Trip Report A New Hope, A New Day *COMPLETED*

That’s not a Star Wars reference.

Longtime readers of my trip reports know Star Wars isn’t my thing (although I immensely enjoy Rise of the Resistance.)

Fireworks are my thing. 💥 Like a moth to a flame, I am instinctively drawn to bursts of brilliant sparkles and colors in the sky. Just ask my family how quickly I’ve stopped whatever I’m doing to find the source of nighttime booms! I have serious fireworks FOMO.

Disney fireworks....especially Magic Kingdom fireworks....always flood me with nostalgia, happy memories and hope. After a long pandemic year, I know I am not alone in my yearning for hope of better days ahead.

Every step we take
Brings a new hope
A new day


The return of Disney fireworks, for me, is a sign that things are improving. Hooray!!

But there won’t be any pyro on my upcoming trip. And that’s ok. This vacation was booked with the assumption there would be no nighttime entertainment. (However when rumors began to suggest fireworks in July…..well let’s just say there might be another reservation in MDE for us.)

Who’s us?

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Mother/daughter travel buddies, Tuvalu and Em. We last visited together in early April. We were there the day the mask mandate was dropped for stationary pictures.

Today the mask mandate for all those vaccinated has been suspended and we couldn’t be happier! We won’t have to be shrouded in a daft disguise again this summer! 😉

I am not planning to do a full live report but may post a daily update. I’ll fill in the details when our vacation is over.

T-minus 3 days.
June 19 - 26, 2021
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge


Will any other Magicians make an appearance? Stay tuned.
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 21-28, 2021 ~ Highlights

For the past few years Woody and I have taken a late August getaway to the World. It’s our “last hurrah” to summer and always seems to occur during or after a period of high stress, which makes the vacation sweeter.

We stayed at one of his favorite resorts.

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Our room was on the 3rd floor of the building on the far right (Sago Cay.) In the photo above, a palm tree🌴 (@Darstarr ) blocks our balcony. In real life, there was nothing blocking our fabulous view!

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It was a surprise upgrade and my first comment to Woody was, “I am never leaving this room!” The interior of our room was also a bit different from other GF rooms we have stayed in.

The ceiling fixture was a crystal chandelier. The room colors, wall art, carpet and drapes were not the same.

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There was a fancy oversized mirror in the sink area.

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(Hello, castle!)

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I did not recall reading about a room refresh. It wasn’t until I noticed the connecting door to the suite next door that I surmised our room could be used to expand the suite, and thus was similarly decorated.

Sago Cay has several suites. Our room was directly above the Coral Suite where @Matt and Kelly spent a night. I know this from the lanai.

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One night Woody and I were on our balcony waiting for Happily Ever After to begin. As the fireworks started, a commotion began below us. A group of non-English speaking Asians appeared on the lanai, a few holding balloons and flowers. Suddenly a young couple stepped out onto the patio and the man dropped to one knee and proposed. Cheers erupted from others out on their balconies. A couple pictures were taken and the entire group disappeared….RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF HEA!!

It was the oddest thing. Why not stay until after the finale? Had they only rented the Coral Suite lanai for 15 minutes?

The world will never know. 🤣
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Back in June I had experienced my first-ever ride stop above the ballroom in Haunted Mansion. I was ecstatic since my doombuggy typically stops in a place with no view.

I was complaining about this again to Woody when he and I were stuck for ten minutes (yes, I timed it 😉) here in front of the wandering-eyes owl wallpaper.

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I consoled myself with the thought that we might get evacuated, which would be even cooler than stopping above the ballroom (amiright, @tonystark?!!)

Well an evac didn’t happen and we started moving again.

BUT…..

Our doombuggy came to a halt for the second time, right above the ballroom! For three whole minutes!

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In case you’re wondering how many different ghosts come out of the hearse in this scene, I can confirm the number is SIX. :happy:

But wait, there’s more….

Five days later, on my gazillionth trip through the Mansion, my doombuggy stopped AGAIN above the ballroom.

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For nearly 50 years, my doombuggy never stopped above the ballroom. This summer I got to experience it 3 times!!!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Did it rain that week?

Dear reader, this is a Tuvalu trip report.

OF COURSE THERE WAS RAIN!!!

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This ^^ was the drowned-rat selfie I sent to Em. It was our arrival night. Woody and I had exited Haunted Mansion into a thunderstorm. (There was no chance of rain and Woody and I had left our umbrellas in the room.) CMs won’t let guests linger under cover so we ran to Small World, splashing in deep puddles along the way.

Both of us were wearing athletic shoes with memory foam.

Walking on wet memory foam is like walking on a wet sponge. With both feet soaked, TWO wet sponges! :in pain:

We rode IASW hoping the rain would end by the time we disembarked. It didn’t. It was still pouring.

Fortunately IASW CMs were allowing guests to remain under cover at the exit. Woody and I waited there a LONG time….until we realized the rain would not be stopping any time soon. We trudged in the elements to the monorail station.

Back in our room we changed into dry clothes and sat on the balcony to watch HEA. Due to the rain we were unable to hear the soundtrack coming from the MK.

