Trip Report Shortest Retirement in History?

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]

Wednesday, con't

I’d raved about Luminous to my family. Mom and JBS were excited to see the show tonight. One of my brothers did not have a hopper ticket so they did not plan to join us. We would meet up with them in the morning.

The four of us returned to our respective rooms for a bit before reuniting for desserts in the lounge. I stepped out onto the balcony to admire the nighttime view.

Note that there’s not many people out and about. The temperature had dropped and it was quite chilly. In fact I did not stand outside very long since I wasn’t wearing a jacket. Mom had poked her head out and quickly retreated back.

We got dessert as soon as the treats were out!

My plate - Oreo fudge, cream puff, chocolate Mickey cupcake and s’mores tart.

The usual three types of cookies were out as well as jars of candy. We saw a couple kids with Mickey bars but weren’t sure where they had gotten them, as there wasn’t a freezer in the lounge. We learned on our last morning- as we chatted with a CM at breakfast - that Mickey bars were always available by request. Mom was disappointed that she had missed out. I encouraged her to ask for one, but she’s not one to eat ice cream at 8:30 in the morning! (Unlike my dad, who could eat ice cream at any time of day. )

 

[lindawdw]

It's truly one of my favorite balcony views at the Disney resorts! Bummer that they didn't have any type of sign out in the Club Lounge to advise guests that Mickey Bars were available upon request.

 

[Tuvalu]

Bummer that they didn't have any type of sign out in the Club Lounge to advise guests that Mickey Bars were available upon request.

I'm guessing it's like everything else at Disney - selfish people would abuse it, so it's better to control inventory by keeping the bars "Disney's Best Kept Secret."

 

[lindawdw]

I'm guessing it's like everything else at Disney - selfish people would abuse it, so it's better to control inventory by keeping the bars "Disney's Best Kept Secret."

You're probably right about that.

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, con’t

“I’ve changed my mind about going to see the fireworks,” Mom announced as we were finishing dessert.

I wasn’t surprised. I knew the moment she’d poked her head outside that it was too cold for her.

“But you guys go on ahead,” she added. “Have fun!”

JBS and I grabbed our coats and walked over to the IG. I then led the way to the bridge and found the same spot Woody & I had stood in 2.5 weeks ago. Five fireworks cruise pontoons were side-by-side again tonight.

I took two more pictures then put my phone away. I was mesmerized by Luminous for the second time!

JB and S were BLOWN AWAY.

“I thought we were just going to see fireworks. I did not expect music and a whole choreographed show!” JB exclaimed when it was over.

Welcome to Disney, dear cousin.

As we neared the exit JB asked if we could pop into World Traveler. He wanted to get Mom a birthday gift despite my reassurance that he and S were her gift and she expected nothing else. Inside the store JBS perused different items, looking to me for guidance.

Suddenly something caught my eye. Something I knew Mom would love. I showed it to JBS.

Their skeptical expressions spoke volumes. They thought I was joking.

“I’m not kidding,” I insisted. “She’s gonna love it.”

JB purchased the item and a reusable bag in which to put it. As we left the store, I sensed JB was still uncertain that I wasn’t playing a joke on him.

He’d find out in the morning.

 

[mpaulam]

 

[Spash007]

I’m going to have to try this!

Also, apologies for the veering

 

[lindawdw]

I really enjoyed Luminous on our last trip also!!! I can't wait to see what the gift to your mom will be!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, February 1

Today was the BIG DAY.

Early entry at MK began at 7:30 am. My daughter and I would have been at the park entrance by 7:15 am, excited to accomplish as many rides as we could before the park got crowded with those who are not early birds.

My mother is not my daughter. Mom wanted to sleep in a little, take her time getting ready and have a leisurely breakfast. So if she didn’t care about attraction quantity, I wouldn’t either.

But I cared enough to get this.

I didn’t know who would or wouldn’t ride TRON, but at least all six of us had a boarding group.

Mom and I arrived at breakfast first. She took her spot at the Queen’s Table. JBS appeared a few minutes later, present in hand.

Mom was surprised by the gift bag and couldn’t wait to open it. I wasn’t sure who to watch - Mom for her reaction or JB for his. I chose Mom.

She peered into the bag. A wide smile spread across her face. “Ooooh, I love this!! Figment is my favorite!” she squealed with glee as she pulled the item from the bag. “I haven’t even seen this before.”

I shot JB a told ya so! glance. He looked incredulous.

To prevent @mpaulam from hanging off the cliff, I will share that it was a Spirit Jersey. Mom was so taken with it she was tempted to change her OOTD.* I convinced her to save the shirt for tomorrow, when we would be in Epcot for Festival of the Arts.

Spoiler alert pic:

Neither JB nor S was familiar with Figment. “That’s not a Disney character!” JB had said to me last night with furrowed brow. “Surely she’d like something with Mickey or Minnie?”

