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]

Day One, con’t

Em balked when she saw the end-of-the-line sign for Frozen Ever After. The standby wait time posted on back was 60 minutes.

“It won’t be an hour,” I said with confident assurance.

We barely moved for the first few minutes. It was VERY HUMID and sweat was dripping down our backs.

“I’m going to find a bottle of water,” said Em.

A rare sun sighting as I inched along in line.

The water purchase helped sustain us in the heat.

The wait became tolerable once we were inside the a/c.

We lucked out with another front row seat.

And for the record, I was right.

Our wait wasn’t an hour.

It was 59 minutes.

 

[Zipadeelady]

View attachment 577839

And for the record, I was right.

Our wait wasn’t an hour.

It was 59 minutes.

This is photopass gold right here. With Em's face and then all the people behind her with their expressions. Perfect. Well done @TrolleyFollower91

 

[Pirate Magic]

Friday, July 23 ~ Day One

I had toyed with the idea of flying vs. driving for this vacation, since I’d already made the 16-hour round trip journey four times this year. But I’ve read so many stories of cancelled flights, long delays and crowded airports….not to mention my now-expired travel vouchers….that driving still seemed the better choice.

With the “savings” of not purchasing airfare, it made “cents” for us to add a bonus night at the start of our trip, granting us the full day of fun that we would have had if we’d flown.

I can always rationalize more days at Disney.

Woody was his typical supportive self. I knew Em would be all in. She happily took the wheel at 6 am and drove until our usual breakfast stop at Chick-Fil-A. The dining room that we’d eaten in just last month was now cut in half.

View attachment 577546

The former booth space had become a staging area for mobile orders. But there was a table next to the windows available for us. Our food was packaged “to go” which is currently how all CFA’s operate. We each ordered a chicken, egg and cheese biscuit. In our bag were the sandwiches, napkins, and two condiment packets.

View attachment 577547

Strawberry preserves on a chicken biscuit? That’s not our jam!!!

(We get chicken, egg and cheese biscuits all the time. This was a first!)

Em and I shared driving duty and she was in the driver’s seat on the last leg, which was an hour of stop-and-go turnpike traffic.

“I always get the traffic jams,” Em grumbled.

“I always get the rain,” I shot back.

We laughed. Driving is as susceptible to delays as air travel. At least we were in the comfort of our own vehicle, mask-free.

What a welcome sight!

View attachment 577548

A few minutes later we arrived at our first resort.

View attachment 577549

It was the best value for our “savings”.

HOME!!!! POP is always are home resort!!!!!

 

[Darstarr]

Was tempted to use “cent” but I didn’t want @Darstarr to mock me again. )

As @wdisney9000 would say, clever girl.

 

[AKemily]

WHERE IS THE REST OF THIS SHIRT??!!??

How are you supposed to know someone is "awesome to the core" if you can't SEE their core?

And while Lumière is adorable, neither Em nor I could figure out what this is supposed to be used for.

Cupcake/grey stuff stand?

 

[LadyBelle]

And while Lumière is adorable, neither Em nor I could figure out what this is supposed to be used for.

Cupcake/grey stuff stand?

That’s what I was thinking as well.

 

[Songbird76]

Cupcake/grey stuff stand?

I thought maybe a key/jewelry dish...for people who need a place to put their keys when they come in, or take their jewelry off and put it in the dish before going to bed? I always keep my keys on a clip on my purse, but my husband grabbed my keys the other day to open the shed and only took the part with the house and shed key on it and left them in the shed door. I knew he had, but I forgot, so when I went to the store that afternoon, I saw the keyring and thought I had my keys. I came home and was locked out. Fortunately my daughter's room is at the front, so she heard me knocking and calling out. Had my keys been where I always keep them, I'd have been fine. I always ask myself before I close the door behind me, "Wallet? Keys? Phone?" and I check to make sure I have them. And my keychain was there, so it didn't occur to me that my husband hadn't taken the whole clip. Anyway, I know some people use a dish like this by the front door.

 

[lindawdw]

What a fun way to begin your WDW adventure but with an impromptu Magician meet up at PC!!! You and Em certainly do not get intimidated by the long lines at the parks. We enjoy the Apple Orchard set up for F&W in the Canada Pavilion too! All your drinks and snacks so far look delicious.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

“It won’t be an hour,” I said with confident assurance.

We barely moved for the first few minutes. It was VERY HUMID and sweat was dripping down our backs.

“I’m going to find a bottle of water,” said Em.

59 Minutes!! BOOM! See Rule #1: Mom is always right.

We took our water bottles on this trip but ended up purchasing a few bottles of water here and there just to keep us hydrated. Sometimes, it's easier just to purchase the water than to try and find a qs ...

 

[cgersic]

Cupcake/grey stuff stand?

I was thinking crudite and dip?

 

[Tuvalu]

Cupcake/grey stuff stand?

That’s what I was thinking as well.

I thought maybe a key/jewelry dish...for people who need a place to put their keys when they come in, or take their jewelry off and put it in the dish before going to bed?

I was thinking crudite and dip?

 

[Tuvalu]

Day One, con’t

After Frozen, we continued our trek around the world. The next place Em wanted to stop was here.

Italian Margaritas are her margaritas of choice. Her only complaint with this one was that it wasn’t very cold.

I could say I didn’t want Em to drink alone, but more often than not I abstain while she imbibes. Thus it truly shocked her when I ordered a glass of Pinot Grigio.

(Like Mickey says….Enjoy the Good Times!)

Our view as we began to sip our drinks.

It started to thunder. Actually we were surprised it had taken this long! I had made my dinner request earlier in the day, and we decided to finish our drinks as we continued along the promenade, hoping to beat any rain.

I quickly learned that I cannot sip and stroll.

