Trip Report Shrouded In A Daft Disguise *COMPLETED*

Two weeks ago today, I returned home from the most surreal Disney vacation I have ever experienced.

During my last visit in February, I couldn’t have imagined having to wear a face mask and have my temperature taken before being allowed into a park. “Social distancing” wasn’t part of my vocabulary. Hand sanitizer was something I carried in a little bottle in my purse, not something in giant containers at the entrance/exit of every attraction.

No park hopping? No Fastpasses? No FIREWORKS ?!! Not even on my radar screen.

Like a bolt out of the blue, the pandemic struck and life was dramatically altered. For everyone. And there is no Magic Mirror to tell us when it will be over. For me the pandemic has been a reminder to take nothing for granted ~ and that there can still be joy in the darkest days.

My name is Tuvalu and I have been a WDW annual passholder for nearly 25 years. I was raised on Disney and so were my children. The parks have always been my “escape” from real life. Could they still be an “escape” in the midst of a pandemic? After months of quarantine, I was ready to find out.

My daughter Em was my travel buddy. My husband Woody had reservations, but not for our safety. He was concerned we’d struggle with the restrictions and disappointment with all the changes. He wanted us to come back happy and wasn’t sure we would. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure we would either. After much research and due diligence, Em and I felt prepared to embark on a vacation with few expectations.

Full disclosure ~ I‘ve wrestled with writing a report of our trip. The pandemic and subsequent events have caused much division on this Disney fan forum. I’ve always considered the trip reports section to be a “safe space” and hope it stays that way. My goal is to provide entertainment to the reader, nothing more.

With that in mind.....

 

[Swissmiss]

I’m quite jealous of your legs in the picture with your smoothie - wish mine looked as good

 

[Tuvalu]

I’m quite jealous of your legs in the picture with your smoothie - wish mine looked as good

 

[donaldtoo]

Can’t blame @Darstarr for the rain. She wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.

@Darstarr just sent it on ahead...!!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

Fortunately the rain had let up when Woody and I drove to dinner.

Having our own vehicle meant we wouldn’t be stuck should monorail service cease before we finished eating. You may recall we’d cut it too close after our Wave dinner two nights earlier (after apparently missing our chance at amazing cake, @Dory71 .)

Tonight we’d be dining at the Top of the World. (Or rather the former Top of the World. The lounge at Bay Lake Tower is a name stealer!) The panoramic view from our window table certainly did not include California. Or a grill.

Our server Bill was a retired cop who had a little bit of an edge to his personality (not in a bad way). He told our fave server Ryan that Woody and I were “in the house” and Ryan came over to say hello.

“You can still request me, even with online check-in,” he said.

“Good to know,” I smiled and pointed out the window. “But we wouldn’t have this view tonight, since you’re working the back room.”

“Touché!” he responded. (I’m sure he was smiling under his mask....and face shield.)

Server Bill arrived with bread. He went to fetch butter at my request.

Woody and I shared the Beer Cheese Soup with Pretzel Breadstick. I wanted to love this as much as @ajrwdwgirl did, and my taste buds declared it was fine ~ but not spectacular.

As usual we both ordered the filet.

It was accompanied by aged Gouda mac and cheese and green beans. I had warned Woody about the charred Brussels sprouts that came with the filet and he also opted for the green bean substitution.

The filets were outstanding. California Grill always gets that part of the meal right. However, just like last month’s meal with Em, the sides were lacking flavor. They were bland. This should never be the case at a signature, even during a pandemic.

(As a matter of fact it caused Woody to switch his November birthday dinner from CG to Narcoossee’s....and the sides there were AH-MAZ-ING!!)

We passed on dessert. Since there were no fireworks to linger around for, we decided to catch sunset from our balcony instead.

 

[Zipadeelady]

@fractal I mean @Tuvalu your sunset picture is to die for!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I agree that the fillet is always amazing, I was a little disappointed in the sides too. Sorry you didn't care for the soup, I enjoyed it but I have had better beer cheese soup too. The best beer cheese soup is what I make at home with lots of cheese, bacon, and beer!

 

[fractal]

@fractal I mean @Tuvalu your sunset picture is to die for!!

Tis true!

 

[Darstarr]

Can’t blame @Darstarr for the rain. She wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow.

@Darstarr just sent it on ahead...!!!!!

Hey!
I can hear you!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Hey!
I can hear you!!!

I wanted you to hear me, that's why I "tagged" you...
You're it...!!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Friday, August 28

I awakened somewhat giddy. I was going to play in a park with some friends today!

Not that I hadn’t enjoyed the last six days with Woody. Our time together had been great! But I’d been missing some camaraderie of the female kind, especially since Em wasn’t with us on this trip.

I needed chick-chatting. And boy (girl?) would I get it!

Woody ventured over to Capt. Cooks to pick up egg burritos for our breakfast. They were quite good. We were the second party to arrive at the bus stop (8:45 am). By the time the first DHS bus arrived at 9, a large congregation had gathered. Several rude people pushed their way to the front and when the driver disembarked to assign seats, he (unknowingly) let four “cutters” on the bus and was about to direct a few more onboard.

I was incensed and had to speak up. “Excuse me, but they were here first!” I pointed to the family who were already waiting when Woody and I had gotten there. As the driver summoned the family over, the dad pointed at me and said, “And they were second.”

Woody and I got the last available seats. Unlike the other day, there were no additional DHS buses lined up behind our bus. Time was of the essence since we needed to be inside the park by 10 in order to try for a RotR Boarding Group.
(Edit ~ Let me say that I love the new 7 am Boarding Group drop! It has removed all the anxiety of getting to the park “on time”, as well as the concern of being trapped on a ride when the drop occurs.)

