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

 

[ferbtones]

Love reading your trip reports. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hope this crazy situation goes away soon and we get to enjoy another report from you.

Just read on the news here in the U.K that there are currently 18 countries around the world with no cases of Covid 19.

One of them is Tuvalu. For real. May their Shirley status long continue.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Thank you so much for sharing and keeping us occupied. Until next time......

 

[Tink86]

Thank you for sharing!!!! You do great trip reports!! Cindy

 

[Rista1313]

I wonder....were there bouquets in the men’s room in the Pop lobby as well? I have yet to crack the code on which restrooms get adorned with flowers (and why.)

That's a good question... all I know is that POP ladies restroom always seems to have them.

When we returned to the security area the wait times had TRIPLED.

I'm very surprised you guys don't have TSA pre-check.

Thank you as always for your great TR's... this world needs to get back to normal, so we can get back to normal!

 

[surfsupdon]

We will all get there again!

 

[Tuvalu]

Aww your ending just made me tear up! Now more than ever are we thankful for special moments with our friends and family!!

Kel's birthday was yesterday. Her gift was a link to this TR. She loved it.

This was such a wonderful TR!!! You all did so much with the days that you had and it was so obvious what a great time you had with your friend! I'm glad your trip home was uneventful this time. I'm sorry your April trip got cancelled as did so many of our trips this Spring. Do you have another planned for the Fall?

When we got home, Em and I decided it was our favorite trip of the year.
She and I have two trips planned for summer.....keeping our fingers crossed while holding our hands open at the same time.
No trips planned for fall.

I am hoping your wait to return won't be too long! I am sure Poly & Kona are happy to have you around for a while though!

Those kitties don't know how good they've got it! Especially Poly ~ she's a real diva!

Social Distancing keeps them apart, I would think, but we have facetime and skype!!!

Keeping up with Tuvalette and Tuvaleen via FaceTime has been a real blessing!

 

[Tuvalu]

I’m sure hoping you’ve got June/July/August trips lined up.

Yes/Yes/Yes
(But I'd settle for two out of three....who am I kidding, I'd settle for ONE out of three!)

Did I read earlier today that schools on Georgia are shut thru the end of this school year? How is Em taking it? It’s got to be hard for all you teachers out there, who suddenly find out they won’t have an opportunity to say goodbye to the class ☹

Yes the schools are shut for the remainder of the year. Em is supposed to pop in here with details on her situation.

Awww I am going to miss a Tuvalu TR for awhile. I may have withdrawals!

I've given you another week.

Man, I miss the gym....never thought I would say that
Until our triumphant return to the world...
Stay safe❤

I have never uttered those words.
We must make plans to meet this year/next year/2021. Surely we'll have overlapping dates sometime??
Congrats to your son for his All American status! I figured it was safe to congratulate him here, since the odds of him reading my TR are in negative numbers!

Thank you very much for sharing. As usual so much fun to follow along on your adventures.
Stay safe!

Thank you for reading again, Cindy!

 

[Tuvalu]

Some of us had to put our WDW plans on hold for now, I'm specially sad about having to cancel our May trip and that "specially" part, involves you. I have faith that better times are ahead, in the meantime, let's all stay safe.

I am especially sad too. I'd echo "stay safe" but I know you are!

Thanks for sharing! Hope you and your family are safe and doing well ❤

Thank you for . We are doing well and I hope the same is true for your family.

I guess it's going to be pretty slow here in the TR thread for a while....at least I should have more time to catch up on older ones I missed. But I'm so sad there won't be one from Tuvalu!

You might want to double-check this forum.....

 

[Tuvalu]

Loved your trip report, as always.
Hoping & praying the world returns to normal, or somewhat normal, again soon and we can all be enjoying Disney in the near future!
STAY SAFE!!

Thanks @MissViv.

As always, great TR. Again so sorry we didn’t meet up!

#BlameMrBES

We will all get there again!

YES WE WILL!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Just read on the news here in the U.K that there are currently 18 countries around the world with no cases of Covid 19.

One of them is Tuvalu. For real. May their Shirley status long continue.

This made my heart happy! Thanks for sharing.

Thank you so much for sharing and keeping us occupied. Until next time......

Thank you for sharing!!!! You do great trip reports!! Cindy

Thank you for following along, my friends!

I'm very surprised you guys don't have TSA pre-check.

Woody has it and when I travel with him I get it too.
Truthfully, Em and I don't feel like going through the hassle of applying since we don't fly that much.

 

[meggo819]

keeping our fingers crossed while holding our hands open at the same time.

Love this image/attitude!

 

[Katiekitten]

I’m following along!

 

[fractal]

Tuesday, con’t

The Frozen Sing-a-Long ended just in time for our lunch ADR.

View attachment 459422

After the terrible experience Woody and I had in August Here, I was reluctant to eat at Mama’s again so soon. In fact I was hoping I could persuade Em to ditch the ADR and lunch at PizzeRizzo instead. But she was really looking forward to a Mama’s margarita and requested we keep the reservation.

Jean, the Mama Melrose icon, checked us in.

View attachment 459423

Our name was called immediately and we were escorted to our table.

View attachment 459424

Shame on me for not noting our server’s name because he was TERRIFIC ~ very professional, maintained the proper pace for our meal and never allowed our water glasses to become dry. He was the polar opposite of server ASH from August.

Today’s rolls were warm, soft and doughy ~ just as they should be. Dipped in the peppered olive oil = SO YUM. Em and I each had two and we had to decline when our server asked to bring us more. (But only because we needed room for our entrées!)

