Trip Report The Story Comes ALIVE! *COMPLETED*

Hello again, my friends.

For nearly a decade it has been such a joy for me to write about 50 (yes, 50!) different trips that I have taken to WDW - including one that was virtual. ;)

The reason? You, the reader.

I don’t do trip reports for my own documentation. I have journals for that. I write because I love interacting with y’all. Your encouragement, humor, curiosity and even snark (*ahem* @amjt660) assure me that I am not alone in my crazy affection for Disney parks. A big thanks to each of you!

I am very fortunate to be a frequent visitor to WDW (despite what @Mr Ferret 88 believes, I do not live there!) and am entering a season of monthly visits. Trip reporting is time consuming (as those of you who’ve written can attest) but I’m not ready to completely give it up - yet.

What I’d like to do is keep this as an ongoing TR for the rest of 2023. It will be highlights and moments, with live posting as the goal. My story coming alive, so to speak.

First up is spring break with my favorite girl.

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Followed closely by a getaway with my favorite guy.

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There will be Magician meets. New experiences. And (as always) the unexpected.

I hope you’ll join the fun!
 
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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Monday, con't
joshsprincess921 said:
I'm going Yachtsman!
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lindawdw said:
I'm guessing Yachtsman Steakhouse!
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93boomer said:
I am going Yachtsman as well. 🤞🏻🤞🏻
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Im Sorry But No Jimmy Fallon GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon


littleroo said:
Ale and Compass is my guess only because Beaches and Cream is not an option!
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Says Who Schitts Creek GIF by CBC


fractal said:
Beaches & Cream?
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rshell68 said:
That was going to be my guess LOL Nothing says refined more than ice cream
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Black Girl Magic GIF by Identity


@littleroo I only threw out three potential restaurant options. @fractal and @rshell68 were savvy enough to see through Shirley’s Charade!

Woody and I had a thirty minute wait to be seated. However we’d arrived fifteen minutes early for our reservation. We could have been seated immediately at the counter (and had B as our server, @Loco_driver) but I really wanted to sit at a table tonight.

Our wonderful server was Matt, who is also a longtime Beaches and Cream server. (He’s waited on us before.) Matt now sports a blue name badge, a Disney honor. He is a peer-chosen recipient, and will wear the blue badge as long as he is employed by Disney.

We had just been seated when the first of FIVE Kitchen Sinks was presented in all its fanfare, by none other than B (unseen in my pic).

IMG_1085.jpeg


He did stop by later to say hello to us.

For dinner Woody had a burger with tots.

IMG_1086.jpeg


And I had my usual custom chicken sandwich.

IMG_1087.jpeg


To quote @rshell68, “Nothing says refined more than ice cream.”

She’s right. Voilá — my messy single scoop marshmallow sundae!

IMG_1090.jpeg


Woody did not have room for a No Way José (the horror!) but went for a mock version - chocolate ice cream with peanut butter topping and whipped cream.

IMG_1088.jpeg


When Matt came by to check on us he gazed at Woody’s sundae and said, “That’s not enough peanut butter!”

He returned with this.

IMG_1091.jpeg


I’m not sayin’ if Woody used all of it. 😉
 
lindawdw

lindawdw

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Monday, con't



Im Sorry But No Jimmy Fallon GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon



Says Who Schitts Creek GIF by CBC




Black Girl Magic GIF by Identity


@littleroo I only threw out three potential restaurant options. @fractal and @rshell68 were savvy enough to see through Shirley’s Charade!

Woody and I had a thirty minute wait to be seated. However we’d arrived fifteen minutes early for our reservation. We could have been seated immediately at the counter (and had B as our server, @Loco_driver) but I really wanted to sit at a table tonight.

Our wonderful server was Matt, who is also a longtime Beaches and Cream server. (He’s waited on us before.) Matt now sports a blue name badge, a Disney honor. He is a peer-chosen recipient, and will wear the blue badge as long as he is employed by Disney.

We had just been seated when the first of FIVE Kitchen Sinks was presented in all its fanfare, by none other than B (unseen in my pic).

View attachment 741516

He did stop by later to say hello to us.

For dinner Woody had a burger with tots.

View attachment 741517

And I had my usual custom chicken sandwich.

View attachment 741518

To quote @rshell68, “Nothing says refined more than ice cream.”

She’s right. Voilá — my messy single scoop marshmallow sundae!

View attachment 741520

Woody did not have room for a No Way José (the horror!) but went for a mock version - chocolate ice cream with peanut butter topping and whipped cream.

View attachment 741519

When Matt came by to check on us he gazed at Woody’s sundae and said, “That’s not enough peanut butter!”

He returned with this.

View attachment 741521

I’m not sayin’ if Woody used all of it. 😉
Click to expand...
It sounds like it was worth the wait!!!
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Monday, con’t

Due to our longer-than-expected dinner, we were cutting it close to watch HEA from our balcony.

We arrived back at the lodge at 8:59 pm, with showtime at 9.

The elevator took FOR EV ER.

A few extra seconds were required to open the gate to the Old Faithful Club. (There is an on-purpose 5 second delay for Mickey’s head to turn green once a band is tapped.)

Woody told me to “go on ahead” so I power walked to the room, tapped my band to unlock the door and….

RED LIGHT!!

Yep, the same band that opened the gate a minute earlier would not unlock our room door.

Not just once, but several times. :banghead:

By now I could hear the booming outside. Woody arrived and attempted to use his phone to unlock the door. No luck with that either!

