Trip Report A Friend Like Her *COMPLETED*

“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
~ Forrest Gump

Ah, February. The month of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. The month of romance and love. The month of someone’s Valentine birthday.

The month of the crappiest weather in 95 percent of the country. Including Florida.

The month in which another mother/daughter jaunt to WDW brought unexpected surprises.....some great, some not-so-great....much like biting into a piece of boxed chocolate.

Much like life itself.

I’d LOVE to have you follow along on our long-weekend adventure.

Who: Tuvalu and Em (with special appearances by a dear friend)
When: January 31 - February 4, 2020
Where: Disney’s Pop Century Resort

 

[Disney Loving Swede]

I understand CMs have to endure a lot of complaints, but one should always be pleasant. Always. And extremely late housekeeping service is unacceptable no matter which level of resort.

This times 100. Plus didn't she know who she was dealing with ...like the bus service housekeeping can be so hit or miss.

 

[Tuvalu]

Super Bowl Sunday, con’t

I joked earlier about the crowd level at Epcot.....people not staying away in order to prepare SB parties....well those same people must have left to attend parties (or at least watch the game) because tonight Epcot was almost a ghost town. At dinner Em had said it would be okay if we couldn’t find seats for the Disney on Broadway concert, we could just stand in back and listen. Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the America Gardens Theater 5 minutes before showtime and found a bench only a few rows back from the stage!

Performing were husband and wife Kevin Massey....

....and Kara Lindsay.

This talented duo sang songs from High School Musical, Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Newsies.

Kevin had a core base of “Fansies” (aka Newsies groupies) sitting in the row in front of us. These girls got SO INTO IT ~ singing (knew every word) dancing and generally swooning over Kevin.

The girl pictured below (yellow “Pigment...” jersey) was the most enthusiastic, even pounding her fists to invisible drums.

Em and I were undecided on which show we enjoyed watching most ~ Kevin and Kara or the Fansies.

 

[Tuvalu]

After we left the theater we used the USA restrooms then went to find a spot to watch Epcot Forever. There was PLENTY of availability around the lagoon and we opted to stand on the bridge between France and the IG. In another “How weird is that?” coincidence, the couple we’d shared two Skyliner cabins with earlier today stood right beside us!

Em and I split a yummy chocolate chunk cookie from Les Halles as we waited for the show to begin. I was excited to finally see Epcot Forever (I’d wanted to on my trips in Nov. & Dec. but neither worked out) because of the nostalgia and retro attraction songs woven into the show. We’d made many family memories at Epcot in the 90s (it was my oldest son’s favorite park) and I was prepared to cry in a flood of sentimentality.

I didn’t cry. But if I had, it would have been because the show was awful. While the kites were neat, the fireworks were underwhelming. The soundtrack did not tug at my heartstrings because children’s voices had replaced the original artists in the retro songs. And don’t get me started on the use of “A Whole New World” for the finale.

Epcot Forever is a one and done for us!

The park now closed, we headed for the Skyliner. Light crowds made for a quick walk and boarding process!

Less than 30 minutes later, Em and I were back in our room getting ready for bed and some much needed sleep!

 

[I'mwatchinguWizowski]

Y’all are an adorable mother daughter combo! I have boys but hope I can still have such awesome trips with them later in life!
I’ll be on the lookout over Easter for you guys! We will be there too!

 

[amjt660]

Ok so Em is pointing the way, Kel is rowing , but what the heck is Tu doing?

Praying for guidance? ( or that no icebergs are nearby?)

Max

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

I love that you’re a frou frou coffee person!

This makes my heart happy!

In my case this was a “lesser MouseGear”.

I would feel the same way if I saw this MouseGear. Depressing. Usually, I Can always find something unique in MouseGear. Not for awhile, I suppose.

We visited the restrooms in Norway next. I happened to look up and saw these mini snow monsters on the side of the building.

ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!! I was unaware their name is officially "Snow monsters!"

We sat and chick chatted for well over an hour. Em could have had a second margarita, but she said the first was pretty strong.

I'm going to have to have one of these margaritas, finally!

Most of the special photo ops had long lines, but I insisted we wait for Crossing
the Delaware.

Pretty sure you take this picture every year....

