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.

 

[Nunu]

Nunu, I hope you are feeling better after your fall! My husband had a fall a week ago and broke his wrist. He's now in a cast for at least 4 more weeks!!!!! Can't do much with one hand I can commiserate with you and hope you are back at Disney soon

Oh no, I'm sorry about your husband's injury, hoping for a speedy recovery for him.
Thank you for the good wishes!

 

[93boomer]

Makes me very sad not having been able to meetup with you this time around, we were looking forward to spending time with you, and meeting Em in person.

For those who don't know, I'm slowly recovering from a nasty fall down the stairs (last Tuesday), that resulted in a broken rib and several cuts and bruises.

Dear @Tuvalu , I'm here, enjoying seeing you having fun and I'm happily following along in your adventures. I'm hopeful our paths will cross again, soon.
Counting the days until we meet again, my friend!

Oh that is awful to hear about your fall. Take care, and I hope you aren’t in much pain. Heal up quick!

 

[ShookieJones]

For those who don't know, I'm slowly recovering from a nasty fall down the stairs (last Tuesday), that resulted in a broken rib and several cuts and bruises.

Yikes! Sorry to hear this Get well soon!

 

[Songbird76]

Makes me very sad not having been able to meetup with you this time around, we were looking forward to spending time with you, and meeting Em in person.

For those who don't know, I'm slowly recovering from a nasty fall down the stairs (last Tuesday), that resulted in a broken rib and several cuts and bruises.

Dear @Tuvalu , I'm here, enjoying seeing you having fun and I'm happily following along in your adventures. I'm hopeful our paths will cross again, soon.
Counting the days until we meet again, my friend!

Here's hoping for a quick recovery! (and a meet up with Tuvalu really soon!)

 

[Tuvalu]

These two shots made my day! It hit me again how much I do truly love (and miss) this place. BTW - Did you notice I left ALL the lights on for you!???

I sure did!

But…AK is your favorite red headed stepchild!

Sunburn on a cloudy day - now why would I know about that?

Max

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, June 21

Highlights and lowlights from our third day.

Yes, we were up early to attempt a Boarding Group for RotR.

Used time.gov as our countdown clock.

Did this sign at the gate make us happy or sad?

You’ll have to wait for the full report.

We’re smiling here.

Seeing the MMRR pre-show for the very first time made us happy (don’t let Em’s expression fool ya!)

Riding Slinky Dog Dash was a blast.

Look who we found at Baseline Tap House!

I believe @ajrwdwgirl is a regular. We got to meet her better half too!

Magical meets are always a highlight.

Later the rain rain rain came down down down.

But the evening sky was lovely.
Palm trees for my buddy @Darstarr.

 

[krause]

Still blows my mind that people are out there in the world just meeting up with people (magically... and maskless ). Makes my little isolated world happier knowing that there are more trip reports to come!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

It was wonderful to see you two again today!

 

[Tuvalu]

Still blows my mind that people are out there in the world just meeting up with people (magically... and maskless ). Makes my little isolated world happier knowing that there are more trip reports to come!

I imagine when the restrictions end all Canadians will be like….

It was wonderful to see you two again today!

 

[amjt660]

Did this sign at the gate make us happy or sad?

You’ll have to wait for the full report.

I imagine when the restrictions end all Canadians will be like….

Max

 

[93boomer]

Monday, June 21

Highlights and lowlights from our third day.

Yes, we were up early to attempt a Boarding Group for RotR.

Used time.gov as our countdown clock.

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Did this sign at the gate make us happy or sad?

You’ll have to wait for the full report.

We’re smiling here.

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Seeing the MMRR pre-show for the very first time made us happy (don’t let Em’s expression fool ya!)

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Riding Slinky Dog Dash was a blast.

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Look who we found at Baseline Tap House!

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I believe @ajrwdwgirl is a regular. We got to meet her better half too!

Magical meets are always a highlight.

Later the rain rain rain came down down down.

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But the evening sky was lovely.
Palm trees for my buddy @Darstarr.

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Yayyy for the meet up with @ajrwdwgirl and hubby!!!

 

[meggo819]

Still blows my mind that people are out there in the world just meeting up with people (magically... and maskless ). Makes my little isolated world happier knowing that there are more trip reports to come!

I have been curious about the restrictions in Canada -- are the case numbers still that high to make them warranted? It's crazy to me that we're pretty much back to normal here and then I hear about a pastor being arrested for his church meeting in Canada!

 

[lindawdw]

Aww looks like you and Em are having a magical time together! I'm not crazy about the fact that the social distancing is non-existent in the stretching room at HM but I'm glad the lines aren't backed up into the parks like they have been. Your PP photos are so cute together and love that you had some Magician Meet-ups!

