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!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Monday, con’t

And….back to another negative, @Zipadeelady.

Once we completed our safari, we opened the app to check the wait for Dinosaur. The wait times for other attractions - at 10:10 am - were eye popping!

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Dinosaur was down and would not reopen while we were there.

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con't

What to do now? Wait times were high, it was too soon for lunch and we didn't want to walk the gorilla or tiger trails in case any effects from the hurricane had them in hiding.

There was an 11am showing of Festival of the Lion King so we joined the other early arrivals already in line. At least we could sit!

We mobile ordered lunch as we were waiting. One of us wanted Flame Tree BBQ and the other Satu'li Canteen. You'll see whose choice prevailed in my next post.

Since we were part of the first group allowed into the theater our bleacher seats were in the second row. No climbing!

We were in the giraffe section.

The last time we saw this show was during the pandemic and it was missing segments due to the limited number of performers. To see it today in its full glory was a treat.

"I really enjoyed this," Em said on our way out. "I'd forgotten how good the show is."

(Confidential to @Zipadeelady - This counts as a positive!)

 

[Dave B]

Satu'li Canteen

 

[Tuvalu]

Satu'li Canteen

 

[Zipadeelady]

I love that show. I'm glad you stopped to see it.

NOW.... nobody seems to listen to me when I say this so I'm hoping, just maybe you or Em got the hash with your bowl. The hash is so much better than the rice or salad. I don't even like sweet potatoes but you'd never know.

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

Lunch logic: “We can get good barbecue at home. We can’t get Satu’li at home.”

Wood fired chicken with sesame noodles for the win! (Sorry @Zipadeelady)

We were given plastic cups rather than paper cups for our drinks. Not sure if this is a permanent change or temporary due to Hurricane.

Hunger satisfied, we set off for our last priority - shopping.

While we purchased nothing, it is fun to see different and unique merchandise at AK that can’t be found in the other parks. Typically we do make purchases at AK but nothing screamed “Buy Me!” to us.

Especially not a twenty five dollar candy bar!

 

[Tuvalu]

It’s Fall Y’all!

 

[pkkurz]

I love that show. I'm glad you stopped to see it.

NOW.... nobody seems to listen to me when I say this so I'm hoping, just maybe you or Em got the hash with your bowl. The hash is so much better than the rice or salad. I don't even like sweet potatoes but you'd never know.

We always get the hash too!

 

[Zipadeelady]

We always get the hash too!

 

[erstwo]

It’s Fall Y’all!

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they are so big now! I love their little rain suits. My mother in law used to bring something similar back from Germany for my kids - it was the best - I didn't have to worry about mud or puddles. Just zip them in and let them go.

 

[Tuvalu]

they are so big now! I love their little rain suits. My mother in law used to bring something similar back from Germany for my kids - it was the best - I didn't have to worry about mud or puddles. Just zip them in and let them go.

Did you say mud and puddles?

They were also riding their scooters - hence the helmets.

 

[MinnieM123]

Did you say mud and puddles?

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They were also riding their scooters - hence the helmets.

Oh, to be young and free to be!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

It was now afternoon. But instead of boarding the bus to WL we climbed aboard the bus to MK.

Naps would have to wait.

Em had a hankering for ice cream from The Plaza. The All American sundae is her fave. I was curious if the yummy S’mores shake was still on the menu and planned to order one if it was.

What we landed on was completely unexpected.

It’s been years since Em and I shared an ice cream cookie sandwich. It was a staple for us from the pre-Starbucks Main Street Bakery, when the cookies were real Nestlé Toll House. Adding a scoop of vanilla to a chocolate chip cookie was heaven!

The Plaza Halloween ice cream sandwich was two dark chocolate M&M cookies with your choice of ice cream. Em suggested chocolate for decadence sake. Once seated she pulled off the top cookie, spread half the ice cream atop the bottom of it, and handed it to me.

The treat was so so good! And I was a BIG fan of the cookie itself. (Foreshadowing….)

Did we eat and run like Woody and I had done?

Oh no - Em and I went for a spin on the Peoplemover!

 

[Tuvalu]

Since it was approaching 3 pm 2 pm FoF, I was curious how short wait times would be in Fantasyland. We weren’t planning to do a lot of rides at MNSSHP.

7DMT was posted at 20 minutes! We rushed right over. And unlike the misfortune of 20 minutes was really an hour on my mom’s birthday trip, we were seated in front in 20!

Had a perfect view of the old hag.

 

[MinnieM123]

@Tuvalu -- I really like the cute Halloween t-shirts that you and Em were wearing. It's great when the designers create smaller images on a subtle background color, versus the sometimes huge designs, on certain other t-shirts.

 

[Tuvalu]

Thank you, @MinnieM123 and we agree! (As does Tuvalad who was fascinated by his Pooh friends in costume. )

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

Time to get serious. If we wanted to get in a nap before MNSSHP we needed to leave MK before we were tempted by another attraction with a short wait.

As we made our way towards the exit I caught this funny line on tee:
I am not responsible for what my face does when you talk.

Good shirt to wear to an HOA meeting or employee mixer, no?

Beautiful afternoon for a boat ride.

Early arrivals for MNSSHP on the ferry. Have fun waiting an hour for the gate to open, people!

Thankfully our room was in a quiet location and it didn’t take long for us to enter Slumberland.

Refreshed, a couple hours later we were ready to head back to the park.

 

[Tuvalu]

Em’s excitement was running high. So was mine once a last-minute check of the radar indicated rain was highly unlikely tonight!

Pre-party fun in the alley behind Main Street.

In the daylight it was hard to see this projection on the wall.

Here we received our first - and only full size - candy. A bag of peanut butter M&Ms.

We had no idea who this guy is. I just googled Disney villain bowler hat and learned he is Michael "Goob" Yagoobian from 2007's Meet the Robinsons. Talk about an obscure character!

My girl was ready to get her treats on!

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

We knew Haunted Mansion is extremely popular at the party and decided to do it first. It was a little past 6 pm and the official start was at 7, so the park was now closed to day guests. We could get through the attraction quickly and circle back later to check out the extra spookiness of the exterior during party hours.

Some of the queue awning was missing. Disney likely removed all of it pre-hurricane and was in the process of putting the awning back.

Who’s ready to stretch?

These guys!

Playful spooks stole our ride photo. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!

Next we shared a light dinner at Pinocchio’s Village Haus.

Then saw our Mermaid friend before the party was in full swing.

Em waved goodbye.

 

[pkkurz]

The pre ride shenagins are awesome.