Trip Report THE ONE WITH THE ENHANCED CLEANING AND PHYSICAL DISTANCING, August 2020

Hello!!
Boy it feels good to be back here and actually have something to say

Like many of you, I had a few trips,
four actually, that were canceled because of

I was not going to let my August trip get canceled as well. But....
My original plans were to drive my oldest back to school in south Florida then spend a few days in the World. I invited my nephew as a 17th birthday gift (he loves Star Wars and Disney) and my niece as her college graduation gift. I booked a room cash (Riverside 5th sleeper) expecting to switch it to DVC, using the leftover points I would have after booking February. I never switched it to DVC and then I wasnt allowed to borrow points but Riverside was closed and my sister in law wanted to go but I couldnt add her on to the reservation then NY decided we had to quarantine two weeks so my SIL decided she would not be going and neither would her two children. My son couldnt find a suitable apartment, I couldnt give my boss dates I would be gone but still I sat on that Riverside reservation. I was curious to see what Disney would do with it.
I called Disney, they switched the reservation to CBR. That did not excite me. But I still wanted to go.

My youngest had a lacrosse camp in North Carolina he was scheduled to attend so I asked my middle son, AJ if he wanted to go to Disney World for a long weekend. (He had been working a lot without any time off so I felt he needed a small vacay). I told him to invite a friend then quickly realized I cant stand most of his friends (like the one who reported him to the state as a person he had contact with after the friend tested positive. Yep, threw him under the bus with no warning.) But I adore AJ’s GF so suggested he invite her. (My husband and her Dad used to work together so we have known her forever. We were at her parent’s wedding)

I canceled CBR and booked the following weekend at Pop instead. Then my youngest’s lax camp got canceled so we asked him to come with...asked the hubs too but he would just be getting back from moving my oldest into his new, and really nice, suitable even, house, down in south Florida so he said no thanks.

But 4 of us in a Pop room??? I wasnt convinced. We like to breakfast in the room. But did Pop have microwaves in the room? Or available in the food court? I doubted they had one available in the food court during these covid times but I called. And I was told “yes, the microwave is available”. I still doubted that so I PM’d @ajrwdwgirl
who was at Pop. She and Brad were so kind, they scoped out the food court (no microwave) and asked the front desk if they had them to borrow (maybe).

Back to the Disney website, SSR was not that much more per night than Pop (nice AP discount!) plus I would be saving breakfast money, kids will love the pool and I love the easy access to Disney Springs. (Plus with parks closing so early that means more time in the room)

Done! (After texting @riverside , who was at SSR to find out exactly what was open and what was not.

The crew

on the way to the airport.

edit to add that I know the above post is a jumbled mess of thoughts and run on sentences but that is how it happened. It all kept coming. One thing after another in true 2020 style.

 

[Darstarr]

Wow! Kudos to K for getting Dre to smile! And it even looked like a real honest to goodness smile, not a "humor your mom and smile for the camera" smile. It looked sincere!

I'm a mean mom...I make my kids order for themselves. When we went to Disney in 2016, my son was 8 and really nervous about speaking English. I always spoke English to the kids, so they've understood it from the time they were littles, but he had never spoken BACK to me in English. The only time he ever spoke in English was when Grandpa called. When my dad would call, he always asked how he was doing and A would say "Good". After a few times, when I'd hand him the phone, he didn't wait for my dad to say anything, he'd just say "Hi, Grandpa. Good." and that was the extent of their conversation. E would actually make an attempt. But by the 2016 trip, I was making them speak for themselves. I'm so surprised that a 16 or 17 year old (How old is K?) wouldn't have experience in ordering in a restaurant!

For future reference, the giftshops in the resorts sell Pepto as well. Or at least I saw it at CBR when my daughter got heat exhaustion and I had to find her some tylenol for the headache. They gave her some at the first aid station we went to in AK, but a few hours later, the headache resurfaced, so when we got back to the resort, I went to look and they had it in the gift shop. But I'm glad you found it!!

I did see the Pepto at the resort but the SSR gift shop was probably farther than DS from our room
Next time, I will bring some. There is nothing worse than a stomach ache when you are away from home.

