Trip Report The Never-Ending Summer Of Disney *COMPLETED*

Seriously?!!

Can you believe it??

This is jaw-dropping news!!

If only.

Two things in life give me the blues ~ the end of summer and the end of a Disney vacation. A never-ending summer of Disney would be a dream come true! But I am certainly happy to “settle” for a WDW vacay in June....in July....and in August. And rather than write three separate trip reports (and annoy @amjt660 when my *COMPLETED* report really isn’t ) I decided to take @Rista1313 ’s suggestion and post an ongoing travelogue, à la @blgauger style.

So let’s get started!

Vacation #1
June 16-24, 2018
Tuvalu, Woody and Em get pampered at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Was there rain? Any snarky Cast Members? Ridiculous guest behavior? A Magic meet-up? How many times did we watch Happily Ever After?

You’ll have to follow along to find out.

 

[susan lees]

Good idea. Never thought of that . I'll still leave it to hubby

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

It took the start of the Welcome Show to finally quiet Mr. Personal-Space-Challenged tour guide.

Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!

The park was now open and we joined the horde heading for Fantasyland.

Last night during Happy Hour I had discussed our plans for this morning and said we were going to RD Pooh first.

Em had looked at me with great confusion. “Arty Poo?” she asked quizzically. (Bear in mind she was on her second glass of wine.)

“RD Pooh,” I repeated slowly, hoping it would click.
It didn’t.
She stared at me blankly.

“ROPE DROP POOH,” I clarified.

Arty Poo. (It became a standing joke all week.)

Looks like Em was on her second glass of wine when she took this selfie.

(We hadn’t even gotten to the Heffalumps and Woozles scene yet!)

Have you ever noticed these neat touches in the Hundred Acre Goods gift store? I hadn’t....til now.

When we exited the store we noticed that 7DMT was down. How unfortunate for all those folks who raced right there after rope drop! The line was still incredibly long even though no wait time was posted. We had a FP for 9:15 am which I suspected had become a “Multiple Experiences” FP....and I was right. We would hang onto it until 7DMT reopened.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

I do love the Mine Train, so good job holding on to the FP...tho I'd have a hard time not taking a FP for BTMRR if it had been offered under "multiple experiences..."

 

[Tuvalu]

Instead of mining with the dwarfs, we went to Village Gifts so Em could purchase a BatB themed wedding present for a friend. Since we were in the area we decided to visit Ariel.

First ones here or #ShirleyStatus? You be the judge.

No lie ~ ours were the only occupied clamshells in the Under the Sea scene.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Little Mermaid--Shirley Status!!!! Good job!

 

[Trust2deal]

enjoying reading about your trip....thank you

 

[fractal]

Little Mermaid--Shirley Status!!!! Good job!

You beat me to it. Lol!

 

[Zipadeelady]

I love the perspective in the pictures on your bus ride! I've never seen the bus out. A little jealous at the moment.

 

[Tuvalu]

Though we had a FP for Space Mountain for later in the day, we decided to ride standby since it was only a 20 minute wait.....and we wanted the assurance of riding the superior Alpha Track.

You do know there are two different tracks, Alpha and Omega? Alpha is to the left and that is where standby riders get sent. Omega is to the right for FP guests. Years ago (even during paper FP) you could choose which side you wanted. After many rides on both tracks our family declared Alpha best. Since FP+ we rarely ride Alpha since we don’t like the long standby lines.

Wait a minute.....there’s an Alpha LOUNGE??!!! How did I not know this? More importantly ~ how can I get in?!

Some of you may recall the difficulty I have had in the past remembering where the camera is for the ride photo. There are a few photos of me on the web smiling and/or posing towards the black wall. I was mocked....but I embraced the mocking and intentionally created the “Tuvalu”pose (face away from camera.) Em and I decided we weren’t feeling the Tuvalu today.

Little did we know that Woody would have the funniest pose!

The moving sidewalk at the end of the ride is closed and a temporary exit has been implemented.

It feels like such a long walk out!

There are CMs stationed at the railroad crossing to stop the flow of guests when a train is coming.

The exit trek ends on the path between Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus.

 

[Tuvalu]

Time for a little TTA Peoplemover action!

New chained queue

Escalator was working!

 

[DisSplash]

The exit trek ends on the path between Tomorrowland and Storybook Circus.

Seriously?! That is a long way out. Did it have anything to do with controlling the crowd around the purple wall? I have heard it gets pretty bad over there now. Or is it really just a temporary fix for the walkway? It still makes no sense if you have family waiting for you outside the attraction ...

Oh, and that picture of you all from SM is everything! . Love, love, love the sense of humor on all of you!

 

[Tuvalu]

Seriously?! That is a long way out. Did it have anything to do with controlling the crowd around the purple wall? I have heard it gets pretty bad over there now. Or is it really just a temporary fix for the walkway? It still makes no sense if you have family waiting for you outside the attraction ...

