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.

 

[Tuvalu]

This next post is an homage to the upcoming Disney sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet. Let’s call it Tuvalu Breaks My Disney Experience.

Woody and I had to pop open our umbrellas when we disembarked the monorail at the MK station because the rain was falling steadily. I immediately felt bad for insisting we stop at Guest Relations NOW. I felt even worse when I saw the number of people waiting in line.

This is where we spent the next hour of our lives.

Only instead of daylight ~ darkness
Instead of dry conditions ~ wetness
Instead of empty queue ~ craziness

I was amazed at how many guests (most in costume) were in line to purchase party tickets! Apparently they were braver souls than us. I was even more amazed at how quickly the line moved.....in just 15 minutes it was our turn at the window to speak with a CM.

We closed our umbrellas since we were now under cover. At that moment bells chimed and the Ghost Host announced over the PA system that the party had officially begun. How ironic, I thought as we stood ready to turn in our admission.

“May we exchange our Halloween party tickets for Christmas party tickets?” I asked.

“You certainly can,” said Cast Member Anne. “What date would you like to attend?”

I told her and Anne pulled out a chart with ticket dates and prices. I did not expect there to be such a price differential between MNSSHP and MVMCP tickets. Making the exchange was going to cost us $50. Woody’s never been to a MVMCP and we’d discussed going with friends who live locally, so I paid the balance.

Anne did Woody’s ticket exchange first and it went seamlessly. He has his own MDE account.

Then it was my turn. Anne asked me to scan my MagicBand. Mickey’s head turned blue. Anne told me to try again. Blue.
Once more. Blue.
She furrowed her brow. “Have you used this band before?”
It was the same specialty Minnie Bow band that I had used to enter MK yesterday. The same band I had been using to unlock our room door and charge purchases. The same band I have used for the past 4 trips.

Anne did a lot of typing and looking at the screen. The band didn’t exist according to MDE. And try as she might, she could not link the MVMCP ticket to my account. After about ten minutes she called tech support.

Meanwhile another CM (she looked to be a CP) was standing behind Anne holding a cash drawer. I’m guessing it was shift change and Anne was occupying the seat the CP was told was hers. I mention this only to show how dedicated Anne was to solving my problem.

For the next 35 minutes Anne was on the phone with tech support. She kept mouthing “I’m sorry” to us as Woody and I waited. Anne motioned to the CP to put down the cash drawer and go retrieve something.

The “something” was a $50 Disney Gift Card which Anne gave me when she hung up the phone.

“I am not making you wait any longer!” Anne announced. “But tech support has no clue what is going on with your MDE account. They are continuing to work on it but have no idea how long it will take. How many more days are you here for?”

“Just tomorrow,” I answered.

“If your account is not fixed by morning, you will not be able to get into a park using your MagicBand. And you won’t be able to use your band for your fastpasses either. So here is a comp ticket for tomorrow ~ your fastpasses are linked to it. I’ve added three additional FPs for you, and for your husband also. Please accept my apologies for the hassle you guys have endured tonight.”

Anne also handed me hard tickets for MVMCP just in case we would have any issues with our bands on party night.

She thanked us for being so patient and told us to go eat! I was pretty hungry since my takeout lunch from Cooks was hours ago.

Did my MDE account get repaired?
Stay tuned.

 

[LadyBelle]

THAT is some Disney magic. And, to me, what puts them above others in customer service.

 

[amjt660]

This one is for cast member Anne..

 

[dizfan917]

I'm glad everything worked out (at least in the short term...). I'm interested in how your next day goes.

My brother was on the phone today trying to get FastPasses for our December visit cuz the new MDE upgrade isn't working apparently. When I checked our plans I saw four FPs on one day and four on another including back to back FoP times.

When I called him to ask what the heck was up, he said that the CM was so grateful that he wasn't yelling at her and was being kind and patient that she gifted us some bonus FPs. We're both in customer service jobs, so we're completely aware of what she was going through. He was pleased of course and said "like, what good would it do to yell at her?" Nice going, little bro.