View attachment 459425

Happy margarita gal!

View attachment 459426

Since this was our last Disney meal, we decided to go all out and order the Charred NY Strip with Four Cheese and Pancetta Mac.

View attachment 459428

Did we share?

That would be a big fat NOPE!

View attachment 459427
The stuff dreams are made of! (I hope to see a similar picture in your TR @LisaBelle!)

This meal was 100x better than my last MM experience. I was so glad I’d been unable to sway Em to PizzeRizzo!

Glad the meal was better! I have yet to eat there.

Love the sweatshirts!

 

[fractal]

Final Hours of Our Last Day

The inevitable moment had come. Em and I needed to head back to Pop to catch the Tragical. We knew the timing of our Slinky Dog FP was going to make our travel window tight, but we did not want to sacrifice this most-prized FP! Thankfully our journey on the Skyliner was swift and uneventful. We had ample time to retrieve our bags from Bell Services and make a comfort stop ~ where I discovered the only restroom flowers of our trip, @Swissmiss!

View attachment 460370

I wonder....were there bouquets in the men’s room in the Pop lobby as well? I have yet to crack the code on which restrooms get adorned with flowers (and why.)

We sat outside and took in a few last rays of the Florida sun before our motorcoach arrived.

View attachment 460371

Pop must have been the first pick-up as we boarded an empty bus. The bus then picked up at Boardwalk and Rivieria before continuing to the airport. We arrived nearly three hours before our flight’s departure. Em checked the TSA wait time sign which posted 15-20 minutes, so we went to the food court for a snack.

Two small Carvelanches, one with M&Ms and the other with cookie crumbles. They were delish!

View attachment 460381

When we returned to the security area the wait times had TRIPLED. It took us just over an hour to be screened and arrive at the gate. Our flight had already begun boarding. As I posted at the beginning of this report, I sat in the same “windowless” window seat as I did on the way down.

View attachment 460425

At least there was no turbulence and we received beverage service. After landing we waited a very long time for Uber Woody, who was stuck in rainy rush hour traffic. We tipped him anyway!

Most of my reports conclude with the typical “vacation’s over” pouty face pic. This one is no exception.

View attachment 460372

At the time we consoled ourselves with the thought we’d be back in only 60 days....after all, I’d booked our Fastpasses that very morning! But now, instead of returning the day after tomorrow like we thought, we’re left wondering (as so many are) when our next trip will be.

And we can’t wait.

Though Em and I agreed it will be hard to top this one, with a friend like her.

Don't ever remember seeing flowers in a men's room. Sometimes a guy handing out mints, cigarettes and cologne for a tip.

Thanks for another great report @Tuvalu ! I'm way behind on my Trip Report reading.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Did I read earlier today that schools on Georgia are shut thru the end of this school year? How is Em taking it? It’s got to be hard for all you teachers out there, who suddenly find out they won’t have an opportunity to say goodbye to the class ☹

Yes, yet we are now currently on spring break so no online learning this week. I am sad for my fifth graders who will not get the opportunity to celebrate with one another before heading on to middle school. I’m sure we’ll come up with a unique way of celebrating, but it’s just not the same. The end of the year is always filled with fun- field day, field trip, science day, and the celebration picnic at the park are no more It feels surreal at the moment, but is becoming more and more real as time passes.

 

[Songbird76]

Yes, yet we are now currently on spring break so no online learning this week. I am sad for my fifth graders who will not get the opportunity to celebrate with one another before heading on to middle school. I’m sure we’ll come up with a unique way of celebrating, but it’s just not the same. The end of the year is always filled with fun- field day, field trip, science day, and the celebration picnic at the park are no more It feels surreal at the moment, but is becoming more and more real as time passes.

Is that what you teach? 5th grade? How sad not to get to do all the fun stuff with them that you usually do! My daughter's class was supposed to go to London on March 16th and it was canceled just a few days before, when Corona was just getting started. So much is getting canceled. I would have been THRILLED that Track and field day was canceled back when I was in school, though. That would have felt like Christmas to me. I HATED track and field day. But in combination with all the other cancelations, it's sad that the kids don't get that time together and the teachers don't get that experience with this year's students.

 

[Tuvalu]

Don't ever remember seeing flowers in a men's room. Sometimes a guy handing out mints, cigarettes and cologne for a tip.

Women get flowers, Men get “stuff.”
Sounds about right.

 

[Big Hair]

woke up in the truck too many hours early so why not catch up on a few trip reports. Well done as usual.

 

[Tuvalu]

Is that what you teach? 5th grade? How sad not to get to do all the fun stuff with them that you usually do! My daughter's class was supposed to go to London on March 16th and it was canceled just a few days before, when Corona was just getting started. So much is getting canceled. I would have been THRILLED that Track and field day was canceled back when I was in school, though. That would have felt like Christmas to me. I HATED track and field day. But in combination with all the other cancelations, it's sad that the kids don't get that time together and the teachers don't get that experience with this year's students.

On behalf of Em: Yes, she teaches 5th grade and accelerated math. The teachers are brainstorming ways to make the end-of-the-year memorable for the students moving on to middle school (middle school begins in 6th grade here) using virtual and/or social distancing methods.

woke up in the truck too many hours early so why not catch up on a few trip reports. Well done as usual.

Appreciate your kind words, @Big Hair

 

[Tuvalu]

I was excited to see the all the words to A Friend Like Me (sung by James Monroe Iglehart).....on last night's Disney Family Singalong.