“Trust me,” I’d said.

After breakfast Mom informed me she did not want to take the scooter to MK.

Her birthday, her choice.

At least we got to sit at the front of the bus.

*Outfit Of The Day (I keep current with the lingo!)

 

[93boomer]

Thursday, February 1

Today was the BIG DAY.

Early entry at MK began at 7:30 am. My daughter and I would have been at the park entrance by 7:15 am, excited to accomplish as many rides as we could before the park got crowded with those who are not early birds.

My mother is not my daughter. Mom wanted to sleep in a little, take her time getting ready and have a leisurely breakfast. So if she didn’t care about attraction quantity, I wouldn’t either.

But I cared enough to get this.

View attachment 769541

I didn’t know who would or wouldn’t ride TRON, but at least all six of us had a boarding group.

Mom and I arrived at breakfast first. She took her spot at the Queen’s Table. JBS appeared a few minutes later, present in hand.

Mom was surprised by the gift bag and couldn’t wait to open it. I wasn’t sure who to watch - Mom for her reaction or JB for his. I chose Mom.

She peered into the bag. A wide smile spread across her face. “Ooooh, I love this!! Figment is my favorite!” she squealed with glee as she pulled the item from the bag. “I haven’t even seen this before.”

I shot JB a told ya so! glance. He looked incredulous.

To prevent @mpaulam from hanging off the cliff, I will share that it was a Spirit Jersey. Mom was so taken with it she was tempted to change her OOTD.* I convinced her to save the shirt for tomorrow, when we would be in Epcot for Festival of the Arts.

Spoiler alert pic:

View attachment 769540

Neither JB nor S was familiar with Figment. “That’s not a Disney character!” JB had said to me last night with furrowed brow. “Surely she’d like something with Mickey or Minnie?”

“Trust me,” I’d said.

After breakfast Mom informed me she did not want to take the scooter to MK.

Her birthday, her choice.

At least we got to sit at the front of the bus.

View attachment 769542


*Outfit Of The Day (I keep current with the lingo!)

Ooh that’s perfect!! It looks good on her!

 

[Tiggerish]

Ooh that’s perfect!! It looks good on her!

You’re right, she definitely wears it well!

 

[fractal]

The right server at 50's Prime Time makes all the difference!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

My brothers had a slow start to their morning also. We were communicating via text and they kept me updated on their arrival status.

It was another beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. I was so grateful it wasn’t cold or rainy like it was two weeks earlier.

A picture to commemorate the start of a fun day in the MK!

JB, thumbs up not arms out.

 

[Tuvalu]

After a visit to the City Hall restrooms, I asked Mom what she would like to do first.

She hesitated and said, “I’d really like to do Mine Train.”

My heart sank. The park had been open for over two hours and I shuddered to think how long the wait would be. “Let me check the wait time on the app,” I suggested.

I didn’t believe what I saw. I even did a double take.

“Twenty-five minutes,” I said aloud. I could hardly believe what I was saying.

“Is that bad?” asked Mom naively.

“Umm….no. That’s actually really good,” I replied. “But we need to get there as soon as possible.”

I failed to consider that without the scooter, getting there ASAP was not possible. By the time we reached the entrance, the wait time was 60 minutes. I looked at Mom. “Do you want to get in line?”

I was secretly hoping for a “no.” 7DMT is not my fave and I despise waiting in the slow-moving queue. Had Mom previously mentioned the attraction’s importance to her I would have gladly bought ILLs at 7 am. It would have been worth every penny to avoid what came next.

“It’s my favorite,” she said. I asked if she would be okay standing in line for an hour. She said yes.

We entered the queue and barely moved for 45 minutes. The good news was that my brothers had arrived and a kind CM escorted them so they could to catch up with us.

At 60 minutes we hadn’t even made it into the cave. Occasionally there was an announcement, “The trains are moving more slowly than normal and your wait may be longer” which we all know is code for “Lightning Lane people are more important than you.”

80 minutes after joining the line we finally boarded our train. I’m confident that if the Standby Sign had accurately posted 80 minutes when we arrived, we never would have gotten in line. (Proof that Disney underestimates actual wait times too. )

It’s obvious why this is Mom’s favorite ride.

Her face. Every. Time.

S kept a death grip on JB - though she did think the ride was fun!

 

[MinnieM123]

After a visit to the City Hall restrooms, I asked Mom what she would like to do first.

She hesitated and said, “I’d really like to do Mine Train.”

My heart sank. The park had been open for over two hours and I shuddered to think how long the wait would be. “Let me check the wait time on the app,” I suggested.

I didn’t believe what I saw. I even did a double take.

“Twenty-five minutes,” I said aloud. I could hardly believe what I was saying.

“Is that bad?” asked Mom naively.

“Umm….no. That’s actually really good,” I replied. “But we need to get there as soon as possible.”

