Trip Report Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Back to the World We Go! *COMPLETED*

Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you prematurely. I am your host ~ your trip report host. Here in the following pages you'll see how the Tuvalu family survived Spring Break 2017. Kindly sit back and relax please, and make room for everyone. There's no turning back now......

Well, that's not exactly true. You are free to FIND YOUR WAY OUT at any time. Although I hope you stick around for the tour. There's bound to be drama.

The deets:
Cast: Moi (Tuvalu), Benevolent Husband (Woody), and the only reason we braved Spring Break madness ~ our Teacher Daughter (Em)
Dates: April 1-8, 2017
Resort: Port Orleans French Quarter

Along the way you'll encounter the slowest cast members ever hired by Disney. Farewell performances of Wishes (were there tears?) The awesome Blue Angels flyover. A Magic meet-up with another mother/daughter pair equally obsessed with WDW as Em and me. And the BEST TRANSPORTATION EVER.

You'll also discover the answers to the following questions: Are Spring Break crowds really that bad? (I'll give you a hint......YES.) What the heck happened to the Trolley? And the flagpole? Is the Red Card really gone? Can you get a same-day ADR for Be Our Guest? What about 'Ohana?

And the most-pressing question of all: Will Woody be doomed to sit on a hard chair in our room chained to his PC and phone all week?

Now as they say, "Look alive" and we'll continue our little tour.

 

[Gabe1]

Chocolate ice cream with marshmallow sauce is my fav. Adding this to my December trip to do list.

Don't doddle making an ADR for Beaches and Cream, believe it or not.

 

[Gabe1]

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Oh my, @TrolleyFollower91 you are beginning to look a bit crispy in that photo. Ouch.

 

[Gabe1]

Wednesday, April 5

Our day started really early. As in 3:30 am. The moment Em regretted going for a morning run along the Sassagoula followed by a long day of walking around Epcot and DHS.

She awakened sobbing, "My toe has a heartbeat!"

Em lost the nail on her big toe in an accident several months ago. The new nail was growing back incorrectly which required a trip to the podiatrist. Unfortunately that trim was not successful ~ evidenced now by her red, swollen and very infected toe.

She soaked her foot, swallowed a mega dose of ibuprofen and tried to go back to sleep. As soon as the gift store opened, a bottle of hydrogen peroxide was purchased. I picked up coffee and muffins for breakfast and brought them to our room.

Em wanted to stick with our day's plans so she put her carefully bandaged toe into her running shoes (no sandals today!) and we headed for the car. Woody would not be joining us (not even for lunch ) as he had a series of meetings.

Soon we were here:
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We entered the turnstiles and it wasn't long before we spotted our first creature. Talk about camouflage!

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But we were most excited to notice these creatures ~
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Are kangaroos new to AK? We don't remember seeing them before. I wish Kanga had gotten closer so we could look for a Roo!

These creatures were in front of the Tree of Life.
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It was the perfect day for Em to wear her Sadness shirt. Her smile betrays her throbbing toe.

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Poor Em. Remember her pain. I (long odd wind story slammed big toe in car door reaching over to passenger floor of car) It is nasty.

But Sir Woody??? What is this new job of semi retirement???
Sadly it doesn't appear to be retirement at all.

 

[Tuvalu]

Okay, so why wasn't this Photopass photographer near Big Thunder Mountain during the mother/daughter meet-up with @Doc Disney??!! At least we're in the sun this time!

The crowd keeps on swelling.

 

[Gabe1]

Forgot to mention that the special effects on the "broken" bridge were finally working again! That added a little excitement to our safari ride.

Though there were CMs beckoning us to the Gorilla Trail, Em and I couldn't spare any time. Our next FP window was open.

Do you know where we are?
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Yes, yes, we're in a theater. But which one? Finding Nemo or Festival of the Lion King?





FOLK
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Em can relate to burning toes!
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When the show was over Em turned to me and said: "I'd forgotten just how good this show is. I really liked it!"
So did I.

This is an awesome photo of you two. The twinkle in Em's eye adorable. Who is the photobomber? Photoshop time?

 

[LadyBelle]

The crowd keeps on swelling.
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Uh, that GeoFilter (which cannot be helped) is in a...unique spot.

 

[Tuvalu]

But Sir Woody??? What is this new job of semi retirement???
Sadly it doesn't appear to be retirement at all.

Retirement (semi or otherwise) is a ways off ~ he still needs to fund our Disney addiction!
And his vacation last week was work-free!

 

[Tuvalu]

We passed the time waiting for our Haunted Mansion FP on a bench right here:

The warm sunshine felt good since the day continued to be chilly. We watched several Splash CMs come and go (and chat with each other) but the ride remained closed.

You know it's crowded when ~

That's 85 minutes!

