Trip Report A Total Eclipse of the Park *COMPLETED*

Not quite.

And apologies to Bonnie Tyler for parodying her hit song title from 1983 (although that was a very good year .)

So if you want to turn around and not read further I’ll understand. After 17 trip reports in less than four years you are probably sick of me. Heck, I am sick of me! But after a few requests from you kind people for another report I decided to forge ahead.

Unlike my last epistle, this will not take me four months to complete. First, this trip was shorter. Second, there is no live section which needs to be expanded later. Third, I’m heading back to the World in 2.5 weeks and then into the holiday season ~ so I’m giving myself a “Do or Die” deadline.

Let’s get started.

Who? Tuvalu and Woody
What? End of summer getaway
Where? Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
When? August 19-22, 2017
Why? There has to be a why?

It certainly wasn’t to witness the eclipse. In fact when I booked I didn’t even realize our dates coincided with the eclipse. We live within two hours of the path of totality and missed a viewing party with friends who delighted in watching the total phenomenon. Instead Woody and I got to experience.....

Well, you’ll have to wait to find out.

Here we are on arrival day. Can you tell the photographer was earning his ears?

I’m proudly wearing the dress that was instrumental in our free Pirate Cruise. (For context please see my July TR.)

Stay tuned for this trip’s shenanigans.

 

[wdwfamilynh]

Seems like yellow tomatoes are "the thing" at WDW lately. Had them in a caprese salad last week. Unfortunately, they were grape tomatoes, not REAL tomatoes

 

[wdwfamilynh]

Best kind of service EVER

AMEN! And that's coming from the mama of a 4-year old!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, August 22

I awakened sad this morning as it was our last day and I wasn’t ready for real-world stress. Yesterday we discussed where to go today ~ it was either MK or Epcot ~ and we chose MK due to better FP availability. Then when I managed to snag a lunch ressie at BOG it confirmed we’d made the right choice!

We needed fuel to start our day. Woody requested “something hot” as I left for Gasparilla’s. I returned with an egg and chorizo wrap with the trendy tater tots (GF did not call them “potato barrels”) and the delish apple crumb coffee cake.

Woody got his “something hot” ~ he said the wrap was extremely spicy!

Next we packed, took one last look at our view and dropped off our luggage before boarding the monorail.

A downside to getting on the monorail at GF is that the cars are full and seating is at a premium. We rode in the first car as it was the only one with space.

The new staircase alleviates some of the congestion on the ramp.

We decided to try it out!

No line at the Passholder entrance.

 

[docdebbi]

wow, missed all this until tonight. again, loving the report. so jealous

 

[krisri18]

I thought she moved the kids behind her so she wouldn't have to deal them and then hit the flask lol....

yup, definitely thought that was bottle of beer. lol

 

[Songbird76]

Like a former Queen of Daytime TV? Although I don't think she lives there any longer.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That was exactly what I thought!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Our choice to go to MK proved to be right again when we saw that the park had begun its transformation to autumn decor. Yes, it was only August 22 (still a month before fall officially began) but I love the decorations for that time of year. It was especially poignant for me since (for the first time in several years) I had no plans to return in the fall.

Pixie dust on our last day!

 

[Tuvalu]

We had a very important task to attend to first.

Here.

Em was caring for Poly and Kona in our absence and she’d seen something online she really wanted. A mama likes to please her daughter and show appreciation for helpfulness.

Em wanted Bellhop Goofy (9th from left). Russell, Dug and Owl joined Goofy.

3rd graders are obsessed with tsum tsums. Although I think Em kept Bellhop Goofy for herself.

 

[Tuvalu]

As we exited the shop we came upon the Trolley Show. Of course we stopped to watch (and send pics to @TrolleyFollower91!)

 

[ksr99]

Not quite.

And apologies to Bonnie Tyler for parodying her hit song title from 1983 (although that was a very good year .)

So if you want to turn around and not read further I’ll understand. After 17 trip reports in less than four years you are probably sick of me. Heck, I am sick of me! But after a few requests from you kind people for another report I decided to forge ahead.

Unlike my last epistle, this will not take me four months to complete. First, this trip was shorter. Second, there is no live section which needs to be expanded later. Third, I’m heading back to the World in 2.5 weeks and then into the holiday season ~ so I’m giving myself a “Do or Die” deadline.

Let’s get started.

Who? Tuvalu and Woody
What? End of summer getaway
Where? Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
When? August 19-22, 2017
Why? There has to be a why?

It certainly wasn’t to witness the eclipse. In fact when I booked I didn’t even realize our dates coincided with the eclipse. We live within two hours of the path of totality and missed a viewing party with friends who delighted in watching the total phenomenon. Instead Woody and I got to experience.....

Well, you’ll have to wait to find out.

Here we are on arrival day. Can you tell the photographer was earning his ears?
View attachment 243854
I’m proudly wearing the dress that was instrumental in our free Pirate Cruise. (For context please see my July TR.)

Stay tuned for this trip’s shenanigans.

