for her first Be Our Guest meal….

….and took her to meet Olaf for the very first time.

Of course I was happy to have her tag along! “Girl time!” she declared as we said goodbye to the rest of her family.

Although it was just a few minutes past 7 pm, the line for Fantasmic had already formed on Sunset Blvd. and M insisted we get in it. She is a typical excitable and enthusiastic pre-teen girl, and she kept Em & me entertained as we stood in line.

Soon there was a recorded announcement that due to technical difficulties the show was temporarily delayed. The line wasn’t moving forward and guests were being held on Sunset instead of being admitted at the gate.

The recorded announcement played every 5 minutes. M was unfazed, as it gave her more time to talk. A few people in the line were getting antsy, since there was no new information about start time or when we could enter.

A woman approached us with three Fantasmic Dining tickets and asked if we wanted them. She said her little one was tired and they would not be staying. We gladly accepted the tickets.

M was perplexed. “What is this for?” she asked.

“It means we get to leave this long line and wait in the shorter line up front. And we get preferred seats in the theater,” I explained.

M was so excited she could hardly contain herself.

We got out of the standby line and moved closer to the entrance. CMs were letting in guests who had dining tickets.

Finally seated at 8:15 pm. Though we had no idea when the show would begin.

We didn’t stay seated for long as M is a big fan of “the wave” and we had to get up and sit down at least 1500 times.

Then she decided she needed to go to the bathroom and suddenly ran up the aisle. Poor Aunt Tu got up and ran right after her! She beat me to the restroom so I had to call out for her once I was inside the ladies room. (@riverside knows how important it is not to lose your sibling’s kid!)

M and I calmly returned to the theater.

A few minutes later an announcement was made that Fantasmic would begin in 5 minutes. The energy in the theater was electric when the house lights went down.

It’s MICKEY!!!

And just like that….two minutes into the show….everything abruptly stopped and the house lights came back on.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!!

We and 7,000 of our closest friends sat stunned for almost fifteen minutes as the show was “paused.”

And then the kiss of death: “Friends, we regret to inform you that due to technical difficulties, this performance of Fantasmic has been canceled.”

M began to cry. I felt like crying too. Em said we must be destined to never see F! live.

We met up with my SIL to give her M. The guys were off in Star Wars land. SIL decided they would not stick around for the 10 pm show - a wise choice, since that performance was canceled too.

Meanwhile Em and I got to the bus depot only to discover a broken-down POR bus at the gate. It took a LONG time for a replacement bus to arrive.

It was not our night.

 

[rshell68]

Of course I was happy to have her tag along! “Girl time!” she declared

Aww she was living her best life getting to hang with the two of you!!

What a bummer end to the day!

 

[Tuvalu]

Friday, April 5

Em’s fast finger strikes again!

Remember her dinner sacrifice last night?

She was about to go one better. T texted right after 7 am and said he struck out securing a BG for the boys. Without hesitation Em said, “Let’s give our bands to them.”

T replied that the boys were super excited. We arranged a meeting time.

The bus got us to Epcot in plenty of time for early entry. < sarcasm > We managed to do Soarin’ in the last few minutes of EE.

Em wanted to ride LWTL again to see the special Flower & Garden additions. There was no one in line and the CM told us to sit right in front. Perfect!

 

[Tuvalu]

Here are the themed displays. They are subtle and fun!

The Little Mermaid

Snow White

Winnie the Pooh

Alice in Wonderland

 

[93boomer]

Here are the themed displays. They are subtle and fun!

The Little Mermaid

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Snow White

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Winnie the Pooh

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Alice in Wonderland

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My fav was Rabbit’s garden and Pooh’s picnic.
Loved how they coordinated all the pot colors. All were so cute!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Friday, April 5

Em’s fast finger strikes again!

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Remember her dinner sacrifice last night?

She was about to go one better. T texted right after 7 am and said he struck out securing a BG for the boys. Without hesitation Em said, “Let’s give our bands to them.”

T replied that the boys were super excited. We arranged a meeting time.

The bus got us to Epcot in plenty of time for early entry. < sarcasm > We managed to do Soarin’ in the last few minutes of EE.

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Em wanted to ride LWTL again to see the special Flower & Garden additions. There was no one in line and the CM told us to sit right in front. Perfect!

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Front row is the best row on Living with the land.

 

[MinnieM123]

Em wanted to ride LWTL again to see the special Flower & Garden additions. There was no one in line and the CM told us to sit right in front. Perfect!

Front row -- Shirley status again!

I love the photos you shared from LWTL. The F&G additions were pleasant and creative, as usual.

The photo that always gets to me is the one of the farmhouse scene. For so many years, I've just wanted to "escape" into that scene!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Front row is the best row on Living with the land.

Absolutely!

Front row -- Shirley status again!

My namesake celebrated her 90th birthday yesterday!

The photo that always gets to me is the one of the farmhouse scene. For so many years, I've just wanted to "escape" into that scene!!

You’re not the only one!

 

[Tuvalu]

Friday, con’t

Em and I met T’s family in front of GotG (this time we were the late ones-whoops!) We gave our bands to the boys who happily raced to the entrance. The rest of us went to hang out in Connections Café.

