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?

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.

 

[Songbird76]

At first glance, I thought it was an Annie Oakley impersonator. Dress, long curly hair, sun hat, her purse reminded me of a gun stock and the way she’s grabbing the strap looked like someone holding a gun barrel over their shoulder. I guess Annie Oakley is fitting for Frontierland though lol.

Wait....so that's NOT a CM for the attraction? I thought the same thing. I didn't realize that was a purse she was holding. I thought she looked like she was going bear huntin'!

 

[Songbird76]

How nice to be able to see your brother!

What about Woovalu?

Ohhhhh...I spy Em reading a new book...what was it? This teacher has gotten through 9 books this summer so far....here's hoping I hit double-digits on the plane to WDW!

YES!!! I love all the free coffee the families gift us with! They are so generous to us!!

My mom says this ALL THE TIME. She is not a Disney person, however. We've learned to be flexible for our WDW Trips...

That's better than Tuvaloody....I thought that sounded kind of silly, really, but couldn't think of anything else.

Yes, inquiring minds want to know what the book was! We're not quite done with school yet here, though my daughter basically had her last day today and turned all her books in and got her report card. My son still has to go tomorrow yet. I'm trying to get him to get a jump on his English book list for next year, but he doesn't seem very motivated. My daughter has a mile long list of books she wants to read, but not enough time to read them all!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

. My daughter has a mile long list of books she wants to read, but not enough time to read them all!

Me too!

 

[cgersic]

You ladies look so rested and tanned after your pool time and just gorgeous in the maskless photo on the Skyliner!

 

[Tuvalu]

Ohhhhh...I spy Em reading a new book...what was it? This teacher has gotten through 9 books this summer so far....here's hoping I hit double-digits on the plane to WDW!

Yes, inquiring minds want to know what the book was! We're not quite done with school yet here, though my daughter basically had her last day today and turned all her books in and got her report card. My son still has to go tomorrow yet. I'm trying to get him to get a jump on his English book list for next year, but he doesn't seem very motivated. My daughter has a mile long list of books she wants to read, but not enough time to read them all!

The Paris Secret

Those frozen strawberry limoncellos look delicious! That is definitely going on my drink list !

Highly recommend!!!

You ladies look so rested and tanned after your pool time and just gorgeous in the maskless photo on the Skyliner!

You are too kind!

 

[Tuvalu]

Purse cheese?

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

The Paris Secret

Ohhh, I've seen this everywhere...It's on my list that is about 15 books long!

 

[susan lees]

Em and I walked counter-clockwise from the IG to our dinner destination. World Showcase was much more crowded than it had been on Sunday.

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We waited a few minutes to be seated. Our table was a two-top next to a window.

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With a good view of the dining room.

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We were eating in Italy. Our server was from Wishaw, Scotland and spoke with a strong brogue. Our food runner was from Hawaii. There were no Italian water boys who always kept our glasses full.

It was a different experience without the cultural representatives.

Both of us were thirsty and drawn to the same drink on the menu.

A frozen strawberry limoncello.

View attachment 572289

Cheers!

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Em and I debated ordering a large pizza. The two of us typically share an individual. We decided to GO BIG!

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Notice the quantity of cheese? (We did not order extra.) Via Napoli pizzas tend to be skimpy on cheese. This pizza was a pleasant surprise.

“It’s because the cooks are all Americans now,” Em said. “They know how to make a cheesy pizza.”

The pie was delicious. We ate all but one slice.

Wishaw is quite close to where we stay. Yes unfortunately cultural representatives still unable to travel over, hopefully this will change soon.

 

[DisneyJeff]

We were eating in Italy. Our server was from Wishaw, Scotland and spoke with a strong brogue. Our food runner was from Hawaii. There were no Italian water boys who always kept our glasses full.

It was a different experience without the cultural representatives.

Having the cultural representatives in each country is the 2nd best thing about the World Showcase!! I hope they can bring them back soon!!

What's the best thing???

 

[Tuvalu]

Having the cultural representatives in each country is the 2nd best thing about the World Showcase!! I hope they can bring them back soon!!

What's the best thing???

So that’s why our paths didn’t cross….you were “busy”.

 

[DisneyJeff]

So that’s why our paths didn’t cross….you were “busy”.

