Trip Report Running from the rain: A two Goofs TR.*COMPLETE*

Hello again my friends and fellow magicians. It’s me Loco, here with another TR from February 2020. Lets get you filled in on some trip details, shall we?

Who: Myself and my much better half, my wife A.

Bonus points to anyone who can tell me where this very old picture was taken.

Where: Old key west resort studio, located somewhere near Tampa I believe. More on that later.

When: February 19-22, princess half weekend. We were not participating in any of those events though!

Why: A was free for a few days, I was free for a few days, why not?

Just a bit of background.

Things at home have been very stressful for us for the last month or so. Things at my job are changing quickly, and not necessarily for the better(this seems to be an issue with many people recently). Needless to say I’ve been in dire need of a getaway.

The weather in our neck of the woods has also really been crummy lately. It hasn’t been overly cold, but it just won’t stop raining! It has rained nearly every day since about mid January, with the exception of one brilliant weekend of super bowl Sunday. We were ever hopeful we’d be able to catch some Florida sunshine!

We originally had pop century booked for this trip. However, after joining DVC last December, and after many attempts, I was able to get a relatively last minute reservation at OKW using our points instead. Neither of us had ever stayed here, and were interested to see how we’d like it.

 

[Loco_driver]

February 20 continued.

We boarded the train back to Harambe. We had a FP to use on Everest, so we made the long march back towards Asia. We saw a PP photographer with nobody around. So we stopped for a minute.

It wasn’t cold yet. Foreshadowing?

We continued around to Everest. The FP line was out into the walkway headed towards the bridge to the Nemo show.

The line moved pretty quick though. We struck up a conversation with the family in front of us from upstate New York to kill time. It was a mom and dad with an older son who was special needs. They were some of the nicest people we have come across in the parks. The son really wanted us all to ride together, but the CM sent A and I directly to the last car for some reason. He’d forgotten all about it by the time the ride was over though!

The big drop is the best in the back row! Also note my hands are down so I don’t block A’s face this time!

Our last FP for the safaris was now open ,so we once again trekked across the park(we aren’t very efficient park tourers!). The FP line was yet again out into the walkway, stretching all the way back toward the gorilla falls trail. The CM holding the sign said that there were giraffes blocking the roadway, causing a traffic jam. This ended up being our longest wait of the trip, somewhere around 45 minutes. Eventually we boarded driver Jenny’s truck.

Jenny was a much better driver than our last driver in December. She made sure and stop and point out anything interesting. Also she didn’t drive the truck like she stole it!

She said this group of young giraffes were the guilty culprits for causing our long wait! They had been laying like that in the middle of the road.

The baby zebra drew lots of “awwwws” from the truck.

This rhino was fine being close to the truck.

After our fantastic safari we were feeling pretty hungry. We usually eat at flame tree for lunch, but the leftover pizza from the night before was calling our names. That plus the overwhelming crowds made leaving an easy decision. A bus was waiting for us at the bus stop.

Shirley status on our ride home! The driver was kind enough to stop at our stop first, instead of doing the usual route through the resort. We went back to our room for a much needed lunch and some rest.

 

[Ears to Disney]

The big drop is the best in the back row! Also note my hands are down so I don’t block A’s face this time!

BACK ROW!!! The best! I always ask for it.

Our last FP for the safaris was now open ,so we once again trekked across the park(we aren’t very efficient park tourers!). The FP line was yet again out into the walkway, stretching all the way back toward the gorilla falls trail. The CM holding the sign said that there were giraffes blocking the roadway, causing a traffic jam. This ended up being our longest wait of the trip, somewhere around 45 minutes. Eventually we boarded driver Jenny’s truck.

A true "Giraffic Jam"!

 

[Loco_driver]

A true "Giraffic Jam"!

 

[Loco_driver]

February 20 continued.

We had our lunch and relaxed in the room for a bit. I had some Disney gift cards I wanted to use to pay off some room charges. A stayed behind while I caught a bus over to hospitality house. I told A to think about what she wanted to do for the afternoon/evening.

