Trip Report Mask up for the August Alternate 2020 Trip

Hello friends! My husband and I just got back about a week ago from our WDW trip, it was strange, hot, fun, and in a way unexpected. I'll start with some quick details:

Who: Me (Am) and my husband (Brad)
When: August 6-20, 2020
Resort: Pop Century (was scheduled for All Star Sports)

Let me explain my title a little: We were scheduled to travel to WDW in June the 21st through July 5. It was going to be epic.....we would be there over our birthdays, 15th wedding anniversary, and had a couple of Magic meetups planned. That trip didn't happen. While planning our trips at home I always come up with some sort of title for our trips to give it a little excitement. Well, shortly after the shut down in March, about 2 weeks after the parks closed I had a feeling that my June trip wouldn't happen so hubs and I looked at the calendar and figured out a date when we could go to WDW, we had to plan around some of his church activities (all got cancelled) and a girls trip to California for me (cancelled too). So in late March I booked a two week stay at the Sports. But all while planning including the frustrating day in June to get park reservations and the day I cancelled June/July I was never able to build up much excitement for this August trip. So I always stayed labeled in my planning things as the August Alternate trip, how generic! So I had hope that the trip would happen but I was convinced something would happen and we wouldn't be able to go.

Fast forward to the first week of August, days before leaving. I get an email from my boss (principal) asking what my travel dates to Florida were so they could be consistent on teachers traveling and returning back to work. My return date was 4 days before I would start back to work for inservice so no time to quarantine if he asked me to! Ugh! I couldn't lie to my boss and I couldn't ignore his email. Well he didn't ask me to quarantine but he did ask that I get a Covid test upon my return and then quarantine if needed or until my results came back. He asked if I wanted to come in an work a day so that if something happened I would have had time to work to get my classroom ready and he said I could bank it as a day worked so I wouldn't have to use a day if I did quarantine. So that's what I did. In a way it was surreal to be back working in my room, which was the day before we left for WDW. As I was working in my room that day I had a flash, the last day I worked a full day in my classroom was before I went to WDW in March! Whoa! So with a fully day of work banked, suitcases packed, it looked like our Alternate trip was really happening!

*Spoiler alert: my Covid test came back negative, it was probably too early to take it when I came back but it satisfied my boss. Also neither of us have had any symptoms of Covid upon return so looks like we might have stayed safe.

Okay, let's begin......

August 6, 2020

Our flight out of Minneapolis left at 8:20 am so our plan was to wake up around 4 am get ready and drive to the airport. Who sleeps before a trip! We were up around 3am but we didn't leave until around 4:15am. I got a great parking deal at a Park n Fly for our two week park that was like $7 a day so much cheaper than the small airport lot at $15 a day! Does anyone remember the old WDW information station that used to play the song "I'm Going to Disney World"? I have that song and usually play it on the way to the airport and I played it as we pulled into the Park N Fly lot. I didn't play it before I didn't want to jinx us!

The airport was really strange, usually it is such a hub bub of activity but today it was so strange because there weren't many people. Security was a walk up and we were through in less than 2 minutes! We got breakfast at the Caribou Coffee near our gate and spent time just relaxing in our masks waiting. Our flight was on Delta and they did a great job on the flight. When we boarded we were handed wipes to wipe our area, they reminded people about masks, and during flight we were handed a snack pack in a plastic bag with water,chocolate covered pretzels, cheez-its, napkin and hand sanitizer. The middle seat was empty so we had our own row and Brad watched Star Wars something and I watched the Downton Abbey movie (I'd rewatched the series before leaving so this pleased me to rewatch movie too).

The airport in Minneapolis.
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Flights on time, and plane is here! It's happening! It's really happening!
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Waiting at the gate
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On the plane, looking out! Different from my last flight in March. No snow on the ground this time!
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Ready for flight!
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And we've made it to Orlando!!! Again the airport was pretty empty and we had to retrieve our own luggage this time.
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And here we are at Magical Express, not too many people in line. I think when we came in March this is where we started our line up to check in.
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There was a sign that said our wait could be an hour and the ME agent said that too but from check in to the bus pulling away it was less than 20 minutes which is shorter than some of the pre-Covid trips we have had.
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Coming up: arrival at WDW and will there be tears?
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Thrilled to see that EPCOT is returning the iconic, transparent obelisk fountain in front of SSE!! ❤️ Oh, happy day!! :happy:

All of your photos are excellent. I think what stood out to me the most about the low crowd situation, was just how much I missed seeing -- the myriad of details, in all the parks. When the crowds are larger, they obscure the full view, and I didn't even realize the extent of this, until I started looking at your various photos.

