Trip Report The Tuvalu Chronicles ~ Chapter 25 *COMPLETED*

Welcome, welcome, welcome to my 25th trip report.

Over the past five years, I have loved chronicling my WDW adventures with fellow forum readers who share my Disney passion. Writing keeps the magic alive for me. Discussions that result from your comments are icing on the cake! I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my posts. (And for those of you who have been following from the beginning ~ THANK YOU!!)

All my reports have been live, live-ish, or shortly-afterwards.....except one. In 2016 I wrote a retro TR detailing my first visit to the park that forever captivated my heart. You can read about it here. Or you can merely mock the photo below which is proof positive I cannot pull off wearing a hat.

Similar in style to last summer’s novel, this report will incorporate my June, July and August vacations. The ship has already sailed for a live report for June, but I may attempt some live updates in July/August. Or not.

Trip #1
Who: Tuvalu and Em
When: June 8-13, 2019
Where: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

Did we meet the Wicked Queen? Who got shoved in the Haunted Mansion? Did the rain rain rain come down down down? Was there an attraction evac? Did one of us really cause a ride to shut down?

Answers to come!

(Special thanks to @krisri18 for another trip report title! )

 

[NeverlandWendy]

We began the party in Adventureland. We ended in Tomorrowland.

We popped into Mickey’s Star Traders to pick up our free AP party ornaments.

View attachment 396779

Then we went for an elevated spin around the cosmos.

View attachment 396780

A ride on the Peoplemover is always dark through Space Mountain. Tonight it was REALLY dark because none of the lights in Space Mountain were on. “Total darkness” was the special party effect, and the wait to ride SM reflected the popularity of this feature. The posted wait never got below 25 minutes.....again, a far cry from “little to no wait.”

But Em and I were curious and got in line. It was a bad decision. I was starting to really feel my lack of sleep at this point and it seemed like forever before we boarded our rocket. And we weren’t even in the same one.

View attachment 396778
Were Jack Black and his friend praying for a safe flight?

Verdict?

We HATED it.

Em was discombobulated by the darkness. My uncertainty caused me to tense up my body, resulting in a painful pulled muscle in my back. My already-foggy head worsened with dizziness and I was thisclose to vowing never to ride Space Mountain again.

But the worst part was realizing we’d just wasted precious party time.

We made our way to the hub and caught some of the elaborate Villains stage show, which included projections and fireworks. What was your opinion of the show @NeverlandWendy? We didn’t see enough of it to formulate an opinion.

You didn't miss anything by not watching! My kids (ages 15 and 20) both like the movie Hercules and Hades is my daughter's favorite villain. They wanted to make sure they saw the show. Fortunately, we did not waste too much party time and caught the last show as the event was ending. After the show was over, both looked at me and said "Well, that was bad."

We also had the same experience of longer than expected waits for Space, Pirates, Seven Dwarfs. They stayed 25-35 minutes the entire party.

 

[AKemily]

Verdict?

We HATED it.

Em was discombobulated by the darkness. My uncertainty caused me to tense up my body, resulting in a painful pulled muscle in my back. My already-foggy head worsened with dizziness and I was thisclose to vowing never to ride Space Mountain again.

But the worst part was realizing we’d just wasted precious party time.

At least you didn't have the guy with FIVE glowsticks around his neck in front of you. Our chance at a blast through total darkness at last year's Halloween Party was sorely ruined. Talk about a waste of party time ... I may be harbouring some resentful feelings towards that guy.

On the other hand, it sounds like I didn't miss out on much!

 

[Gurt]

Im not brave enough to ride the regular SM no way I could do it completely in the dark no wonder you were put off! Mickey bars are amazing.

 

[Tuvalu]

Throwing around the idea of doing the MK after hours on the 29th, since we brought the little fella with us when we had it booked in November. Hoping maybe everyone will be so worn out from Star Wars opening it might be a good day to do it.
My luck everyone would be there avoiding it though!
Also, I have never had my own Mickey Bar. I just take a bite off of B’s. (An ear of course) I am not a big ice cream fan except Dole Whips. And everybody thinks I am crazy, I know it is weird!

After Hours on the 29th? Hmmmm.
If you go, make sure you get your OWN Mickey bar!