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It would not rain again until two nights later, when a violent storm raged for several hours. Thankfully Woody and I did not get caught in it. We had dinner in our room while watching huge lightning bolts dart across the sky. It rained so hard that the Contemporary disappeared from view!

There was no HEA that night.

I kept thinking about the poor folks who had paid to attend that night’s Boo Bash ~ a co-worker of Woody’s and our own @Weather_Lady. (You can read about her family’s “unique” experience in her TR.)
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
There was more rain later in the week which caused us to adjust our plans. But Woody and I were happy just to be on vacation and we took the changes in stride.

While I didn’t get as much pool time as when I was with Em, there were a couple opportunities for extended relaxation.

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One of many noticeable cost-cutting measures was the lack of fresh flowers in the lobby of each building.

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The least they should have done was remove the vase!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Boma was the first buffet to reopen in the pandemic, a few days before our arrival. I secured a dinner ADR before we left home, but the restaurant was only 1/3 full when we dined there. Our server gave us a lot of attention and even created a special (non-alcoholic) beverage for me. The chicken corn chowder….always a favorite….was superb and the bbq ribs were fantastic. Those were the stand-outs for me, but everything we had was very good and there were plenty of options.

I did not take any pictures. Bad Tuvalu!

Columbia Harbor House had also recently reopened. We grabbed our chicken tenders and fries and plopped ourselves down at a table with a primo view.

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HIGHLY recommend the dessert we shared. A Minnie lava cookie. :hungry:

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But I think Woody preferred his No Way José (back in a goblet!) at Beaches and Cream.

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We also did something we had never done before.

We ate dinner in the same table service restaurant TWICE ~ first on arrival night and then on our last night.

Although technically it wasn’t the same restaurant though the meal was exactly the same.

#1 was at Liberty Tree Tavern. #2 was at Diamond Horseshoe.

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Our server at dinner #2 told us that many guests were unhappy being seated in The Diamond Horseshoe when they had booked Liberty Tree Tavern. (We didn’t mind and liked the change.) He said that DH would soon be a bookable restaurant on its own though the LTT food would remain.

So if you want LTT’s Patriot’s Platter but cannot get an ADR, you might have success booking DH!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
The meal we enjoyed the most was breakfast from The Wave…..served at the California Grill!

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as the experience was only available for a few weeks. We couldn’t resist prime daytime views at a signature restaurant for less than $20/person, tax and tip included!

Our table was next to a window.

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The food was delish, and I was able to have the yummy cheddar bacon grits that I’d previously had with a dinner entrée at The Wave.

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Woody and I went out on the observation deck after dining.

Hello, Wilderness Lodge! (I zoomed in to try to locate the room Em and I had in July.)

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93boomer

Premium Member
The meal we enjoyed the most was breakfast from The Wave…..served at the California Grill!

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as the experience was only available for a few weeks. We couldn’t resist prime daytime views at a signature restaurant for less than $20/person, tax and tip included!

Our table was next to a window.

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The food was delish, and I was able to have the yummy cheddar bacon grits that I’d previously had with a dinner entrée at The Wave.

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Woody and I went out on the observation deck after dining.

Hello, Wilderness Lodge! (I zoomed in to try to locate the room Em and I had in July.)

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Those views are incredible!!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Those views are incredible!!

Your breakfast view is fantastic! I love the photo.
Time of day really made a difference. With the morning sun rising in the east (behind the Contemporary) colors in the MK and Seven Seas Lagoon became brilliant, truly beautiful. I remarked about this several times to Woody over breakfast.

The sun sets behind the GF, which can be lovely when having dinner at California Grill if timed right. However for seatings between 5-7 pm in summer, the window coverings are usually drawn because the sun rays are blinding!
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Our doombuggy came to a halt for the second time, right above the ballroom! For three whole minutes!

In case you’re wondering how many different ghosts come out of the hearse in this scene, I can confirm the number is SIX. :happy:

But wait, there’s more….

Five days later, on my gazillionth trip through the Mansion, my doombuggy stopped AGAIN above the ballroom.
Zowee!! Even when you get stuck a few times on an attraction, you still manage to get Shirley status!!! :joyfull:
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
We saw fireworks every night except the Boo Bash night of storms, when HEA was canceled. Epcot Forever turned out to be a pleasant surprise ~ with the removal of the flying kites and addition of more pyro, it was a fireworks extravaganza for this gal! We caught HEA from the TTC after leaving Epcot on another night (we waited to board the resort monorail) ~ it’s still the best castle-centric viewing location outside the park.

Still nothing could beat the four nights sitting on our balcony witnessing my favorite fireworks show. ❤️

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
A real treat during our August vacation wasn’t seeing the train station illumined for Halloween (though it was kinda cool).

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Rather it was getting to see a few Magical friends!

It was great to catch up with @bee and M. Can anyone tell where we are?

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I can never spend enough time with one of my dearest Magicians, @Tony the Tigger (and B). He’s the recipient of the first Tuvalu card. Our initial hello was back in 2016, though I’m not sure how much he remembers about it. ;)😁

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Lastly I was fortunate to spend another chick-chatty day with my bestie Kel.

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However if I could have only one person with which to spend the week it would be this guy.

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We’ve been doing Disney together for 40 years. ❤️
 

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