Trip Report The Last Hurrah ***Completed***

Where: POP
When: Nov 11-16
Why:
  1. Star Wars
  2. to get one final use out of my AP
  3. to have one last hurrah before this arrested development period of my life may end.
Who:

During the trip planning process there was a lot of uncertainty of exactly who would be going.

Final trip manifest:
  1. BES
DH couldn’t go due to work. It’s a double bummer because he doesn’t love his job and he was really starting to warm up to the idea of WDW.

No stowaway youngling will be present on the trip either. This one is a bummer for real life but on the bright side I can ride all of the rides and drink all of the drinks on this trip.

My previous solo trip was more of a physical break from my crazy work hours. I think this trip will end up being being a mental and emotional break.

Will probably try to do this TR live. Obviously going to focus on being in the moment but you all are great company in lines and on busses etc.
Allons-y!
 

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday afternoon:

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Neat little exhibit about Kawaii.

I was getting a little tired and stopped at the cafe in Tangierine Cafe. I was hoping they had Turkish coffee. They didn’t. Moorish coffee instead. Espresso with spices.

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Found a quiet table outside and text with a friend back home. She has newborn twins and is also living vicariously thru me on this trip.

She asked if she could join. I told her of course but she’d have to hurry as I was leaving tomorrow.

She replied she would pay top dollar for even a 4hr vacation at the moment.

One last Epcot stop.

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Crème brûlée. Tha you iPhone for the proper accent marks.

Au revoir Epcot! Off thru the IG.

Spotted this guy on the way:

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Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday afternoon continued:

Jumped on the Skyliner. Boarded with a nice family. The dad made joke about the Skyliner breaking. The mom chided him. I laughed. All were in agreement about wondering how the temp would be in the summer if stopped.

Went “home” to Pop and changed my clothes and grabbed a jacket.

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DH assured me these songs were not real but they should be.

Jumped off a CBR to explore. Haven’t stayed there in more than 25 years.

Looked great. I’m pretty sure we were in Jamaica when I was little. I remember the bridge and tiny island.

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I remember a parrot somewhere on this island. Glad it’s not there anymore. Even as a kid I thought it was sad for the bird.

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Is this the final color scheme for the Riveria? I like the building style but not coloring.

Back to the Skyliner. I’ve been about 50/50 on solo rides and being a hop on to a family. Alone during this ride so finally got a pic of this:

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No swords on fire? Good thing I left my lightsaber in the room.
 

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Great trip report and I love the Muppet Science shirt!! Where did u get it, perfect for my Disney loving, science geek son and daughter-in-law!

Welcome. Glad you’re enjoying the TR. I’m 95% sure the shirt was from Kohl’s a couple of years ago. I hope you can find one still.

If not, I feel like we are in renaissance of nerdy t shirts. Here are some unsolicited recommendations for alternatives:

Stand Back I’m Going to Try Science

Carol Never Wore Her Safety Goggles...
 
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Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday afternoon continued:

As I was entering HS got a notification that my Muppets FP was changed to multi-experience one. Wasn’t good for TSL rides but was for about everything else.

Used it for ToT. Got sent to the left pre-room. Haven’t been on that side in a while.

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These little guys were a bit creepy to me.

Look what was working again:

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Did some window shopping:

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Cute dress but I couldn’t imagine when I’d wear it.

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That flight suit was super cool and solid quality. I was too scared to look at the pricetag.
 

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Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday evening:

Mobile ordered from Docking Bay 7 and picked up some green milk to drink with my meal.

Docking Bay was a hot mess and it wasn’t even busy. The entrance/exit situation should have been flipped around or at least signed better.

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Wasn’t allow to enter until my order was ready. Got the kids Endorian Chicken Tip Yip Meal.

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The veggies and mac & cheese were good. The chicken was meh.

The green milk? 👎🏻 Liked the blue a lot better. To me it tasted like liquid smarties. Not the delicious Canadian smarties. The gross chalky American ones. 🤢

Overall wasn’t that impressed with Docking Bay. I was hoping it would be the answer to the meh QS at HS but not so much.

Off to TSL for my 2nd FP- TSM. I got best in vehicle which is more impressive since I was competing with 2 strangers on the other side of the car. (Still not a great score. Just great for me.)

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Next Star Tours as my 3rd FP. Did pod racing and then Naboo. Don’t think I‘ve gotten Naboo before. It was a neat one. Even with Jar Jar being in it. 😜

So I had 2 prequel locations that were linked by a transmission from Leia which was a little weird. (Non- SW fans: Leia wasn’t born until the end of the third prequel) 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had been loving the tiny shoulder porgs all week. They attach via magnet so I almost didn’t get one as I was afraid of doggo getting a hold of it and eating magnets.