I haven’t read if the moving walkway at the exit of Space Mountain is being repaired, replaced or reconfigured. I am sure the closure hurts business in the gift store since guests are no longer “dumped” in there upon exiting the ride. And family members waiting in the gift store for the rest of their party won’t know when they are off the ride unless the riders make a point to go inside.

Looks like the “temporary” exit could be there for awhile though.

 

[LadyBelle]

You do know there are two different tracks, Alpha and Omega? Alpha is to the left and that is where standby riders get sent. Omega is to the right for FP guests. Years ago (even during paper FP) you could choose which side you wanted. After many rides on both tracks our family declared Alpha best. Since FP+ we rarely ride Alpha since we don’t like the long standby lines.

That interesting, because when I was there in November, we rode the Alpha track with our FP+ I remember your advice about the camera being on the side that you enter, so I made the Tuvalu pose by looking right. We also rode it during MVMCP.

 

[Tuvalu]

It was time for what should have been our 2nd....but was now our 1st....FP.

And this was the end of the FP line. Know where we are?

No, not Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor (despite queuing in that direction.)

Know now?

Fifteen minutes to tap our bands does not a FP make!

Once on Buzz we discovered why the lines were so backed up. The conveyor was moving super slow and the ride stopped three times. Sadly, even with the benefit of extra shots (due to the ride stoppage) none of us were able to score Galactic Hero (we haven’t watched the YouTube vids, @Zipitidoda). Em emerged the winner with 650,000 points.

Well this is a new camera angle.....

 

[Tuvalu]

I checked the app and saw that 7DMT was operational. We went to use our 1st.....now 2nd....(and technically Multiple Experiences)....FP.

Another poor Woody PhotoPass pic!

Somewhat better of Woody....

 

[MinnieM123]

Ride the double-decker bus down Main Street? Sure!

It's been YEARS!! since I've seen the double decker bus. Guess you all were in the right place at the right time. What a great perspective you had on the top level--I imagine you probably saw more (higher up) details along Main Street USA, than you may have not even realized existed, before.

 

[Tuvalu]

Next we wandered over to Storybook Circus. The summer sun was strong and for a brief moment I considered running through the Splash area. Not wanting to mortify my family I passed.

The train was in the station and we entered the queue for the MPB (Moving Park Bench). However the conductor signaled “All Clear” and we just missed the train. The CM said it would be at least a 20 minute wait since only one train was running. Typically on busy days (like today!) there are 3 trains on the tracks and the wait time in the station is 7 minutes. It made me wonder if only one train was operating due to the exit situation at Space Mountain....fewer trains = fewer times to close the exit line.

Bummed, we left the queue and headed for our lunch destination, hoping we could check in early.

Hello, castle!

I went to the desk while Em and Woody found a (non-moving) bench.

Even though we were somewhat early we were seated right away.

I had two views. An indoor one....

....and an outdoor one!

I don’t remember much about our server other than she allowed me to order the Pilgrim’s Feast, which is not on the menu.

Woody was glad the pot roast is back on the menu.

Em apparently had.....nothing. No pic, no food? I recall her eating the Freedom Pasta with Chicken.

However, she did not forget to photograph our dessert ~

LTT’s Ooey Gooey Cake remains the best OGC on property!

 

[DisSplash]

I have not been to Liberty Tree Tavern in sooo long! It looks like it might be time to go back!!

 

[Tuvalu]

I had swapped our Space Mountain FP for Pirates but we still had some time to kill. Woody had not seen the Hall of Presidents since the refurb and a show was starting so in we went.

There were two security guards on either side of the theater. I am happy to report their services were not needed during the performance ~ our audience had decorum.

It was a HOT and CROWDED walk from Hall of Presidents to Pirates.

As soon as we tapped our bands I checked for additional FP availability.....there was NOTHING until 9 pm and the choices were slim-pickens. The park was definitely busy!

Our Pirate boat arrived sopping wet with about an inch of water on the floor. Yup, the water cannons were set at full blast! Honestly we were so hot (the a/c in HoP wasn’t working properly) we didn’t complain.

One last awesome Photopass picture for the day.

Why bother?

 

[Tuvalu]

We agreed it was time to return to the Lodge. As we made the slow walk to the exit I noticed several t-shirts that made me chuckle. I’d like to share them:

We Put the ‘Fun’ in Dysfunctional

“Let’s Get Matching Shirts!” (said no Dad ever)

I Teach So I Can Summer at Disney
(Perfect for @TrolleyFollower91, @LisaBelle, @ajrwdwgirl, @blgauger, @wishes2013, @slipperalwaysfits and every other teacher I’ve forgotten!)

Back at WL, Woody had some work to do.

Em and I had some pool lounging to do.

I think we girls had the better afternoon!