Just as I finished up at the front desk, I got a message from A that we were going to MK. She was headed for the bus stop, and would let me know when the bus picked her up. I found a shady spot behind the pool to wait.

Anyone know what this stage area is used for? I thought about playing myself at giant chess, but I’m super good at chess, and I hate losing.

After a few minutes A let me know she was on a MK bus headed my way. I joined her at hospitality house stop. On the bus ride to MK we discussed dinner options for later, and made a last minute reservation. One of our plans for this trip was to just see what ADRs we could get at the last minute.

Finally our bus arrived at MK and we made our way to Main Street.

This view just never gets old! The parade had just finished up, so there were a lot of people headed the opposite direction as us.

We’d made a FP on the bus ride over. We’d start 2020 at MK the same way we ended 2019.

On ! Yet again our FP line was way out into the walkway. We ended up waiting a pretty good while for.

We got a Buzz FP for a little later, and headed to Tomorrowland for CoP. Crowds at MK were bananas this day!

45 minute wait for peoplemover. Our theater for CoP was as full as I’ve ever seen it, very few empty seats!

Johns hand had fallen off in this scene a few days before. Luckily it stayed on this time! There was no music during the first scene, which was very strange.

Does it bother anyone else that Patty has brown hair in scene one, but blonde hair in all the other scenes? Also there’s a hidden Mickey in this scene.

We went next door to use our Buzz FPs next. Once again the line was spilling out into the walkway, it was really annoying because it went past the monsters inc. entrance and exit, so people were having to go through the line to access the show. Despite this, the line did move quickly.

I am just unbelievably terrible at buzz lightyear. Pretty obvious who had the higher score.

We left buzz and just wandered the park for a while, just enjoying the ambience. We ended up near country bear jamboree, so we of course took in a show.

Disney has this art on loan from our family collection. Glad it’s being properly cared for!

The show was quite full, and we had a great crowd that was really into the show! We left CBJ and decided a break outside the park was needed. We took the walkway over to contemporary.

 

[Nunu]

Disney has this art on loan from our family collection. Glad it’s being properly cared for!

!

 

[Tuvalu]

“She didn’t drive the truck like she stole it.”

A’s Forky IS tiny.

The color change of Patty’s hair doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the killing off of little sister!

 

[Loco_driver]

“She didn’t drive the truck like she stole it.” ❤

A’s Forky IS tiny.

The color change of Patty’s hair doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the killing off of little sister!

The fact that our niece wanted us to take tiny forky was so sweet. That silly thing was one of her most prized possessions. I think she got it out of a McDonald’s happy meal! By the time our trip was over the paint on his face was coming off. Luckily her aunt and uncle(who don’t spoil her at all!) have hooked her up with a much better replacement.

 

[Loco_driver]

February 20 continued.

We headed toward contempo cafe to unwind for a minute and have a snack.

A had been dropping not-so-subtle hints that she wanted to try this cupcake. I must admit it was pretty good. It had some sort of filling in it that was really good. We were also hot from our walk over, so we were drinking lots of water.

We relaxed for a bit, then decided to head to top of the world lounge for some adult beverages.

Several jack and cokes later, we were feeling much better about life.

Sunset was very nice that evening.

We stayed up here drinking more than we needed to, and reminiscing about how much fun we had with @Nunu and Frank the last time we were up here.

The sun eventually disappeared beyond the horizon.

Soon it was time for us to head back into the madness. MK looked so calm from up high, but we knew what awaited us.

Remember how I mentioned that we’d had lots of water while at contempo cafe? By the time we made it to the ground floor for our walk to MK the water plus my drinks at the lounge had really hit hard!

Business handled, we made our way back to Magic Kingdom.

 

[Loco_driver]

February 20 continued.

We made the short walk back to MK. We still had a little while to go before our dinner ADR. A had been wanting to try playing sorcerers of the magic kingdom. We figured now was as good a time as any. We stopped by the fire station to get started. We had enough time to complete the first quest in Frontierland/Liberty Square.