Can’t wait to follow along!

 

[ksr99]

Saturday, con’t

Eventually our driver turned up the volume of the DME video and “Mrs. Google” was drowned out ~ though Woody and I were sitting in front and could see she was still using the GPS. Somehow the driver managed to get on World Drive without going under the Walt Disney World arch. (I know this because I was going to take a picture of it.) Then the bus began to slow down as it approached what appeared to be a dead end and all traffic was being routed to a road on the right.

Which road?

The entryway into the DHS parking lot!
View attachment 244048
Well this is an interesting detour!

We passed the construction for Toy Story/Star Wars lands and I would have gotten some great behind-the-scenes pics had we been sitting on the other side of the bus. The bus slowed down through the tollbooth and then had to navigate the narrow, winding road through the parking lot. I can only imagine what the cast members were thinking as they watched this large DME bus travel where only passenger cars do. The driver finally found the exit to Buena Vista Drive (the usual entrance/exit for all buses). She never acknowledged her error.

From Buena Vista we had to get back on World Drive, since our bus was going to the Poly first and then the GF. This “scenic” tour from the airport was going to cost us our first FP (at my fave HM!) After dropping off Poly guests, it was our turn at last!
View attachment 244049

Or so we thought. We did not expect to be held hostage on the bus. When we pulled up under the porte cochère there was another bus ahead of us.

View attachment 244050
And our driver would not allow us to get off the bus!!

“I will open the door when the other bus leaves,” she announced.
We waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The hostages were getting antsy. We were ready to stage a coup.

Ten minutes later we were allowed to disembark.

Seeing greeter Richard was like finding a pot of gold after a difficult search.
View attachment 244051

We raced inside to stow our bags with Bell Services before boarding the monorail.
Passed this sign.
View attachment 244052

Our lunch ADR was at 12:15. Would we make it?

poly and the grand, love it! The atmosphere is just awesome....

 

[ksr99]

Sunday, con’t

The Beach pool was certainly noisier than the Courtyard pool, thanks to the waterfall, slide and amount of children. Our family teases Woody about being a “kid magnet” and in the span of a half hour in the water he was kicked three times by three different kids! No matter how far he distances himself from children in a pool he still manages to get kicked, bumped or hit by a ball.

His patience was about to run out so I suggested having lunch at the Beachside Pool Bar.

View attachment 244849

We both ordered the Grilled Fresco Chicken Sandwich (provolone, avacado, lettuce and tomato). It was delicious! There was Mello Yello in the beverage dispenser ~ we drank Mello Yello in college and haven’t since ~ but for old times sake we gave it a try. It paired well with the chicken!

View attachment 244847

View attachment 244848

I want a pool day!

 

[gwhb75]

Tuesday, August 22

Woody got his “something hot”

View attachment 245841

You are learning well my young jedi...

 

[Tuvalu]

You are learning well my young jedi...

 

[Tuvalu]

I realize that fall has now come and gone at the MK (and Christmas is upon us) but I am still going to post these Main Street pictures, as they are a reminder of just how happy I was taking them. Woody and I moved at a snail’s pace towards the hub absorbing every detail.

Love the wraparound leaf garland!

Peek-a-Boo Pumpkins!

Not sure if the center pumpkin is a ghost, scary clown or snowman?

@ajrwdwgirl I hope you saw these Dapper Dan Jack ‘o Lanterns!!

More Peek-a-Boo Pumpkins

Even the side alley sported autumn bunting. It’s the little things.

A dropped ice cream cone is funny on a pumpkin! (But not so much in real life, right @Longers?)

 

[Tuvalu]

Our first FP was for Space Mountain and we cut through the Tomorrowland Terrace to get there.

Woody stopped to take a picture of the castle.

Can’t believe we forgot the purple wall selfie.....we were right there!

I got Woody to agree to do the “Tuvalu”

He obviously forgot to do the hand pose. Oh well.....he tried!

ICan the robot was entertaining guests as we made our way to TTA. We watched briefly before riding the highway in the sky.

 

[Tuvalu]

@bee you just enabled me to reach a milestone....100K likes. Thanks, friend!

 

[bee]

@bee you just made me reach a milestone....100K likes. Thanks, friend!

Woohoo!

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody and I crossed the hub into Adventureland and had a “medium” pass wait for Pirates. Once we were finally onboard we learned the reason why.

It was after the awkward ride photo spot.

What is the lady in the front row hiding from? Or was she suddenly stricken with a migraine?

Our boat progressed normally through each scene until just before the burning village. Then all boats were jammed bumper-to-bumper from this point until the disembark landing. We barely inched along. It did allow me to get a picture of the lush pirate with the cats who remind us of Poly and Kona.

Where we stopped

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Awesome dapper dan pumpkins. I tried to do the Tuvalu on space mountain a couple weeks ago but I rarely ride the attraction so I really have no idea where the camera is! I do know where the camera is on the disneyland one though. Maybe I will share my space mountain wdw picture in my report then you can really see clueless!