I do love my flowers and gardens!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Day Five, con’t

Our plan after dinner was to visit the attractions we’d missed on Sunday….the ones on our “save for later” list.

But this sight greeted us when we left the restaurant.

(It’s a shame that this picture doesn’t show the GIANT lightning bolts that were shooting out of the sky.)

We had two choices.
1. Stay and ride Frozen Ever After, Three Caballeros and Spaceship Earth.
2. Race to the park exit to avoid drowning and/or electrocution.

Being sensible people, we began to walk quickly through the masses on the promenade, dodging guests as if we were on an obstacle course. Our pace was so fast that Em’s watch sent her a “It looks like you’re working out” notification. (Which naturally caused us to burst out laughing.)

I took pictures along the way to mark our progress.

Using Em’s pedometer and the time stamps on my pictures we walked a little over a mile in 17 minutes.

We did not get wet.

But those who remained in Epcot sure did.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuvalem (@Songbird76 ), you just burned a bunch of calories speedwalking through Epcot. What are you gonna do now?

Replenish those calories, of course.

We had a sweet tooth craving that only one dessert would satisfy.

Molten chocolate lava cake. A la mode, of course.

I’m happy to report that Whispering Canyon is once again full of life! The servers are kvetching with guests and the playful antics are back. I’m aware that many dislike that experience when dining but we think it’s fun.

And it was another sign that Disney is returning to normal.

We drank water and shared the lava cake. I tipped our server double the cost of the dessert.

Sat outside for a bit and watched the steady rain (though hard to tell in this pic.)

Our day wasn’t at all what we’d planned. It was better.

(And that includes being in two parks without riding a single attraction. )

 

[Darstarr]

That's better than Tuvaloody....I thought that sounded kind of silly, really, but couldn't think of anything else.

Yes, inquiring minds want to know what the book was! We're not quite done with school yet here, though my daughter basically had her last day today and turned all her books in and got her report card. My son still has to go tomorrow yet. I'm trying to get him to get a jump on his English book list for next year, but he doesn't seem very motivated. My daughter has a mile long list of books she wants to read, but not enough time to read them all!

Sorry to interrupt @Tuvalu , but, @Songbird76 , I think I may have asked you this before but, if your kids are finishing now when do they start up again?

 

[Darstarr]

Having the cultural representatives in each country is the 2nd best thing about the World Showcase!! I hope they can bring them back soon!!

What's the best thing???

no longer possible because of

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Being sensible people, we began to walk quickly through the masses on the promenade, dodging guests as if we were on an obstacle course. Our pace was so fast that Em’s watch sent her a “It looks like you’re working out” notification. (Which naturally caused us to burst out laughing.)

I took pictures along the way to mark our progress.

DISNEY IS A WORKOUT!!! It's such a workout that I'm going to have to remember to pace myself next week. Congrats on making it to the front of the park and staying dry before the torrential rains came down down down!!!

 

[MickeyCB]

Was thinking a green dress version of the Redhead, or maybe one of the other ladies?!

 

[Songbird76]

Me too!

Well, technically, I also have a bunch of books to read, but most of the ones on E's list are books I've read and told her she needs to read. She's working on Percy Jackson, she said she's not even going to attempt Outlander because the books are so huge, but she also wants to read Wild by Kristin Hannah, the Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley, Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray, all the Jane Austen novels, Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott (though that one has some plot holes), Harry Potter, Twilight, some Nora Roberts triologies, Word Nerd by Susin Nielson....she's got a ton of them on her list.

 

[Songbird76]

The Paris Secret

Does she recommend it, and who is the author, please?

 

[Songbird76]

Wishaw is quite close to where we stay. Yes unfortunately cultural representatives still unable to travel over, hopefully this will change soon.

How are your cases doing? We were just put back on red yesterday. We went from 500 cases a day to 11,000 in 24 hours in the span of one week. Germany just put us back on its list of high risk areas, so I'm thinking we won't be traveling any time soon. Granted, I don't think they have Cultural Representatives from the Netherlands (though my daughter has planned out an entire pavilion for Epcot...they should totally have a Dutch Pavilion and sell stroopwaffels.) But I know several other places are having issues as well. Spain and France, and I think maybe Italy?