We checked in for our somewhat late dinner at Crystal Palace. We watched some of the fireworks from the front of the restaurant while waiting to be seated. We were seated before the fireworks were over. Our server Alfio was very good. He kept our drinks filled and our table cleared without us even realizing it most of the time. He was friendly without being too chummy. The food from the buffet was good, and continued to be brought out hot and fresh, despite approaching closing time. The characters were fun, and spent lots of time at each table.

Eeyore came by before we made our first trip to the buffet. Also note that I have once again spilled something on the front of my shirt, or it was sweat, it was really muggy that night! That would certainly not be the case the next day.

Tigger was next.

I think he was going on about my height, and asking me to squat down for our picture so I didn’t tower over him.

Done!

No such issues for A!

We had to wait a while for Piglet and Pooh to come by. No worries, more time for dessert!

Piglet went for the sneak attack picture. The characters came from directly behind me, so I never knew exactly when they had arrived.

A did an excellent job of keeping a straight face when the characters snuck up behind me.

Eventually Pooh made it to us. He was admiring our half eaten desserts. I told him too many desserts is how I became “Pooh sized”!

We had a really good meal at crystal palace. We had not eaten there in a few years, and we both really enjoyed it! We were a little worried that they would keep the buffet fresh so close to the end of the night, but this was not the case. Everything was fresh and tasty with the exception of the bread pudding from the dessert bar, which was gross.

The park was closed as we exited the restaurant. The post fireworks mass exodus had occurred while we were eating. We took a leisurely stroll to the bus stop, and a bus pulled up after a short wait. We did have to make the entire loop through the resort before our stop this time. It would’ve probably been faster to get off at the first stop and walk, but we were both really tired, so we just stayed on the bus.

We had a fantastic, busy day at the parks. According to my watch I put in 26,000 steps and 12.6 miles. We managed to get showered and in bed before 11. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

 

[amjt660]

Anyone know what this stage area is used for? I thought about playing myself at giant chess, but I’m super good at chess, and I hate losing.

Nice!

Max

 

[Loco_driver]

Nice!

Max

Thanks! I only have high class stuff on my TRs!

 

[Loco_driver]

February 21.

I awoke to the sound of very gusty winds blowing through the trees. A strong cold front was in the process of moving through in the early morning hours. Luckily I’d thrown an old hoodie I had in the car into my carryon at the last minute, as I’d be needing it today. I also had a pair of sweatpants, but wasn’t sure I’d need them. A said she’d put them in the backpack just in case. We got ready and headed out to the bus stop.

This would be the warmest it got all day. The temperature wasn’t too bad, but the wind and mist made it pretty uncomfortable.

This morning we would have our only negative experience with the Disney buses on this trip. As we were walking up to the bus atop we noticed there were two MK buses leaving, back to back. This is never a good sign! We grabbed a bench and waited for the next one. They are correct that buses run approximately every twenty minutes. If you average it out. Since two busses had just left together, and another didn’t appear for another 40 minutes! There’s a bus approximately every 20 minutes.

The bus we boarded barely had room for us to stand(since everyone else had also been waiting forever). We headed to MK already running a bit later than planned. We had been hoping for an early morning ride on big thunder, since we didn’t have a FP for it this day, but it was not to be. Turns out the ride was having major issues all day that day anyways, and never opened.

Bag check was quick at MK, and soon we were on town square. We decided to go down Main Street in style.

On the omnibus!

See how all the flags appear to be blowing toward us? It was cold up there! I was looking for a hearty northerner who was still wearing shorts and a short sleeve T shirt exclaiming how soft we all are in the south. I don’t see any in this picture.

It’s pretty funny how people get so wrapped up in getting that castle photo that they don’t realize there’s a vehicle coming toward them. It was fun to see them scramble when our driver would honk the horn!

We continued on to Liberty Square for FP number one.

There was no CM at the FP merge point. It just spit us out into the massive group of people trying to get to the door. My one complaint about this attraction is being herded like cattle through the pre show, and the chaos that ensues after the stretching room.

Nailed it!

