Trip Report Tu in ‘25

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.

 

[lindawdw]

SE definitely needs a refurb and I'm happy for you that the delay wasn't too long!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wow, that dessert selection looks fantastic!!! I would have had to try a few being that they all look so tempting.

Total agreement about the desserts.

Additionally, every night there was a 5 gallon container of vanilla ice cream and toppings (chocolate syrup, M&Ms, sprinkles) to make your own sundae!

I would have prolly slid 6 (or maybe 10) of those mint chocolate cupcakes into my pocket. Mint Chocolate anything is a hit for me! I'm envious of your lounge experiences. yum!

No need to mess up your pockets - the concierge would gladly give you a container to fill with as many as you like! #clublevellife

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

After a quick restroom stop Woody was ready to save the galaxy.

“First there is cake, now there is toast? Where is this CakeToast?”

Right here, Drax.

Woody was on and off in 20 minutes. His ride photo was lost in space.

When I asked him what song played he replied, “I don’t know the name. It was about everybody rules the world or something.”

 

[Tuvalu]

We had to power-walk to Frozen as it was approaching the end of our LL window.

Funny coincidence - Woody and I had talked about this attraction last night at dinner. He mentioned that he could not remember the last time he rode it. I said it had to have been during the days of FP+ because none of us wanted to wait in the crazy standby line. The only time we rode was with a FP.

He then reminisced about Maelstrom and how much he enjoyed watching the movie about Norway, and why did people walk through the theater and not stay to watch it?

We were assigned the front seat in our Viking ship.

Our granddaughters used to be Frozen freaks so Woody is well acquainted with the story. He thinks the ride is cute.

Not a bad ride photo if I do say so myself!

Certainly better than this gem.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

At this point I should publish a book of my unattractive ride photos.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Wednesday, con’t

After a quick restroom stop Woody was ready to save the galaxy.

View attachment 883278

“First there is cake, now there is toast? Where is this CakeToast?”

Right here, Drax.

View attachment 883279

Woody was on and off in 20 minutes. His ride photo was lost in space.

When I asked him what song played he replied, “I don’t know the name. It was about everybody rules the world or something.”

Great hat!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

Before returning to Future World World Discovery we took a moment to see some south of the border friends.

This ride has perfect vibes for me.

 

[MinnieM123]

He then reminisced about Maelstrom and how much he enjoyed watching the movie about Norway, and why did people walk through the theater and not stay to watch it?

IMO: If they showed the film at the beginning (prior to the boat ride -- an indoors "pre-show" so to speak, like some other attractions) -- that would have also helped move some of the crowd inside, out of the long outdoor queue. Hence, I think the interest for the film would have worked out better, in that reverse order.

(Yet, with somewhat limited space for Maelstrom, I can understand the challenges the designers faced.)

 

[Tuvalu]

IMO: If they showed the film at the beginning (prior to the boat ride -- an indoors "pre-show" so to speak, like some other attractions) -- that would have also helped move some of the crowd inside, out of the long outdoor queue. Hence, I think the interest for the film would have worked out better, in that reverse order.

(Yet, with somewhat limited space for Maelstrom, I can understand the challenges the designers faced.)

Great thought!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

Back in the early years of Epcot, World of Motion was my favorite attraction in the park. I rode it so often that it became a family joke. Each time I approached the entrance I would say, “I’ve never ridden this before,” to the annoyance of whomever was with me.

I was sad when WoM closed and my boys were sad when it took 3.5 years (or however long the delay was!) to open Test Track.

Test Track was a must-do on family trips but Woody and I didn’t ride on our trips. When 2.0 premiered in 2013 it was a novelty at first but never a priority in future years. I did my best to avoid spoilers for 3.0.

Those are the “hazardous rocks” naysayers whine about. But I’m sure it’s only a matter of time that some kid (or worse, adult) will decide to climb on them, fall, and blame Disney.

Single riders and LL are merged into the same line. We waited less than 10 minutes.

