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.

 

[Tuvalu]

Thunder and lightning began as we munched on our meals. Em looked at the radar and the storm was NOT moving.

I opened MDE to see many attractions closed.

It was clear Em wasn’t going to get her All-American sundae any time soon.

And riding outdoor attractions wasn’t gonna happen.

We did not want to linger in Cosmic Ray’s after we finished eating. We are not table hogs.

Em suggested a monorail ride. (It didn’t occur to either of us that inclement weather might pause monorail service.) We popped open our umbrellas and walked to the park exit.

I turned towards Em and laughed. “If someone had told us we’d go to the Magic Kingdom just to eat at Cosmic Ray’s and then leave, we wouldn’t have believed them!”

 

[Tuvalu]

Our umbrellas weren’t much protection from sideways rain. We even got wet walking up the resort monorail ramp.

I was happy to see a monorail in the station with its doors open for us. We immediately climbed aboard.

However after several minutes the doors were STILL open.

Turns out monorails won’t run during intense lightning. They remain safely in their stations.

Oh well. At least we weren’t getting rained on. And during the delay, I came up with a suggestion of my own. Em was all in.

When monorail service resumed we could see the stalled storm over MK.

At the Grand Floridian, we disembarked.

Drinks at the Enchanted Rose?

Giant cake pop at Gasparilla’s?

If @Longers can eat ice cream twice in one day, we ought to be able to eat cake twice in the same day!

The weather when we arrived at GF.

The weather when we left.

While those rays of sunshine looked promising, Em and I were now full and didn’t feel like risking more rain if we went back inside the MK. (Besides, we already had a guaranteed dry place from which to view HEA. )

We did ride the monorail to the MK but bypassed the tapstiles for the bus depot.

There was a bus parked in the Epcot gate directly across from the WL gate. After a couple minutes the driver got off the bus and yelled, “Wilderness Lodge!”

Em and I looked at each other. AGAIN?!? A bus that we need is parked in the wrong slot? We shrugged and walked across the pavement along with the others who’d been waiting at the WL gate. The bus driver was over-the-top chatty….trying to engage her tired passengers….the whole ride. No one was having it.

A gorgeous sunset awaited us once we got to our room.

Followed a little while later by BOOM!

We’d made the right choice tonight.

 

[93boomer]

Our umbrellas weren’t much protection from sideways rain. We even got wet walking up the resort monorail ramp.

I was happy to see a monorail in the station with its doors open for us. We immediately climbed aboard.

View attachment 585025

However after several minutes the doors were STILL open.

Turns out monorails won’t run during intense lightning. They remain safely in their stations.

Oh well. At least we weren’t getting rained on. And during the delay, I came up with a suggestion of my own. Em was all in.

When monorail service resumed we could see the stalled storm over MK.

View attachment 585026

At the Grand Floridian, we disembarked.

Drinks at the Enchanted Rose?

Giant cake pop at Gasparilla’s?

View attachment 585028

If @Longers can eat ice cream twice in one day, we ought to be able to eat cake twice in the same day!

The weather when we arrived at GF.

View attachment 585027

The weather when we left.

View attachment 585029

While those rays of sunshine looked promising, Em and I were now full and didn’t feel like risking more rain if we went back inside the MK. (Besides, we already had a guaranteed dry place from which to view HEA. )

We did ride the monorail to the MK but bypassed the tapstiles for the bus depot.

There was a bus parked in the Epcot gate directly across from the WL gate. After a couple minutes the driver got off the bus and yelled, “Wilderness Lodge!”

Em and I looked at each other. AGAIN?!? A bus that we need is parked in the wrong slot? We shrugged and walked across the pavement along with the others who’d been waiting at the WL gate. The bus driver was over-the-top chatty….trying to engage her tired passengers….the whole ride. No one was having it.

A gorgeous sunset awaited us once we got to our room.

View attachment 585030

Followed a little while later by BOOM!

View attachment 585032

We’d made the right choice tonight.

Oh that is just crazy to have that happen twice!

 

[lindawdw]

You both really lucked out with such beautiful pool weather and those nachos at Whispering Canyon looked sooo delicious! That was some crazy rain at MK but it sounds like you both made the right decision to leave MK when you did!

 

[Disney Loving Swede]

If @Longers can eat ice cream twice in one day, we ought to be able to eat cake twice in the same day!

You look so happy, I think you should have cake twice every day!

 

[Tuvalu]

You look so happy, I think you should have cake twice every day!

Eventually I’d end up looking like this.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, July 27 ~ Day Five

Hammering (?!) awakened me and Em around 5:30 am. She was able to fall back to sleep but I wasn’t. In addition to the noise, my stomach was a bit sour. (Couldn’t possibly have been all that CAKE, now could it? )

When Em began to stir I decided to head down to Roaring Fork for some oatmeal to settle my stomach. On my way in I passed these treats in a display case. I was *shocked* to see that the Roaring S’more was still available!

How many unsuspecting others have been misled by this awful dessert???

I bought Em a muffin along with my oatmeal. I felt better after eating. She had three consecutive interviews to conduct this morning so once again I left for the pool by myself.

I wandered the resort grounds like I did yesterday. I have come to appreciate the peace that so many Disney resorts offer….at all levels, not just deluxe….which I have never experienced at an offsite hotel.

