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!

 

[amjt660]

Walt Disney World in Florida is excited to announce its latest innovation -
This “During Park Hours Special Event” is the “Disney Duck Garden Viewing Party” - this ticketed event will run daily on Disney property for a small charge of $125
Unlimited viewing within a lush setting - no chairs or tables to obstruct your view - grass stains are included - patrons may not bring their own blanket - no drinks or desserts will be served - and no CM interaction to spoil your day . Our local fan base is already calling it the DD viewing party - who doesn’t want to sit back and relax and view some double d’s in the park - park admission is required

Book early to avoid disappointment- our special August 12 2045 session is totality selling out quickly.


Max

 

[WDisneyW]

Monday, April 1

Em was on her game this morning.

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We weren’t in a rush to head to Epcot. We wanted to get our stuff over to POR first. I was hoping that after checking in at the guard shack I’d get the room ready notification.

That didn’t happen. We parked in the main lot and went inside. I thought I might check with a CM at the Front Desk to see if there were any available rooms so that we could unpack and be settled in before going to the park.

The madhouse in the lobby negated that.

We used the restroom, passing a sleeping teenage boy (Sleeper #1 ) who was awkwardly sprawled out in the River Roost Lounge. It was 9 am. Had he been there all night? Did he arrive in the wee hours of the morning? Where was his family? Those questions would remain unanswered as we walked to the bus depot.

A quick pic before Guardians. Our boarding group had been called.

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We arrived to the unfortunate sight of guests milling around the entrance while CMs explained that the ride was down and they did not know when it would reopen. VQs and ILLs would be honored whenever the ride resumed operation.

“What now?” I asked Em.

“Let’s go to The Land and ride the boat,” she suggested.

The choice was serendipitous.


And your timing is perfect!

I was in my own little world when we entered the queue, paying no attention to guests ahead of us. Em however noticed the side eye from the man in front of me.

“Tuvalu?” the man said quietly, bringing me back to reality.

“Yes,” I smiled. “And you are?”

@WDisneyW has been one of my faithful followers for years. I was just as excited to meet him as he was to meet me.

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He joked about putting his new Tuvalu card on eBay. I told him I wanted my cut.

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Our conversation lasted the duration of the ride. It was such fun to make the acquaintance of this kind couple and I hope our paths cross again soon!

It was great meeting you and Em, my wife and I are still talking about it.

 

[Minnie1986]

Epcot is at its most beautiful during the Flower and Garden Festival. April is its peak, when most plants have matured but haven’t yet become overgrown. (One benefit of visiting during Easter week! )

Though the topiary molds are reused each year, some - like Goofy - are repurposed. We’ve seen him in the same pose as an ice skater, soccer player and butterfly chaser.

This year we were tickled to see him blowing dandelions!

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A toast to all Canadians, but especially @amjt660 .

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Love the succulent wings!

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Had to say hello to my Pooh friends in the U.K.

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Flower and Garden is the only festival I haven't seen; it's on my list for next few years.

 

[Minnie1986]

The one time I rode GotG, I was so occupied with screaming my dang fool head off, I didn’t even notice there was music playing, so I honestly can’t say which song it was.

I wasn’t queasy, but I’m not sure I need to do it again.

I'm glad to know in advance that some people tend to get nauseous from GotG;I'll bring some motion sickness patches.

 

[cgersic]

WILD that I’ve been following your stories for over SEVEN and a half YEARS! Sheeeeeeshhhh. I’ve had a second baby and a divorce in that time frame.

Some day I will be meeting you and you’ll be saying “my long time follower @??? (I shall change my last name and therefore my handle when my divorce comes through haha)” and I’ll snag a card of my own.

Love your stories as always and the non-retirement

I've followed you for that long too, and you gave me 2 tidbits I had no idea about. The 2nd baby and the divorce - hoping everything is going okay!

 

[cgersic]

Am I the weirdo for actually hoping I get Conga for my first, and probably only, time riding GotG?

Weirdo may be a strong term, but probably in the minority?

 

[Tiggerish]

I'm glad to know in advance that some people tend to get nauseous from GotG;I'll bring some motion sickness patches.

I don’t suffer from motion sickness, thankfully, I’m just loud

My brother in law, who does get motion sick, made the bad decision to get on the ride anyway. So I was also distracted by how it would affect him. It wasn’t good. He was done for the day after GotG, in fact had to sit for ten minutes with his head down before we could even leave the ride exit area

 

[Tuvalu]

Awww miss you guys, hope you had fun!

I'm glad to know in advance that some people tend to get nauseous from GotG;I'll bring some motion sickness patches.

