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]

After our long, hot wait for Haunted Mansion ~

Poor Em had been waiting so long for the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor to reopen!

The Plaza was home to her fave All-American Sundae.

Which was now off the menu!!

Not to worry though. Em had a hack. She added peanut butter to a hot fudge sundae. The only thing missing were the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

We easily found a table to enjoy our treats.

My sundae came with Mickey ears!

 

[lindawdw]

Wow, that HM lines was long! We waited in the line during the Physical Distancing time and it did move quicker than we thought it would but without it I'm sure it felt longer especially in the heat. You both deserved those ice cream sundaes after the HM wait!!! So glad Main Street Ice Parlor is open again.

 

[93boomer]

Em and I weren’t strangers to a ridiculously long Haunted Mansion queue. During our pandemic visits, the 6ft. physical distancing markers stretched all the way to the ferryboat landing and wound through the old keel boat landing.

But those markers were history. Lines had returned to pre-pandemic get-as-close-to-your-neighbor-as-possible lines.

Imagine our surprise when we saw guests queuing here again:

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The physical distanced HM queue was back….without physical distancing.

“I like the optimistic people who run past this long line thinking it is not the real queue,” Em remarked.

We headed down….

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….and back around.

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Getting closer….

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The excessively long line made sense once we saw that the interactive graveyard queue was roped off.

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She nails it every time!

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It was roped off for us too. But we waited until dinnertime and only had a 15 mts wait. We were not standing in that hot sun for 60 mts!

 

[Songbird76]

After our long, hot wait for Haunted Mansion ~

Poor Em had been waiting so long for the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor to reopen!

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The Plaza was home to her fave All-American Sundae.

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Which was now off the menu!!

Not to worry though. Em had a hack. She added peanut butter to a hot fudge sundae. The only thing missing were the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

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We easily found a table to enjoy our treats.

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My sundae came with Mickey ears!

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What?? No All-American Sundae? Why on earth did they get rid of THAT? It's similar to the no way, Jose, right? We made our own no way, Joses last week and I thought of you.

 

[Disney Loving Swede]

The Plaza was home to her fave All-American Sundae.

Which was now off the menu!!

This may be the menu change that makes me the most angry.. ..I always switched it up with mint ice cream to get all of my favorite American ice cream items I can't get in Sweden......(I mean it was called the All-American for a reason) Overcharge me Disney but don't take away my Sundae......

 

[Tuvalu]

Wow, that HM lines was long! We waited in the line during the Physical Distancing time and it did move quicker than we thought it would but without it I'm sure it felt longer especially in the heat.

It was roped off for us too. But we waited until dinnertime and only had a 15 mts wait. We were not standing in that hot sun for 60 mts!

Surprisingly the line moved consistently and our outdoor wait was right around 30 minutes. A HOT 30 minutes.

 

[Darstarr]

Overcharge me Disney

Hahaha
As if you need to tell them that!!!
Bob Paycheck will definitely overcharge you!!

 

[Tuvalu]

What?? No All-American Sundae? Why on earth did they get rid of THAT? It's similar to the no way, Jose, right? We made our own no way, Joses last week and I thought of you.

Removing the All-American from the menu was perplexing. It is MK’s version of the No Way José. Since Beaches and Cream had the chocolate and peanut butter chips, there wasn’t a supply issue. My guess is they were trying to streamline the menu by having only a couple choices available upon reopening.

It was especially disheartening for Em because we had canceled a B&C ADR on our pool day.

This may be the menu change that makes me the most angry.. ..I always switched it up with mint ice cream to get all of my favorite American ice cream items I can't get in Sweden......(I mean it was called the All-American for a reason) Overcharge me Disney but don't take away my Sundae......

Hopefully if enough guests complain the sundae will return!
(It worked for ‘Ohana noodles. )

 

[Songbird76]

This may be the menu change that makes me the most angry.. ..I always switched it up with mint ice cream to get all of my favorite American ice cream items I can't get in Sweden......(I mean it was called the All-American for a reason) Overcharge me Disney but don't take away my Sundae......

Can you not get Mint ice cream over there, either? I LOVE it, but the only place that has it is a gelato type place here in the Summer, and they don't ALWAYS have it. But I can't get it at the grocery store at all. Hint though, if you can get flavor oils or Monin flavor syrups, get a peppermint or creme de menthe flavor and you can at least make yourself a shake, or add some to chocolate sauce. I also used to crush mint oreos over my ice cream, but they stopped carrying mint oreos, too. Apparently chocolate and mint isn't really a thing here.

