Trip Report C’mon Everybody, Here We Go….*COMPLETED*

Think of all the joy you’ll find
When you leave the world behind
And bid your cares goodbye!



Ahh, a relaxing getaway from reality. No cares or concerns. Just bliss.

Not exactly a perfect picture of vacationing at Walt Disney World during Spring Break, is it?

But we’re going anyway. We’re Spring Break Veterans and it’s time for the annual reunion.

Two years ago we missed out on our usual adventure thanks to Covid. The stay-at-home vacation just wasn’t the same! (Although you can read about it here: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-“no-trip”-trip-report-completed.964173/)

Last year we were able to return, albeit under Covid protocols. We believed that enduring masks 24/7, plexiglass and vinyl dividers on attractions, mobile order Door Nazis and limited shopping/dining/entertainment would be acceptable in exchange for the very low crowds that we’d experienced on earlier pandemic trips. But the parks were packed and we ended up spending a lot of time at the pool (which wasn’t a bad thing. We’re pool people.)

Now that park capacity has increased and nearly all Covid restrictions are gone, we expect to find the shoulder-to-shoulder spring break crowds of yore. And long lines. So we’re packing our patience and “It is what it is” attitudes.

Because in spite of all the negatives WDW is still our happy place.

We can’t wait.

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Who: Tuvalu and Em
When: April 3-9, 2022
Where: Our favorite moderate resort

My plan is to go live upon our departure. Fingers crossed that Disney WiFi will be my friend.

Speaking of friends, we hope to meet up with a few. You’ll have to follow along to see if we do.
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Tuesday, May 10

A long night’s sleep did not restore my energy as I had hoped. And I reluctantly admitted to myself that I probably needed some medicine to help alleviate some of my cold symptoms.

After fetching us Mickey waffles for breakfast, Woody offered to leave the bubble for a pharmacy. (For future reference, resort gift stores don’t stock cold medication.) He texted me from the store, saying options were limited. I suppose when demand exceeds supply, it’s okay to price gouge.

AC105344-077D-41A6-BCCD-EF045B7C5C59.jpeg

:jawdrop:

Honestly I didn’t even care at that point. I needed something to clear my head. (Although I will never forget to pack cold medicine again!)

Spending another day at the pool was in no way a hardship.

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Temperatures were in the mid 70s, perfect for lounging.

For lunch, sweet Woody got us take-out from Geyser Point. (There wasn’t a cabana boy working today. 😉) I had my favorite kids finger food meal.

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The turkey is smoked in the WL Smokehouse and is absolutely delicious. It’s served at Whispering Canyon, Roaring Fork, Geyser Point and the club lounge.

Woody had the same turkey sandwich we’d both enjoyed on Saturday.

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Got chips this time!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Later in the afternoon we were able to relax on our balcony without obnoxious pool music. It was playing, but at the volume of background music. Watching people having fun brought me joy.

We had a dinner ADR at the Magic Kingdom. I told Woody I felt well enough to keep it. We opted to take the bus to MK, which was a mistake.

We only waited about five minutes for the bus to arrive. What we didn’t know when we boarded was that the bus was going to the campground first (the sign on the bus said MK.) We were the only ones on the bus. The driver waited at the WL stop for at least five more minutes (no one got on) before driving to the Settlement Depot at the campground.
There were people waiting there, one in an ECV that needed to be loaded.

Once the party was settled on the bus, the driver returned via the same route we’d already taken - meaning 15 minutes after we’d boarded, we were back at WL! The driver headed for the exit rather than the bus stop, thankfully. Not sure the reason for our detour, but it was frustrating since it is literally a 4 minute bus ride from WL to MK.

On a positive note, we caught a multi-character cavalcade upon our arrival.

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Tuvalette’s current favorite character is Moana. Took this one for her.

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It was cool to see some rarer characters: Miguel, Meeko, King Louie, Max and Bert!
 

93boomer

Premium Member
Tuesday, May 10

A long night’s sleep did not restore my energy as I had hoped. And I reluctantly admitted to myself that I probably needed some medicine to help alleviate some of my cold symptoms.

After fetching us Mickey waffles for breakfast, Woody offered to leave the bubble for a pharmacy. (For future reference, resort gift stores don’t stock cold medication.) He texted me from the store, saying options were limited. I suppose when demand exceeds supply, it’s okay to price gouge.

View attachment 641342
:jawdrop:

Honestly I didn’t even care at that point. I needed something to clear my head. (Although I will never forget to pack cold medicine again!)

Spending another day at the pool was in no way a hardship.

View attachment 641341

Temperatures were in the mid 70s, perfect for lounging.

For lunch, sweet Woody got us take-out from Geyser Point. (There wasn’t a cabana boy working today. 😉) I had my favorite kids finger food meal.