SIL was on a mission to try Baumkuchen.

No, that’s not a health drink. Quite the opposite actually. It’s a popular German pastry consisting of layers made with a batter of eggs, flour, sugar and butter. The batter is poured onto a rotating drum over a heat source, with more batter added when each layer has finished baking.

Baumkuchen means “tree cake” in German. Its fifteen delicate layers of cake resembles a sliced tree trunk. SIL loved it.

Meanwhile later in the day M loved Journey of Water!

 

[Tuvalu]

We met up with the boys who had huge smiles on their faces after saving the Galaxy.

The smiles were short lived when they learned we were going here next.

This was T’s idea. “We haven’t been on it since the kids were little and I want to do it again.” (Side note: I was in that boat with them their last time and M was absolutely terrified.)

A giant chocolate chip cookie from Kringla Bakery placated the boys as we waited in line. I was able to reassure M that her scary preschooler memory would not occur again.

Just Let it Go….

(Of course as a ‘tween she would not give us the satisfaction of admitting she liked the ride this time!)

We continued around World Showcase admiring the topiaries and the trains before checking in for lunch at Via Napoli. The pizza was great (and the frozen strawberry limoncellos divine!) but service was abysmal.

Family pic before parting ways.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em and I backtracked to Norway for a chocolate chip cookie. I had sung this cookie’s praises after sharing one with Kel in January and after seeing the boys’ Em wanted one. She was NOT disappointed!

It was a gorgeous afternoon and we enjoyed strolling around. We decided to hop over to MK but boarded the resort monorail at the TTC so we could stop in Basin at the GF. (We were unable to do so on Easter.)

Basin now carries wax beads to make-your-own candle jars. There are a variety of fragrances but our favorite is green clover and aloe - which happens to be the Grand Floridian signature scent Em made candles for both of us.

Upon arrival at MK we went straight to the train station.

We took the grand circle tour which included an extended stop in the Fantasyland station, so that the 3 o’clock parade could clear the tracks at its starting point.

We also took a grand circle tour on the MPB 2.0.

MK was a little less busy than it was on Tuesday. But we weren’t interested in doing any other rides so we headed back to POR for a rest break.

 

[Songbird76]

Thursday, con’t

We spent a lot of time crisscrossing the park. Though we had passed Everest earlier on our way to Dinoland, Em didn’t want to ride it.

After our time on the Tiger trail she decided she did, and utilized single rider.

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From Asia to Discovery Island. (Where Em was terrorized by the macaws flying overhead, @AKemily.)

SHOPPING!

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How cool is this candy??!!

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From Discovery Island to Pandora.

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There’s been a disappointing change in the beef bowls at Satu’li Canteen. Strip loin has been replaced by braised beef. When you’re expecting steak and get pot roast instead….

(Oh I know exactly why - cost saving for Disney. And higher price for guests!)

We skipped Satu'li Canteen last summer for exactly this reason. Disney Food Blog reported on the change just before our trip. I'm so grateful I saw it before we wasted our time/money.

 

[Songbird76]

As we headed for the park exit we could not believe the crowds - the most people we have ever experienced in Animal Kingdom. The pool was calling us and we were ready for a break.

But AK wasn’t the only park overrun by guests.

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Good thing we had no plans to hop to MK!

We got to the bus stop just as the POR bus was pulling away. But a POFQ bus was pulling in, so we decided to take it and walk over to POR.

Em and I almost had Shirley Status on the bus. Which perhaps explains why the driver allowed these gents to board with their luggage - a clear violation of Disney policy.

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Where had they come from that they had suitcases? The airport? If so, why didn’t they take direct transport to POFQ?

Were they switching resorts? If so, why not have Disney move the luggage for them?

Did they visit AK? If so, what did they do with their bags while they were touring the park?

I had so many questions. But to avoid embarrassing my daughter, I kept my mouth shut.

After we were dropped off at POFQ, the gents headed for one of the resort buildings. I’m guessing they had checked in online and their room was ready.

Em and I walked along the Sassagoula to POR. We already had a lot of steps in and the day wasn’t over yet!

But first….relaxation at the pool.

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I just saw on Disney Food Blog that there's a new transportation option from MCO to Disney Springs. I think it was called Lynx or something, and it only costs $2. The only problem is just what you mentioned....you can't take luggage on the Disney buses, so once you get to DS, you'll have to take a lyft or uber to your resort. Perhaps these people used the new bus line, but didn't know you can't take luggage on Disney buses? (I didn't know that until today.) Maybe the bus driver took pity on them because it wasn't so busy?

 

[the_rich]

I just saw on Disney Food Blog that there's a new transportation option from MCO to Disney Springs. I think it was called Lynx or something, and it only costs $2. The only problem is just what you mentioned....you can't take luggage on the Disney buses, so once you get to DS, you'll have to take a lyft or uber to your resort. Perhaps these people used the new bus line, but didn't know you can't take luggage on Disney buses? (I didn't know that until today.) Maybe the bus driver took pity on them because it wasn't so busy?

I didn't know this either. Last year we checked out of our hotel and took our luggage with us on the bus to Disney springs to eat before we left for the airport.