 

[Darstarr]

Sunday August 30, 2020

Today was Hollywood studios day. It didnt open until 10 so I told the kids they could sleep in a bit. I could not. The whole boarding group thing just makes a normal person mad! So imagine the effect it had on me

I drank tea on the patio and checked the weather.

Uh Oh! “Kids! Wear your ponchos!”
Today we were going to eat up at Artist Palette in the SSR Carriage house. I tried to mobile order before we left the room but it wasn't working.

Off we went.

It was empty up there.

No comfy pillows either.
I was trying to mobile order but AJ does not like cheese on his egg sandwiches and there was no option to take it off. I tried asking a CM but it took me awhile to figure out all the one way walkways etc.
Eating at WDW is hard.
The CM told me to order at the register. Oh, and the “system” is down. I took that to mean the mobile order system or something related to SSR.

@imahistorygeek you may want to stop here.

We got our food and sat to eat.

Nothing for me. I had BG stomach. It’s a thing.
We called an Uber which would have us there in a flash.

Or would it. I watched as the time kept creeping up and up and up. I was hoping the terrible forecast would keep the locals away. It did not. Every car had an AP sticker on it.

@imahistorygeek don't say I didn't warn you.

We arrived to a really long line to get in. Really long. Past the second bus stop long.

But it went quickly and we were in on time. But look how crowded!

We got on line for slinky because I did not want to risk being inside the Chinese Theatre when 10:00 hit. My phone is...temperamental.

Last chance @imahistorygeek

10:00

The “system” was down!
As in ALL the systems. As in are you kidding me??? As in now what????
I had been on RotR before. I had already gone through this process. I knew what to expect. I had studied the playbook but I was not prepared for this.

 

[imahistorygeek]

The “system” was down!
As in ALL the systems. As in are you kidding me??? As in now what????
I had been on RotR before. I had already gone through this process. I knew what to expect. I had studied the playbook but I was not prepared for this.

That stinks. I saw that it was down. I'm checking the status rather obsessively.

I tried at 10 am this morning after hard refreshing starting at 9:59 and was able to get to the select members of party stage.

Like I said, if it happens, it happens. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop stressing!

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I love how you say, "Dining at wDW is hard".
I wonder, is it really that difficult to do? That is one thing (eating) that we look forward to, so hope it's not too much of a "thing" right now?
We are also dinosaurs, and don't have a smart phone to order, so there's that.............................!
I am in the "thinking about going" stage right now, but the dining situation is bothersome, the masks are difficult, and not much shopping is too. We don't care about fireworks, parades or M & G's, so that is in the win column.
Honestly, do you think all of these things are too much of a bother now that you are home? Just wondering. One minute, I want to just go ahead and go and do it, then I think of all those other things and don't!

 

[meggo819]

I'm so surprised that a 16 or 17 year old (How old is K?) wouldn't have experience in ordering in a restaurant!

This was my thought too!

 

[Darstarr]

This was my thought too!

Its not that she can‘t order, it was that she didnt know what she liked. Six of one....

 

[Darstarr]

I love how you say, "Dining at wDW is hard".
I wonder, is it really that difficult to do? That is one thing (eating) that we look forward to, so hope it's not too much of a "thing" right now?
We are also dinosaurs, and don't have a smart phone to order, so there's that.............................!
I am in the "thinking about going" stage right now, but the dining situation is bothersome, the masks are difficult, and not much shopping is too. We don't care about fireworks, parades or M & G's, so that is in the win column.
Honestly, do you think all of these things are too much of a bother now that you are home? Just wondering. One minute, I want to just go ahead and go and do it, then I think of all those other things and don't!

Sit down dining is fine. But I like to graze. Eat and walk. Sample. Disney World is not set up for that. I am headed to F and W (or whatever they are calling it this year) next week. That will be the true test. But yes, eating is hard at WDW these days.

 

[Darstarr]

That stinks. I saw that it was down. I'm checking the status rather obsessively.

I tried at 10 am this morning after hard refreshing starting at 9:59 and was able to get to the select members of party stage.

Like I said, if it happens, it happens. However, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop stressing!

Good news, there are plenty of other things to do. Oga’s, Baseline.....

 

[Darstarr]

Sunday, August 30 cont

We went on slinky. No ride photo but...

