Trip Report I Vowed Never Again ~ Yet Here We Are! *COMPLETED*

Wait, what?

WDW-obsessed Tuvalu actually vowed never again ?!?!

Must. Read. More.


Clickbait!

But there is truth in my statement. I did vow not to visit the world whenever our spring break...always the first week in April....aligns with Easter. The first week of April typically brings heavy crowds since most southern school systems are out. I can handle heavy. But add in additional volume from schools that coordinate their break with Easter and “heavy” becomes INSANE. (Not quite the insanity of Christmas week....I am smart enough to avoid that, thanks to a one-day trip in 1994.)

But I’ve BEEN THERE ~
In 2009 (during the recession) when it took 40 minutes just to get through the Epcot parking booth....and the line for the boat ride in Mexico was out the front door of the pavilion....and Magic Kingdom was closed due to capacity.

In 2010 when the mid-morning standby wait for Test Track was 240 minutes (that’s 4 hours, people!) and the wait time for Nemo (Nemo!) was 150 minutes.

In 2015 when we watched the 6:45 am MK Welcome show in the dark because we wanted to ride a few attractions before the hordes descended.

Long lines to use the restrooms (always filthy because attendants couldn’t keep up); no available tables in quick-service locations, forcing guests to sit on the ground outside the restaurants; and a general atmosphere of cranky/angry guests who didn’t like dealing with the multitude any more than I did.

So I declared, DONE THAT!

Or so I thought.....

My darling daughter Em lives for spring break. As a student she vacationed (Disney or beach) every year but one ~ and there was nearly a mutiny! Now that she’s a teacher, going away for spring break has reached an even higher level of importance. With this year’s Easter/spring break overlap, we began researching other warm-weather destinations.

Guess what we discovered. Transportation, resort and dining costs were cheaper if we went to WDW! And having APs means our entertainment would be free. Em’s teacher budget would not be strained. The practical side of me could not argue....and the mom side of me could not disappoint my daughter.

We leave on Monday. We’re prepared. And we’re gonna be LIVE!

A few Magic meet-ups are in the works. Hope to keep them a surprise (as long as @Zipitidoda doesn’t spill the beans! )

Despite declining MagicBands for our upcoming stay, these arrived in yesterday’s mail ~

Yeah, like we’re gonna wear the UGLY gray ones.....

See Ya Real Soon!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Ahem, part “tu.”

 

[Gabe1]

I am all for security and safety. But making everyone open their wallets and flip through their cards and bills? That’s ridiculous.

The security guard at MK this evening made the man in front of me take off his lanyard, open it, and expose several hundred dollars in cash. Then, she opened his first aid kit from his backpack and sorted through every. single. bandaid. This was after she placed every content of his backpack on the table.

She made me take my camera out, take my wallet out, and unzip that inside pocket inside of all ladies’ handbags. Doing this with hands full and then have to repack your bag before heading through the medical detector is a feat that only a tightrope walker could perform.

I had to find this post for an update. She still working bag check! The other guards were minimum doing 10-1 bag check to her. One large group of mid 20s had people in various lines. They started teasing those stuck in our line. Then the guys starting in on the security lady and she could not see where in our line the comments kept coming from. Ultimately it became ugly on her part. A man had a larger bag, it was 58 degrees when we left for the park and windy so he had lots of stuff for his kids. Guard asked his name. TJ. Then proceeded to mock him loudly, meant to be heard by all and he was not part of group that had verbally lost patience. She is shouting into the sea of guests that it is all TJ fault holding and waiving his stuff and she continued on now she isn’t even progressing just trying to humiliate the guest. Now this dude lost patience as she finally got back to her 'professional' security job while still abusing him verbally to all loudly. He then defends himself saying she can't even remember what she has checked. This is her 3rd time going through the same zipper compartment. Then another security guard stepped up to the table to inspect a different bag along side her and viewed 4 bags while this guys stuff was dump'd on the table. He had her when done move to the table to the right and got through the rest of us promptly as the masses were getting ugly. Sadly line #3 moaned when she came over half walking out of her line and into ours and the one to the left, cause the end of the line would be better overall.

When we finally got through and walked past the ticket booths and before the tap to enter was the man she worked over. He must have requested a manager cause he was giving that lady manager an ear full. I've seen some seemingly unnecessary things at Airport Security and pushing the envelope of what travelers have no choice but to endure however WDW is a business. Their Security checkpoints are On Stage positions. They need to go through Traditions training, my son calls Smile School. Disney does send employees back to Traditions Training when they slip too often. She needs to be retrained or reassigned. While standing in H*ll we were pondering where she worked prior to Disney. She isn't young by any means so this can't be her first gig in security or law enforcement.

