Trip Report The Holiday Humdinger *COMPLETED*

I can't believe the Summer of @Tuvalu is over! Is there going to be a holiday humdinger trip report?!!

I couldn’t disappoint a very expectant mama-to-be, now could I? Especially one who was kind enough to provide the title for this trip report!

So here you go, @krisri18......and anyone else who’d like to follow along on yet another Tuvalu WDW adventure, HOLIDAY STYLE.

I plan on posting live updates and will write an expanded report (“Part Tu” @Tony the Tigger ) once I return home. After all, what else will I have to do in December?

Who: Tuvalu and Woody

When: November 27 - December 3, 2018
Where: I shouldn’t even have to tell you. My go-to.

So be on the lookout for us, @DisneyShe, @slipperalwaysfits @mcstensrud. We’ve packed our sweaters and jeans for the chilly weekdays (highs only near 60, lows in the 40s ~ WTH??) and our shorts and tees for the unseasonably warm weekend (highs in the 80s). Yeah, that 30 degree temperature swing isn’t going to help the colds Woody and I are starting with.....

But we’re going to DISNEY WORLD!!!!

 

[krisri18]

Regular readers of my TRs may recall that The Plaza was one of our go-to restaurants. Rarely did we skip it, and there was a trip or two when we actually went twice.

The food was good and very reasonably priced ~ only a few dollars more than a counter service restaurant.

The shakes were phenomenal.

We knew the servers by name (and a few recognized us.)

And we always looked forward to a visit by Mayor Christopher George Weaver who would enter the restaurant with a flourish and choose a child (the “100th” guest of the day) as the “Junior Mayor of the Day.” (Smokey Miller the Fire Chief would do the honors on the Mayor’s day off.). The ceremony was one of those special touches that made Disney, “Disney”.

A couple years ago The Plaza began to lose its luster. The crispy signature fat fries were replaced by generic shoestrings. Entree prices increased by $3-4. Worst of all, the $5 shake was replaced with an all-you-can-drink shake for nine dollars....a single serving was no longer allowed, nor was “sharing” the all-you-can-drink.

Then the Mayor died.

Dining there lost its value to us. But as I mentioned earlier, Em got to choose the restaurants and she wanted to give The Plaza another try.

View attachment 339844

View attachment 339845

We did not know any of the servers. The one assigned to us did not show up for a LONG time. She was a bit scattered and did not refill our water glasses. Em and Woody ordered shakes which took FOREVER and when she delivered them this was all they got:
View attachment 339849
Usually the stainless steel container (that the shake was mixed in) with the remaining shake was brought to the table as well. Em thought perhaps this had changed too, until she noticed that every other table that had shakes also had the stainless steel containers.

Still there were smiles on their faces.

View attachment 339848

View attachment 339846

I am happy to report the food was good.
Cheesesteak for Em.
View attachment 339850

Club sandwich for Woody.
View attachment 339852

Gourmet chicken sandwich for me.
View attachment 339851

While we were eating a Main Street Suffragette entered and (with a little less flourish than the Mayor) presented the 100th guest of the day with a chocolate covered gold Mickey bar. We were too far away to see if the gold Mickey bar was candy or ice cream.

It was nice to see that this “special touch” continues.

When our server brought the check she asked Woody and Em if they wanted to-go refills of their shakes. Woody declined, but Em said yes “because I feel like I never got a full shake to begin with!”

View attachment 339853

Lunch came to $82....about $30 higher than it used to be. Sigh.

Um, that's my grocery budget for a week!

 

[Rista1313]

OOP that sandwich would cost you $22 after tax/tip.

zowie wow... And I'm sure it's not as good as an Atlanta Fried Green tomato!

 

[Tuvalu]

Friday, con’t

Astute readers may have noticed Woody wearing his Official Conductor of the MPB (trademark forthcoming, @bee ) shirt....which meant he wanted to get in one more grand circle tour before the railroad closure.

It was a bittersweet moment.

While onboard, the “unofficial” conductor of the MPB stated the closure could be as long as three years!!
What will poor Woody do?
What will any of us do when we’re in Frontierland and too tired to make the long walk to the front of the park?

The only way to see the details in this vignette now is flying by on the wildest ride in the wilderness.

Farewell, MPB. You’ll be sorely missed.

After disembarking we headed back to the Lodge.

We had a private bus ride.

#ShirleyStatus

 

[Tuvalu]

We bypassed the Front Desk on our way to our room. The plan was to finish a small bit of packing and then we would haul our bags to the new room one floor below (once we received the room number).

However, my band failed to unlock the door. Ditto Woody’s. Ditto Em’s. Clearly we had a problem.

“Wait here and I’ll go find out what’s going on,” I said to Woody and Em.

CM Mark was working the Front Desk. I was glad to have the opportunity to thank him again for the FPs he’d added to my account. They sure came in handy at the MK!

I explained that we were locked out of our room. He looked at the computer and said someone had checked us out. The good news was our new room was ready and our bands should open that door.

“Bell Services can bring your luggage to the new room,” Mark said.

“But our luggage is in our old room,” I replied, unsure why Mark was confused about that.

