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.....

 

[lindawdw]

It's too bad you didn't get the PP pictures from in front of the castle but the Minnie and Roy one is adorable. The PP's name must have been Callie! I think I'm liking the small one float pop up parades!

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

Once Goofy’s cavalcade passed we continued our stroll down Main Street. The next image made Em very, very sad.

There’d be no All American Sundae this trip. The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor was CLOSED.

Looking back the way we came.

We stopped for more PP pics near the castle. (@lindawdw we did not get our pics in front of the train station.)

Cindy’s abode looks quite different than when we last saw it.

We didn’t love it.....but we also didn’t hate it.

The pink is better in person (and 1000x better than the Pepto Bismol shade of 1996/97) and the gold accents definitely make the castle more regal.

But the bluish purple turrets? The sun needs to fade that color fast!!

 

[Swissmiss]

your t-shirt!

 

[Tuvalu]

What would be our first attraction?

Yo Ho!

Note Em is not standing on the physical distancing marker. She didn’t need to. In fact I made her stop walking to take this pic. We entered the building and went straight a boat.

I had a gut feeling that our ride photo wouldn’t get taken (it wasn’t) and I wanted evidence of us in the boat.

We shared the boat with another couple. We were row 1, they were in row 5.

Next up was a fave whose days may or may not be numbered. While the wait said 40 minutes, we didn’t even wait half that long.

Nice ‘n dry....

But then this....

Resulting in this....

Masks stayed on but got wet, Em’s worse than mine. She immediately changed hers. Mine didn’t bother me (and dried very quickly). Both of us had 2-3 spare masks with us all the time.

 

[cgersic]

We got soaked being up front too! I think it's because there's so little weight in the log. Enjoying the trip so far!

 

[Tuvalu]

It was too hot to stand in line 30 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain so we opted to find an attraction with a/c. We chose to take the path along the river.

Suddenly we heard noise and turned around to see rafting chipmunks!

Who’s ready for Haunted Mansion? (I see your hand, @tonystark!)

Like Pirates, this was a walk-on. I wanted Em to get some pictures in the portrait gallery (since the preshow is not operating) but she didn’t want to remain stationary since there were people walking up behind us.

We must be out of practice. Neither of us nailed it!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Both of us had 2-3 spare masks with us all the time.

Smart!

 

[93boomer]

Sunday, con’t

Once Goofy’s cavalcade passed we continued our stroll down Main Street. The next image made Em very, very sad.

View attachment 490165

There’d be no All American Sundae this trip. The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor was CLOSED.

Looking back the way we came.

View attachment 490166

We stopped for more PP pics near the castle. (@lindawdw we did not get our pics in front of the train station.)

View attachment 490171

View attachment 490172

Cindy’s abode looks quite different than when we last saw it.

View attachment 490168

View attachment 490173

View attachment 490174

We didn’t love it.....but we also didn’t hate it.

The pink is better in person (and 1000x better than the Pepto Bismol shade of 1996/97) and the gold accents definitely make the castle more regal.

But the bluish purple turrets? The sun needs to fade that color fast!!

I thought about her when they announced it was closed

 

[93boomer]

What would be our first attraction?

Yo Ho!

View attachment 490175

Note Em is not standing on the physical distancing marker. She didn’t need to. In fact I made her stop walking to take this pic. We entered the building and went straight a boat.

I had a gut feeling that our ride photo wouldn’t get taken (it wasn’t) and I wanted evidence of us in the boat.

View attachment 490176

We shared the boat with another couple. We were row 1, they were in row 5.

Next up was a fave whose days may or may not be numbered. While the wait said 40 minutes, we didn’t even wait half that long.

View attachment 490177

View attachment 490182

View attachment 490179

View attachment 490183

View attachment 490178

Nice ‘n dry....

View attachment 490180

But then this....

View attachment 490186

Resulting in this....

View attachment 490181

Masks stayed on but got wet, Em’s worse than mine. She immediately changed hers. Mine didn’t bother me (and dried very quickly). Both of us had 2-3 spare masks with us all the time.

Stupid question -because I have seen pictures both ways. Do you stand on the mark or behind it?

 

[Swissmiss]

Stupid question -because I have seen pictures both ways. Do you stand on the mark or behind it?

I hadn’t been surprised to see the way distances were marked off at WDW, as that is the way it was handled in my office building, in the supermarket, etc. Then I went to DLP and found their way so much easier to “follow”. You stand where there isn’t this:

Each sticker on the ground was a bit more than 3 feet (1 meter) and the space in between stickers was large enough for a family of four to position themselves comfortably. They would “double up” stickers in areas that couldn’t be properly distanced (turns or switchbacks in lines) and you waited until the party in front of you vacated their spot and then you moved into it.

 

[Tuvalu]

Less than a 10 minute wait for Peter Pan! We’ve waited longer than that at rope drop!

Note the hand sanitizer station on the left.

I received our room ready text when our pirate ship returned from Neverland. Though it was tempting to keep going on rides without having to wait, Em was the mature one and said: “You’ve been up since 4:30 am, traveled 8 hours in the car, spent the last two hours in the heat wearing a mask....you’re going to hit the wall eventually. Doesn’t it make more sense to hit that wall at the resort, after we’ve unpacked and enjoyed a nice meal?”

I hate it when my kid is smarter than I am.