The geyser was not functioning which made it easier to notice the authenticity of the surrounding area.

I love this (people-free) morning view!

Geyser Point would not see any activity until lunch. Breakfast is not currently available.

Just noticed the bunny after posting! (At least it wasn’t an armadillo!)

 

[amjt660]

I wandered the resort grounds like I did yesterday. I have come to appreciate the peace that so many Disney resorts offer….at all levels, not just deluxe….which I have never experienced at an offsite hotel.

Max

 

[lindawdw]

It is such a peaceful resort to stroll around and the landscape is just so beautiful! Glad your oatmeal helped with the sour stomach. My DH continually tells me that he wants to slow down and enjoy the resort at Disney more and this TR is helping me to get there!

 

[Tuvalu]

Hello gorgeous!

Sadly I did not have the place to myself for very long. Many families with little kids arrived and the “quiet” pool was not. But the sun was shining, the water refreshing and life was good!

Em offered to make today’s lunch run. We mobile ordered from Roaring Fork and discovered a turkey sammie hack.

This is the exact same sandwich (minus the yucky sauce) I had from Geyser Point on Day Two. It was $1.50 cheaper at Roaring Fork!

About an hour after lunch there was a single thunderclap, which caused a mom to shriek, “GET OUT OF THE POOL!” to her children. Em and I knew the lifeguards would be coming to close the pool so we gathered up our things. Sure enough, two lifeguards blew their whistles as we were walking out the back gate.

Rain didn’t start right away but when it did it was light and steady. There was no thunder or lightning. We showered and hung out in the room before venturing to a park.

 

[Tuvalu]

It is such a peaceful resort to stroll around and the landscape is just so beautiful! Glad your oatmeal helped with the sour stomach. My DH continually tells me that he wants to slow down and enjoy the resort at Disney more and this TR is helping me to get there!

 

[Tuvalu]

The rain tapered off while we awaited the bus to Epcot.

As we approached the tapstiles upon our arrival we witnessed something that made us go…

A woman was rifling through her bag and a toothbrush fell out and hit the ground.

(Why was she carrying a toothbrush?)

She picked it up and stuck it back in her bag.

(WAS SHE PLANNING TO USE IT AGAIN??!!)

Em and I had wanted to ride Spaceship Earth first but it was down. We stayed to the right side of the park (because Mission:Space and Test Track are big fat nopes to us) but bypassed The Seas (if you’ve followed along this far you know why) and landed here.

No line? Awesome!

We got to sit in the front row. No heads to block our forward view!

An artsy pic for ya.

Remember when the screen was left down and then was raised for the big reveal of the greenhouse? I do.

I always enjoy LWTL and this particular ride especially due to our #ShirleyStatus. Little did I know it would be my last ride for awhile, as @tonystark would break it in August.

Okay, so she happened to be stuck on it as it was beginning to break down.

Coincidence?

LWTL was closed for two weeks. And I didn’t get to ride it.

 

[Tuvalu]

Did we ride this or did I just take a picture of the sign?

You’ll never know.

 

[Tuvalu]

Seems Mother Nature began to act up again whilst we were inside The Land.

Em and I decided to pop in to visit Figment, hoping the rain would cease by the time our visit ended.

(Yes, this was the picture you guessed correctly, @danyoung56 )

I really miss the original Journey Into Imagination. This truncated version doesn’t come close to the masterpiece it was.

 

[Disney Loving Swede]

I really miss the original Journey Into Imagination. This truncated version doesn’t come close to the masterpiece it was.

The original is part of what made me love Epcot as a kid. I still have my Figment I got after we rode it the first time.

 

[amjt660]

I always enjoy LWTL and this particular ride especially due to our #ShirleyStatus. Little did I know it would be my last ride for awhile, as @tonystark would break it in August.

Max

 

[Swissmiss]

While I agree the toothbrush incident was “ew”, I probably would have done the same as the woman, because I don’t think I’d want to hold it in my hand until I found a trash can.

 

[lindawdw]

Let's hope the woman planned on throwing out the toothbrush once she entered the park. I heard about LWTL being down for the last week and hope they figure out how to fix it soon (it better not be like the Peoplemover problem)! I miss the old version of the Figment ride too. Hope the rain stopped for you when you exited the ride!

 

[tonystark]

I always enjoy LWTL and this particular ride especially due to our #ShirleyStatus. Little did I know it would be my last ride for awhile, as @tonystark would break it in August.

what can I say.... I had to get my devious little hands on some organic produce

 

[Tuvalu]

I miss the old version of the Figment ride too. Hope the rain stopped for you when you exited the ride!

The rain had not stopped but was down to a manageable sprinkle.

Unfortunately we had a hike to our dinner destination. Halfway around the World Showcase Lagoon to be exact.

One of us had a craving for BBQ and we knew Regal Eagle would hit the spot. We each decided to try something different from our last visit. Em went with the smoked half chicken and I opted for the brisket sandwich.

I am normally not a brisket person so I was taking a risk with this choice.

My gamble paid off. Piled high with moist, smoky beef, this sandwich was delicious! It passed my if the BBQ flavor stands on its own without sauce, it’s good BBQ test.

Which is not to say I didn’t partake of the sauce bar. I got some as a dip for my fries. (And no, not ketchup! )

Of course no meal at Regal Eagle would be complete without a s’mores brownie.