Trip Report Shortest Retirement in History? *COMPLETED*

Justin Bieber lasted 2 weeks.

Tom Brady lasted 40 days.

I, Tuvalu, outlasted them both. Not by much, mind you. Yet if not for the encouragement of some forum friends - along with some unusual circumstances - you wouldn’t be reading this.

Unusual circumstances, you say?

Around Thanksgiving my beloved Woody learned his presence was required at a work conference. In Orlando. At Universal.
Just down the road from Walt Disney World.

Woody said I could accompany him if he drove (rather than flew) to Florida. And that we could leave a couple days early and have some Disney time together.

Well you don’t have to ask me twice!

I’d be on my own during the conference. Since the majority of Universal’s attractions don’t appeal to me, it didn’t make sense for me to buy Uni tickets when I could visit WDW for free with my AP. Being solo, I thought it might be fun to do a live trip report so y’all could be my virtual companions!

Turns out I won’t be alone while Woody is occupied after all. Some friends that you have seen in my previous TRs (and one you haven’t) have offered to play with me. I can’t wait!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

Next we headed to The Emporium to warm up. I loved this display.

Then we popped outside to catch some of the Festival of Fantasy parade.

At its conclusion we crossed over to the other side of Main Street and spent time in the shops there. Woody really liked the engraved MNSSHP glass I’d given him after my October trip, so we browsed Arribas Brothers and found two other engraved glasses - Mickey and the Annual Passholder Mickey - which I bought to give him for Christmas. He was happy to add two more to his juice glass collection.

A couple of interesting items we saw in Arribas.

Our last stop was the Confectionery for our usual take home treats.

Goodbye for 2024, Magic Kingdom.

 

[Tinkwings]

Tuesday, con’t

Even with our later start, the park was considerably more crowded than we expected - especially for a party day. Attractions that we’d walked on Sunday morning now boasted lengthy waits.

With the exception of the 13 minute posted wait at our fave.

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We didn’t get too far into the queue when we realized we’d been duped by playful spooks. The extended queue was open and full of guests at a standstill. We didn’t move for awhile and once we did, it was mere inches at a time.

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Additionally, a noisy gas-powered leaf blower sure ruined the aura as we were waiting to tour a spooky haunted house!

Thirty minutes later we finally boarded our doom buggy.

It was a rough ride with lots of stops and starts. Our longest stop was here - so close to the end!

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It was an unfortunate delay for us and the surrounding doom buggies. Behind us was a terrified little kid crying and screaming, “Get me out!” over and over until we began to move.

(I’m sure it wasn’t Lincoln, @k8einwdw. )

OH I LOVE Em's hoodie!!! Where did she get that?

 

[lindawdw]

It's always a little sad walking under the railroad tunnels on your last day but knowing that you have another trip on the horizon always makes it a bit better! Thanks again for sharing your girl's adventure with us!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

OH I LOVE Em's hoodie!!! Where did she get that?

You must have missed this:

I'm in love with Em's sweatshirt! @TrolleyFollower91 where did you get it!?

I have a really good gift-giving Santa!

 

[Tuvalu]

It's always a little sad walking under the railroad tunnels on your last day but knowing that you have another trip on the horizon always makes it a bit better! Thanks again for sharing your girl's adventure with us!!!

There’s a little more from this trip yet to come.

Stay tuned.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuva Twin update - they’ve become triplets!

I’m kidding of course. The tyke in the middle is a friend. At 18 months, it’s visual proof that girls mature faster than boys.

 

[RememberWhen]

Such cuteness!!

 

[lindawdw]

So adorable!

 

[Go.Nijntje]

Tuva Twin update - they’ve become triplets!

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I’m kidding of course. The tyke in the middle is a friend. At 18 months, it’s visual proof that girls mature faster than boys.

All 3 look adorable.

 

[Ella's Mommy]

When is your next trip! This is the best trip report ever!! lol

 

[Figment Forever]

It's been such a treat to "journey" with you, Em and Woody during your year of adventures. Hopefully, you will stay out of retirement for 2025!! Lots of love from all of us!!