Our tour of the mansion complete, we wandered over to Frontierland. We ran into our friends Wendell and Shaker from CBJ. Wendell took us on a grand tour through Frontierland! Shaker came by to ask us if he could use our DVC points for a stay(we were by the DVC booth at the moment), but Wendell chased him away. I asked where my cousin Al was, and he let me know Al was at diamond horseshoe still eating breakfast. It was hard to get pictures of our interactions with the bears, as they really moved fast, and kinda drug us along the way. Needless to say this was a highlight of our trip!

We ended up in Adventureland, where we continued our sorcerers game from the night before. It took us to a few spots I’d never really noticed before.

Like this statue, located near pirates.

This was in the back of tortuga tavern.

Adventureland complete, we went back to Main Street.

It’s always a joy to catch one of these performances! I’m not really sure why we were back on Main Street. I have nothing in my notes about why. I’m assuming it was to continue our game though.

 

[Tuvalu]

The Tuvalu standard for “Nailed It” is pupils looking directly at the camera.

I see the Loco Driver standard is not as strict.

 

[Loco_driver]

The Tuvalu standard for “Nailed It” is pupils looking directly at the camera.

I see the Loco Driver standard is not as strict.

I thought you might like my standard for “nailed it”!

 

[Loco_driver]

February 21 continued.

I’ve been advised by A that we were in fact playing the game on Main Street, and stopped to get her a new pack of cards at the fire station. Anyways, we had a FP to get to soon.

Yo, Ho!. Shockingly, the FP line was not spilling out into the walkway, which is common here.

Lurking in the back. @Tuvalu I don’t I know if I nailed it or not. A seems a little off. I think tiny forky may have nailed it

We left pirates and found ourselves back in Frontierland. With splash down for refurb, and BTMRR down for the count that day, there was only one attraction available. The one and only, original, country bear jamboree!

I was wearing my big Al shirt this day. We left grizzly hall in search of the star of the show. We wouldn’t have to go far to find him.

Somebody was very excited to meet his biggest fan!

His reaction to the shirt was pretty great, he was so excited! I don’t think he sees too many big Al shirts. Some, but not many.

A had to get in on the action as well!

After meeting big Al I really was content to just do whatever, my trip was made! We did have one more FP to use though.

The temporary queue configuration caused quite a bit of confusion.

We have a friend(the one who gave us a ride to the airport) who’s terrified of these clowns. Being the good friends we are, we always send him pictures of them!

The crowds had finally arrived in full force when we left small world. We decided a little break back at the resort was needed, so we started toward the front of the park. We noticed a FP photographer with no line, so we stopped for a few castle pictures.

Hugging for warmth!

We tried looking in the emporium for a gift for my MIL who was really taking one for the team by dog sitting for us after our original plans fell through at the last minute. We didn’t get much looking done though, the place was a madhouse! We quickly made our way to the exit instead. A bus pulled up quickly and we were on our way back to OKW. We had a great conversation with a couple from NJ to pass the time. It seems like the guests at OKW are much more relaxed and friendly than at some other resorts!

We got off at hospitality house and grabbed some nachos from the quick service place. We found a cozy corner to eat, and discussed what we should do for the evening.

 

[Weather_Lady]

February 21 continued.

I’ve been advised by A that we were in fact playing the game on Main Street, and stopped to get her a new pack of cards at the fire station. Anyways, we had a FP to get to soon.

View attachment 453399
Yo, Ho!. Shockingly, the FP line was not spilling out into the walkway, which is common here.
View attachment 453400
Lurking in the back. @Tuvalu I don’t I know if I nailed it or not. A seems a little off. I think tiny forky may have nailed it

We left pirates and found ourselves back in Frontierland. With splash down for refurb, and BTMRR down for the count that day, there was only one attraction available. The one and only, original, country bear jamboree!View attachment 453485
I was wearing my big Al shirt this day. We left grizzly hall in search of the star of the show. We wouldn’t have to go far to find him.
View attachment 453401
Somebody was very excited to meet his biggest fan!
View attachment 453493
His reaction to the shirt was pretty great, he was so excited! I don’t think he sees too many big Al shirts. Some, but not many.
View attachment 453494
A had to get in on the action as well!