Yet the pull of an empty Fantasyland was strong....

“Let’s walk through the castle,” Em suggested to counteract the temptation. “And shop in the Emporium on our way out.”

I now present.....the backside of castle!

We were treated to another cavalcade ~ Mickey and friends ~ while on our way to the Emporium.

Em bought bowls from the Disney Homestead Collection to match her dinnerware, and she found the peach WDW sweatshirt we’d searched all over for on our trip in February. (Nothing says July in central Florida like the purchase of a sweatshirt!) Currently no packages are being sent back to resorts (or even to package pickup at the front of the parks.) So if you buy something, be prepared to carry it with you! I’m betting this restriction costs Disney big bucks. We barely browsed in any stores the rest of our trip because we didn’t want to carry bags of merchandise around the parks.

Coming up ~ Villa pics!

 

[Tuvalu]

Whew you two were looking a bit toasty there in your pictures near roy... I don't think I could do it!

We’re Southern gals ~ we merely glisten.

Maybe you can't blame Callan for the pictures not showing up, but you can try blaming Callanne

The PP's name must have been Callie!

 

[Tuvalu]

Late, but all caught up. Always preferred Disney at low crowd times(when that was once a thing). Since most of your trips lately have been at busy times, this trip was certainly a different experience. Thanks for taking us along!

Every trip of late has been uber-crowded, so this was a pleasant change! Thanks for reading.

Yea a @Tuvalu TR I may finally have time to read. The upside to spending the next couple of weeks in a boot

While I’m happy for the company, I’m sorry it had to be at the expense of your foot! Get well soon!

Did you photoshop yourself into a week after Labor Day 1980something pic?

Sure looks that way, doesn’t it?

I'm so excited to join it! Cute mask!

Check out kingdomofkatie on Insta.

your t-shirt!

ShopDisney.
And apparently you and I aren’t the only ones. I saw at least three other women wearing that same shirt the day I wore mine and several other women wearing it later on that week.

 

[Tuvalu]

We got soaked being up front too! I think it's because there's so little weight in the log.

Yeah, let’s go with that....works for me!

Smart!

I are a college graduate.

Stupid question -because I have seen pictures both ways. Do you stand on the mark or behind it?

We stood on the mark. Larger parties stood on and just behind it.
And there are no stupid questions.

 

[93boomer]

Yeah, let’s go with that....works for me!


I are a college graduate.


We stood on the mark. Larger parties stood on and just behind it.
And there are no stupid questions.

Thank you!

 

[Nunu]

Coming up ~ Villa pics!

Yesss!

 

[dizfan917]

I initially thought the coloring of the castle was odd, but now when I see pics of it "the old way" on the website etc., it just looks gray and booooring. I love the gold accents! and I really like purple... but that IS a unique color.

I've only stayed "non-villa" on one trip in 2002. Thanks, Dad for that DVC membership!

 

[93boomer]

Less than a 10 minute wait for Peter Pan! We’ve waited longer than that at rope drop!

View attachment 490203

Note the hand sanitizer station on the left.

View attachment 490204

I received our room ready text when our pirate ship returned from Neverland. Though it was tempting to keep going on rides without having to wait, Em was the mature one and said: “You’ve been up since 4:30 am, traveled 8 hours in the car, spent the last two hours in the heat wearing a mask....you’re going to hit the wall eventually. Doesn’t it make more sense to hit that wall at the resort, after we’ve unpacked and enjoyed a nice meal?”

I hate it when my kid is smarter than I am.

Yet the pull of an empty Fantasyland was strong....

View attachment 490205

“Let’s walk through the castle,” Em suggested to counteract the temptation. “And shop in the Emporium on our way out.”

View attachment 490208

I now present.....the backside of castle!

View attachment 490206

View attachment 490209

We were treated to another cavalcade ~ Mickey and friends ~ while on our way to the Emporium.

View attachment 490207

Em bought bowls from the Disney Homestead Collection to match her dinnerware, and she found the peach WDW sweatshirt we’d searched all over for on our trip in February. (Nothing says July in central Florida like the purchase of a sweatshirt!) Currently no packages are being sent back to resorts (or even to package pickup at the front of the parks.) So if you buy something, be prepared to carry it with you! I’m betting this restriction costs Disney big bucks. We barely browsed in any stores the rest of our trip because we didn’t want to carry bags of merchandise around the parks.

Coming up ~ Villa pics!

Don’t you hate it when they “adult” up?!!

 

[RememberWhen]

In pictures, I really like the weird purple blue, but really the the pink. Seems likely that by the time I see it in person it will have faded quite a bit.
Really loving your pictures and reporting!
Thank you to @TrolleyFollower91 for being a teacher and taking care of those kiddos!

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

Our bus was waiting for us when we got to the gate and we had a private ride back to WL. Grading Disney transport today ~ A+!

We unloaded the car and made the short walk to Boulder Ridge.

What a warm welcome!

I had been in this building once before, during the holiday season. The Christmas tree nearly filled the lobby and was centered where the bird cage is now.

There is a separate room off the lobby where Walt’s backyard trains are displayed.

Our room was on the first floor, no need to use the elevator. Was it all the way down the end of the hall?

Nope! I was standing in front of our door when I took this picture (intending to show off the “hidden Mickeys.”) Room 1533 was the first room in the complex. We couldn’t have asked for a more convenient location.