Woody and I were inside the park a full half hour prior to official opening.

We plopped ourselves on a bench and waited for friend #1 to arrive.

She would be easy to spot!

It was only a few minutes until there were exclamations of girlish glee.
A couple hugs and quick picture and we were ready to play!

My sweet friend Kel is a GA transplant now living near Mickey’s World. All the background info can be found in my February TR (before our world was forever changed).

Trip Report - A Friend Like Her *COMPLETED*

“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” ~ Forrest Gump Ah, February. The month of heart-shaped boxes of chocolate. The month of romance and love. The month of someone’s Valentine birthday. The month of the crappiest weather in 95 percent of the country...

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

[Darstarr]

Cant wait to see friend # !
(that’s #2 for those of you who don’t get my humor)

 

[Songbird76]

Happy birthday to Em! I'm thinking I might be 2 days late....I'm pretty sure it's either the day before or the day after my son's, but I can't remember which. Either way I hope it is/was a wonderful day!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Cant wait to see friend # !
(that’s #2 for those of you who don’t get my humor)

She’s a real

Happy birthday to Em! I'm thinking I might be 2 days late....I'm pretty sure it's either the day before or the day after my son's, but I can't remember which. Either way I hope it is/was a wonderful day!!

Good memory! It is the day before. I’ll pass along your sweet wishes.

 

[Darstarr]

She’s a real

Box of fake gold???

 

[Tuvalu]

Box of fake gold???

Perhaps I should have used this instead:

 

[Darstarr]

Perhaps I should have used this instead:
View attachment 517080

 

[Tuvalu]

In February I took great delight in exposing Kel to attractions she had never done, despite her having visited WDW numerous times. Thus there was no question in my mind where we would start playing.

MMRR opened in March shortly before the COVID shutdown. When the parks reopened, Kel’s seasonal pass was blacked out until late August. Today marked her reentry as a passholder ~ and her first pandemic visit.

We were still in the outside part of the queue when the clock struck 10. The fate of obtaining a Rise BG was all in my hands (though credit is due Woody who did the countdown for me.) This was my third BG attempt; my first two tries had resulted in single-digit Boarding Groups (6 & 9). I will confess to being slightly disappointed at scoring BG 33.* I’d wanted Woody and Kel - the Star Wars fans - to experience RotR together. Woody had to leave DHS by 1:30 pm and I wasn’t sure our group would get called before then.

When we entered the interior of the Chinese Theater, Kel began to oooh and ahhh.

“Have you not been inside here before?” I asked. “The Great Movie Ride?”

“The what?” said Kel. (If I didn’t love her so much I’d insert a facepalm here.)

Ready to Run Amuck!

Tuvalette adores Daisy. I took this photo for her. Afterwards I noticed we were in the picture too!

What did Kel think of MMRR?




* I realize how fortunate I am to have done RotR several times and shouldn’t whine about receiving a double-digit Boarding Group, when so many guests are unable to secure one and are denied the opportunity to ride. But I want to share how - what I thought was a “bad” number - actually ended up being a “good” number. Stay tuned.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Woody and I shared the Beer Cheese Soup with Pretzel Breadstick. I wanted to love this as much as @ajrwdwgirl did, and my taste buds declared it was fine ~ but not spectacular.

I have a thing for Beer Cheese soup! Somehow, I wasn't aware that Cali Grill did this! I will have to try it out, I'm looking forward to ordering the filets (my usual go-to there) but I'm hoping the sides have more flavor by then!!

However, just like last month’s meal with Em, the sides were lacking flavor. They were bland. This should never be the case at a signature, even during a pandemic.

I was incensed and had to speak up. “Excuse me, but they were here first!” I pointed to the family who were already waiting when Woody and I had gotten there. As the driver summoned the family over, the dad pointed at me and said, “And they were second.”

GOOD FOR YOU for speaking up! Good karma, what goes around, comes around! Kudos to the dad who spoke up for you and Woody, as well!

Tuvalette adores Daisy. I took this photo for her. Afterwards I noticed we were in the picture too!

Tuvalette and I are now friends. I love Daisy and find her highly under-rated, though I was so glad she was over at Pete's Silly Sideshow pre-Covid! I was very excited to see that Daisy has her own dance scene!!

* I realize how fortunate I am to have done RotR several times and shouldn’t whine about receiving a double-digit Boarding Group, when so many guests are unable to secure one and are denied the opportunity to ride. But I want to share how - what I thought was a “bad” number - actually ended up being a “good” number. Stay tuned.

#blessingseverywhere

 

[Tuvalu]

I have a thing for Beer Cheese soup! Somehow, I wasn't aware that Cali Grill did this! I will have to try it out.

The soup offerings change frequently, so check the menu in advance!

Tuvalette and I are now friends. I love Daisy and find her highly under-rated, though I was so glad she was over at Pete's Silly Sideshow pre-Covid! I was very excited to see that Daisy has her own dance scene!!

Daisy has her own bus wrap too!

 

[k8einwdw]

By the time the first DHS bus arrived at 9, a large congregation had gathered. Several rude people pushed their way to the front and when the driver disembarked to assign seats, he (unknowingly) let four “cutters” on the bus and was about to direct a few more onboard.

Jason and I encountered this issue on our DHS day this past trip - we both agreed that this is one thing that the Value resorts do better than the Moderates and Deluxes. Less line-cutting when there is an established line for each park!