The doors couldn’t open fast enough for me. Kel and Em had been giving me sympathetic glances throughout the duration of the Least Magical Ride On Earth. The three of us separated ourselves ASAP from the clueless seniors.

So sorry about your tough ride. I tend to get a bit cloustrophobic, too. Especially if someone is THATCLOSE. Obviously, they can see. HAVE YOU NO DECENCY, SIR?

This particular manager was not overly friendly nor empathetic. I understand CMs have to endure a lot of complaints, but one should always be pleasant. Always. And extremely late housekeeping service is unacceptable no matter which level of resort.

Agreed, CM managers deal with TONS of grumpy people but if you're in the Happily Ever After biz, you've GOT to respect the guests and understand/sympathize with what they are saying. At least you got a little credit.

Chick Chatting in Epcot sounds GRAND. That's part of the joy of catching up with old friends!

 

[MinnieM123]

Ok so Em is pointing the way, Kel is rowing , but what the heck is Tu doing?

Praying for guidance? ( or that no icebergs are nearby?)

View attachment 453751

Max

I don't know why, but I just had a TV flashback to the "crew" of McHale's Navy, when I saw this photo!

 

[Darstarr]

Ok so Em is pointing the way, Kel is rowing , but what the heck is Tu doing?

Praying for guidance? ( or that no icebergs are nearby?)

View attachment 453751

Max

She’s “nailing it”.
#formersupermodel always knows where the camera is!

 

[lindawdw]

That was an incredibly long day at the parks but you must have felt so accomplished! I loved hearing about Kel's reaction to all the attractions that she'd never been on before and being an AP it certainly was amazing that she didn't know about some of them!!! I didn't know that you could bring your food from the CS at Mexico into the La Hacienda restaurant at lunch! We opted to not get the housekeeping at Pop in December so that we could use the credit for snacks. It really is unacceptable that your room was still not cleaned by that time and I think the manager should have handled the situation better. I really enjoy your TR's with Em and am so excited that you're returning in April together! We've been there Easter Week and it's a madhouse but as long as you prepare yourself for the crowds, you'll still have fun together! Are you back at your favorite WL for that trip?

 

[need2go2wdw]

February 2, 2020 ~ Super Bowl Sunday

I mention that it was Super Bowl Sunday only for commenting on park crowds. I don’t watch football and only pay attention to the commercials during a Super Bowl broadcast. Happily I can now just Google the SB commercials and watch them at my leisure.

Our day did not begin leisurely. How could it when we were on a mission to score a RotR Boarding Group?!! I was awake before 5 am and Em woke shortly thereafter. Unfortunately it was the morning she discovered the downside of sleeping in the Murphy bed.

The wood partition on either side of the bed rendered it difficult to use the nightstands. Em had to awkwardly “reach around” this partition whenever she was in a reclining position. It was hard to grab her glasses, phone and pill case....

View attachment 453290

....which she had neglected to close tightly the night before. An accidental bump caused the case to hit the floor and a few pills went scurrying. The lighting level in our room was low (remember it was only 5 am) because we didn’t want to be blinded by the light in our sleepiness. Em got out of bed and saw a couple pills; then she did an “arm sweep” under the bed to find the last missing pill.

She thought she’d found it and her cry of “Yes!” suddenly turned to disgust.

“That’s not a pill, that’s a Cheerio!”

We had brought no Cheerios into our room.

Em burst into laughter which caused me to do the same. Then I hushed her so we would not disturb the guests on either side of us. It made us doubt whether the room had recently been swept. Many people believe non-carpeted hotel rooms are “cleaner” but I have found them to be the opposite.

She located the remaining pill and we both finished getting ready. No time for coffee.

We went down to the parking lot to wait for Uber Kelly.

View attachment 453281

Kel was a few minutes past our arranged meeting time (she’d overslept) but we managed to park and get through security by 6:35 am. K and E left me behind as they hurried toward the tapstiles.

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Kelly loves Tower of Terror and requested we make that our first attraction after the park opened. (She’d given us a private ride to DHS....who were we to say no? ) We made our way to Sunset Blvd. and waited anxiously for the RotR Boarding Group lottery to commence.