He accompanied me up to the 5th floor and unlocked the door for us. The timing was perfect......the hammer drill was grinding away at full force!

Mark’s eyes grew wide. “Wow. We’ve had other guests complain too, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.”
We were in the room less than two minutes gathering our things and the drilling never stopped.

“Two Hours,” I glanced at Mark as we pulled our bags out of the room.

Mark escorted us to our new room in case our bands didn’t work. All of them unlocked the door and he returned to the Front Desk.

This room was in a different wing and away from construction noise. When I got our folio after we got home, I noticed the room was categorized as “Nature View”....so we had been “upgraded” from our Standard Construction View.

Plus an added bonus....

.....two nightstands!

(Em was happy she had her own!)

And the view was nicer than overlooking the parking lot construction zone. (I see a boat!)

(Monorail too!)

 

[Zipadeelady]

This view is happy news!! All is right again.

 

[Tuvalu]

We unpacked and settled into our new room. After a brief rest we headed out for an evening at AK. This park is where we’d booked our FPs, which is why our bonus ones for MK were truly a special treat.

We had a travel delay so by the time we reached AK I knew we’d missed our Dinosaur FP. Since there was now no hurry to enter the park, I requested we stop for a couple photo ops.

Look at the size of the snowflake on the tree!

The trolls....while cute....seem like an odd choice for an AK Magic Shot.

Hard for me to believe AK has been around for 20 years....the bad memories from our first visit a few months after it opened are still vivid in my mind!

While there have been many improvements to AK over the years, I really want to like this park more than I do. Each time I go in hopeful.....and yet come out thinking, “it’s just ok.” Maybe Tuvalette and Tuvaleen will end up loving AK and their enthusiasm will win me over. Time will tell!

Em’s ‘rents by another tree.

Funny thing though....the gift stores in this park have always been my favorites!

 

[Spash007]

I gotta ask, what were your bad memories of the first AK trip?

I don't remember much from mine (I believe it was summer of 98, so also very close to opening (but could have been summer of 99)., except it was HOT (yes it was July in Florida, but it seemed to be 10+ degrees warmer there than elsewhere). There was hardly any air conditioning, and even the stores kept their doors open so there was no refuge. It was so bad that when we went back a few years later, my sister refused to go and stayed at the hotel (and on her one trip as an adult since, still didn't go back!)

 

[93boomer]

How about April 6-

Regular readers of my TRs may recall that The Plaza was one of our go-to restaurants. Rarely did we skip it, and there was a trip or two when we actually went twice.

The food was good and very reasonably priced ~ only a few dollars more than a counter service restaurant.

The shakes were phenomenal.

We knew the servers by name (and a few recognized us.)

And we always looked forward to a visit by Mayor Christopher George Weaver who would enter the restaurant with a flourish and choose a child (the “100th” guest of the day) as the “Junior Mayor of the Day.” (Smokey Miller the Fire Chief would do the honors on the Mayor’s day off.). The ceremony was one of those special touches that made Disney, “Disney”.

A couple years ago The Plaza began to lose its luster. The crispy signature fat fries were replaced by generic shoestrings. Entree prices increased by $3-4. Worst of all, the $5 shake was replaced with an all-you-can-drink shake for nine dollars....a single serving was no longer allowed, nor was “sharing” the all-you-can-drink.

Then the Mayor died.

Dining there lost its value to us. But as I mentioned earlier, Em got to choose the restaurants and she wanted to give The Plaza another try.

View attachment 339844

View attachment 339845

We did not know any of the servers. The one assigned to us did not show up for a LONG time. She was a bit scattered and did not refill our water glasses. Em and Woody ordered shakes which took FOREVER and when she delivered them this was all they got:
View attachment 339849
Usually the stainless steel container (that the shake was mixed in) with the remaining shake was brought to the table as well. Em thought perhaps this had changed too, until she noticed that every other table that had shakes also had the stainless steel containers.

Still there were smiles on their faces.

View attachment 339848

View attachment 339846

I am happy to report the food was good.
Cheesesteak for Em.
View attachment 339850

Club sandwich for Woody.
View attachment 339852

Gourmet chicken sandwich for me.
View attachment 339851

While we were eating a Main Street Suffragette entered and (with a little less flourish than the Mayor) presented the 100th guest of the day with a chocolate covered gold Mickey bar. We were too far away to see if the gold Mickey bar was candy or ice cream.

It was nice to see that this “special touch” continues.

When our server brought the check she asked Woody and Em if they wanted to-go refills of their shakes. Woody declined, but Em said yes “because I feel like I never got a full shake to begin with!”

View attachment 339853

Lunch came to $82....about $30 higher than it used to be. Sigh.

Eek huge difference!

 

[Disney Loving Swede]

I've been looking at this place only because I want that fried green tomato sandwich, but I never see open ADRs for it. For $82 I can go to Homecoming!

If it's a fried green tomato sandwich you are looking for the one at Rosie's over in Hollywood Studios is pretty good and definitely cheaper!

 

[Tuvalu]

The FP line for Kilimanjaro Safaris was cray-cray!!

We stood here for several minutes and never moved.

