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 :jawdrop: ?!! 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.

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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.....

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday, con’t

As we exited MMRR I whispered to Kel, “Would you be willing to ride Rock ‘N Rollercoaster with Woody?” (Woody really enjoys RNR but will forego it on trips with just me, since I am unable to ride it.)

“Absolutely!” Kel replied without hesitation.

We headed towards Sunset Blvd.

“Wait!” exclaimed Kel. “Selfie time!”

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Not bad for a “senior selfie” amiright @MickeyCB?

I snapped a shot of the two riders near the entrance. I suspected there wouldn’t be a ride photo to document their journey to The Forum, and I was right. However I’ve just read that Disney is adding digital “face masks” to guests who had “mask malfunctions” when ride photos are taken.

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I did walk the queue with them and ironically my name appeared on one of the concert posters. Which is silly because this was my way out.....

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Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Still concerned that Woody might not get to experience RotR with Kel, I suggested the next best thing ~ piloting the Millennium Falcon. Woody had only seen the attraction from a distance. Kel had said she’d had a blast on her two previous missions. (She really wanted a third ride with me and Em back in February but the line had been too long.) I knew I’d be a liability (you can’t score well with your eyes closed 😉) but with Kel as co-pilot, Woody would have a fighting chance.

We decided to enter Galaxy’s Edge via a very busy Toy Story Land (waits for all three attractions were an hour +.) Standby for Falcon was posted at 45 minutes but we only waited half that long. Since we weren’t rushed through the queue I was able to take a few pictures.

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This is Hondo. I know that because Kel told me. She also told me about his background and why he is important....but I’ve already forgotten because frankly, he’s not important to me. :hilarious:

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He’s an impressive AA though!

Em and I did not have a chance to be photographed at the chess table and I was not gonna let that happen a second time.

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Moments later the pilots were summoned into the cockpit.

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I opted to be a gunner. What I was shooting at I cannot say because.....eyes closed.

I managed to get a single pic of Woody at the controls.

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I texted the pic to our sons without commentary. My oldest replied with, “I see Covid has reached a galaxy far, far away.”
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
season 5 episode 13 GIF by Star Wars


Sorry Star Wars GIF by aiptcomics


coming from someone who finally got around to watching clone wars on disney+ during lockdown 😪
@tonystark although I seem to have more in common with @slipperalwaysfits and @Songbird76 ~

Like you, I have no clue about Hondo's background or why he's important. I don't even know what film he's in.

I think it's one of the star wars ones. ;) But I wouldn't swear to it, not having seen them.

We'll always have

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GIF by visitorlando
 

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday August 28, con’t

We wandered through Galaxy’s Edge after disembarking the Falcon. When we reached the entrance to RotR, we heard a CM say the attraction hadn’t opened yet and was unsure when boarding might begin.

Woody would not be joining the Resistance today. 😔

The heat was brutal and we desperately needed an a/c fix. We mobile ordered lunch at the nearest restaurant ~ which happened to be the same place where Woody and I had dined two days earlier.

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Not only did we order the same food, but we even sat at the same table. (Yes, we are creatures of habit!)

Apparently PizzeRizzo hadn’t received a delivery of fresh chips and was still using up the expired batch. I suppose this could be a reason why chips are no longer on the menu....once they gone, they’re gone! :hilarious:

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Kel had unknowingly played it safe with a side Caesar salad.

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We lingered over lunch since the a/c (and being mask-less) felt good. Also there wasn’t enough time for Woody to do another attraction. He preferred being back at our villa early rather than risk being late to his meetings.

As we bid farewell to Woody, Kel and I stopped to watch the Pixar cavalcade.

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lindawdw

Well-Known Member
Aww so glad that you got to meet up with Kel again at WDW! You certainly are lucky with the boarding group numbers. We were there last week and got BG 72 but felt fortunate that we even got one. It did turn out to be late in the day so we walked over to the Epcot resorts for a while before returning for it. It's too bad that Woody didn't get to ride it with you both.
 

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