Trip Report Running from the rain: A two Goofs TR.*COMPLETE*

Hello again my friends and fellow magicians. It’s me Loco, here with another TR from February 2020. Lets get you filled in on some trip details, shall we?

Who: Myself and my much better half, my wife A.
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Bonus points to anyone who can tell me where this very old picture was taken.

Where: Old key west resort studio, located somewhere near Tampa I believe. More on that later.

When: February 19-22, princess half weekend. We were not participating in any of those events though!

Why: A was free for a few days, I was free for a few days, why not?

Just a bit of background.

Things at home have been very stressful for us for the last month or so. Things at my job are changing quickly, and not necessarily for the better(this seems to be an issue with many people recently). Needless to say I’ve been in dire need of a getaway.

The weather in our neck of the woods has also really been crummy lately. It hasn’t been overly cold, but it just won’t stop raining! It has rained nearly every day since about mid January, with the exception of one brilliant weekend of super bowl Sunday. We were ever hopeful we’d be able to catch some Florida sunshine!

We originally had pop century booked for this trip. However, after joining DVC last December, and after many attempts, I was able to get a relatively last minute reservation at OKW using our points instead. Neither of us had ever stayed here, and were interested to see how we’d like it.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Let’s get started for real.

February 19, travel day.

We had a 6 am flight out of Dallas love field. We have friends who live about a half hour from the airport that we usually go and visit the night before we fly out. Luckily one of them was also flying out of love at 6 am for work, and the other volunteered to drop us all off at the airport this morning so we all loaded up in his car at 4 am and headed out. We arrived at the airport and checked our luggage at curbside by 430. Just as we were about to get in line for security I realized I’d left by backpack in the car! Luckily my friend hadn’t even left airport property yet, and he looped back around to drop it off. Crisis averted, we bid our friend goodbye(she had pre check) and got in a relatively short security line.

Things were moving along nicely and soon we were near the front of the line. This is where things went south. The line just quit moving, we figured it was because the screening area was getting a bit crowded, no biggie, they’ll start letting people through in a few minutes. Or not. We waited what seemed like an eternity before they finally started taking more people in. The lady letting people through mentioned that there were a lot of new agents working today.

Guess who got the ole airport full body pat down? THIS GUY! But wait, they weren’t done with me yet! Guess who’s baggage got pulled for additional screening? Yep, me again! Finally after our security fiasco out of the way, we booked it up to the terminal. Normally we have a bit of time to grab breakfast at whataburger and sit down for a few minutes. Not today, we got a few biscuits to go and rushed to our gate, as it was nearly boarding time. We did have time to scarf down our breakfast before they started boarding. We were in the A group, and scored the emergency exit aisle! Yay legroom! Also, the flight had lots of empty seats, and we had the whole row to ourselves! Things were finally looking up!

Our flight took off a few minutes early, and a few hours later we were in sunny warm central Florida! We had a nice conversation on the fonorail with a woman who was in town to run the races, she’d also done the dopey challenge during marathon weekend! We wished her good luck, and made our way to DME.

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We walked right to a kiosk and got checked in quickly. The bus was there waiting for us. We boarded, and after a brief wait, we were on our way to the bubble. Continuing our good luck, OKW was the first stop, and our bags were the first ones unloaded! We dropped our carryons off with bell services and hopped on a DHS bus.

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There was no line at bag check, and it seemed pretty quiet outside the gates too. Looks can be quite deceiving though! The park was an absolute madhouse! Wait times for nearly every attraction were in the triple digits! We were feeling hungry so we mobile ordered from woodys lunchbox, and headed for toy story land.
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The green army men entertained us while we waited on our order.

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We shared the totchos. Not much effort was made into the appearance of them, but they were still fairly tasty, and much needed! We tried wandering the park for a bit, but it was just unbearably crowded. Even one mans dream was absolutely packed. We finally decided to just head out, and hop on the skyliner. We got off at CBR and decided to walk the resort for a bit, just enjoying the sunshine and each other’s company. We eventually ended up at riviera, and were interested to take a look at the new resort.