We're doing the December 4th MVMCP! Dad decided to do that and not do the Hoop de Doo. I was kinda looking forward to HdD. I still haven't done it.

Only one more day of your report. boo.

 

[MinnieM123]

For the next 35 minutes Anne was on the phone with tech support. She kept mouthing “I’m sorry” to us as Woody and I waited. Anne motioned to the CP to put down the cash drawer and go retrieve something.

The “something” was a $50 Disney Gift Card which Anne gave me when she hung up the phone.

“I am not making you wait any longer!” Anne announced. “But tech support has no clue what is going on with your MDE account. They are continuing to work on it but have no idea how long it will take. How many more days are you here for?”

“Just tomorrow,” I answered.

“If your account is not fixed by morning, you will not be able to get into a park using your MagicBand. And you won’t be able to use your band for your fastpasses either. So here is a comp ticket for tomorrow ~ your fastpasses are linked to it. I’ve added three additional FPs for you, and for your husband also. Please accept my apologies for the hassle you guys have endured tonight.”

Anne also handed me hard tickets for MVMCP just in case we would have any issues with our bands on party night.

She thanked us for being so patient and told us to go eat! I was pretty hungry since my takeout lunch from Cooks was hours ago.

Anne was wonderful. Glad to hear that his level of service still exists. (Sorry about the technical problems with your account though.)

 

[MinnieM123]

When I called him to ask what the heck was up, he said that the CM was so grateful that he wasn't yelling at her and was being kind and patient that she gifted us some bonus FPs. We're both in customer service jobs, so we're completely aware of what she was going through. He was pleased of course and said "like, what good would it do to yell at her?" Nice going, little bro.

Front-line customer service (in some companies) is a very difficult, (and occasionally, a thankless job). Hence, being kind to the person on the other end of the phone, will often produce a positive outcome. Everyone wants to be treated with respect. Glad to hear that things worked out well for you and your brother.

 

[Tuvalu]

I'm glad everything worked out (at least in the short term...). I'm interested in how your next day goes.

My brother was on the phone today trying to get FastPasses for our December visit cuz the new MDE upgrade isn't working apparently. When I checked our plans I saw four FPs on one day and four on another including back to back FoP times.

When I called him to ask what the heck was up, he said that the CM was so grateful that he wasn't yelling at her and was being kind and patient that she gifted us some bonus FPs. We're both in customer service jobs, so we're completely aware of what she was going through. He was pleased of course and said "like, what good would it do to yell at her?" Nice going, little bro.

We're doing the December 4th MVMCP! Dad decided to do that and not do the Hoop de Doo. I was kinda looking forward to HdD. I still haven't done it.

Only one more day of your report. boo.

You and Little Bro were raised well. You can never go wrong with kindness, even when it is not reciprocated. Bonus FPs are a nice reward.
I think you'll have a good time at MVMCP (not the one we're going to though ). Took me almost 40 years before my first Hoop Dee Doo....I enjoyed it, but don't have the passion for it like many do. Perhaps if I had childhood memories of HDD my opinion might be different.
After reading so many complaints of wonky MDE issues I made the mistake of saying, "Gee, I have never had any MDE problems." BIG MISTAKE. Wait and see.

Anne was wonderful. Glad to hear that his level of service still exists. (Sorry about the technical problems with your account though.)

She sure was. We encountered a few "above and beyond" CMs this trip. They make Disney vacations so much better.

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuesday, con’t

The rain was down to a sprinkle when we left Guest Relations so we decided to walk (rather than monorail) to the Contemporary. Soon we arrived at our dinner destination.

It’s cool to dine while watching monorails glide by!

Woody was obviously doing something important. He rarely pulls out his phone while on vacation.

Both of us were very satisfied with our choices. Granted we were pretty hungry, but our food was really good.
Woody opted for the Italian Beef Dip (au jus not pictured.) He declared it cheesy and filling!

Speaking of cheesy, I went with the Baked Tomato & Bacon Macaroni and Cheese.