Thanks for this view into everything I would normally just breeze by! :jawdrop: Can't believe what I've been missing!
 

cgersic

Well-Known Member
Main Street is mine! (And the guy in the background, probably wondering what the crazy lady sitting on the ground is doing). I've gotten this empty-ish shot before but usually about an hour after closing time, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get this empty of a shot mid-day/morning in the middle of August!
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This is a Great Photo!! And I am in love with this shirt!
 

93boomer

Premium Member
August 12, 2020

We hung around for quite awhile. Probably not as long as I would have if I had been alone, but B gets a little antsy hanging back at park close. I think he thinks he will be stranded there and the buses won't take him back, which doesn't sound too bad to me. But I guess I'll wait to get night castle pictures another time, it probably wouldn't have been dark by the time they would have ushered us out anyway.

We was a nice evening though and at least we did see the lights on Main Street.
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Great pictures Amy!!!!
Ooo I always tear up at Disney! I hide it from DH🤣 We need to go together sometime and tear up together!!😉😊
 
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 14, 2020

This morning we made some time for a Mickey waffle breakfast. I guess the kid's option doesn't include bacon or sausage anymore so we went with the adult version which has 3 waffles instead of the kids one of 2. Apparently there is a debate on the internets about the waffle mix being different now and that it isn't the Golden Malted anymore. I don't know, we have that mix at home and these didn't taste any different to us. The waffles did seem a little drier but we just thought that was because they might have been boxed up longer and not as fresh, either way we still enjoyed them.

Then we were off to the Magic Kingdom.
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So why is Brad posing with an empty popcorn stand.....his shirt. My sister gave him this Disney popcorn shirt years ago because he loves Disney popcorn, it is his favorite snack. But the shirt was too small so he never wore it. He gave it to me but I never wore it either even though it did fit. I didn't wear it because I knew he was disappointed he couldn't wear it and then it got lost in my closet. Anyway, I was reorganizing my closet this spring and I found the shirt again. I thought B might fit into it now and he did! He was excited and immediately put it in his suitcase for our next WDW trip. So on this morning he finally clipped off the tag and wore it proudly. We eventually did get a picture of him with popcorn in his popcorn shirt but I wanted to make sure we got at least one popcorn picture so I made sure to take one early.
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First ride: Big Thunder!
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Then a little Jungle Cruisin'.
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And another classic!
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Time for another cruise on the Liberty Belle. Last time I rode this boat was in March when I got the call that school was closing down before the governor's mandated date.
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No phone calls on this trip though, just a nice cruise on the river.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 14, 2020

After the Liberty Belle we wandered over to the Country Bears. It was fun to see Big Al on the balcony outside.
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Brad is not a fan of the Country Bears and often falls asleep in the show. He did stay awake today and seemed to enjoy the show more than usual. I figure if I keep making him watch it he will start enjoying it!
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We started to head over to Pinocchio's Village Haus for lunch and as we started to walk through Liberty Square I looked over and saw Sleepy Hollow and I remembered they used to have hand-dipped corn dogs. We miss Disneyland corn dogs and we knew the Sleepy Hollow ones weren't the same but close. Detour taken.
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The line for Sleepy Hollow was long but Brad volunteered to stand in the line while I got a table (so I could check my blood sugar and stuff). I got a table with a nice view of the castle. And since I was seated and technically drinking water I used the opportunity for a maskless castle selfie!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 14, 2020

While I was waiting for B a fun character cavalcade went by with Goofy. Then B arrived with the corndogs which came with fresh made chips. It wasn't a Disneyland corndog but it was very tasty and hit the spot. Our table was great with a good view of the castle and provided for good people watching too. I'm glad we detoured away from Pinocchio's!