The tile murals were a definite highlight.
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Overall we were pretty impressed with riviera. It definitely has a more deluxe feel than the other DVC only resorts. It also has a nice compact layout. The main pool leaves a little to be desired, but is still pretty nice. I should also mention that every CM we came across here made sure to say hi, and were just phenomenal! I know this should be the norm everywhere, but it often times isn’t. We’re looking forward to staying here someday.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Normally we have a bit of time to grab breakfast at whataburger and sit down for a few minutes. Not today, we got a few biscuits to go and rushed to our gate, as it was nearly boarding time.
Whataburger! 😍😋 I have to get a honey butter chicken biscuit anytime I’m in TX for work or visiting family in the FL panhandle!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Whataburger! 😍😋 I have to get a honey butter chicken biscuit anytime I’m in TX for work or visiting family in the FL panhandle!
I have to admit, I’m not the biggest fan of their burgers(I may lose my Texan card over that), but their breakfast is outstanding! I wish it were served all day! They start serving it at 11 pm every night but stop at 1030 every morning.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
February 19 continued.

Our self guided tour of the Riviera resort complete, we hopped aboard the skyliner to Epcot.

Crowds at Epcot felt much more manageable than at the studios. It was also getting really warm at this point, and the sun was bearing down pretty hard. We set out to grab a drink somewhere in world showcase. As we were crossing the bridge towards France, A suddenly exclaimed “we should just head to the DVC lounge at imagination for free drinks!” Never one to turn down “free” stuff, I agreed to head that way.

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There were signs of F&G prep throughout the park.

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Figment had the longest posted wait time in the park, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before! We declined a ride this time, instead heading straight to the lounge.

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It was nice to get off of our feet for a while. The early morning and traveling was starting to catch up with us.

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A had a much needed coffee, and we relaxed for nearly an hour. Sometimes you don’t realize how tired you are until you stop moving.

We did eventually find the will to get up. We had FPs back at DHS, so we left Epcot for another ride on the skyliner. We tapped back in and were pleasantly surprised to see a less crowded park.
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Less crowded does not mean that it wasn’t still crowded! Side note: I’m glad they got rid of that ridiculous Star Wars stage show a few days after this. Not only was the show terrible, but it really impeded crowd flow in that area, and the ugly stage blocked the view of the Chinese theater.

Our first FP was for Toy Story Mania, so back to TSL we went. We stopped to check out the new marquee for Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railway on our way.

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It looks great! Really looking forward to this attraction!

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We’d been on property for over 6 hours, and had yet to do a single attraction! Finally it was time to change that! We both struggled on this ride, likely from being exhausted.
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I managed to squeak by for an embarrassing victory. A would have her revenge the next day though!
 

Ears to Disney

Well-Known Member
Here for the fun!!!

Things at home have been very stressful for us for the last month or so. Things at my job are changing quickly, and not necessarily for the better(this seems to be an issue with many people recently). Needless to say I’ve been in dire need of a getaway.

This seems to be a common trend unfortunately! I am in the same position. Hope things get better for you soon!

We originally had pop century booked for this trip. However, after joining DVC last December, and after many attempts, I was able to get a relatively last minute reservation at OKW using our points instead. Neither of us had ever stayed here, and were interested to see how we’d like it.

YES! We love OKW and are looking forward to staying again in September!
 
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Ears to Disney

Well-Known Member
“we should just head to the DVC lounge at imagination for free drinks!” Never one to turn down “free” stuff, I agreed to head that way.

DVC Lounge is the best relaxation spot...even though the chairs are so uncomfortable, we always find a way to feel how tired we are once we sit down up there.

Side note: I’m glad they got rid of that ridiculous Star Wars stage show a few days after this. Not only was the show terrible, but it really impeded crowd flow in that area, and the ugly stage blocked the view of the Chinese theater.

We love Star Wars and were never really a fan of this show. It just didn't have any great plot to it. It was just parading the characters around.

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It looks great! Really looking forward to this attraction!

Cannot wait for this! Getting very excited!
 

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