View attachment 396894
At least you didn't have the guy with FIVE glowsticks around his neck in front of you. Our chance at a blast through total darkness at last year's Halloween Party was sorely ruined. Talk about a waste of party time ... I may be harbouring some resentful feelings towards that guy.

On the other hand, it sounds like I didn't miss out on much!

I think you deserved to be bitter. But in “light” of the fact you might have hated the experience, perhaps it’s time to Let it Go....

Im not brave enough to ride the regular SM no way I could do it completely in the dark no wonder you were put off! Mickey bars are amazing.

Total darkness was disorienting. Bad choice.
Good choice = Mickey bar!

 

[Tuvalu]

You didn't miss anything by not watching! My kids (ages 15 and 20) both like the movie Hercules and Hades is my daughter's favorite villain. They wanted to make sure they saw the show. Fortunately, we did not waste too much party time and caught the last show as the event was ending. After the show was over, both looked at me and said "Well, that was bad."

We also had the same experience of longer than expected waits for Space, Pirates, Seven Dwarfs. They stayed 25-35 minutes the entire party.

Ugh! I had hoped you had good things to say about the stage show. Hate that it was a disappointment for your family, especially since you were looking forward to it.

I suspect those long waits at Space, Pirates, 7DMT and BTMRR were due to understaffing and underutilization of rockets, trains and boats (not running the attractions at capacity.) For me, “little to no waiting” means 10 minutes or less. Period. The few number of people in the park during the party did not warrant 25-35 minute waits anywhere.

 

[NeverlandWendy]

Ugh! I had hoped you had good things to say about the stage show. Hate that it was a disappointment for your family, especially since you were looking forward to it.

I suspect those long waits at Space, Pirates, 7DMT and BTMRR were due to understaffing and underutilization of rockets, trains and boats (not running the attractions at capacity.) For me, “little to no waiting” means 10 minutes or less. Period. The few number of people in the park during the party did not warrant 25-35 minute waits anywhere.

Even with the few disappointments, we had a great time! Always fun to play in the magic kingdom at night when it isn't as crowded! And free Mickey bars!!!

 

[riverside]

I don’t want you to be shamed alone @Tuvalu. I’ll admit I’ve never had a Mickey Bar or a citrus swirl yet either.

I'll admit I'm a member of this club also!!

I think there needs to be an hour between park closing and an After Hours Event, like is done with MNSSHP. That way all the day guests get cycled through the attractions and the After Hours perk of "short waits" begins IMMEDIATELY when the party starts.

I couldn't agree more.

I am not a big ice cream fan except Dole Whips. And everybody thinks I am crazy, I know it is weird!

I'm right there with you!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Thursday, con’t

OK, time to finish up this day....although by now it was after midnight, so technically it was Friday. And Em said that “counted” as another MK visit. Then she added that since we had two visits on Thursday (one during the day and one at night for the party) the morning visit could sub for our no-visit Wednesday. Basically she was trying to make sure we had as many visits to the MK (5) as we had vacation days (5).

I present to you Em Logic:

Tuesday ~ Drive by MK on monorail (1)
Wednesday ~ Credit for Thursday morning MK (2)
Thursday ~ DAHV (3)
Friday ~ DAHV (4)
Saturday ~ MK (5)



The lighting on Main Street was festive. Gives a whole new meaning to red light district!

My mind wanted to stay until the party ended. My body was crying, “Noooo....” How I again wished I’d been able to nap earlier! I was willing to try Pirates for Em’s sake, but she reminded me that meant more walking, more waiting, more people to contend with at closing time and an even later bedtime.

Her logic may be questionable, but her reasoning was straight on!!!

Listening to the queen and the stepsisters quibble made for a fun “Goodbye.” Although the number of CMs guarding the train station seemed a bit excessive. Did they fear a horde of crazy fans would make a run for the characters?

This would have been a nice “Welcome” to the party had we not arrived during daylight!

There were several people waiting at the bus stop when Em and I got there and we stood there for a LONG time. “Wish the Minnie Van was here now,” I whispered to Em.

A bus eventually pulled up. It’s signage said, Epcot Monorail.

This not only perplexed me, but everyone else in line. The driver got off the bus and assured us he was taking us to Wilderness Lodge, despite what the sign said. We all boarded.

Em and I drug our sleepy selves up to our room. It had been a fun and fulfilling day!