 

[Tuvalu]

When is your next trip! This is the best trip report ever!! lol

Going back in

It's been such a treat to "journey" with you, Em and Woody during your year of adventures. Hopefully, you will stay out of retirement for 2025!! Lots of love from all of us!!

 

[Wrangler-Rick]

Thank you so much for continuing to take us on vacation with you!!!!

 

[Minnie1986]

Tuesday, con’t

Continuing with our shopping.

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This is a fun store. We don’t always make our way into Storybook Circus but when we do we always pop in here.

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Found a great gift for anyone named Dan.

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And one that I thought a certain forum friend *ahem* would take a liking to, given the mascots.

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Apparently it was “too girly.”

One of my dad’s favorite sayings was, “It’s never too cold for ice cream.” (He also would say, “It’s never too early for ice cream” when my kids requested ice cream in the morning while on vacation.) Well it was a cold afternoon so Em and I honored our beloved patriarch by indulging in Asteroid Shakes from Auntie Gravity’s.

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Yes, these were worth every calorie. We were surprised at how empty the indoor seating area was considering the temperature. Thanks to our warm accommodation, it really wasn’t too cold for ice cream!

One of my dad’s favorite sayings was, “It’s never too cold for ice cream.” (He also would say, “It’s never too early for ice cream” when my kids requested ice cream in the morning while on vacation.)

Your dad was a wise man; ice cream is just better/more enjoyable when it's cold outside (and if you're having some on top of a Belgian waffle for breakfast).

 

[Tuvalu]

Thank you so much for continuing to take us on vacation with you!!!!

Thank you for years of faithful following!

 

[93boomer]

Always thank you for sharing and taking us away from the daily grind at home. Always looking forward to your next adventure!

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

Back at POFQ, Em did some reading while I took a stroll around the grounds. I wanted to check on the room refurbishment progress and took a few pictures which I posted in another thread. The status on 12/3/24 was Buildings 1-4 remodel complete; Building 6 under construction; and Buildings 5 & 7 awaiting refurb.

Since it was chilly I did not expect to see anyone in the pool but I thought I’d check it out anyway.

Thought of you, @littleroo.

As I expected, there were no hearty souls in the water. Lifeguard duty must have been tedious that afternoon.

Saw this on a nearby room door. I’m assuming this family must be DCL cruisers.

I did not take one.

When I returned to our room I did a little packing and hauled our purchases out to the car. I did not want to contend with that task at zero dark thirty in the morning!

A few minutes later Em and I headed for the bus stop. We got on the MK bus but were using the station for a transfer.

 

[Tuvalu]

Hands down the best decorated resort for the holidays. We were so happy to see the Lodge back to its pre-pandemic holiday state.

From the bridge over the geyser….

to the sloped ramp down to Roaring Fork….

to the fireplace….

to the majestic lobby tree….

….and the reindeer above the entrance.

I did not take any pictures of the gingerbread station (@TheMouseFan has several in her TR) because we couldn’t get near it. We had never seen that many people in the WL lobby - EVER.

Em’s snap to Woody relayed my thought about some of the riff raff outsiders.

And while we weren’t registered guests either, we did have a legit reason for being there - an ADR.

 

[93boomer]

Hands down the best decorated resort for the holidays. We were so happy to see the Lodge back to its pre-pandemic holiday state.

From the bridge over the geyser….

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to the sloped ramp down to Roaring Fork….

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to the fireplace….

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to the majestic lobby tree….

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….and the reindeer above the entrance.

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I did not take any pictures of the gingerbread station (@TheMouseFan has several in her TR) because we couldn’t get near it. We had never seen that many people in the WL lobby - EVER.

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Em’s snap to Woody relayed my thought about some of the riff raff outsiders.

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And while we weren’t registered guests either, we did have a legit reason for being there - an ADR.

That Christmas tree was awesome. That was my favorite part in visiting there for our first time ever!

 

[MinnieM123]

Saw this on a nearby room door. I’m assuming this family must be DCL cruisers.

Trying to figure out what's inside those little plastic bags -- a keychain?

Hands down the best decorated resort for the holidays. We were so happy to see the Lodge back to its pre-pandemic holiday state.

Gorgeous photos of WL decorated for the holidays -- glad that you and Em got to enjoy them.