View attachment 641343

The turkey is smoked in the WL Smokehouse and is absolutely delicious. It’s served at Whispering Canyon, Roaring Fork, Geyser Point and the club lounge.

Woody had the same turkey sandwich we’d both enjoyed on Saturday.

View attachment 641344

Got chips this time!
Still can’t believe the mucinex was that expensive!🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Tuesday, con’t

You may be quite surprised at where we had dinner, in light of my awful experience last month.

We were a bit early so we hung out on the porch before checking in.

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Tuvalu, are you a glutton for punishment?

Not really. The food is good and I thought Crystal Palace deserved another chance. Besides the food is still reasonably priced (by Disney standards) since character greetings have not yet returned. I expect a price increase of $15-20 per person when they do.

In the meantime I’m content with the topiary versions.

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We were seated on time in the right side of the restaurant (last time we were in the left side.) Had a pretty, peaceful view from our window.

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Our server was prompt in arriving and keeping our drinks filled and removing used plates. My only complaint was that she forgot to apply the AP discount (that seems to be a pattern with Crystal Palace servers :cautious:.)

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Look, no children sprawled on the floor around us!

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The buffet wasn’t jam-packed. Food was hot and yummy as always.

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The desserts don’t wow me here though. So I got creative and made myself a chocolate chip cookie sundae.

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Again, the ice cream soothed my scratchy throat.

Dinner here tonight was a win.
 

93boomer

Premium Member
Tuesday, con’t

You may be quite surprised at where we had dinner, in light of my awful experience last month.

We were a bit early so we hung out on the porch before checking in.

View attachment 641555

Tuvalu, are you a glutton for punishment?

Not really. The food is good and I thought Crystal Palace deserved another chance. Besides the food is still reasonably priced (by Disney standards) since character greetings have not yet returned. I expect a price increase of $15-20 per person when they do.

In the meantime I’m content with the topiary versions.

View attachment 641558

View attachment 641557

View attachment 641556

We were seated on time in the right side of the restaurant (last time we were in the left side.) Had a pretty, peaceful view from our window.

View attachment 641559

View attachment 641563

Our server was prompt in arriving and keeping our drinks filled and removing used plates. My only complaint was that she forgot to apply the AP discount (that seems to be a pattern with Crystal Palace servers :cautious:.)

View attachment 641560

Look, no children sprawled on the floor around us!

View attachment 641561


The buffet wasn’t jam-packed. Food was hot and yummy as always.

View attachment 641562

The desserts don’t wow me here though. So I got creative and made myself a chocolate chip cookie sundae.

View attachment 641564

Again, the ice cream soothed my scratchy throat.

Dinner here tonight was a win.
😱 for no child sprawl!! 👍🏻
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
One outdoor attraction before leaving MK.

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We got the last car. Interesting angle for taking a picture.

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Woody practiced his selfie game this vacation. He’s not big on selfies, but I told him he’s a good learner!

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Progress City is his favorite part of the ride.

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“I think there is someone on top of the Tron canopy,” Woody said as our vehicle neared the exit platform.

Look closely at my zoom picture.

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Woody was right!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Due to our earlier bus experience we opted to take the boat back.

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Another cruise @lindawdw!

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Trees continue to grow around the cabins, restoring that “wilderness feel” so many complained was gone when trees were removed for cabin construction.

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I happened to check WDWMagic once we were back in our room and saw some very good news, thanks to @DCBaker. He does an excellent job of tracking park pass availability here:

I noticed that the next’s day availability had changed and all parks were open. So long Animal Kingdom…..we’re going to Hollywood Studios after all!!
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Wednesday, May 11

Watching the sunrise brought me hope that today would be a fabulous day.

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As usual my optimism did not live up to reality. Don’t get me wrong….there were some good times but also some bumps and my energy meter was continuing to run on low.

We were aboard the DHS bus at 7:10am. Resort guests were being allowed inside the park when we arrived, though Early Entry did not begin until 8am.

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Woody and I followed the same strategy I used last month - head for RotR as quickly as our feet would take us. There was a substantial line but only because the actual queue was not open. We joined the line and stood there for a whopping two minutes before CMs began to walk the line saying the attraction was down and they did not know when it would reopen.

Hard-core guests remained on line, but we did not want to waste precious morning time. Since priority #1 was a bust, we headed for priority #2.

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Five minute wait for MMRR? Yes, please!

It was a blessing our wait wasn’t much longer due to the loud talking know-it-all (spoiler alert: he didn’t!) behind us. My mood instantly lifted when I saw that the plexiglass had been removed from the train station. I had never been there without it.

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We made it, Tuvaleen!

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