 

[NessNewt]

I remember when I got on 7 dwarves for the first time I was surprised at how snug it was! My 6'2" ish husband's legs get a little cramped but he can manage. It is a ride that I'm surprised they don't have a test seat out front for.

I can see as a CM not wanting to try and size up people with warnings that they might not fit. I think it would be a hard thing to predict just by looking at a person. But a sign or test seat out front would be helpful.

 

[Dave B]

“Let’s go ride Big Thunder,” Em suggested.

We had hoped to get in a couple rides since it is our favorite attraction to ride at night. The posted wait time was 25 minutes! Em then suggested we sample a couple of the complimentary treats while the wait time died down.

I have to give Disney props for the number of snack carts that were available during the party. There was even a cart in the 7DMT queue! Complimentary treats included ice cream, popcorn and bottled water and soft drinks. Over the course of the party I drank $14 worth of bottled water. That’s 4 bottles! (It was hot, I was thirsty...)

Em and I aren’t huge into popcorn but we certainly wanted to take advantage of free ice cream....if for no other reason than to try our very FIRST Mickey bar. That’s right folks, in all our visits over the years we had never had a Mickey bar!

We grabbed a Mickey bar and an ice cream sandwich and shared them.

View attachment 396541

View attachment 396544

We’ve eaten ice cream sandwiches and so we knew what to expect. This one had cookies and cream ice cream rather than vanilla. We thought we’d really like it, but it didn’t knock our socks off.

View attachment 396543

Neither Em nor I are particularly fond of vanilla ice cream, which was one of our aversions to trying a Mickey bar.

So what did we think?

Drum roll please......

View attachment 396542

Not only were we surprised at how much we liked it, but we wished we’d gotten our own! Neither of us realized that the hard coated shell was dark chocolate.....and c’mon, everything tastes better draped in dark chocolate (amiright, @NunuBelle?!) Em and I now “get” the Mickey bar obsession....we’ve finally been enlightened.

Why didn’t we get another?

It was too late to be eating more ice cream (said @Longers.....NEVER!)

They sell them in the grocery stores now too

 

[myhappyplace]

They sell them in the grocery stores now too

IMO, they don't taste anywhere near as good, and I'm not just saying that because everything tastes better at Disney. The chocolate didn't seem....right. Not rich enough or something.

 

[NessNewt]

IMO, they don't taste anywhere near as good, and I'm not just saying that because everything tastes better at Disney. The chocolate didn't seem....right. Not rich enough or something.

Agreed. They are pretty good, but not as good as in the parks and definitely not worth the price tag.

 

[MinnieM123]

The lighting on Main Street was festive. Gives a whole new meaning to red light district!

Yet, another reason why they named it the Magic Kingdom?!

 

[Tuvalu]

Friday, July 19

After our usual in-room breakfast we went to the pool. There were very few guests there (and it never got busy at all.)

A day of pool relaxation was just what we needed after our late party night.

The sun was shining brightly and yesterday afternoon’s rain showers had cooled the water down considerably so it was very refreshing to swim and float around.

Today’s pool server was Lukas....and I kid you not, Em and I were the first people he approached when his shift began. We were in the water and said we would take a look at the menu when we got out.

“No need!” Lukas announced as he walked over to the gate and grabbed a menu for us. “The menus are waterproof!”

Indeed they were! We mulled over what sounded good for lunch as Lukas went to assist other guests. When he returned to take our order he gave his seal of approval with “great choices!” I was not in the mood for a libation (Em had requested a Frosé) and Lukas kindly said, “I’ll bring you both some water as well.”

The food came from the full-service side of Geyser Point and arrived in reusable containers with cloth napkins and flatware.

Last summer we’d tried the teriyaki chicken wings and loved them, so ordering them again was a no-brainer.

They were every bit as yummy as we remembered!

A new addition to the menu was a steak sandwich on sourdough, served with the same homemade chips that Em had with her burger the other day.

This sandwich was unbelievably good! I just checked the menu to see what else was on it besides the tender steak (since I did not write it down in my notes) but it is not currently on the menu! I recall caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and arugula....it was a wonderful blend of flavors.

We stayed at the pool until early afternoon. The rain did not chase us out (rain did not arrive until this evening) but we had other things on our itinerary.

Turns out Em and I weren’t the only ones enjoying ourselves in a pool!