Still I blame Disney. This hand checking every bag and stroller is so beyond obsolete.

 

[Tuvalu]

Plus, if you didn’t keep the title accurate, @amjt660 would be all:

Looking forward to Part 2!

I literally LOL’ed at this!!

Ahem, part “tu.”

Fixed.

I had to find this post for an update. She still working bag check! The other guards were minimum doing 10-1 bag check to her. One large group of mid 20s had people in various lines. They started teasing those stuck in our line. Then the guys starting in on the security lady and she could not see where in our line the comments kept coming from. Ultimately it became ugly on her part. A man had a larger bag, it was 58 degrees when we left for the park and windy so he had lots of stuff for his kids. Guard asked his name. TJ. Then proceeded to mock him loudly, meant to be heard by all and he was not part of group that had verbally lost patience. She is shouting into the sea of guests that it is all TJ fault holding and waiving his stuff and she continued on now she isn’t even progressing just trying to humiliate the guest. Now this dude lost patience as she finally got back to her 'professional' security job while still abusing him verbally to all loudly. He then defends himself saying she can't even remember what she has checked. This is her 3rd time going through the same zipper compartment. Then another security guard stepped up to the table to inspect a different bag along side her and viewed 4 bags while this guys stuff was dump'd on the table. He had her when done move to the table to the right and got through the rest of us promptly as the masses were getting ugly. Sadly line #3 moaned when she came over half walking out of her line and into ours and the one to the left, cause the end of the line would be better overall.

When we finally got through and walked past the ticket booths and before the tap to enter was the man she worked over. He must have requested a manager cause he was giving that lady manager an ear full. I've seen some seemingly unnecessary things at Airport Security and pushing the envelope of what travelers have no choice but to endure however WDW is a business. Their Security checkpoints are On Stage positions. They need to go through Traditions training, my son calls Smile School. Disney does send employees back to Traditions Training when they slip too often. She needs to be retrained or reassigned. While standing in H*ll we were pondering where she worked prior to Disney. She isn't young by any means so this can't be her first gig in security or law enforcement.

Still I blame Disney. This hand checking every bag and stroller is so beyond obsolete.

Unbelievable.

 

[Ayden]

Congratulations Tuvalu!! You look very proud

 

[susan lees]

I had to find this post for an update. She still working bag check! The other guards were minimum doing 10-1 bag check to her. One large group of mid 20s had people in various lines. They started teasing those stuck in our line. Then the guys starting in on the security lady and she could not see where in our line the comments kept coming from. Ultimately it became ugly on her part. A man had a larger bag, it was 58 degrees when we left for the park and windy so he had lots of stuff for his kids. Guard asked his name. TJ. Then proceeded to mock him loudly, meant to be heard by all and he was not part of group that had verbally lost patience. She is shouting into the sea of guests that it is all TJ fault holding and waiving his stuff and she continued on now she isn’t even progressing just trying to humiliate the guest. Now this dude lost patience as she finally got back to her 'professional' security job while still abusing him verbally to all loudly. He then defends himself saying she can't even remember what she has checked. This is her 3rd time going through the same zipper compartment. Then another security guard stepped up to the table to inspect a different bag along side her and viewed 4 bags while this guys stuff was dump'd on the table. He had her when done move to the table to the right and got through the rest of us promptly as the masses were getting ugly. Sadly line #3 moaned when she came over half walking out of her line and into ours and the one to the left, cause the end of the line would be better overall.

When we finally got through and walked past the ticket booths and before the tap to enter was the man she worked over. He must have requested a manager cause he was giving that lady manager an ear full. I've seen some seemingly unnecessary things at Airport Security and pushing the envelope of what travelers have no choice but to endure however WDW is a business. Their Security checkpoints are On Stage positions. They need to go through Traditions training, my son calls Smile School. Disney does send employees back to Traditions Training when they slip too often. She needs to be retrained or reassigned. While standing in H*ll we were pondering where she worked prior to Disney. She isn't young by any means so this can't be her first gig in security or law enforcement.

Still I blame Disney. This hand checking every bag and stroller is so beyond obsolete.

Disneyland Paris now have airport style security entry to parks. You put your bags through x-ray while you walk through scanner. Keeps the crowds moving.

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

I was highly optimistic when I’d booked our fastpasses two months ago that we’d be able to get to our first attraction before the window closed at 5:15 pm. Of course our check in issues delayed us, but even if we could have gone straight to our room there was a good probability we’d be late. The FP we missed was for Jungle Cruise, and we never got a chance to ride it during our trip.