View attachment 453283

At 6:59 am the three of us pulled out our phones and breathlessly waited until 7:00 to open the app. (Full disclosure ~ Em and I were much more stressed this time, not because we had to experience RotR again, but because we wanted Kel to!)

For any of you who missed the “Sneak Peak” in my Christmas TR, this was what appeared on my phone.

View attachment 453284
I breathed a sigh of relief. Success!

I’ve not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the RotR lottery yet, but it’s hilarious how if you look behind you and your friend in the above picture, you can actually see most people are looking down at their phones!

 

[rshell68]

So happy to see some things aren't changing. I can be gone for a while and come back and there is always an awesome Tuvalu (and Em) trip report to read Thank you as always for sharing your trips with us!!

 

[Laurenciaa]

Ok so Em is pointing the way, Kel is rowing , but what the heck is Tu doing?

Praying for guidance? ( or that no icebergs are nearby?)

View attachment 453751

Max

Max, you are killin' me with your witty remarks

 

[Tuvalu]

Y’all are an adorable mother daughter combo! I have boys but hope I can still have such awesome trips with them later in life!
I’ll be on the lookout over Easter for you guys! We will be there too!

I had two awesome mother/son trips. And on family vacations, each child had “special time with mom” where they got to pick the park and the rides we went on. Wonderful memories!
If you see us, please say hi.

Ok so Em is pointing the way, Kel is rowing , but what the heck is Tu doing?

Praying for guidance? ( or that no icebergs are nearby?)

View attachment 453751

Max

Tu was deciding how to pose/what to do with her hands when the photographer yelled, “Done!”
She took ONE picture.
Not my finest work, despite @Darstarr ‘s kind compliment.

 

[Tuvalu]

NOO!!! I love the canopy's! They are just pure nostalgia! I knew it would happen but I still dreaded the day!

I liked the canopies for the relief they provided from the direct sun.

She has seasonal pass you say - to what? SeaWorld???

Max

Right?!!!

Oh you nailed it for sure! Excellent job of maneuvering around the little girls raised hands to make sure you were captured in all of your glory!

Thanks, @Loco_driver (and Max!)

Oh my I feel your pain! We got stuck with a senior couple that would not hush. She had to tell us all about her illness and surgery she was going to Atl to have the next week. We dashed off at the next stop and low and behold if they didn’t follow us to that one too!

There IS such a thing as TMI!

 

[Tuvalu]

I’ve not yet had the pleasure of experiencing the RotR lottery yet, but it’s hilarious how if you look behind you and your friend in the above picture, you can actually see most people are looking down at their phones!

Sadly most people in the parks at all hours are looking down at their phones.

We've been there Easter Week and it's a madhouse but as long as you prepare yourself for the crowds, you'll still have fun together! Are you back at your favorite WL for that trip?

Oh, this won’t be our first Easter week rodeo. But hopefully we’ll be able to relax by our favorite pool.

So happy to see some things aren't changing. I can be gone for a while and come back and there is always an awesome Tuvalu (and Em) trip report to read Thank you as always for sharing your trips with us!!

So nice to see you back again, @rshell68!

 

[Nunu]

I love that your friend Kel got to experience many "firsts" at WDW with you and Em. New memories were made, together. Kel's enthusiasm shines through her big smiles!

On a Disney trip with one of my sisters, she wouldn't follow CM's instructions, wanted to touch things like Arribas crystal pieces that had "do not touch" signs. The Venetian masks at the Italy Pavillion? Yep, those too! I felt bad "scolding" her . Thing is, she didn't realize what she was doing at the time. She was just too excited and over stimulated! Needless to say, it was quite an experience, since I'm the complete opposite. Oh, and don't even get me started about my dad at WDW...

About tie-dye: I used to not like it much, maybe because I associated it with the hippie era? ☮ Idk! Lately, tie-dye has been growing on me, I now own a few t-shirts, but wear them only while on vacation!

 

[need2go2wdw]

Sadly most people in the parks at all hours are looking down at their phones.


Oh, this won’t be our first Easter week rodeo. But hopefully we’ll be able to relax by our favorite pool.


So nice to see you back again, @rshell68!

Yes, this is very true. Smart phones have made things easier and more convenient but they have their negatives as well for sure!

 

[Tuvalu]

I love that your friend Kel got to experience many "firsts" at WDW with you and Em. New memories were made, together. Kel's enthusiasm shines through her big smiles!