The ride was fun. It had some “nods” to prior versions and WoM. However the constant braking upon re-entering the building after the outdoor loop was very jerky and hard on my back. It was so painful that I nixed a second go-round via Single Rider. (Radiator Springs Racers this ain’t!)

There are three different backgrounds in the ride photo. Notice how they capture my attention!

My overall verdict? Way better than 2.0, better than 1.0 - but still not as good as World of Motion!

 

[Tuvalu]

Our next LL wasn’t exactly at lightning speed….it was a 20 minute wait!

Whereas LL#3 had us in a boat in no time.

Hey, it’s the G.O.A.T.!

Without any special displays from Flower and Garden, Food and Wine or Christmas, our journey through the greenhouses seemed rather dull.

 

[cgersic]

I'm no naysayer, but why the rocks? Are they something they make fuel out of? Asking from a design standpoint as they seem rather "off" with this just having a refurb.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

World of Motion was so great. I know many who long for Horizons and while I liked Horizons a lot World of Motion was more fun for me.

 

[Tuvalu]

I'm no naysayer, but why the rocks? Are they something they make fuel out of? Asking from a design standpoint as they seem rather "off" with this just having a refurb.

I read a lot of complaints about them the day the rocks were installed.

 

[Cinderelly70]

Contrary to the sign we only waited 10 minutes. In the load area we were assigned Row 1 and a mom with her teen son were assigned Row 2. She said to me, “Arty Pooh?”

I grinned and said, “Yes!”

She explained she is a lurker on the trip report forum. We didn’t have but a few seconds to chat before our hunny pot arrived. To my pot companion if you’re reading this - I appreciate your kindness, and am glad you had the courage to speak up. I love meeting forum peeps!

I'm here! It was wonderful to meet you! Thank you for taking a few minutes to talk to us- it was an honor to ride Arty Pooh with you and Woody!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

We were hungry after LWTL and since there were food options right in front of us we checked out our options in Sunshine Seasons. We got our food immediately but the cashier lines were long. It didn’t help that we got stuck behind not one, but two families with the dining plan who had no idea how the plan works and got upset with the CM as she patiently explained what’s included in a quick service credit and the extra items on the trays needed to be paid for.

Ringing up our order was far quicker for those in line behind us!

Woody chose the Mongolian Beef.

Umm, Tuvalu, that’s Stir-Fried Chicken in Woody’s bowl.

Yeah, I know. I said Woody chose Mongolian Beef. He ate my Stir-Fried Chicken. There was too much zing in the chicken for Tu’s tastebuds.

The Mongolian Beef suited me better.

Woody loves cookies and I mentioned that I’d seen a chocolate hazelnut cookie in the bakery display case. I offered to get one, since he had already sacrificed his first lunch choice for me.

When I removed it from the display case, it looked less like a soft cookie (as it did from a distance) and more like a frosted brownie. I put it on a tray anyway and once again picked the wrong line in which to stand. After suffering through more dining plan confusion ahead of me, I got out of line the moment I noticed a register on the far end was empty.

This was definitely not a cookie. The bottom was an over-baked brownie. The frosting was whipped buttercream with a hint of Nutella.

Woody ate about half before deciding it wasn’t worth the extra calories. I gave my forkful a meh rating. Cookies, by nature, are supposed to be eaten by hand - am I right?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Wednesday, con’t

We were hungry after LWTL and since there were food options right in front of us we checked out our options in Sunshine Seasons. We got our food immediately but the cashier lines were long. It didn’t help that we got stuck behind not one, but two families with the dining plan who had no idea how the plan works and got upset with the CM as she patiently explained what’s included in a quick service credit and the extra items on the trays needed to be paid for.

Ringing up our order was far quicker for those in line behind us!

View attachment 883498

Woody chose the Mongolian Beef.

View attachment 883499

Umm, Tuvalu, that’s Stir-Fried Chicken in Woody’s bowl.

Yeah, I know. I said Woody chose Mongolian Beef. He ate my Stir-Fried Chicken. There was too much zing in the chicken for Tu’s tastebuds.

The Mongolian Beef suited me better.

