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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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Saturday, con’t

We left Epcot by the same method we arrived. 🚝

I’d made some dinner suggestions to October Girl and she immediately decided where she wanted to go.

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The Contempo Cafe.

You may recall a certain four cheese patty melt we raved about on a summer trip. Remembering how large the sandwich was, we opted to share one tonight.

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It was every bit as good as the first time! The fries? Eh, they were fries.

Em did find a treat in the bakery section that intrigued her peanut butter loving self.

A peanut butter chocolate chunk cookie.

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She savored it over a couple of days so I know it must have been richly decadent. We even made a return trip on our last day to pick up a second cookie for herself and one for Woody (who finished it in one sitting 🤣.)

Returning to the Lodge was easy peasy now that the Blue Launch has returned. (Hours 3 pm - 11 pm)

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Tired from our adventures on a long travel day, we were ready for some zzzs.😴
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, October 13

The patty melt came back to haunt me in the middle of the night. It would also shape my food choices for the day (as in nothing fried or with onions!) Fortunately I was able to eat a light breakfast while Em was busy securing this -

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Ok then - guess I needed to prepare for the possibility of getting soaked. :bored:

Early entry began at 8:30 am. (Spoiler alert: we didn't quite make it.) We left the room a little after 8 and headed for the boat dock. I rarely get to see this view of the Lodge in the early morning. I didn't see any 🦇🦇.

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The length of the line indicated a boat hadn't been by for awhile.

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I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the larger boat arriving. Had it been the small launch we would have remained standing on the dock.

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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
This is Halloween.

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Em was excited for her in-person viewing of the Town Square scarecrows she’d only seen in pictures.

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(RIP Mayor of Main Street.)

The details on each are impressive!

Mayor's wife
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Emporium CM
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Casey's CM
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Main Street Bakery (now Starbucks) CM
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Confectionery CM
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Unsure why her apron is in tatters?
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Our friend Kel was supposed to be joining us but she had a family situation in California. We sent her a Wish You Were Here pic.

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We scanned in for early entry and learned that Space Mountain, 7DMT and Pooh (gasp!) were down.

Arty Pan it was!

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Em liked the new scene and laughed at Bill Cosby.

And although the pirate ship cannon no longer glows red, we were both happy to hear “Fire, Mr. Smee!” again.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

Our BG had been called while we were in line for Peter Pan.

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I asked Em to stop for a picture along the river. The view behind her was so lovely, especially the reflections in the water.

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Surprised to see the end of the BTMRR line was already on the bridge! :jawdrop:

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There was no wait for Tiana. We breezed through the queue. Something new since our last visit in July was the added sweet aroma of beignets in the kitchen.

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Thoughtful Em requested the back of the log with the hope of keeping “drenching” to a minimum.

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We both find this attraction fun. Audio-animatronic Louis dancing makes us laugh out loud each time we pass by. Today Em noticed that one of the fireflies in a projection uses a walker and it made us giggle!

While we did get wet it was only splashing which dried quickly.

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93boomer

93boomer

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
Sunday, con’t

Our BG had been called while we were in line for Peter Pan.

View attachment 822312

I asked Em to stop for a picture along the river. The view behind her was so lovely, especially the reflections in the water.

View attachment 822313

Surprised to see the end of the BTMRR line was already on the bridge! :jawdrop:

View attachment 822314

There was no wait for Tiana. We breezed through the queue. Something new since our last visit in July was the added sweet aroma of beignets in the kitchen.

View attachment 822319

Thoughtful Em requested the back of the log with the hope of keeping “drenching” to a minimum.

View attachment 822315

We both find this attraction fun. Audio-animatronic Louis dancing makes us laugh out loud each time we pass by. Today Em noticed that one of the fireflies in a projection uses a walker and it made us giggle!

While we did get wet it was only splashing which dried quickly.

View attachment 822316
Click to expand...
Good to know. We sat on the second row and took a bath! 🤣
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

Despite the lengthy line, Em requested Big Thunder Mountain next.

“I’m wearing the shirt!” she announced.

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The posted wait was 40 minutes. We were on in 20. The majority of the switchbacks in the building weren’t in use.

In the old days we called this “stacking”.

But we had no complaints riding the wildest ride in the wilderness in half the wait!

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Pirate Magic

Pirate Magic

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

Our BG had been called while we were in line for Peter Pan.

View attachment 822312

I asked Em to stop for a picture along the river. The view behind her was so lovely, especially the reflections in the water.

View attachment 822313

Surprised to see the end of the BTMRR line was already on the bridge! :jawdrop:

View attachment 822314

There was no wait for Tiana. We breezed through the queue. Something new since our last visit in July was the added sweet aroma of beignets in the kitchen.

View attachment 822319

Thoughtful Em requested the back of the log with the hope of keeping “drenching” to a minimum.

View attachment 822315

We both find this attraction fun. Audio-animatronic Louis dancing makes us laugh out loud each time we pass by. Today Em noticed that one of the fireflies in a projection uses a walker and it made us giggle!

While we did get wet it was only splashing which dried quickly.

View attachment 822316
Click to expand...
Whatever you do don’t sit in the front row. You will get very, very wet we did twice!!
 
DisneyDreamer08

DisneyDreamer08

Well-Known Member
Pirate Magic said:
Whatever you do don’t sit in the front row. You will get very, very wet we did twice!!
Click to expand...

Tuvalu said:
Yes we also learned that lesson - twice! 🤣
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The last time I rode Splash Mountain was January 2019 in Disneyland. I was in the front, hubs behind me. We got so incredibly soaked. We walked back to our hotel to change and could literally wring out our socks and undergarments 😳😂 I never rode Splash Mountain again. And when I went on Tiana for the first time this past August, I wore a hat and poncho 😂
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sunday, con’t

🎶 It’s our Country Bear Musical Jamboree…🎶

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“What a cute surprise!” Em said when the performance was over.

Her opinion matches the majority of reviews I have read. Anecdotally, two Tuva Tykes agree. I showed 6 year old Tuvaleen and 22 month old Tuvalad a video of the show yesterday. Tuvaleen’s eyes grew wide and she excitedly exclaimed, “I know this song!” when Try Everything began. She reacted with a smile and began to sing along with most of the songs that followed.

Tuvalad was enthralled as well and emulated Ernest’s fast fiddle playing during Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Perhaps Disney knows their target audience after all. 😉
 

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