There is no middle ground with GotG - you either love it, or it makes you sick.

 

[Tuvalu]

WILD that I’ve been following your stories for over SEVEN and a half YEARS! Sheeeeeeshhhh. I’ve had a second baby and a divorce in that time frame.

Some day I will be meeting you and you’ll be saying “my long time follower @??? (I shall change my last name and therefore my handle when my divorce comes through haha)” and I’ll snag a card of my own.

Let me suggest some new usernames:
MKteresa
EPteresa
DHSteresa

*note AKteresa is not a recommendation.

(In all seriousness, sorry you're enduring the suffering of a broken relationship. Hugs.)

 

[Tuvalu]

Walt Disney World in Florida is excited to announce its latest innovation -
This “During Park Hours Special Event” is the “Disney Duck Garden Viewing Party” - this ticketed event will run daily on Disney property for a small charge of $125
Unlimited viewing within a lush setting - no chairs or tables to obstruct your view - grass stains are included - patrons may not bring their own blanket - no drinks or desserts will be served - and no CM interaction to spoil your day . Our local fan base is already calling it the DD viewing party - who doesn’t want to sit back and relax and view some double d’s in the park - park admission is required

Book early to avoid disappointment- our special August 12 2045 session is totality selling out quickly.


Max

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

After a lengthy wait for a bus, Em and I made it to Riverside.

Our first floor room was in Acadian House and faced the river (though it was categorized as a “woods view.”)

Fun fact - we learned the next day that @riverside was in the room directly above ours! Her room connected to L&J’s room.

It’s been 7 years since our last stay at POR. Ironically we were also in Acadian House - as was @riverside - when we met for the very first time!

Room pics for @Nunu.

Curtain closeup.

The shower curtain is a bit loud IMO.

Movin’ on up to a moderate means classier toiletries!

No taped-on labels!

Once we unloaded everything into the room we were in for the night.

 

[amjt660]

Movin’ on up to a moderate means classier toiletries!

Max

 

[Loco_driver]

Am I the weirdo for actually hoping I get Conga for my first, and probably only, time riding GotG?

I’ve gotten conga a few times and really liked it. It’s like a dance party!

 

[LeighM]

I’ve gotten conga a few times and really liked it. It’s like a dance party!

Thanks My husband and I (especially my husband) suffer from motion sickness so we're planning on taking Bonine (for me bc of drowsiness) and Dramamine (for him) before riding it, hopefully at the end of the day. There will probably be no more rides for us after that so I'm really hoping for one of our fav songs. I guess I'm thinking it will make the ride somehow more tolerable LOL.

 

[Bullseye1967]

The shower curtain is a bit loud IMO.

"A bit" ???????????

 

[Tuvalu]

"A bit" ???????????

I believe Em’s word was “hideous.”

 

[Tuvalu]

Will do - upcoming trips are deluxe, baby!

 

[fractal]

yeh for the return of the koi!

I hope you are holding Toni responsible for your first ride on Guardians.

 

[Tuvalu]

yeh for the return of the koi!

I hope you are holding Toni responsible for your first ride on Guardians.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, April 2

The day did not start off well.

Our plan was to utilize early entry (EE) at the parks this week to stay ahead of Easter crowds. It was especially important for us to do so at MK, with EE at 7:30 am. We left our room in the dark and arrived at the north depot (closest to our building) to find the pavilion full of people. It was so crowded that we missed seeing @riverside, L & J (who we were looking for!)

The arrival time for MK bus was over 25 minutes away. Normally that would mean we’d just missed the bus, but the amount of people waiting to go to MK said otherwise. The time kept getting pushed back minute by minute as we watched buses from other parks (including two AK and Epcot buses!) arrive. Tension was high at that stop, let me tell you.

When the MK bus finally arrived - almost full - Em and I were part of the fortunate few able to squeeze on and had to stand. (Joey saw us on board and pointed us out to Patti.) Our bus did not even stop at the next two depots but went directly to MK - good for us, bad for everyone else who had waited as long or longer than we had.

On Main Street twenty minutes late for start of EE.

Pan was the plan and we hurried there as fast as we could. The posted wait was already 45 minutes.

As has been my recent experience with Pan, the actual wait was longer than posted wait. (The ride stops a lot now.) It was almost an hour until we boarded our pirate ship.

Our moods changed once we began our flight and we focused on the storytelling. When we got to the penultimate scene….

….Em was quick with her quips.

“What are they gonna do when those pirates wake up?”

“And if the pirates are dead, why don’t they throw them overboard?”

The world will never know.