Well to be honest, it’s hard for me stroll even without a drink. And very hard to stroll when it is thundering and the wind is blowing and a downpour might happen at any moment.

Two big swallows and the rest of my Pinot Grigio was gone.

 

[Tuvalu]

From Italy to France via foot power.

Em spotted a table inside as I went to order. Her usual sammie at Les Halles is the Dinde B.L.T. ~ turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and garlic aioli. I never deviate from the Jambon Beurre ~ warmed ham and cheese with Dijon mustard butter on a baguette. Tonight Em said she wanted to try the Jambon Beurre that I always rave about.

There wasn’t much of a line to order. The majority of CMs working seemed to be newly-minted college program employees. They were all attired in the universal Epcot shirt. The CM who assisted me was a bit confused when I said I wanted the sandwiches warmed, and it took her three attempts to fill cups with water as the stack of cups she pulled from all had pinholes in the bottom. How do I know? Water began to leach from the cups as soon as she placed them on the tray. At one point the tray had so much water she had to replace the tray.

What she also should have done was replace the chocolate chip cookie. The plate it was on was soggy….and so was the cookie by the time we were ready to eat it.

Dining at Disney is not only hard (@Darstarr) but has become bad. Maybe not “bad” but certainly disappointing.

My Jambon Beurre was the first of many food
disappointments to come. (@Captain Barbossa )

The baguette was as hard as a rock and the ham and cheese were barely warm. It lacked flavor (perhaps the Dijon was missing?) I found myself apologizing to Em since this was NOT the stellar Jambon Beurre to which I’ve grown accustomed.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

My Jambon Beurre was the first of many disappointments to come. (@Captain Barbossa )

The baguette was as hard as a rock and the ham and cheese were barely warm. It lacked flavor (perhaps the Dijon was missing?) I found myself apologizing to Em since this was NOT the stellar Jambon Beurre to which I’ve grown accustomed.

Ugh, sorry to hear that it was less than stellar this time. Out of the many Jambon Beurres that I've consumed from Les Halles, I've had a couple that felt as if I was biting into a brick. (not fun lol) I hope that Em will give it a second chance some day!

 

[93boomer]

From Italy to France via foot power.

View attachment 578574

Em spotted a table inside as I went to order. Her usual sammie at Les Halles is the Dinde B.L.T. ~ turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and garlic aioli. I never deviate from the Jambon Beurre ~ warmed ham and cheese with Dijon mustard butter on a baguette. Tonight Em said she wanted to try the Jambon Beurre that I always rave about.

There wasn’t much of a line to order. The majority of CMs working seemed to be newly-minted college program employees. They were all attired in the universal Epcot shirt. The CM who assisted me was a bit confused when I said I wanted the sandwiches warmed, and it took her three attempts to fill cups with water as the stack of cups she pulled from all had pinholes in the bottom. How do I know? Water began to leach from the cups as soon as she placed them on the tray. At one point the tray had so much water she had to replace the tray.

What she also should have done was replace the chocolate chip cookie. The plate it was on was soggy….and so was the cookie by the time we were ready to eat it.

View attachment 578575

Dining at Disney is not only hard (@Darstarr) but has become bad. Maybe not “bad” but certainly disappointing.

View attachment 578576

My Jambon Beurre was the first of many disappointments to come. (@Captain Barbossa )

The baguette was as hard as a rock and the ham and cheese were barely warm. It lacked flavor (perhaps the Dijon was missing?) I found myself apologizing to Em since this was NOT the stellar Jambon Beurre to which I’ve grown accustomed.

Ohh wow! We have eaten the Jambon beurre and loved it too. I hope that isn’t a thing to come for foods to lack taste appeal. We were just discussing the other day how we’ve never had a bad meal there.

 

[MinnieM123]

My Jambon Beurre was the first of many disappointments to come. (@Captain Barbossa )

The baguette was as hard as a rock and the ham and cheese were barely warm. It lacked flavor (perhaps the Dijon was missing?) I found myself apologizing to Em since this was NOT the stellar Jambon Beurre to which I’ve grown accustomed.

Oh no! Haven't been there for a few years, but I also used to love the sammies at Les Halles.

Hoping this is just a one-off, and that things will improve (not that this would help your recent experience, though ).

It does sound like they need more training of staff in there, and perhaps most were new.

 

[FlaggNL]

As always thanks for sharing a great report with magical pictures and stories! Been a while since I was on WDWMAGIC.... since we are not allowed to travel to USA I don't wanna punish myself too much while reading all the reports But someday we will be back!

 

[Tuvalu]

Ugh, sorry to hear that it was less than stellar this time. Out of the many Jambon Beurres that I've consumed from Les Halles, I've had a couple that felt as if I was biting into a brick. (not fun lol) I hope that Em will give it a second chance some day!

Biting into a brick….yup, that was it! Hope your next one will be divine!

Ohh wow! We have eaten the Jambon beurre and loved it too. I hope that isn’t a thing to come for foods to lack taste appeal. We were just discussing the other day how we’ve never had a bad meal there.

Fingers crossed for your next visit!

Oh no! Haven't been there for a few years, but I also used to love the sammies at Les Halles.

Hoping this is just a one-off, and that things will improve (not that this would help your recent experience, though ).

It does sound like they need more training of staff in there, and perhaps most were new.

I really hope it was an anomaly, but I confess to being a bit reluctant to return (in the near future.)

As always thanks for sharing a great report with magical pictures and stories! Been a while since I was on WDWMAGIC.... since we are not allowed to travel to USA I don't wanna punish myself too much while reading all the reports But someday we will be back!

We’ve missed you and understand why you have been MIA. Thanks for reading!

 

[amjt660]

Em breaks the 4th wall!!1

Max

 

[cgersic]

Does the little boy behind you know where the camera is? He's grinning right at it!