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The Force was strong with this one. Couldn’t resist.

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😍😍😍
 
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Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday evening:

Batuu does look cool at night.

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I was ready for a snack. I was on the fence on this one. Then I saw a souvenir that I didn’t know that I needed.

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The popcorn tasted like fruit pebbles. It was sticky but good.

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Wandered a little bit more. Was hoping to have enough time for MF:SR but it looked to be cutting it too close.

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Time for Oga’s- again! I liked it so much on Tues that I found another reservation for Friday night.

The hostess lady was 100% business and 0% SW. (In her defense she had the worst job at Oga’s)

She was telling me and another guy cantina rules. I asked if droids were allowed in. She just continued her spiel. Oh well. I tried.

When she mentioned no fighting or weapons in the Cantina the guy asked “Well what if they shoot first?” 😂 I think she just responded that Oga only wants fighting outside.

When she mentioned no fighting or weapons in the Cantina the guy asked “Well what if they shoot first?” 😂 I think she just responded that Oga only wants fighting outside.
 

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Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday evening continued:

This time I was seated in a booth/table. It was a C shaped both and I was on 1 of two stools on the outside of it.

At first I was worried that it wouldn’t be as much fun as it was at the bar.

One of the groups in the booth part seemed grumpy. Our server took a while to show up. The grumpies left before getting drinks. I think they were just there for pics “for The ‘Gram” anyway.

They were replaced with new patrons quickly.

I got the Jet Juice. Bad pic. Ok drink. Very grape-y didn’t taste the chili liquor at all.
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One of the new family was a Canadian couple with 2 kids one of which was a 5 month old. (She was so cute! 😍)

I think Oga’s was more bar and less Disney than the mom had assumed. “Oh my God. I’ve brought my baby to a bar. Does this make me a bad parent?” 😂

We assured it was ok since it was Disney.

The other new group was an older couple with an adult son who was probably my age. The lady was a delight.

She was so fun and friendly and enjoying everything.

Her son had told her to get the Fuzzy Tauntaun months ago. It has something in the foam that makes your mouth go numb a bit so he was trying to trick/surprise her with that.

Two days ago she read online about it so the suprise was ruined. She liked the drink and the mouth numbing. Her son ended up trying it and he did not like the numbing.

The lady and I were delighted that his plan of trickery not only failed but backfired. 😂

We all had a blast comparing drinks. Between everyone at the table we had a pretty wide variety to admire.

I got another slug slinger as my 2nd drink. I legit liked the taste of this one.

More chatting and ambience enjoying and then I cashed out.

Sorry for the lack of pics on this one. I apparently only took videos on this Cantina visit and am not tech savvy enough to post them.
 

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Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Safely back home. Just a few posts left but I’ve gotta pause the TR as my nephew is on his way over.

My parents are headed to Disney in the morning and we’re watching him until he go back to his mom’s.

Nephew doesn’t know about either trip and my parents don’t know about mine.
 

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday evening continued:

With 2 Oga’s drinks consumed pretty quickly I was way less buzzed than with my one Manhattan at Dahlia lounge.

Just booze math FYI: Either the CSR drink was more than one drink or those Oga’s ones were less than a drink each.

It was maybe 10 min before park close. I hopped in line for the Falcon. I got to enjoy the queue at a leisurely pace.

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Soon I got my assignment:

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Our pilots were kids. The mom was the other gunner and the engineers were a young couple.

I found the ride way more enjoyable this time. The CMs did a much better job explaining stuff this time. The Hondo scene helped it to make more sense too.

Still wish you weren’t rushed into and out of the cockpit. Maybe they could have a photo op cockpit kind of like the have for Dumbo.

Park was officially closed and I very slowly said my goodbyes to Batuu and headed to the exit.

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Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Friday night:

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Never noticed Gertie’s footprints before. Cute.

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I loved her during the day but at night Gertie looks a little more Halloween than Christmas.

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Left via Skyliner. This was my only ride at park close. The line went back to almost the bathrooms but moved really quick.

Rode with the same family both legs. They were a really sweet family. The young son was zonked out in a stroller. They were relieved to just be able to roll him on.

The Skyliner was so much nicer than standing on a bus inches from someone’s armpit.

As we exited the Pop/AoA station I overheard the funniest CM all week.

