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.

7E346929-4002-4A40-B82D-5A96EF7476D0.png


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. :hilarious:

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

118537E3-D4CC-4761-9D22-4CF84E735DEB.jpeg


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! 💕)
 
Click to expand...
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
We exited the park just before Festival Of Fantasy arrived on Main Street.

Pile o’ Walk Around the World bricks.
222B385B-88DE-4172-A345-3C9D18D01E9A.jpeg


We opted for a boat ride back to GF.

39B13FAC-B46B-4156-BC16-11B69A07999B.jpeg


F3F2C04A-E9A5-437E-AFA1-E9622D7090EF.jpeg


8EFC5DA2-FA6F-462F-8E98-AD2F7CBEA45A.jpeg


Our room had not been serviced so we threw on our bathing suits and went to the pool. It was so HOT that we spent all of our time in the water. We stayed for well over an hour and were happy to find that our room was clean upon our return. We did spend some time on the patio before showering. An overly chatty CM (whose golf cart was parked in front of our room) had lots of questions for us.

D97EFEFF-BE60-441C-AA77-6E122A59EF78.jpeg
 
Swissmiss

Swissmiss

Premium Member
Laurenciaa said:
Traveling alone (like me) will often be rewarded with indeed frontrow (IASW) or the smaller back row at PotC! Going over to DLP tomorrow! In need of a Disney day fix!
Click to expand...

So jealous - when I was there for the half marathon weekend I had the feeling that they only had some of the Halloween decorations out, and I really love their Halloween decorations. I then toyed with the idea of going for the special ticketed event on the 26th, but there is something here my DD wants to do and then it started to feel like it’d be complicated...
 
Darstarr

Darstarr

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
DryerLintFan

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
MinnieM123 said:
Shirley status -- front row of Small World!!!

In all the years of going to WDW, I have never ONCE been seated in the front row. :banghead:
Click to expand...
Tuvalu said:
Solo travelers and duos rarely get put in row 1. Bet you’ve been in the last row lots of times though! 😉



I thought he did too, @Darstarr, after I saw my post!
Click to expand...
Swissmiss said:
How funny, my experience at DLP is just the opposite - my DD and I are often in the front row of IASW and Pirates.
Click to expand...

we got put in the front row of IaSW a lot during our last trip!! of course, we also had to ride it a lot :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

We got front row on the Farm Ride too!!
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Wednesday, con’t

Woody and I finally got our showers and then discussed our evening options. Decision made, we walked over to the main building to catch the monorail.

I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of the new Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique location since it had closed for the day.

CBFE5E7E-E597-4F40-9B8F-4887DC8749AF.jpeg


BBB has taken over the former hair salon. The salon was tiny, and so is BBB.

5C0D9C49-C8CB-414A-BD71-F8D8F983F56B.jpeg


7B272A32-1E03-4153-BFEF-0215DCAB168D.jpeg


That’s all of it, folks. Nothing more to see.

Since all BBB locations have a dedicated photo shoot spot, and there is literally NO ROOM inside here, one was added on the opposite side of the second floor near the Grand Staircase.

AAC7B8C3-AC46-47E0-B838-A968789260DE.jpeg


As you can see, the area is roped off when BBB is closed. A PP photographer is stationed there when BBB is open to take pictures of each transformed “princess.” (And even those cuties who have not been transformed, @dryerlintfan 😉).

Woody and I boarded the monorail and got off at the 4th stop.

6649C464-0CF6-4C00-AE0D-842D4BADC44F.jpeg


Tuvalu is home.

CE6E74A3-5004-45A8-991B-B5CCEE73FC25.jpeg


You may be wondering why we just didn’t walk to the Polynesian. If it hadn’t been a sticky humid 107 degrees (@DisneyGigi 😉) we would have. We practically broke a sweat walking from Conch Key to the main building. We needed a/c!
 
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
Not ‘Ohana.

Not Kona Cafe.

Not Tambu Lounge.

Not Pineapple Lanai.

Not Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto.

Not Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace.

Here.

043DAEA2-9A81-4043-9E78-5CC7AA9DD748.jpeg


Wow, Tuvalu.....that’s a lot of dining options.

And you picked Capt. Cooks??!!

Yes. Yes I did.

CDB889D9-0145-461E-A1AE-8ABD004346D6.jpeg


And now that we’d been refreshed by a/c, we chose to dine al fresco.

D9692AB2-FFC6-4709-8AF7-BD4BCE8B26BF.jpeg


I had a craving for an Aloha Pork Sandwich ~ pulled pork with cheddar, Asian slaw, cucumbers and tomatoes on a brioche bun, served with French fries.

Woody did not have a particular craving, but he was pleased with his Turkey Club Melt ~ roasted turkey, bacon, tomato, Havarti cheese and sun-dried tomato mayonnaise on multigrain bread, served with a Poly chips.

ABEB5592-35EE-43A1-9764-31441FADCB0B.jpeg


Everything was delish. Woody let me have some of his Poly chips and I let him eat some of my fries. A win-win!