 

[krause]

I have been curious about the restrictions in Canada -- are the case numbers still that high to make them warranted? It's crazy to me that we're pretty much back to normal here and then I hear about a pastor being arrested for his church meeting in Canada!

Our third wave is just settling down here in Manitoba but literally everything is closed except grocery stores and those are only allowed 10% capacity. You’re allowed to have up to 5 people from 2 other households over to your house but only outside. Can meet with 5 other people at a public outdoor place. We only had 69 cases today but 2 weeks ago were at 400ish a day in the province. Our main problem is our health care system though it may be “free” is inadequate and we have sent 30+ patients to a neighbouring province (thanks, @amjt660!) as we simply don’t have ICU space - and it’s not even the space that we don’t have it’s the staffing (we also have an impending nursing strike across the province). We reached our July 1st target of 70% 1st doses and 25% second doses of vaccine though so should have some more places open up soon!

 

[Matt and Kelly]

@meggo819 haha that’s where we live in Edmonton, Alberta with the pastor!!! Glad we can make the news for something lol. We are supposed to open fully on July 1st but with masks. We have only been having 50-60 cases in the last week. But just over a month ago we were hitting the 2000 a day mark. We just started to see people outside but still no indoor gatherings.
Finally caught up @Tuvalu! And can’t wait to read the whole report and see the renovated rooms!!
kelly.

 

[meggo819]

Our main problem is our health care system though it may be “free” is inadequate and we have sent 30+ patients to a neighbouring province (thanks, @amjt660!) as we simply don’t have ICU space

Ah, I hadn't thought about that - makes sense to have stricter rules to not overwhelm the system. I'm in Houston, where, to my knowledge, our hospitals were never overwhelmed with patients, even though case counts were high at times.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, June 22

Highlights and lowlights from our fourth day.

We learned that the park pass system is not accommodating to last-minute change of plans.

We also learned that Disney Magic can still happen.

Though it wasn’t the best pool-lounging weather in the morning, the forecast for the afternoon was worse.

We discovered how much worse while on the bus to Magic Kingdom. Opening the app to check wait times, this is what we saw ~

Eleven outdoor attractions were closed!

And the sky over City Hall was quite ominous.

Very soon the rain rain rain came down down down.

Question: How many ears does Davy Crockett have?
Answer: Three.

Three?!!??

Left ear, right ear, and wild front ear.

There was a brief respite from the rain and we made it back to WL before the next round of storms.

Goodnight!

 

[Laurenciaa]

Saturday, June 19

Highlights and lowlights from our first day.

Early afternoon arrival at the Wilderness Lodge. Got the room ready text at 11:30 am!

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Took a bunch of pictures of our newly-refurbished room which I will post later. Very pleased with our view!

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Shared the dumbest dessert ever at Roaring Fork. Doesn’t this look appetizing?

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Excited to be back at the Magic Kingdom…..mask-free!

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(But why is the train station STILL under a scrim?!!)

Hello, gorgeous!

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Had to post this one. Y’all know how much Em enjoys a good “magic shot.”

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Nice to see our old friend Orange Cone on a spin around Tomorrowland.

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He’d also brought along 3 friends. (Pictorial evidence to come.)

The next picture would have Walt rolling over in his grave. Taken as we waited in the Peter Pan queue.

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DISGUSTING.

The Haunted Mansion stretching room sequence reopened today. While it was great to have the preshow back, the “dump” into a very crowded boarding area for the doom buggies was something that we were sad to see has returned.

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Physical distancing is gone. Attraction queues are back to normal, contained within the attraction and not winding throughout the park. The park felt much less crowded since the walkways are clear. Wait times were manageable (nothing longer than 30-45 minutes). Mask usage in the park was less than 2%….curious considering the current vaccination statistics.

Em and I are happy to be back at our happy place!

Oh well hello there Mister Cone!

On another note:
- Trash bins -> If you already see that the bin is full maybe hold on to your trash and avert a CM? humanss...
- Masks -> I still feel like wearing masks in crowded areas.. pretty sure some of them are lying when they state that they have been fully vaccinated...

Anyhow, I continue with reading

 

[donaldtoo]

I am also a proud owner of one of those PeopleMover shirts.
Hmmmm.......this whole Vlogger's wife's side hustle thing has me thinking! I got mine from a "private shopper"as well.
We were in line for Space Mountain and my wife was sitting the ride out so I took this picture of the shirt and asked her to get it for me.

View attachment 565147

I know these shirts are expensive but my wife said it was $300 and made me give it to her in cash. Should I be asking questions?

Not if ya’ know what’s good for ya’...!!!!!

 

[cgersic]

You make me sing the song about the rain rain rain every time you type it That IS a lot of rain - sorry it dampened the plans!