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!

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Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Saturday, con’t

We killed enough time that there was no F! line on Sunset and we were able to walk right into the theater. Em chose the same section that we were in Thursday night but a few rows higher.

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We did not participate in the Wave tonight, as we had done more than our share of waving two nights earlier.

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I am happy to report that the performance went off without a hitch and played in its entirety!

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Some imagination, huh?

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Our only criticism of Fantasmic is that too much time is devoted to the projections on the fountains. The show felt sluggish at times. Otherwise we were very glad we finally got to see it in person!

Well this TR turned out to be a bit more than “highlights” from Easter week! I appreciate all the comments and am thankful that you followed along! 💜
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I absolutely held my breath while reading this😂
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Highlights from May (really!)

Who: Tuvalu and Woody
When: May 4-11, 2024
Where: Disney’s Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge Resorts
Why: Woody’s turn for Flower and Garden Festival

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Did we have Shirley Status on the MPB?
We sure did!

Did we meet a few forum friends?
We sure did!

Did we melt in the high 90s weather?
🫠🫠🫠

Did we have fun?
We sure did!
 
cgersic

cgersic

Well-Known Member
Swissmiss said:
I can tell you so far this week it hasn’t been empty. And it has been really warm (at least for someone coming from somewhere Spring hasn’t decided whether to start or not).
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I live in SW Florida and agree, it has been really warm! I think there are still some cheer groups there right now, but may be leaving today? Fingers crossed it won't be tooooo crowded! I hope you have enjoyed yourself!
 
Swissmiss

Swissmiss

Premium Member
cgersic said:
I live in SW Florida and agree, it has been really warm! I think there are still some cheer groups there right now, but may be leaving today? Fingers crossed it won't be tooooo crowded! I hope you have enjoyed yourself!
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If I could get my traveling party up and out the door earlier, it would be better but I think both yesterday and today we were making it through the turnstiles at 10 am …
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Saturday, May 4

The first week of May has always been a favorite time of ours to travel to WDW. Temperatures are usually mild, crowds are manageable and the Flower and Garden Festival is in peak form.

At least it used to be that way. Global warming has accelerated the heat in May. Cheer competitions, once solely in February/early spring, have expanded into May (really? At the end of the school year?) And the start date for F&G has been pushed back earlier and earlier so that by May, the flowers are looking a little gangly and ragged.

So while no longer the nirvana it once was, we still enjoy visiting in early May. When I spotted a confirmed DVC reservation for rent this week - back in July - I grabbed it. The price was too good to be true. I am happy to report that our room/resort experience was also too good to be true!

We had a Resort Studio at VGF. Big Pine Key is a lodge we had stayed in several times before it was converted to DVC. We like its proximity to the pools and main building. Views are either lagoon (Poly facing) or garden. Our rental was not for lagoon so we weren’t expecting anything pretty, just a balcony we could sit out on.

When I saw which floor our room was on I was crestfallen. Top floors have enclosed balconies so you need to stand if you want to see over the wall. View from inside the room is also impacted.

We did not have a balcony AT ALL.

But what we had was SO MUCH BETTER.

Pics to come!
 

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