View attachment 883500

Woody loves cookies and I mentioned that I’d seen a chocolate hazelnut cookie in the bakery display case. I offered to get one, since he had already sacrificed his first lunch choice for me.

When I removed it from the display case, it looked less like a soft cookie (as it did from a distance) and more like a frosted brownie. I put it on a tray anyway and once again picked the wrong line in which to stand. After suffering through more dining plan confusion ahead of me, I got out of line the moment I noticed a register on the far end was empty.

View attachment 883501

This was definitely not a cookie. The bottom was an over-baked brownie. The frosting was whipped buttercream with a hint of Nutella.

View attachment 883502

Woody ate about half before deciding it wasn’t worth the extra calories. I gave my forkful a meh rating. Cookies, by nature, are supposed to be eaten by hand - am I right?

I think we had the same meh chicken from the same place, with the same terrible ratio of chicken to rice. It was like rice, with a little bit of chicken as a condiment.

I would say you are copying me, because I posted first, but you went first! So I will say, “great minds…”

 

[Tuvalu]

I would say you are copying me, because I posted first, but you went first! So I will say, “great minds…”

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

As we were leaving The Land, I overheard a conversation between an exuberant mom and her young daughter. Being anywhere other than Epcot, it would have sounded ridiculous.

Mom: “We’re going to touch water!”
Little girl: “How?”
Mom: “You’ll see when we get there!”

A short car ride later Woody and I were back at WL. As much as he dislikes driving on vacay, I think he was glad not to have to wait for a bus on a hot afternoon.

We were able to enjoy some mid-afternoon pool time in not too crowded waters.

After showering, we meandered to the lounge to check out the appetizers. With more smoked turkey salad and bison lettuce wraps, we did not need to acquire dinner anywhere else. We did however need to get to MK before our next LL (#6) expired. I had fiddled around on the app earlier and managed to score three popular LL attractions that I was not about to give up!

“I always feel like somebody’s watching me!”

(Apology for the Rockwell ear worm!)

My favorite hitchhiking ghost is The Traveler, and I was thrilled when he appeared atop our doom buggy.

Clearly Woody had forgotten what I’d told him.

 

[93boomer]

Sunday, con’t

It was still raining - though not as hard - when we pulled under the porte cochère at WL. We unloaded our luggage and I waited for Woody’s return after he’d parked the car.

Then we lugged the baggage up to the room we’d been assigned. We entered to discover it was a disability room. The king bed was so low to the ground that there was no storage underneath. The sinks were not outside the bathroom per usual - a single sink, toilet and tub shower with curtain (not door) were together in one room. The closet was half its usual size. And there was a connecting door to an adjoining room.

No, this would not do - especially for a week.

We did not touch anything and essentially backed out of the room with all our stuff. We hauled everything to the club lounge and Woody waited with it while I went to speak with the club concierge.

“We were given a disability access room which we did not request,” I told her. “Would it be possible for us to have another room?”

“Oh absolutely!” she replied. “We want you to be happy.” She began typing on her keyboard.

“I have you switched over to another room, but it’s not ready yet.” (Of course it’s not, I thought to myself.) “You’ll get a text when it is and you can go straight there,” she added.

I walked my cold, wet self over to Woody. “Good news, we have a new room. Bad news, it’s not ready.” So both of us drowned rats sat in the corner of the lounge with all our possessions - for another HOUR! We were just about dry when the room text came.

Was it worth the wait?

Oh my, yes!!

View attachment 882497

We unpacked and settled in and finally took showers. Woody watched a little racing and I read until Happy Hour began at 5 pm.

View attachment 882498

We nibbled on some cheese and crackers with our wine before taking the bus to Epcot. I was dismayed to find that the WL/Ft. Wilderness stop had been moved to a different gate much further from the park entrance.

View attachment 882499

View attachment 882500

At least it wasn’t raining!

View attachment 882501

I’m behind- sorry!!
We got a disability room one time too. I had to get it changed. I don’t need one and feel bad if someone really needs it and give it us.
New room much better! Love the view.