After leaving the mansion, Em and I had reached our congestion limit and decided it was time to go. We caught most of the Friendship Faire show, something we had not seen before. (Shocking, I know @samantha788 )

<Insert @samantha788's excellent photos here>

 

[Tuvalu]

Em and I got to see one more show....more of a snippet of a show actually....when we got to Town Square.

A rehearsal was taking place for Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Take-Away. We learned it was the season finale for this U.K. based television show. @Longers, was the live show as fun as this looked?

Two contestants, both in balloons, had to answer questions quiz-style.

The host was reading from this TelePrompTer (enlarge the pic to see the type).

Each time a contestant answered incorrectly, the host turned the sharp pointed pole (center of picture) closer to the balloon....

.....until it eventually popped.

 

[Tuvalu]

As we exited the park, we could smell smoke.
Leaves burning, bonfire smoke.
We headed for the bus depot.

One quick turn and we saw this.

Was the Wilderness Lodge on fire?

Turns out it was a wildfire just off I-4. The drought has been awful in Florida and conditions are still conducive for fires. Pray for rain....the area needs it.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em and I perused the gift store upon our return to POFQ.

Love these masks!

Outside Jackson Square Gifts

Look who we saw out for a walk!

(He was just finishing a call.)

We met up with Woody and went for a drink at Mardi Grogs.

 

[Frogglet]

Turns out it was a wildfire just off I-4. The drought has been awful in Florida and conditions are still conducive for fires. Pray for rain....the area needs it.

This was the day our daughter got an ear infection and we learned how awesome Disney first aid is. Transported us from the park to the doctor and back to our resort and avoided the fire. Not as fun as a day in Magic Kingdom but when a 7 year old would rather go to the doctor than ride Mine Train you know she is sick.
Looks like a fun trip thanks for sharing.

 

[MinnieM123]

This was the day our daughter got an ear infection and we learned how awesome Disney first aid is. Transported us from the park to the doctor and back to our resort and avoided the fire. Not as fun as a day in Magic Kingdom but when a 7 year old would rather go to the doctor than ride Mine Train you know she is sick.
Looks like a fun trip thanks for sharing.

I hope your daughter is well now. Glad to hear how responsive Disney first aid was to your family.

 

[Tuvalu]

This was the day our daughter got an ear infection and we learned how awesome Disney first aid is. Transported us from the park to the doctor and back to our resort and avoided the fire. Not as fun as a day in Magic Kingdom but when a 7 year old would rather go to the doctor than ride Mine Train you know she is sick.
Looks like a fun trip thanks for sharing.

I'm so sorry your daughter got sick but kudos to Disney. Hope you had a good vacation despite her ear infection.

 

[Tuvalu]

Of course we had to return to the MK for our final evening, even though it meant do battle with other spring break tourists. (I realize I have spent a lot of time complaining about the "crowds" which we were also a part of! )

Em requested dinner at Pecos Bill's. The chicken nachos are super good and Woody likes the toppings bar for his burger (and the new side change from fries to tortilla chips.)

The back room is our preferred place to sit.

Em had scored us FPs for Pirates which we visited after we'd finished our meal.

It was Woody's first ride in 5 days! (How many of you can say you were at WDW for 5 days and didn't ride a single attraction?)

 

[samantha788]

We passed the time waiting for our Haunted Mansion FP on a bench right here:
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The warm sunshine felt good since the day continued to be chilly. We watched several Splash CMs come and go (and chat with each other) but the ride remained closed.

You know it's crowded when ~
View attachment 203730
That's 85 minutes!

After leaving the mansion, Em and I had reached our congestion limit and decided it was time to go. We caught most of the Friendship Faire show, something we had not seen before. (Shocking, I know @samantha788 )

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<Insert @samantha788's excellent photos here>

Hahaha I hope you liked what you saw!! I'm on my way to the airport now and will have many many more pics of the show soon to cover anything you may have missed

 

[littleroo]

Of course we had to return to the MK for our final evening, even though it meant do battle with other spring break tourists. (I realize I have spent a lot of time complaining about the "crowds" which we were also a part of! )

Em requested dinner at Pecos Bill's. The chicken nachos are super good and Woody likes the toppings bar for his burger (and the new side change from fries to tortilla chips.)

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The back room is our preferred place to sit.

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Em had scored us FPs for Pirates which we visited after we'd finished our meal.

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It was Woody's first ride in 5 days! (How many of you can say you were at WDW for 5 days and didn't ride a single attraction?)

I hope I never say this!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Hahaha I hope you liked what you saw!! I'm on my way to the airport now and will have many many more pics of the show soon to cover anything you may have missed

I'll keep my eye out for you!

 

[Longers]

BTMRR - 181 days until I ride it again (not that I'm counting) and the live Ant and Dec show had me in tears - I just wanted to be there.

If you check out u tube there are links to the opening and closing numbers - amazing and well worth a watch - I still cant believe they were able to take over Main Street like that - amazing

 

[Longers]

Here is the opening number