I failed to consider that without the scooter, getting there ASAP was not possible. By the time we reached the entrance, the wait time was 60 minutes. I looked at Mom. “Do you want to get in line?”

I was secretly hoping for a “no.” 7DMT is not my fave and I despise waiting in the slow-moving queue. Had Mom previously mentioned the attraction’s importance to her I would have gladly bought ILLs at 7 am. It would have been worth every penny to avoid what came next.

“It’s my favorite,” she said. I asked if she would be okay standing in line for an hour. She said yes.

We entered the queue and barely moved for 45 minutes. The good news was that my brothers had arrived and a kind CM escorted them so they could to catch up with us.

At 60 minutes we hadn’t even made it into the cave. Occasionally there was an announcement, “The trains are moving more slowly than normal and your wait may be longer” which we all know is code for “Lightning Lane people are more important than you.”

80 minutes after joining the line we finally boarded our train. I’m confident that if the Standby Sign had accurately posted 80 minutes when we arrived, we never would have gotten in line. (Proof that Disney underestimates actual wait times too. )

It’s obvious why this is Mom’s favorite ride.

View attachment 769675
Her face. Every. Time.

View attachment 769674

S kept a death grip on JB - though she did think the ride was fun!

View attachment 769677

View attachment 769676

Sorry, the wait was so long. That aside, I love the look of pure GLEE on her face for this silly ride! Yes, it was worth it!

 

[lindawdw]

It's too bad you had to wait that long for such a short ride but you can tell your mom really enjoyed it!! This is another reason why I hate Genie+ because it has really screwed with the wait times for standby guests. Disney needs to get their act together with this problem.

 

[mpaulam]

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

I was keeping an eye on the virtual queue progression for TRON. Our group was getting close, so I suggested heading over to Tomorrowland after we exited 7DMT.

Talk turned to lunch, with Mom saying she wanted a chili dog from Casey’s. Her birthday, her choice.

My brothers were all in, as were the cousins. That left me as the outlier. I don’t eat hot dogs and have never been to Casey’s. Thus began my mental gymnastics trying to decide where I could get food to-go, or a place where I would not mind dining solo.

Upon reaching Tomorrowland we opted for a spin on the Peoplemover. Our feet thanked us. Except for the 3 minute ride on 7DMT, we’d been standing nearly two hours.

Mom picked riding with favorite nephew over riding with her children.

Can you feel the love?

 

[Tuvalu]

We were on the Peoplemover when our BG was called.

JBS wanted to see the lightcycles on the track before deciding if they would ride. Since BT and I have ridden before, we were encouraging them to try it. This would be BC’s first time and he was pumped.

Mom wasn’t saying much. I knew she was suffering FOMO but I also knew there was no way she wanted to straddle a lightcycle.

“If you want to ride, I’ll ride in the Rover with you,” I offered. Mom was familiar with the Rover since BT’s wife and daughter had ridden in it on their Thanksgiving trip.

S overheard our conversation and inquired about the Rover. She was having second thoughts about straddling a lightcycle herself.

Both of them agreed to do TRON in the Rover. The six of us began the uphill trek to the entrance. Mom later commented about the difficulty of walking up and down “the big hill” and why did Disney make it so hard to get to the ride?

I couldn’t help myself. I said, “You know what would make it easier?”
She answered, “A scooter.”

Point made. It was the last time the S word was mentioned that day.

 

[Tuvalu]

The line I hate more than 7DMT is TRON.

Sadly I forget how much I hate it until I am in it.

Today the VQ snaked down the outdoor ramp where there is no shade. It wasn’t summer hot, but we also weren’t dressed for summer. The sun beating down on us was uncomfortable. Disney needs to install a permanent canopy if the VQ line continues to remain so lengthy.

We waited 40 minutes outdoors. I was hungry and cranky and wishing I’d bought ILLs. It was better once we moved indoors and saw the preshow “reveal.” But we still had another 20-25 minutes to go.

I took this picture at the one hour mark.

Our party had been split into 4/2 instead of being kept together. Mom and I were the two, and we watched the brothers and cousins move down into the load zone while our side didn’t move at all.

We never saw BCT on their lightcycles (and their picture never showed up.) JBS boarded the Rover on the opposite side and we didn’t see them depart either.

But I got their picture.

I was prepared to pose for the ride photo, ready to mock Mom for her usual “scream face.”

Instead, I’m the one who looks ridiculous.

When we disembarked, I gazed at Mom to gauge her reaction.

“One and done?” I asked.

“ONE AND DONE!” she emphasized.

We met up with the crew at the bottom of the hill. JBS really enjoyed TRON and would consider riding lightcycles next time.

“Ready for your chili dog now, Mom?” BT asked enthusiastically.

“The LAST thing I want to eat now is a chili dog!” she responded coolly.

Seems I wouldn’t be dining solo after all….