Once the line moved and we finally were able to tap our bands, we came to a screeching halt again.
We waited.
And waited.
And waited.

Woody’s expression speaks volumes.

We ended up waiting 25 minutes in the Fastpass line.

During that time I discovered that our Dinosaur FP....which we had missed.....had become a Multiple Experience pass. The attraction must have been down during our original FP window. Excitedly I told Em and Woody they’d be able to ride Everest with a FP!

Our Safari was interesting. There were no elephants to be seen anywhere, and we skipped the red clay pits completely. But we did see a lot of activity, especially on the savanna.

Rhino on the move!

Baby Hippo

The giraffes were hovering around the gate to their pen.

Not much activity in feline territory but at least they weren’t in hiding.

The lioness on the lower rock had just rolled onto her side when Em snapped this. She had been sleeping on her back...which is how Kona sleeps!

The most unexpected part of our journey was witnessing the artificial sunset.

(I believe I exclaimed, “What the heck is that?!”)

 

[krause]

Our Safari was interesting. There were no elephants to be seen anywhere, and we skipped the red clay pits completely

This is the same as our last evening safari! I don’t know if there’s different laws for how long the elephants can be out or something like that?

The most unexpected part of our journey was witnessing the artificial sunset.

I loooveee this thing lol it’s so bad and unnecessary

 

[PacNWTigger]

I think that "hippo" on the move is actually a rhino...the horn kinda' blends in with the background.

 

[Tuvalu]

Dusk had fallen in Harambe.

We began our trek to the famous mountain.

No Rivers of Light for us tonight.

I waited for my explorers safely at the bottom of the mountain. Woody came out chuckling over a thought he’d had while looking at the mound of hair bands purposefully thrown by guests on the ride.

“Kona wouldn’t know what to do with himself!” Woody laughed.

You see, Kona LOVES chasing elastic hair bands (my generation called them ponytail holders.) We have a stash of them in a kitchen drawer. When Kona wants to play, he’ll run to the drawer and stretch up to reach the handle....and cries until one of us opens the drawer to retrieve a hair band. Then we throw it and he runs after it. He’ll pick it up with his teeth and bring it back to us....and the fetching process starts over.

He should have been a dog!

 

[aliceismad]

AK is so beautiful at night. What lovely pics.

 

[Tuvalu]

I gotta ask, what were your bad memories of the first AK trip?

I don't remember much from mine (I believe it was summer of 98, so also very close to opening (but could have been summer of 99)., except it was HOT (yes it was July in Florida, but it seemed to be 10+ degrees warmer there than elsewhere). There was hardly any air conditioning, and even the stores kept their doors open so there was no refuge. It was so bad that when we went back a few years later, my sister refused to go and stayed at the hotel (and on her one trip as an adult since, still didn't go back!)

Everything you mentioned plus a lack of things to do (an hour wait for a boat that went nowhere!); two of my kids traumatized by It’s Tough to Be a Bug (and still won’t do it even as adults); animals that were in hiding because it was brutally HOT, so there was nothing to look at; a long, boring, HOT walk to ride the train to Conservation Station and there was nothing to do once we got there; a 75 minute wait to eat at Rainforest Cafe, which was the only restaurant with air conditioning....then bad food and service.

I could go on, but I think you get the gist.....

 

[Tuvalu]

How about April 6-

You might want to go to MK.....just sayin’.

This is the same as our last evening safari! I don’t know if there’s different laws for how long the elephants can be out or something like that?
I loooveee this thing lol it’s so bad and unnecessary

I thought the no elephant thing was weird too....as was the “sunset”!

I think that "hippo" on the move is actually a rhino...the horn kinda' blends in with the background.

Typo has been fixed, thanks.

AK is so beautiful at night. What lovely pics.

We don’t see AK much in the dark and I agree with you. Em gets the credit for the photos.

 

[NessNewt]

traumatized by It’s Tough to Be a Bug

SAME. I was traumatized as a child by It's Tough to be a Bug. And still won't do it. Luckily my husband is in the same generation as me and was also traumatized so he doesn't want to do it either.

 

[Tuvalu]

Riding a coaster prior to a meal is wiser than riding after. Now my explorers were ready for dinner!

We had a hefty walk (that’s another thing about AK....all those hefty walks! ) to Hippie Blacklight Land Pandora. Trying to find Satu’li Canteen in the dark was quite comical, even though we’ve eaten there a few times. Explorer Em saved the day for us.

She deserved her Pandoran Sunrise!

All of us had chicken bowls. Em and I had the hearty salad side....

....and Woody had beans and rice as his side.

The food here is DELICIOUS. It’s almost worth a special trip to AK.......almost.

 

[Tuvalu]

SAME. I was traumatized as a child by It's Tough to be a Bug. And still won't do it. Luckily my husband is in the same generation as me and was also traumatized so he doesn't want to do it either.

I < liked > your post even though I don’t like that you guys were traumatized too.

 

[krisri18]

SAME. I was traumatized as a child by It's Tough to be a Bug. And still won't do it. Luckily my husband is in the same generation as me and was also traumatized so he doesn't want to do it either.

Agreed! None of us will even go near it!