I had my phone out the entire time hitting refresh trying to get a BG. Everyone was walking around with their heads in their phones.
They had announced that the BG process was down. Duh...
Next was Toy Story Mania but there was no way I was going inside that building with iffy wifi and unable to hear any announcements.
The kids went. And sent me a picture as proof.

While they were inside I checked the BG thread here to see if anyone had any idea what was going on.

Then we did A.S.S., again my phone was in my hand the entire time refreshing the BG page. You know what? It is not as enjoyable to ride that way.
I saw that @disneygeek90 was in the park so we DM’d back and forth a little. I told her we were on line to ride SR:MF if she wanted to jump in with us.

I guess her mother taught her about stranger danger

The line was physically long but not long time wise. And it snaked through some backstage areas. Everyone has seen the pictures of the MF but here are some you don't see everyday. Well pre C19 anyway.

K’s Dad and older brother are big Star Wars fans. I made her take some pictures and send them to him.

Can you read Dre’s shirt?
This is my happy place
Cant you tell???

You can see people still on their phones.

Even Dre was on his phone

 

[Darstarr]

Sunday August 30 cont.

At some point before getting inside MF there was an announcement that BG’s would open at 12:00. There were SO many people in the park. And BG’s usually go in 10-12 seconds. I knew today would be an under 8 second day.

I made AJ and K be pilots. I was pilot last time and I wanted no part of it. Dre yelled at me the entire time. He was also a pilot. This time I was a gunner and Dre was an engineer. I will say, this ride makes more sense now that I have seen Solo.
Quick picture to send to K’s father.

We exited the cockpit and the boys ran ahead to scare us. Time for a girl picture.

Hey that is that thing. We used to have a bigger crew

We went to get some food and sit and wait until 12:00.
Pizza and salad in a cup. Not great but it wasnt chicken nuggets. Also, I still had BG stomach so could not eat. Plus I didnt want to get my fingers all greasy.

11:57
I opened the app and started the refresh process.
K counted down the seconds.
I refreshed and hit join boarding group.
It didn't self populate. Holy cr ap! It didn't self populate. What do I mean by that? Recently, when you hit join boarding group anyone that is in your friends and family list, who is in the park, will automatically appear in your group. That didnt happen. I had to go through and select the other three, losing precious seconds.

This is the beer I got to console myself.

AJ and K really didnt care but Dre was so upset. I was also really upset.
I did everything right.
Read the thread.
Practiced.
Turned the four if us into Ariel avatars just in case (so we are easier to spot and select from friends and fam list)
I was hooked up to a power source.
Full bars
Wifi off

I did it all...
And I failed....

 

[meggo819]

Its not that she can‘t order, it was that she didnt know what she liked. Six of one....

Ah. That actually makes more sense to me. Even as a 36-year-old I sometimes have to google something on a menu if it’s unfamiliar!

 

[imahistorygeek]

Good news, there are plenty of other things to do. Oga’s, Baseline.....

I managed to snag a reservation at Oga's and we will definitely go to Baseline.

 

[Tuvalu]

Holy Cr ap that SR:MF line was long!! Woody, K and I waited only about 20 minutes on Friday!

 

[Darstarr]

Holy Cr ap that SR:MF line was long!! Woody, K and I waited only about 20 minutes on Friday!

Haha. It was only about 25 minutes. We were moving the entire time. But yes, it looked long.

 

[Darstarr]

Sunday August 30 cont

And then to add insult to injury...
It started to pour. So I had to sit there, in my failure.
Also, when I went to get my beer I got yelled at that the big staircase (about 7 feet wide) was one way. Up only. But I could use the elevator. The small, cramped elevator with buttons that hundreds touch and an enclosed space. Hmmmm....

Spoiler

eating AND drinking in wdw is hard

We made a mad, wet dash to Muppets.

This picture was next but I have no idea where it was taken. It is pretty good though. The kids look happy anyway and that is what is important.

Then we went to Star Tours because that is almost as good as RotR (sarcasm).
No pix because I was sulking.
But we got an OG ST sequence. That was
nice.

We headed toward Rock n Roller coaster.
Hey a unicorn, er, PPP.