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After lunch we wandered into Fantasyland and caught the step-sisters as they were near the end of their time. They were fun to see though and they heckled B a little.
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I think B is pretending to sing, what a goof!?
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 14, 2020

Eventually we made our way over to Tomorrowland and had some nice chances for photos along the way. We stopped in Star Traders and there was a fun Peoplemover shirt which I would have bought but they only had smalls left. It was also sad to see the Peoplemover not moving but we consoled ourselves with the Carousel of Progress.

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No privacy at all!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 14, 2020

After Carousel of Progress we started to make our way out of the park but we hadn't had enough bad for us foods and stopped for a Mickey ice cream bar. And I couldn't resist taking some low crowd pictures of the hub and Main Street.

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This was 2 pm in the summer!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 14, 2020

After our afternoon nap we were ready for Disney Springs. We had a reservation for dinner at the Boathouse and a Magic meet up tonight!

We were early for our reservation so we hung out by the water for a bit.
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Time for dinner at the Boathouse! I don't know what the glaze is on these rolls but it is super yummy! We may have gone through 2 plates of them! (So bad for me!)
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There was a lot of law enforcement eating at the Boathouse, some behind B and there were some on the other side of the room too. We ate inside which was okay, spacing between the tables was present but not as much as other restaurants. It was a bit uncomfortable but we pushed it out of our minds and enjoyed the food. We just didn't feel like eating this big meal outside in the heat.
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This beer was good, but I was jonesing for a more hazy IPA.
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The slogan was fun though.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
August 14, 2020

Dinner at the Boathouse was fantastic. Brad like seafood and I do not. I don't like the smell of it cooking so he only eats it in restaurants or if I am gone. So he was really looking forward to some good fish. I ordered the ribeye steak topped with roasted garlic and so did he!!!! So much for fish! The steaks were awesome and we also shared the truffle fries. Yummy!

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After the Boathouse we had a meet up planned with @riverside and her family. Originally our Boathouse dinner was planned for later at night but this seemed to be the day that worked out best for us all to meet up and I was able to change our dinner to earlier, around the same time they would be eating at Paddlefish. I didn't mind changing because now we would be eating at a time we normally ate at and more importantly it would now be easier to meet with riverside, E, and J. The plan for the meet up was for the first one done to find a spot to sit and have a drink. I had originally though of somewhere near the Boathouse but it was really crowded in those outdoor bar spaces so we ended up down by City Works and House of Blues, both had plenty of outdoor space. It looked like a band was setting up at House of Blues and I was concerned that might make it too loud for conversation so we ended up at City Works with a view over to HOB. I texted riverside and they were finished with their meal and they headed over. Apparently they had been to City Works already but they were up for it again.

B and I ordered a drink while we waited. The food menu looked great but we were too full from the Boathouse, maybe another day for food there.


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Selfie while we waited.
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@riverside already shared this picture in her report but I'll share again. We had a great time visiting with them, such a fun meet up. Little J was such a cutie and did a good job putting up with the adult conversation. I hope we all can meet up again another time!
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Part of the beer list. I ordered both the Hakuna Matata and the Skyway. The Skyway was a little better.
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After our meetup we headed back to the bus and the Pop for the night.
 

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
We always make it a point to eat at the Boathouse each trip! I agree the rolls are fantastic, YUM!
I don't like seafood either and can't stand the smell of it cooking either 🥴 I always get the steak, and BTW yours looked Great! Roger always gets seafood, but it doesn't bother me too much if I don't have to cook it or eat it:) Where did you get your "Squeeze Me" mask? It is so cute!
Having fun following along, Back here in Minnesota, we are having our first snowfall with 2 inches now,:arghh:.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
We always make it a point to eat at the Boathouse each trip! I agree the rolls are fantastic, YUM!
I don't like seafood either and can't stand the smell of it cooking either 🥴 I always get the steak, and BTW yours looked Great! Roger always gets seafood, but it doesn't bother me too much if I don't have to cook it or eat it:) Where did you get your "Squeeze Me" mask? It is so cute!
Having fun following along, Back here in Minnesota, we are having our first snowfall with 2 inches now,:arghh:.

thinking about those rolls right now! I could sure eat one or 12!!! We got a little snow yesterday but it didn’t stick, kind of gross to see. I hope yours doesn’t stick around too long. Brad bought my orange bird mask, I think he said he got it from teepublic.
 

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