OMG. Who knew that adding these two additional ingredients would make mac & cheese spectacular?! It was so hearty that I could barely eat half of it. Definitely was shareable.

I wanted to save room for dessert. Thanks to @Gabe1 ‘s picture, I knew we had to try the mini confetti cake.

Rich buttercream frosting over moist confetti cake.

Bellies full, we rode the monorail back to the Polynesian. Although our day had not worked out exactly as planned, it was still pretty grand. And if it hadn’t been sprinkling when Hallowishes began you can bet I would have been watching from the beach!

 

[Tuvalu]

Wednesday, August 29

Woody and I agreed we were not ready for this vacation to end. Years ago I used to surprise my family on our last day with news that we were actually spending another night. I would sneak down to the lobby of wherever we were staying and inquire about adding an additional night. I never had a problem extending our stay and always got the extra night for a discount. (I imagine that would be unlikely these days.)

We also drove to WDW which gave us flexibility for “vacation creep.” Flying nixes that. There would be no extra night for Woody and me. Instead we were packing our stuff and dropping our bags here:

On our way to breakfast I remarked to Woody this would be our 5th meal from Capt. Cooks this vacation.....a record for us!

Uh-oh, what’s going on here?

There was only one cold case open, and that one held the pastries....which was a good thing since Woody was in the mood for a cherry Danish.

Cooks was still pretty quiet.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like when the breakfast rush began with most of the cold cases out of commission....glad we didn’t stick around long enough to find out!

 

[Songbird76]

Tuesday, con’t

The rain was down to a sprinkle when we left Guest Relations so we decided to walk (rather than monorail) to the Contemporary. Soon we arrived at our dinner destination.

View attachment 318357

It’s cool to dine while watching monorails glide by!

View attachment 318358

Woody was obviously doing something important. He rarely pulls out his phone while on vacation.

View attachment 318359

Both of us were very satisfied with our choices. Granted we were pretty hungry, but our food was really good.
Woody opted for the Italian Beef Dip (au jus not pictured.) He declared it cheesy and filling!

View attachment 318361

Speaking of cheesy, I went with the Baked Tomato & Bacon Macaroni and Cheese.

View attachment 318360

OMG. Who knew that adding these two additional ingredients would make mac & cheese spectacular?! It was so hearty that I could barely eat half of it. Definitely was shareable.

I wanted to save room for dessert. Thanks to @Gabe1 ‘s picture, I knew we had to try the mini confetti cake.

View attachment 318362
Rich buttercream frosting over moist confetti cake.

Bellies full, we rode the monorail back to the Polynesian. Although our day had not worked out exactly as planned, it was still pretty grand. And if it hadn’t been sprinkling when Hallowishes began you can bet I would have been watching from the beach!

Oh my, all that food looks great! What's the difference between a french dip and an Italian beef dip? Just the cheese? I LOVE french dip and that's one of those things that I crave and can't get here, so I have to get my fix when I go back "home"...I might have to try this variation! And share some of that mac and cheese with DD!

 

[Tuvalu]

Oh my, all that food looks great! What's the difference between a french dip and an Italian beef dip? Just the cheese? I LOVE french dip and that's one of those things that I crave and can't get here, so I have to get my fix when I go back "home"...I might have to try this variation! And share some of that mac and cheese with DD!

French dip is beef cooked with onions and is topped with Swiss cheese. Woody’s Italian beef was seasoned with oregano, thyme and basil and was topped with mozzarella cheese. I forgot to mention that my mac & cheese also contained carmelized onions, which I love.

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody and I rode the monorail to MK. I was wearing my Minnie MagicBand but thanks to CM Anne’s counsel I held my comp ticket in my hand as we approached the turnstiles.

When it was my turn to scan my band, you can guess what happened.
BLUE!
The attending CM was about to raise her hand to summon a manager but I quickly scanned my comp ticket.
GREEN!

I don’t know why I did not think to take another one of my bands with me. I could have tried it after the Minnie failure to see if it was a band issue or account issue.

But I’d made it in which is all that mattered!