There was a guy in a nice Avengers zip up. Looked to just have a small logo on the front and sleeve.

CM (deadpan but very earnest) “Hey.” [pause] “Thanks for saving the world.”

The guy and his family (and I) were dying. The delivery was perfect. 😂

Against my better judgement I stopped for pizza on the way back to the room.

Another great Disney day complete. 🥰
 

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
How dare they expect me to work at work! Don’t they know I have a TR to finish up?

Saturday morning:

Slept in as late as I could. Packed like 90% of my stuff. Mobile ordered somr breakfast and ate it outside.

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Peeked in the gift shop one last time

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They were larger than the normal funko pops but $40? Geesh.

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I got close to buying these several times this trip. Perhaps there’ll be some good online deals for the holidays.

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Back to the room to pack the remaining stuff and then I trudged down to the Tragical.

The bus area was a hot mess. Super disorganized. There was still 20+of us waiting to board when the frazzled driver said he was all full and we could just get the next one. 🤷🏻‍♀️A final Disney first for the trip. 😂

Luckily the next bus was already there. This driver was way more organized and calm. We went straight to the airport.
 

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
Saturday morning/afternoon:

Airport was pretty uneventful. I had read online about MCO TSA agents being knowledgeable about the Savi’s lightsabers and taking care with them. Mine just kind of barked at me to put it on the conveyer belt.

Luckily it survived unscathed. Went to the terminal area and walked around while talking to DH. Had Qdoba for lunch and then boarded.

Much like TSA, my Spirit airlines crew didn’t care about lightsabers (not that I really expected them to, but had hopes based on the experiences of others.)

I was told to just try to fit it in the front of a full bin. I was in the first boarding group so the bins weren’t really full. I picked the most full one and hoped for the best.

Return flight was good. Saw Lake Erie out the window:

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I’m 90% sure that circled pennisula is Cedar Point.

When the overhead bins were opened my lightsaber was sticking out a bit. I tried to get the attention of the guy standing under it. My seat mate was louder and more direct and got the guy to hand me the lightsaber.

My seat mate inquired about what it was and I sheepishly admitted it was a lightsaber. She surprisingly replied “Oh neat. I glue tiny crystals onto stuff. We all have our things.”😍

My phone app said the high at home was 31 but when finally got to my car and started home I saw it was a balmy 32.

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Doggo and DH were both very excited to have me home.

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Doggo loved her new toy. She loved it so much that here’s the damage in under 2 hours.

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Both orange parts are kind of flappy now but overall he’s held up better than I expected.

After we said our hellos DH immediately wanted to see the lightsaber. He was super impressed with the quality of it. His face legit lit up when he turned it on.

I made a reference to this trip being my last for several years and he said “well you never know...”

Well Disney folks:

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Whether you want them or not I‘ll have a few final thoughts tomorrow but this pretty much wraps up the trip itself.
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
Great TR, thanks for sharing it live!
I’m 90% sure that circled pennisula is Cedar Point
You’re correct, that’s Sandusky and cedar point! I don’t remember what the large island just beyond it is called. I think the smaller one in the distance is called Kelley island, there’s a state park on it I believe. I could be getting them mixed up though, it’s been a long time since we’ve been up that way.
 

Back!Elbow!Shoulders!

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit
Premium Member
Original Poster
TR wrap up:

Over the course of this year I have been lucky enough to go to WDW 3 times. I fully acknowledge how fortunate that was and know that will likely never happen again.

Although the first 2 trips were great, I think this final one was my favorite.

I really enjoyed the SW stuff. Also liked being able to experience F&W. I was way more comfortable solo traveling this time around too.

I did embrace this trip being a last hurrah and really focused on doing what I wanted and what might be harder to do on future trips.

On these boards (not this one specifically) there are some people who focus on changes at Disney and assume they are all for the worst.

I found the changes that I experienced over my trips to be largely positive.
  • The new expanded pathways at Epcot and MK were great and looked nice
  • Mobile food ordering improved over the course of the year
  • Star Wars land is fantastic
  • Skyliner was a very serene way to travel (as opposed to the buses) and I found the finished product to be less visually distracting than I thought it would be.
I don’t know when I’ll next return to WDW but I am cautiously looking forward to the changes to Epcot.

A huge thanks to my very supportive DH.😍

Also a special thanks to all of you reading. It’s been a blast being able to share my adventures with you. 🥰

I look forward to all of your future TRs so I can continue to experience WDW vicariously through you all.

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