My family will tell you that one of the worst frustrations for me is to be able to hear fireworks and not see them. So I told Woody I was heading to the viewing spot in the lounge. He said he would continue his attempt to unlock the door.

I made it to the viewing area just as Woody texted, “I’m in the room.”

I promptly turned around and power walked back. Our view was much better, as the castle is not visible from the lounge.

I’d missed about half of the show but enjoyed the rest of it.

FullSizeRender.jpeg


The finale shell turns from gold to red. Something new.

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When the show ended I went to the concierge to have my band recoded. It worked perfectly fine for the rest of the trip.
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
lindawdw said:
Sounds like a perfect day to me!
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It really was. A mixture of sun and clouds kept things comfortable. We spent a little over four hours at the pool.

We had some entertainment today as well.

First there were more people, thus more activity to watch and stories to overhear. Many guests were being impacted by Idalia with canceled flights and were scrambling to make arrangements for the unexpected delay. Some thought Disney should refund their partially-used tickets (what?) A DVC owner expected to stay another night or two without having to use their points. Yet another thought Disney should provide transportation to their just-booked off property hotel.

But our favorite activity was watching the “shark” attack.

Say what?

Below is a zoomed-in picture of said shark - a 50 something woman in a straw hat.

FullSizeRender.jpeg


She’s a solo traveler from Buffalo whose flight was canceled yesterday. She lives alone and was concerned about her mail piling up; about missing a doctor’s appointment; about her elderly mother falling “because she bends when she shouldn’t be bending”; about the airline charging her for more luggage because she had bought stuff to tide her through the storm and wasn’t leaving it at WDW; and so on and so on and so on.

You know, all the stuff strangers don’t need to hear about — nor care about.

Sharky was at the pool yesterday when we arrived. She was at the other side of the pool talking very loudly (thus how we know all about her life). I assumed she was on the phone talking to a friend. Nope. She had cornered a woman in the pool and was regaling her tales of woe. Later she invited herself to join a couple who were having a private conversation. The few people at the pool yesterday she accosted were polite to her but were clearly uncomfortable, making their getaway as soon as they could.

“Don’t make eye contact!” was our mantra whenever we were in the water.

Sharky had a lot more bait today. “She’s going in for the kill!” Woody and I would whisper to each other.

Those poor souls never had a chance.

Meanwhile I was warned by a passerby that there was something crawling under my chair.

IMG_1155.jpeg


Can you tell what it is? Upon close inspection we discover it’s a 🐢!! It was amusing to watch his tiny head and little legs pop out of his shell. He (or she) eventually made it into the brush area.

Another lunch from Geyser Point. I won’t ask whose is whose, because I don’t want to embarrass @93boomer again. :cautious: :joyfull:

FullSizeRender.jpeg
 
93boomer

93boomer

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
It really was. A mixture of sun and clouds kept things comfortable. We spent a little over four hours at the pool.

We had some entertainment today as well.

First there were more people, thus more activity to watch and stories to overhear. Many guests were being impacted by Idalia with canceled flights and were scrambling to make arrangements for the unexpected delay. Some thought Disney should refund their partially-used tickets (what?) A DVC owner expected to stay another night or two without having to use their points. Yet another thought Disney should provide transportation to their just-booked off property hotel.

But our favorite activity was watching the “shark” attack.

Say what?

Below is a zoomed-in picture of said shark - a 50 something woman in a straw hat.

View attachment 741926

She’s a solo traveler from Buffalo whose flight was canceled yesterday. She lives alone and was concerned about her mail piling up; about missing a doctor’s appointment; about her elderly mother falling “because she bends when she shouldn’t be bending”; about the airline charging her for more luggage because she had bought stuff to tide her through the storm and wasn’t leaving it at WDW; and so on and so on and so on.

You know, all the stuff strangers don’t need to hear about — nor care about.

Sharky was at the pool yesterday when we arrived. She was at the other side of the pool talking very loudly (thus how we know all about her life). I assumed she was on the phone talking to a friend. Nope. She had cornered a woman in the pool and was regaling her tales of woe. Later she invited herself to join a couple who were having a private conversation. The few people at the pool yesterday she accosted were polite to her but were clearly uncomfortable, making their getaway as soon as they could.

“Don’t make eye contact!” was our mantra whenever we were in the water.

Sharky had a lot more bait today. “She’s going in for the kill!” Woody and I would whisper to each other.

Those poor souls never had a chance.

Meanwhile I was warned by a passerby that there was something crawling under my chair.

View attachment 741925

Can you tell what it is? Upon close inspection we discover it’s a 🐢!! It was amusing to watch his tiny head and little legs pop out of his shell. He (or she) eventually made it into the brush area.

Another lunch from Geyser Point. I won’t ask whose is whose, because I don’t want to embarrass @93boomer again. :cautious: :joyfull:

View attachment 741927
Click to expand...
I’ve learned my lesson. 🤣🤣😉
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Tuesday, con’t

Woody and I headed to Epcot in late afternoon. We had a bus to ourselves and a driver who sang the entire journey. We couldn’t discern the words or the songs either despite sitting near the front of the bus.

No line for Spaceship Earth? Let’s go!

IMG_1104.jpeg


Had to text this pic to Em. IYKYK!

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(Though the hat looks different now?)

Where will our future take us?

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To infinity and beyond!

IMG_1108.jpeg


Or to meet George Jetson. Either works.
 

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