We arrived just before this happened:

Notice the man in blue. In the above pic he has no clue what is happening.
But in the bottom pic he does!

 

[Tuvalu]

We hiked over to BTMRR for our first ride of the day. Unfortunately it was down, meaning everyone who showed up with us detoured to Splash Mountain. We bypassed Splash in favor of another water ride.

I don’t think Woody was too happy when we were assigned the front row again.

Thankfully we escaped a drenching.

As our boat pulled up to the dock the Cast Member sang, “Yo Ho Yo Ho it’s time for you to go.”

 

[riverside]

As our boat pulled up to the dock the Cast Member sang, “Yo Ho Yo Ho it’s time for you to go.”

The last time I rode it I heard the same tune. Was it a blonde female CM by chance?

 

[Tuvalu]

I think Woody thought I was kidding when I suggested our next ride.

He looked at me as if I had two heads. “You can’t ride spinners.”

“But I have done this twice before and didn’t get dizzy,” I said. “Have you ever ridden Magic Carpets?”

“When Em was little,” Woody answered. “But if you really want to, I’ll ride with you.”

We sat on our carpet for an unusually long time. There were several empty carpets and I began to get annoyed that the ride wouldn’t start until each carpet was full.

Then over the PA a CM announced: “Sorry for the delay, folks. We are holding for a few minutes for a special guest.”

Woody and I began to speculate who the VIP would be. Might be some “suit” from management. Might be a celebrity. If it was a celebrity, we hoped we would recognize him/her.....somebody famous, not a Disney channel “star.” (We’ve been burned by quasi-celebrity “stars” before. )

We had no trouble recognizing who arrived.

But the real VIP was the little girl in the center.

This was too adorable! After walking around the circumference of the attraction, the little girl was met by her mom and climbed on the front of the carpet while Aladdin and Jasmine sat behind.

During the ride Aladdin yelled, “Abu! Where are you?” and “Don’t get caught!” and “Has anyone seen Genie?”

When we landed, two handlers were there to escort the VIP (and Aladdin & Jasmine ) off the attraction and over to the Agrabah meet and greet area.

And I didn’t mind the delay.

 

[Tuvalu]

The last time I rode it I heard the same tune. Was it a blonde female CM by chance?

My senior brain did not register that detail!

 

[Zipadeelady]

I think Woody thought I was kidding when I suggested our next ride.

View attachment 318573

He looked at me as if I had two heads. “You can’t ride spinners.”

“But I have done this twice before and didn’t get dizzy,” I said. “Have you ever ridden Magic Carpets?”

“When Em was little,” Woody answered. “But if you really want to, I’ll ride with you.”

View attachment 318574

We sat on our carpet for an unusually long time. There were several empty carpets and I began to get annoyed that the ride wouldn’t start until each carpet was full.

Then over the PA a CM announced: “Sorry for the delay, folks. We are holding for a few minutes for a special guest.”

Woody and I began to speculate who the VIP would be. Might be some “suit” from management. Might be a celebrity. If it was a celebrity, we hoped we would recognize him/her.....somebody famous, not a Disney channel “star.” (We’ve been burned by quasi-celebrity “stars” before. )

We had no trouble recognizing who arrived.

View attachment 318575

View attachment 318576

View attachment 318577

But the real VIP was the little girl in the center.

View attachment 318578

This was too adorable! After walking around the circumference of the attraction, the little girl was met by her mom and climbed on the front of the carpet while Aladdin and Jasmine sat behind.

View attachment 318579

View attachment 318580

During the ride Aladdin yelled, “Abu! Where are you?” and “Don’t get caught!” and “Has anyone seen Genie?”

When we landed, two handlers were there to escort the VIP (and Aladdin & Jasmine ) off the attraction and over to the Agrabah meet and greet area.

And I didn’t mind the delay.

This is amazing!! I've seen so many commercials where characters are enjoying the rides but never have seen it and wondered if they really did. I'm so happy that they do this. AND, this is why I love Disney!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Since we were in the neighborhood we decided to go cruisin’......Jungle Cruisin’.