After meeting big Al I really was content to just do whatever, my trip was made! We did have one more FP to use though.
View attachment 453503
The temporary queue configuration caused quite a bit of confusion.
View attachment 453504
We have a friend(the one who gave us a ride to the airport) who’s terrified of these clowns. Being the good friends we are, we always send him pictures of them!

The crowds had finally arrived in full force when we left small world. We decided a little break back at the resort was needed, so we started toward the front of the park. We noticed a FP photographer with no line, so we stopped for a few castle pictures.
View attachment 453519

View attachment 453521
Hugging for warmth!

We tried looking in the emporium for a gift for my MIL who was really taking one for the team by dog sitting for us after our original plans fell through at the last minute. We didn’t get much looking done though, the place was a madhouse! We quickly made our way to the exit instead. A bus pulled up quickly and we were on our way back to OKW. We had a great conversation with a couple from NJ to pass the time. It seems like the guests at OKW are much more relaxed and friendly than at some other resorts!

We got off at hospitality house and grabbed some nachos from the quick service place. We found a cozy corner to eat, and discussed what we should do for the evening.

I'm loving your report! I searched every 2/21 picture in vain for my chubby self in the background (we were there that day, too, and you can count us among the shivering Northerners who had to admit that that we're not as cold-hardened and tough as we thought we were!), but no luck. Will keep scanning...

 

[Loco_driver]

I'm loving your report! I searched every 2/21 picture in vain for my chubby self in the background (we were there that day, too, and you can count us among the shivering Northerners who had to admit that that we're not as cold-hardened and tough as we thought we were!), but no luck. Will keep scanning...

Haha, glad you’re enjoying it. I enjoyed reading your report from that weekend as well. Sounds like we were lucky to leave on Saturday, given the travel headaches the half marathon Caused that day!

 

[Loco_driver]

February 21 continued.

We decided to head to Epcot. Massive crowds, cold weather, and our exhaustion made us decide against a return to MK. Epcot had been a nice respite from crowds a few days earlier, and we were hopeful it would be again. A bus arrived at hospitality house rather quickly, and we made the short trip to Epcot.

One thing that bummed me out about only having bus transportation was having to use the main entrance at Epcot, which I have avoided for several years now. Luckily crowds were thin at bag check, and we were inside the park quickly.

We noticed a PP photographer standing by himself. He let us know goofy would be out in just a few minutes if we wanted to meet him. We obliged, and goofy appeared a few seconds later.

Goofy went in for the hug, and must’ve tripped. He kinda just fell into me! Good thing it happened with me and not a small child!

Notice the careful stance on A’s hug!

He couldn’t believe I was wearing shorts! I was questioning the decision myself!

We made our way to the land pavilion via backstage walkways. You now walk directly by the seas pavilion on the way to that side of the park. I wonder if this is why the wait times for Nemo have been super high lately. When we arrived, there was 10 minutes until the next showing of awesome planet. We had no problem waiting it out in the warmth.

I’m really glad they kept the carpet walls! A lady and her 5 year old daughter ended up sitting next to us in the waiting area. She was so stinking cute! She let us know she was 5 years old, and she lived in New York City, and she had just lost her first tooth. The mother was a little embarrassed, but we assured her we weren’t bothered at all. They ended up a few rows behind us in the show, and we could hear the little girl asking why they didn’t just stay with her new friends!

I really liked the new show. The footage is beautiful, and the film stays in message without being overly doom and gloom. Of the three new films at Epcot, this was my favorite. We were able to get a FP for living with the land while waiting on the show. Awesome planet exits very close to living with the land. We ended up not needing the FP, but you never know about wait times for lwtl.

We enjoyed the warmth inside the greenhouse.

We made our way from the land to imagination. We had a FP for the ride, which was shockingly needed. After completing our journey we once again went up to the DVC lounge. The winds outside were really strong, and it was cold! We enjoyed some drinks and warmth for a while.
We eventually forced ourselves to venture back outside. We wanted to check out a few things festival of the arts had to offer.

We contributed to the paint by numbers wall.

I really thought this was a cool feature of the festival!