 

[Nunu]

Those Teriyaki wings look sooo good!, and what can I say about that sandwich?, I haven't met bread I don't like, sourdough is one of my favorites.

Did your mousekeeper know that you were having a pool day? What she/he did with that adorable piggy is so creative and cute

 

[PineapplePrincess]

This sandwich was unbelievably good!

Are you sure it wasn't "out of this world delicious"?!

 

[Tuvalu]

I remember when I got on 7 dwarves for the first time I was surprised at how snug it was! My 6'2" ish husband's legs get a little cramped but he can manage. It is a ride that I'm surprised they don't have a test seat out front for.

I can see as a CM not wanting to try and size up people with warnings that they might not fit. I think it would be a hard thing to predict just by looking at a person. But a sign or test seat out front would be helpful.

Agree with both of your points.

Yet, another reason why they named it the Magic Kingdom?!

I like this risqué side of you, Minnie!

Did your mousekeeper know that you were having a pool day? What she/he did with that adorable piggy is so creative and cute

She did not, and that's what made the surprise even more awesome!!

Are you sure it wasn't "out of this world delicious"?!

On second thought, YES. Definitely YES.
And I am sure @TrolleyFollower91 would agree.

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

I'm glad you felt like it was worth it to do the Villans after hours once, (at least that's the impression I got). Interesting about SPACE MOUNTAIN. I think total darkness would disorient me a bit, too. Loved the "red light" joke! That's one district I'll happily admit to visiting!!!

Also, my hubby loves the Mickey bars but I've never really been much for ice cream on a stick. I see the "Disney allure" but I can never eat it before it melts! We were happy to find them in our local grocery earlier this year, though! Well, I was happy for the hubby but I found them!

 

[Tuvalu]

I'm glad you felt like it was worth it to do the Villans after hours once, (at least that's the impression I got). Interesting about SPACE MOUNTAIN. I think total darkness would disorient me a bit, too. Loved the "red light" joke! That's one district I'll happily admit to visiting!!!

Also, my hubby loves the Mickey bars but I've never really been much for ice cream on a stick. I see the "Disney allure" but I can never eat it before it melts! We were happy to find them in our local grocery earlier this year, though! Well, I was happy for the hubby but I found them!

Yes it was “worth it” for us to do the Villains Party once.

And I agree about ice cream on a stick. Now, ice cream in a cone.....

 

[epcotisbest]

Friday, July 19

After our usual in-room breakfast we went to the pool. There were very few guests there (and it never got busy at all.)

View attachment 397230

A day of pool relaxation was just what we needed after our late party night.

View attachment 397231

The sun was shining brightly and yesterday afternoon’s rain showers had cooled the water down considerably so it was very refreshing to swim and float around.

Today’s pool server was Lukas....and I kid you not, Em and I were the first people he approached when his shift began. We were in the water and said we would take a look at the menu when we got out.

“No need!” Lukas announced as he walked over to the gate and grabbed a menu for us. “The menus are waterproof!”

Indeed they were! We mulled over what sounded good for lunch as Lukas went to assist other guests. When he returned to take our order he gave his seal of approval with “great choices!” I was not in the mood for a libation (Em had requested a Frosé) and Lukas kindly said, “I’ll bring you both some water as well.”

The food came from the full-service side of Geyser Point and arrived in reusable containers with cloth napkins and flatware.

View attachment 397232

Last summer we’d tried the teriyaki chicken wings and loved them, so ordering them again was a no-brainer.

View attachment 397233

They were every bit as yummy as we remembered!

A new addition to the menu was a steak sandwich on sourdough, served with the same homemade chips that Em had with her burger the other day.

View attachment 397235

This sandwich was unbelievably good! I just checked the menu to see what else was on it besides the tender steak (since I did not write it down in my notes) but it is not currently on the menu! I recall caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and arugula....it was a wonderful blend of flavors.

We stayed at the pool until early afternoon. The rain did not chase us out (rain did not arrive until this evening) but we had other things on our itinerary.

Turns out Em and I weren’t the only ones enjoying ourselves in a pool!

View attachment 397236

I might someday warm up to (or cool down with) that pool if I ever get over the loss of Hidden Springs Pool. Yeah, I know, as Henley sang, "Get over it."
Sandwich and wings look great.