 

[Disney Loving Swede]

Can you not get Mint ice cream over there, either? I LOVE it, but the only place that has it is a gelato type place here in the Summer, and they don't ALWAYS have it. But I can't get it at the grocery store at all. Hint though, if you can get flavor oils or Monin flavor syrups, get a peppermint or creme de menthe flavor and you can at least make yourself a shake, or add some to chocolate sauce. I also used to crush mint oreos over my ice cream, but they stopped carrying mint oreos, too. Apparently chocolate and mint isn't really a thing here.

Hmm...thanks for the tip, I found somewhere recently that carries the Monin flavor syrups and was thinking of trying them and since you have to order a few then that's a great idea. I love Mint and my hubby hates it lol. Lidl had mint ice cram bars but as with most Lidl things it was only for a week. And now I want ice cream.

 

[Tuvalu]

Day Six, con’t

After finishing our sundaes we took a look at attraction wait times.

UGGH. And it proved we weren’t crazy ~ the park didn’t just feel super crowded, it WAS super crowded.

Time to head out for a mid-afternoon break. But first a stop in the Confectionery to pick up something for the Tuva-tinys.

The real store was closed for refurbishment. We entered the ConFAKEtionery*.

We bypassed the dryer lint display of course.

The girls love Veggie Straws and I got them these:

Shaped like Mickey heads, they’re adorable!

Our decision to leave the park would soon be confirmed as wise.

INCOMING!!!

(You people are gonna get wet…..)

Em and I made it under cover at the bus station just as the storm began.

We’d seen (and ridden) a Magical Moments bus. But we’d not seen one of these at MK before.

I was dying to know what the special event was and might have asked the driver had the WL bus not been pulling in. Oh well. Some other time.

* Em wants the credit for coining ConFAKEtionery.

 

[93boomer]

Day Six, con’t

After finishing our sundaes we took a look at attraction wait times.

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UGGH. And it proved we weren’t crazy ~ the park didn’t just feel super crowded, it WAS super crowded.

Time to head out for a mid-afternoon break. But first a stop in the Confectionery to pick up something for the Tuva-tinys.

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The real store was closed for refurbishment. We entered the ConFAKEtionery*.

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We bypassed the dryer lint display of course.

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The girls love Veggie Straws and I got them these:

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Shaped like Mickey heads, they’re adorable!

Our decision to leave the park would soon be confirmed as wise.

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INCOMING!!!

(You people are gonna get wet…..)

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Em and I made it under cover at the bus station just as the storm began.

We’d seen (and ridden) a Magical Moments bus. But we’d not seen one of these at MK before.

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I was dying to know what the special event was and might have asked the driver had the WL bus not been pulling in. Oh well. Some other time.

* Em wants the credit for coining ConFAKEtionery.

Good one @TrolleyFollower91 !!

 

[Tuvalu]

Once inside the Lodge I had a mini photo shoot for fellow WL lovers @Loco_driver, @LisaBelle, @ShookieJones, @Tinkwings, @lindawdw, @Ears to Disney

 

[lindawdw]

You definitely made the right choice with those rain clouds looming on the horizon!!! It's the perfect name that Em coined for the candy shop. Can't wait to walk into the real shop during our October trip as we really missed it this year during our previous trips. Love all your WL pictures.

 

[Swissmiss]

Can you not get Mint ice cream over there, either? I LOVE it, but the only place that has it is a gelato type place here in the Summer, and they don't ALWAYS have it. But I can't get it at the grocery store at all. Hint though, if you can get flavor oils or Monin flavor syrups, get a peppermint or creme de menthe flavor and you can at least make yourself a shake, or add some to chocolate sauce. I also used to crush mint oreos over my ice cream, but they stopped carrying mint oreos, too. Apparently chocolate and mint isn't really a thing here.

Hmm...thanks for the tip, I found somewhere recently that carries the Monin flavor syrups and was thinking of trying them and since you have to order a few then that's a great idea. I love Mint and my hubby hates it lol. Lidl had mint ice cram bars but as with most Lidl things it was only for a week. And now I want ice cream.

Fellow lover of mint chocolate chip Ice cream. If you are traveling within Europe, it can always be found in grocery stores in France (which means frequently in ice cream shops as well). I can’t be bothered to take my car out to do my grocery shopping (all the more so now that my apartment building has a grocery store on the ground floor ), but if I am having to run an errand in France and know I am coming home immediately after, I’ve been known to pick some up.