Once I knew we’d missed our window, I decided to stop for our new TiW card. It also gave Em the opportunity to purchase her new SD card.

So after posing on Main Street we set off to meet some Pirates with FP #2.

*SPOILER ALERT*
The next three pictures are of the new Redhead scene. After several failed attempts I cannot “hide” them in a SPOILER. So close your eyes and scroll fast if you don’t want to see them.

Interesting that there are men in the Auction line.

The switch to Annie Oakley doesn’t bother me....although I’m not sure the drunken “We wants the rum!” is a good substitute.

Try as we might, we still can’t find the camera!

FYI ~ I’ve read complaints about the Pirates ride photo not showing up in guest accounts. Ours didn’t. To retrieve a missing photo, simply go to MyDisneyPhotoPass.com and follow the instructions. Less than 24 hours later our picture appeared in MDE.

 

[Tuvalu]

@Longers and I have a friendly contest going to see who can ride Big Thunder Mountain the most times in 2018. She started us off last month with 7. There was no way I could come close during Easter week.

But I had to start with #1!

(We were thisclose to getting the red card!)

But I’d gladly sacrifice a red card for the last car!

 

[Tuvalu]

In another of my “What was I thinking?” moments, I had planned for us to take the train to Main Street after our ride on BTMRR. Sure, Tuvalu, you can disembark the wildest ride in the wilderness at 6:35 pm, jump on the train, stay aboard while it stops at the Fantasyland station, ride to Main Street, exit the park, board the resort monorail for the Contemporary and arrive ON TIME at the check in desk for California Grill at 7:05 pm.

IN A LAND WHERE TIME STANDS STILL!

Instead we had to walk as briskly as possible through wall-to-wall people to the park exit, and continue on a near-breathless pace....in the recent rainshower....to check in 5 minutes late.

Oh well. At least we made it.

Here’s a pic Em took while we waited in the lounge.

If you remember, there was a mix-up with our table assignment which required us to wait in the lounge for awhile. This ended up being a positive as I discovered a new yummy drink ~

The Tropical Lifesaver

Don’t you adore the Contemporary swizzle stick?

Em said her Malbec was a good choice.

We had almost finished our drinks when the hostess arrived to tell us our table was ready. It was at this moment I recognized @Big Hair standing at the bar. In my excitement, I leapt up from our table to meet him.....leaving Em to settle our drink bill with the lounge server who had also just arrived with our check. (Sorry, Em!)

(It would not be the first time I would leap for @Big Hair .)

***And we never did get a chance to ride the MPB this trip!***

 

[93boomer]

Monday, con’t

I was highly optimistic when I’d booked our fastpasses two months ago that we’d be able to get to our first attraction before the window closed at 5:15 pm. Of course our check in issues delayed us, but even if we could have gone straight to our room there was a good probability we’d be late. The FP we missed was for Jungle Cruise, and we never got a chance to ride it during our trip.

Once I knew we’d missed our window, I decided to stop for our new TiW card. It also gave Em the opportunity to purchase her new SD card.

So after posing on Main Street we set off to meet some Pirates with FP #2.
View attachment 278489

*SPOILER ALERT*
The next three pictures are of the new Redhead scene. After several failed attempts I cannot “hide” them in a SPOILER. So close your eyes and scroll fast if you don’t want to see them.

View attachment 278490
Interesting that there are men in the Auction line.

View attachment 278491

View attachment 278492
The switch to Annie Oakley doesn’t bother me....although I’m not sure the drunken “We wants the rum!” is a good substitute.

Try as we might, we still can’t find the camera!
View attachment 278493
FYI ~ I’ve read complaints about the Pirates ride photo not showing up in guest accounts. Ours didn’t. To retrieve a missing photo, simply go to MyDisneyPhotoPass.com and follow the instructions. Less than 24 hours later our picture appeared in MDE.

Ooo good tip about the photo pass! Thanks!

 

[Tuvalu]

Em and I were seated at one of our favorite tables. We could see Epcot and DHS.

Ryan was busy serving a couple other tables in the room so it was a few minutes before he was able greet us. But he welcomed us back with such fanfare we didn’t mind.

In the interest of full disclosure, we had looked at the menu before we left home and noticed the absence of the BLT flatbread. Em was crushed. Attempting to lift her spirits, I said perhaps there would be a new menu for April; after all, CG frequently changes its offerings.

The menu for April was the same as March’s.