I’ve only done this attraction a thousand times and yet never noticed this kayak before!

Our skipper was one of the best ever.
This is “B-Rad”

B-Rad was very punny. Skip ahead if you don’t want to know his jokes.
Otherwise, enjoy!

As we passed the gorillas: “If anyone is wearing yellow, drop down as they may mistake you for a banana....which they find appealing.”
As we passed the savannah: “Look, the lions are having their favorite treat.....zebra on the rocks!”
“Why is there no poker playing in the jungle? Cause we have a lot of cheetahs, and I ain’t lion.”
At the hippo pool: “Hippos like to charge us but we only take cash.”
As we passed the back side of water: “I like to call it O2H. I like to make science jokes but they don’t always get a good reaction.”

The reason for the elephant pool picture? I like the elephants. That is all.

 

[krisri18]

I think Woody thought I was kidding when I suggested our next ride.

View attachment 318573

He looked at me as if I had two heads. “You can’t ride spinners.”

“But I have done this twice before and didn’t get dizzy,” I said. “Have you ever ridden Magic Carpets?”

“When Em was little,” Woody answered. “But if you really want to, I’ll ride with you.”

View attachment 318574

We sat on our carpet for an unusually long time. There were several empty carpets and I began to get annoyed that the ride wouldn’t start until each carpet was full.

Then over the PA a CM announced: “Sorry for the delay, folks. We are holding for a few minutes for a special guest.”

Woody and I began to speculate who the VIP would be. Might be some “suit” from management. Might be a celebrity. If it was a celebrity, we hoped we would recognize him/her.....somebody famous, not a Disney channel “star.” (We’ve been burned by quasi-celebrity “stars” before. )

We had no trouble recognizing who arrived.

View attachment 318575

View attachment 318576

View attachment 318577

But the real VIP was the little girl in the center.

View attachment 318578

This was too adorable! After walking around the circumference of the attraction, the little girl was met by her mom and climbed on the front of the carpet while Aladdin and Jasmine sat behind.

View attachment 318579

View attachment 318580

During the ride Aladdin yelled, “Abu! Where are you?” and “Don’t get caught!” and “Has anyone seen Genie?”

When we landed, two handlers were there to escort the VIP (and Aladdin & Jasmine ) off the attraction and over to the Agrabah meet and greet area.

And I didn’t mind the delay.

How cute! We got to ride Magic Carpets once when Aladdin and Jasmine were aboard, not lucky enough to share a carpet though. My kids thought it was neat but I don't think they would have cared if the characters chose them. Lol

 

[LadyBelle]

I think Woody thought I was kidding when I suggested our next ride.

View attachment 318573

He looked at me as if I had two heads. “You can’t ride spinners.”

“But I have done this twice before and didn’t get dizzy,” I said. “Have you ever ridden Magic Carpets?”

“When Em was little,” Woody answered. “But if you really want to, I’ll ride with you.”



We sat on our carpet for an unusually long time. There were several empty carpets and I began to get annoyed that the ride wouldn’t start until each carpet was full.

Then over the PA a CM announced: “Sorry for the delay, folks. We are holding for a few minutes for a special guest.”

Woody and I began to speculate who the VIP would be. Might be some “suit” from management. Might be a celebrity. If it was a celebrity, we hoped we would recognize him/her.....somebody famous, not a Disney channel “star.” (We’ve been burned by quasi-celebrity “stars” before. )

We had no trouble recognizing who arrived.







But the real VIP was the little girl in the center.



This was too adorable! After walking around the circumference of the attraction, the little girl was met by her mom and climbed on the front of the carpet while Aladdin and Jasmine sat behind.



View attachment 318580

During the ride Aladdin yelled, “Abu! Where are you?” and “Don’t get caught!” and “Has anyone seen Genie?”

When we landed, two handlers were there to escort the VIP (and Aladdin & Jasmine ) off the attraction and over to the Agrabah meet and greet area.

And I didn’t mind the delay.

This is beautiful.