(Apologies @Tuvalu for derailing )

 

[MinnieM123]

Once inside the Lodge I had a mini photo shoot

Not sure if it's just the angle/direction of your photos of the upper guestroom floors, but have all the renovations/construction finally finished at WL? (Not noticing any tarps, etc.) Haven't really been keeping up with their renovation schedule.

Anyway, loved your hotel lobby photos. Have to say that for theming and ambiance, WL nails it for my #1 design favorite, in Disney-operated hotels at WDW.

 

[Tuvalu]

You definitely made the right choice with those rain close looming on the horizon!!! It's the perfect name that Em coined for the candy shop. Can't wait to walk into the real shop during our October trip as we really missed it this year during our previous trips. Love all your WL pictures.

Not sure if it's just the angle/direction of your photos of the upper guestroom floors, but have all the renovations/construction finally finished at WL? (Not noticing any tarps, etc.) Haven't really been keeping up with their renovation schedule.

Anyway, loved your hotel lobby photos. Have to say that for theming and ambiance, WL nails it for my #1 design favorite, in Disney-operated hotels at WDW.

 

[LisaBelle]

I hope y’all are ready to jump back in to where I left off a couple weeks ago!

Day Three, con’t

Em and I had spent a fun morning at DHS and a relaxing afternoon at the pool. We returned for another ride through Runnamuck Park followed by dinner at a familiar locale.

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We were seated at the same table as last month. (Perhaps this should be called the Tu and Amy table, @ajrwdwgirl? )

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The hostess who had brought us to the table glanced at the white reservation paper to see our server’s name.

“Oh, she’s good,” the hostess chirped.

Em and I cracked the code. Whenever a server is declared “good” by the person who seats you, it usually means they aren’t.

And ours wasn’t.

It took a long time for her to come over to us. Em and I were dehydrated after our HOT experience on MMRR and desperately needed water.

Okay, maybe there was something Em needed more than water….

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But back to our server. She wasn’t very welcoming and appeared distracted. Not distracted by the other two tables she was servicing (which would have been understandable) but distracted by whatever thoughts were ebbing and flowing in her mind. She just wasn’t present.

She took our drink and food order simultaneously. Then she disappeared. Eventually we got our waters (and Em’s margarita) along with rolls and olive oil for dipping. The rolls were meh (not warm) and the olive oil had way too much pepper sprinkled in it.

We joked that we didn’t need the rolls anyway since we wanted plenty of room in our stomachs for the ultimate Mama Melrose entrée ~ Charred Strip Steak and Four Cheese Macaroni with Pancetta.

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Is your mouth watering @LisaBelle at that picture? Mine is! Except I now remember how that steak (and Em’s also) tasted. Both steaks were very fatty and gristly….difficult to cut and to chew…to the extent that we stopped eating them before the halfway point.

Had our “good” server bothered to stop by and check on us, we would have sent the steaks back. (She didn’t even bring our meal to us; a food runner did.)

Eventually she remembered us by appearing with an “are you ready for dessert?” As I declined, I mentioned our poor quality steaks.

“Do you want another one?” she inquired, without a hint of apology.

It took 40 minutes to get these, I thought. This disappointing meal has already taken way too long.

“No thank you,” I replied. “But you should let the chef know about the condition of this meat. It’s unacceptable. This steak is typically excellent and the reason we often dine here.”

She then said she would be back with the check.

We waited.

And waited.

At last she returned. “The manager said that since you only ate the equivalent of one steak you will only be charged for one steak.”

I thanked her. And I only tipped on one steak.

Her service wasn’t “good” at all.

My mouth was indeed watering until I read about the disappointing quality of my favorite meal! Fingers crossed that it will be up to par on your next visit. I need to try one of those margaritas that Em loves so much!

Once inside the Lodge I had a mini photo shoot for fellow WL lovers @Loco_driver, @LisaBelle, @ShookieJones, @Tinkwings, @lindawdw, @Ears to Disney

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Thank you! the WL photos. these views will be seen by me in the not too distant future!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thank you! the WL photos. these views will be seen by me in the not too distant future!

So happy to hear you are going back! Will you be there during the holidays? (Super jealous if you are! )

 

[fractal]

When the parks reopened in July 2020, rigid “rope drop” procedures were errr….dropped. Every day the parks opened earlier than the official time with soft openings for attractions. This was protocol for physical distancing, to spread out the crowds.

The “new” procedure lasted a year. Now, the last week of July 2021, the parks were transitioning back to regular rope drop.