We asked Ryan what happened to the flatbreads. “We have Artisanal pizzas now. We make the dough fresh in-house.” It sounded like he was reading from a script. “Pizzas are in; flatbreads are out.”

“So pizzas are trendy now?” I said sarcastically. Ryan cracked a slight smile.

“Well which one is the best?” I asked.

“The Poached Pear.” Good ~ that was the one I was leaning towards. Em was partial to the House-made Pepperoni, but she agreed to share the pear.

Just then another server brought over our bread. I believe I audibly gasped when I saw the small round loaf of sourdough and NO LAVENDER FOCCACIA.

“Ryan?” I looked at him helplessly. I dream of Lavender Foccacia. Sadly, it is one of my favorite parts of a CG meal.

“We have a new bakery chef too,” he responded. (I don’t want to get Ryan in any trouble but there *may* have been an eye roll.)

Red wine poached Asian Pear, Olli Prosciutto, Red Onion Jam, Fontina, Asiago, Parmesan, Meyer Lemon, Arugula, Fresh Cracked Pepper

This was tasty. Not outstanding and nothing we’d go out of our way for. We didn’t even eat the “house-made” crust ends.

BLT flatbread it was not.

On to the entrées. The oak-grilled filet was still being served with the Potato-Rutabaga Gratin we didn’t particularly care for when we dined at CG in December. I think this was a factor in Em’s decision to try something new.

Colorado Bison Loin, Truffle-Herb Potato Gnocchi, Roasted Cipollini Onions, Salsa Verde

She enjoyed it.

I couldn’t pass up the filet....it’s my fave....but I requested no Tamarind Barbecue Sauce (it “hides” the oak flavor) and asked if I could sub the Aged Gouda Mac and Cheese (which accompanies the Rib-Eye) for the Potato-Rutabaga Gratin.

Filet a definite two-thumbs-up. The Mac and Cheese tasted like Kraft. Most of it remained uneaten.

We were almost finished when it was time to head out to the observation deck to watch Happily Ever After. While outside we turned around a few times to watch Illuminations, which had also started at 9 pm. A fireworks two-fer!

We were also able to see the Star Wars Fireworks from DHS as we had dessert (a three-fer!) Ryan brought me a cupcake as a peace offering and Em tried ~

White Chocolate Crème Brûlée
Cornflake Crunch, Sponge Cake, Plant City Strawberry Textures (minus the coconut-whipped ganache)

Em said this was pretty sweet and she couldn’t finish it. She liked the fresh berries.

We left the restaurant with mixed feelings. Service and experience were top-notch as always but the food was a bit of a let-down. We have two reservations for upcoming trips and are considering cancelling ~ something we never thought we’d do. We’ll wait to see if the menu changes between now and then.

We walked back to the MK and caught the bus to POFQ. I was up later than I wanted due to the live trip reporting, but my perfectionism would not let me sleep until I had finished the day.

Up next....day “tu”

 

[Tuvalu]

Edit: You’ll have to forgive my new-Grandma brain. Em and I did ride Jungle Cruise this trip....on our last night....but I can still say for certain we did not ride the MPB!

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Congratulations Tuvalu! I am partial to leen names since I am a Jolene myself. She will be extra sweet and special.

 

[amjt660]

Plus, if you didn’t keep the title accurate, @amjt660 would be all:

Looking forward to Part 2!

All I have to say is.....

 

[amjt660]

@Tuvalu ,of course I remember that episode

If you did not like the shower you have another option you know

 

[krause]

All I have to say is.....
View attachment 278694

I would bug you more, but you just got snowed on (I imagine) and I didn’t so

 

[riverside]

Thanks for the tip about photopass. I have spent WAYYYY too much time on the phone trying to retrieve pics in the past.

Sorry to hear about your California Grill experience. I was thinking of maybe going to the bar on my next trip but you have me thinking I should pass...

 

[MinnieM123]

We asked Ryan what happened to the flatbreads. “We have Artisanal pizzas now. We make the dough fresh in-house.” It sounded like he was reading from a script. “Pizzas are in; flatbreads are out.”

Oh, didn't you know? Flatbreads are so "yesterday" . . .

 

[fractal]

Terrific pics in Pirates @TrolleyFollower91 ! and food pics! Looks like a new lens?

 

[LadyBelle]

I’ve wanted to have the experience of eating at California Grill, but when I looked at the menu, I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

 

[amjt660]

I would bug you more, but you just got snowed on (I imagine) and I didn’t so

In terms of weather you are from Winnipeg so..
You deserve to win one for a change

Max