On a Disney trip with one of my sisters, she wouldn't follow CM's instructions, wanted to touch things like Arribas crystal pieces that had "do not touch" signs. The Venetian masks at the Italy Pavillion? Yep, those too! I felt bad "scolding" her . Thing is, she didn't realize what she was doing at the time. She was just too excited and over stimulated! Needless to say, it was quite an experience, since I'm the complete opposite. Oh, and don't even get me started about my dad at WDW...

About tie-dye: I used to not like it much, maybe because I associated it with the hippie era? ☮ Idk! Lately, tie-dye has been growing on me, I now own a few t-shirts, but wear them only while on vacation!

I can see you in my mind’s eye wearing tie dye and you look adorable! It “suits” you.

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, February 3, 2020 ~ TDATSB

How many people visit the Magic Kingdom the day after the Super Bowl?

More than we possibly could have imagined. Now Em and I are no strangers to peak MK crowds ~ after all, we were just there on Christmas Eve and have suffered through many Easter weeks ~ but we never expected the masses on the first Monday in February. February! “Slow season.”

We’d never seen so many Kansas City Chiefs shirts! How come these fans (or 49ers fans) weren’t displaying their team spirit yesterday on Super Bowl Sunday??! Em commented last night how surprised she was that she’d seen hardly anyone sporting Super Bowl attire. Well apparently those shirts had been saved for today!

After a quick in-room breakfast we headed to the bus stop. It was chilly but beautiful blue sky surrounded us. Would we finally have a sunny MK day?

Due to the number of ECVs in the MK queue, we had an extended wait to board a bus and didn’t arrive at the park until after 9 am. So much for rope drop!

Sure, it doesn’t look busy now...

We stopped to listen to the Dapper Dans (donned in white gloves and scarfs ‘cause .)

We texted the next pic to Kel with a “Wish you were here!”

Note the woman (in white) behind me, next to the horse. She wanted her companion to take her picture beside the horse with the trolley in the background. But the horse was having none of that.

He voiced his displeasure loudly, the horse version of “GET AWAY FROM ME!!”

The women found it hysterical but it kinda frightened me!

Em and I were hoping to see the Trolley Singers, but they were nowhere in sight.

I took one last “crowd free” photo before Em and I walked through Cindy’s Castle to begin our fun.

 

[Dory71]

Monday, February 3, 2020 ~ TDATSB

How many people visit the Magic Kingdom the day after the Super Bowl?

More than we possibly could have imagined. Now Em and I are no strangers to peak MK crowds ~ after all, we were just there on Christmas Eve and have suffered through many Easter weeks ~ but we never expected the masses on the first Monday in February. February! “Slow season.”

We’d never seen so many Kansas City Chiefs shirts! How come these fans (or 49ers fans) weren’t displaying their team spirit yesterday on Super Bowl Sunday??! Em commented last night how surprised she was that she’d seen hardly anyone sporting Super Bowl attire. Well apparently those shirts had been saved for today!

After a quick in-room breakfast we headed to the bus stop. It was chilly but beautiful blue sky surrounded us. Would we finally have a sunny MK day?

Due to the number of ECVs in the MK queue, we had an extended wait to board a bus and didn’t arrive at the park until after 9 am. So much for rope drop!

View attachment 454046
Sure, it doesn’t look busy now...

We stopped to listen to the Dapper Dans (donned in white gloves and scarfs ‘cause .)

View attachment 454047

We texted the next pic to Kel with a “Wish you were here!”

View attachment 454048

Note the woman (in white) behind me, next to the horse. She wanted her companion to take her picture beside the horse with the trolley in the background. But the horse was having none of that.

He voiced his displeasure loudly, the horse version of “GET AWAY FROM ME!!”

View attachment 454051

View attachment 454050
The women found it hysterical but it kinda frightened me!

Em and I were hoping to see the Trolley Singers, but they were nowhere in sight.

View attachment 454049

I took one last “crowd free” photo before Em and I walked through Cindy’s Castle to begin our fun.

View attachment 454052

My guess for the crowds wearing jerseys on Monday vs Sunday would be they were at the game since it was in Miami and came to MK for the parade on Monday????