I was really nervous getting on RnR because it was 1:55 and more BG’s were coming out at 2:00 (believe it or not). I knew they would be gone in 5-6 seconds and did not get my hopes up.

Power nap

I was off at 1:57 and ran outside.
“Mom, blah blah blah....”
Me:

Dre counted down for me, it self populated! Yes! But wait, why did my screen go black??

By the time I recovered it was too late.

Forgotten pix from MF line. The PPP did a full on photo shoot with AJ and K. I will only post a few but there were 10ish.

Hey, he took one of me. Dre said pass

 

[Darstarr]

Sunday August 30th cont

The silver lining, glass half full bs is that most double time losers (like me) leave HWS after their second swing and miss. The place emptied out! I think the rain may have helped as well.
Tower of terror was next. No photoagain...
but there is this one I forgot. I am not sure why Chip but...ok.

And Dre nailed it!

After ToT it started to pour. I know I have said that before but I need to emphasize, it was pouring.

MMRR wait was the lowest I had seen all day, but it was still 50 minutes ( @Tuvalu )
The line began in front of the Chinese Theatre's Courtyard. There were a few umbrellas set up along the queue for shade. Families were sheltering under them and the line stopped moving. Meanwhile we stood getting dumped on. We had our ponchos on so not a big deal but if these people moved up they would be under cover really soon. Finally, I made an executive decision and I cut the whole umbrella hugging bunch of them. AND I did not care even a little bit.
Check the weather app! You are in Florida during the rainy season!

After we made the move, all the ponchoed people did as well. And guess what? We were undercover in 2 minutes. That 50 minute wait? 25.

AJ : “Mother, this is new, let me take your picture.”
He really knows how to cheer me up

The kids were blown away by MMRR, which made me happy but also sad. If they were impressed with MMRR imagine their reaction to RotR!!!
When we came out the rain had finished and there was a new sherrif in town.

 

[Darstarr]

Sunday August 30th, 2020 cont

We had a little time before our ADR at sci fi so we did Star Tours again because it is right there.
For this ADR I received a push notification to check in. I did not get that the night before at DS. I checked in on the app and then we loitered outside the entrance until someone called us in. Sci Fi, for those of you who have never been inside, is a “drive in movie theatre” with a wall all around it and a hallway on the other side of the wall. That hallway is now one way. The menu is brought up on your phone via QR code.

I needed this!

Dre sat in the front row. Too dark to see him.

My buffalo chicken salad. Good.

AJ had been wanting this salad since the last time we ate here. He couldnt stop talking about it. What did he order? The turkey sandwich. What??? About halfway through his sandwich he decided he didnt like it. I switched with him. The salad is better than the turkey sandwich but I wasnt that hungry so it was no big deal.

AJ and K got shakes.

We were taking our time because it was pouring again. I was talking to our server a lot. I dont remember his name but he was great. With less than half his normal tables he hung out and talked to me when he could. He was surprised we were there from NY because of the two week quarantine.
Still stalling I ordered the candy bar for dessert.

It looks amazing. It is very rich. And it is way too big for one person. I mostly ate the chocolate on the outside.
Chocolate...goooood!

I tried to pay using my magic band but it wasnt working. Disney and their technological glitches were getting on my nerves. I shrugged it off and made a comment about how Disney is doing away with magic bands anyway. He had no idea.

 

[Adventure]

I have a trip next month and like you have been studying up on how to get a ROTR boarding group. If the kids had the app could they not have helped and tried to get one for the group? Not sure if it's whoever in your party gets one first closes out the availability. I'm thinking those teens on their phones would be good on the quick draw!

 

[Darstarr]

I have a trip next month and like you have been studying up on how to get a ROTR boarding group. If the kids had the app could they not have helped and tried to get one for the group? Not sure if it's whoever in your party gets one first closes out the availability. I'm thinking those teens on their phones would be good on the quick draw!

Yes they can “help” if they have the app. They, however, do not have the app. I guess I am a bit of a control freak??? The time is quickly approaching when they will have to get their own MDE. It will be such a proud mom moment (they grow up so fast!)

 

[cgersic]

"Fabulous photos??? Wait, the ones I took or the PP?"

The ones you took silly!