They handed out postcards of the finished product, sort of.

There were flowers added to the end of the wall painting. There weren’t too many open squares by then end of the day! Also notice the empty walkway. Crowds were very light that evening.

 

[Loco_driver]

February 21 continued.

We were ready to grab a little bit to eat. So we started towards WS. There was an artist out creating new chalk art, so we stopped and watch for a minute.

It was just amazing to watch him work.

We eventually continued toward world showcase, stopping to admire the FARTS figment topiary.

Thanks to a kind passing stranger for this one!

We stopped at the pop eats booth, and grabbed an almond something another fancypants cake.

Looks good. Tastes good too!

Still wanting a bit more, we stopped by the Mexico booth next. We got the sopes barbbacoa.

Im usually wary of Mexican food outside of states that share a border with Mexico. But this was outstanding! The barbacoa was tender, and the cream sauce was very flavorful. The only knock on it was that the shell was just a bit too done(traditional sopes should be crispy on the outside bus still soft and fluffy).

At this point the winds were really picking up, and it was just plain cold. I told A I was ready to change into my sweat pants. That’s when we realized that we forgot to actually put the pants in the bag. We also forgot to put A’s thicker hoodie in the bag, and she was getting really cold. Not wanting to go all the way back to our room, I agreed we’d try and find her a hoodie in one of the shops, and I decided I’d just tough it out for the night(by planning mostly indoor activities!). We also had a FP for spaceship earth, so we decided to try and find something at the new mouse gear.

The chalk artist was done with his work when we came by.

The finished product.

We also stopped for a few PP pictures on the way.

Two goofs trying to act like they aren’t cold!

There were several of these neat photo opportunities around the park. They were usually pretty crowded, but this one had nobody around as we passed by.

We did eventually find the new mouse gear. I’m in agreement with @Tuvalu, the new place is not good. Bland and generic stuff everywhere. We did find what we needed however, and at a half decent price. With A now sufficiently warm, we continued toward spaceship earth.

We had a feeling this would be our final time experiencing the current version. With it officially closing in may, we were correct.

We had managed to get a FP for Soarin next. We had the most annoying girls behind us in the queue for Soarin. They were college age, and obviously had never had many problems growing up. They were having some major first world problems now that they were out on their own, like how their parents never give them enough money, while at Epcot, and boy were they loud about it. A and I both grew up in households of very modest means, so hearing conversations like that agitates us a bit. They were discussing asking for the middle section of the theater. With that knowledge in hand, we gladly went to the side section just to get away from their constant ramblings about nothing. The curved Eiffel Tower was with it!

I don’t have many photos from the rest of the night, so I’ll just do a few quick summaries on what we did.

New Canada film: Good, not great. The writing is a bit pretentious(we know you use the metric system and speak French, we just don’t care that much). Also the part about the Toronto raptors is not likely to age well, but I’m sure that can be edited later. The footage is still beautiful though, and I do like that they kept the song.

Beauty and the beast sing along: please reference the TR by @Darstarr. I’m in agreement. It’s . A disagrees, so I guess different strokes and all that.

We visited a lot of art booths along the way, but managed to hang on to our money.

Here is a fairly fitting photo of the night.

It was very cold. Which probably kept crowds away, but was unpleasant.

We finished the night off with dinner at cape may cafe. A can eat her weight in crab legs, and I found plenty on the buffet to keep me satisfied. Our server Illhame, was superb. We made our way back home by taking a bus to DS, then a bus back to OKW. We shared a bus with the only unpleasant British people I’ve ever encountered. I’m hoping they were just tired and cold, leading to their unpleasantness toward one another. They were also pretty drunk. Luckily the got off at the first stop, and we had the rest of the ride to ourselves.

We finally made it back to our room, and were cleaned up and cozy in bed by 10. Totals for the day according to my watch were 25,382 steps, for 11.4 miles of walking. Not as many as the day before. But not bad.

 

[meggo819]

Im usually wary of Mexican food outside of states that share a border with Mexico.

Ha! My husband (lived in TX all his life) says the same thing all the time.