Guests were gathered in the hub and entrances to each land were blocked by CMs.

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Every 5 minutes there was a recorded announcement over the loudspeakers: “Please enjoy all of our shops and restaurants on Main Street until our attractions open at 9 am.”

In other words, PLEASE SPEND MONEY.

At 9 am on the dot there was a welcome announcement with horn fanfare. There were no characters on the castle stage. Just a recorded, “And now let the magic begin!”

CMs dropped their ropes and guests hurried on their way.

And hurry they did. Numerous people in the Peter Pan line had to step off to the side while waiting for the rest of their parties catch up. Here’s a thought ~ Don’t race to get in line if your party isn’t all together!

Em and I had kept a normal walking pace to Peter Pan. We joined the line (which moved continually) and only waited 15 minutes before boarding our pirate ship.

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During our time in the queue we (ok mostly me) conversed with the family behind us: Mom, Dad and two kids under 8. Dad was excitedly telling his kids they were going to ride It’s a Small World next, it was one of his favorites as a child, dolls from every country, etc. I hated that I had to to pop his bubble with the news that IASW had closed the day before for a short refurbishment.

Dad was dejected of course, until I asked him if they had another visit to MK planned.

“Friday,” he replied.

“Oh it’s reopening on Friday!” I said. “You can see it then.”

He then asked which attraction they should visit after Peter Pan and what rides I would recommend for his kids. I gave him some suggestions, along with the touring order.

Which prompted him to ask, “Do you live here?” (Should I have said yes, @King Raccoon 77?)

I laughed and said I was a frequent visitor with many years experience. Later, when our pirate ship came to a halt here for several minutes…..

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…..I felt sorry that the family’s very first WDW ride was a broken one!

Our next stop was an urgent one, thanks to someone’s coffee.

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No Arty Pooh, but Pooh was attraction #2!

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Yes, yes I do live here!

Day Six, con’t

After Pooh we went to another Fantasyland favorite.

Now prepare yourself for the “artsy-ist” of my “artsy” photos.

Are you ready?

I have absolutely no idea how the following picture resulted from an iPhone but here it is:

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And Em’s hat magically disappeared!

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Sometimes boarding a clam mobile can be a real struggle.

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But no problem for us today.

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We waved for Woody in abstentia.

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The most exciting part of our journey was the exit, since the “real” exit was back in use. No more winding through Ariel’s Grotto!

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Looks like the camera's computational AI system went a bit wonky. But nothing to worry about too much.

The wait was posted at 30 minutes.

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New writing on the beam.

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Happy our wait was ten minutes less than what was posted.

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One hungry hippo….

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The dancing natives had been removed from this scene. A month later the hut itself was gone.

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Another mystery would soon be revealed.

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I wish they would stop monkeying around.

A few skipper puns:

“At the boat rental stand you can rent a deluxe paddle or a regular paddle. There’s really no difference as it’s just either OAR.”

“See the snake in sittin’ in the tree. H-I-S-S-I-N-G !”

“The lions are eating their favorite way. With pride.”

When real life meets animated life….

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Do you see it?

Trader Sam may be gone but his gift shop lingers on.

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Are they really adding a ride photo to this attraction?

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I truly hope the sign is a joke. A Jungle Cruise ride photo would be even worse than a Pirates ride photo!

that's a nice photo of you on the boat!

Speaking of Pirates, we bypassed it in favor of an early lunch. (As in @Doc Disney and Mary early! )

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Oh toppings bar, how we miss thee!

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Why are there always shrieking children (not pictured) in this restaurant?! My ears can’t take it!!!

Before.
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After.
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Not exactly a chicken rice bowl, but I managed not to make a mess with it.

Bellies full, we went in search of otherworldly friends.

Shirley status still going strong!

Em and I weren’t strangers to a ridiculously long Haunted Mansion queue. During our pandemic visits, the 6ft. physical distancing markers stretched all the way to the ferryboat landing and wound through the old keel boat landing.

But those markers were history. Lines had returned to pre-pandemic get-as-close-to-your-neighbor-as-possible lines.

Imagine our surprise when we saw guests queuing here again:

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The physical distanced HM queue was back….without physical distancing.

“I like the optimistic people who run past this long line thinking it is not the real queue,” Em remarked.

We headed down….

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….and back around.

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Getting closer….

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The excessively long line made sense once we saw that the interactive graveyard queue was roped off.

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She nails it every time!

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Except for the HM apparently...