A nice breeze had developed and would have made for a delightful walk back to GF. Unfortunately the breeze brought sprinkles with it so another monorail ride for us!
 
93boomer

93boomer

Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
Not ‘Ohana.

Not Kona Cafe.

Not Tambu Lounge.

Not Pineapple Lanai.

Not Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto.

Not Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace.

Here.

View attachment 418457

Wow, Tuvalu.....that’s a lot of dining options.

And you picked Capt. Cooks??!!

Yes. Yes I did.

View attachment 418458

And now that we’d been refreshed by a/c, we chose to dine al fresco.

View attachment 418459

I had a craving for an Aloha Pork Sandwich ~ pulled pork with cheddar, Asian slaw, cucumbers and tomatoes on a brioche bun, served with French fries.

Woody did not have a particular craving, but he was pleased with his Turkey Club Melt ~ roasted turkey, bacon, tomato, Havarti cheese and sun-dried tomato mayonnaise on multigrain bread, served with a Poly chips.

View attachment 418460

Everything was delish. Woody let me have some of his Poly chips and I let him eat some of my fries. A win-win!

A nice breeze had developed and would have made for a delightful walk back to GF. Unfortunately the breeze brought sprinkles with it so another monorail ride for us!
Click to expand...
Yummy!!! That looks so good! We like to dine al fresco as much as possible too!😊
 
Nunu

Nunu

Wanderluster
Premium Member
Tuvalu said:
Not ‘Ohana.

Not Kona Cafe.

Not Tambu Lounge.

Not Pineapple Lanai.

Not Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto.

Not Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace.

Here.

View attachment 418457

Wow, Tuvalu.....that’s a lot of dining options.

And you picked Capt. Cooks??!!

Yes. Yes I did.

View attachment 418458

And now that we’d been refreshed by a/c, we chose to dine al fresco.

View attachment 418459

I had a craving for an Aloha Pork Sandwich ~ pulled pork with cheddar, Asian slaw, cucumbers and tomatoes on a brioche bun, served with French fries.

Woody did not have a particular craving, but he was pleased with his Turkey Club Melt ~ roasted turkey, bacon, tomato, Havarti cheese and sun-dried tomato mayonnaise on multigrain bread, served with a Poly chips.

View attachment 418460

Everything was delish. Woody let me have some of his Poly chips and I let him eat some of my fries. A win-win!

A nice breeze had developed and would have made for a delightful walk back to GF. Unfortunately the breeze brought sprinkles with it so another monorail ride for us!
Click to expand...
We really like Capt. Cooks!, to us, it's one of the best counter service restaurants around.

I remember their "nachos" made with Poly chips and pulled pork. :hungry:
And there's where we get our Tonga Toast when we manage to wake up "early" 😁 for breakfast.
 
Last edited:
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
Original Poster
We dodged the water droplets on the way to our room. We watched a little TV and at 9:10 pm I announced to Woody I was going out to watch Happily Ever After.

There hadn’t been any sprinkling for awhile so I left my umbrella in the room and exited Conch Key on the marina side. I stood by the railing and waited.

I felt one drop, then two. It wasn’t bad so I stayed put. I figured I could move to the portico if any real rain started.

Another raindrop. And another.

Something poked me in the shoulder. I turned around to find Woody handing me my umbrella. What a sweetheart.....he knew his fireworks-obsessed wife would stubbornly stay put to watch them, regardless of the weather.

I popped open my umbrella and Woody went to stand under the portico.

Evidence of how determined I was to watch HEA ~ that’s my umbrella in the top of the pic.

0C9B882E-44F3-4670-B141-017589A1A281.jpeg


But even a die-hard fireworks fan knows it’s time to seek shelter when there’s thunder and it starts raining sideways! :in pain:

I joined Woody and a few others under the portico. The “others” were a family and a boat captain. The family had rented a pontoon for a fireworks cruise. When the captain heard reports of lightning in the area, he docked the pontoon at the GF marina and had escorted the family out of the rain. They were drying off with towels from the boat as the captain was giving instructions on rescheduling their cruise.

The view from the portico wasn’t as good as I hoped.

37B985CE-8E4C-4A55-B914-62FBBD43A2CE.jpeg


4F746F50-5BAF-4181-8156-B7C9E08CDDA4.jpeg


The illuminated stars were the end of the Electrical Water Pageant, which was running concurrently with HEA.

After a couple minutes (and even though I did not have one) I threw in the towel. It was storming so hard that we could no longer hear the soundtrack let alone see fireworks. We went inside to our room.

But it still counted as night #5 of fireworks for me!
 
k8einwdw

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Not ‘Ohana.

Not Kona Cafe.

Not Tambu Lounge.

Not Pineapple Lanai.

Not Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto.

Not Trader Sam’s Tiki Terrace.

Here.

View attachment 418457

Wow, Tuvalu.....that’s a lot of dining options.

And you picked Capt. Cooks??!!

Yes. Yes I did.

View attachment 418458

And now that we’d been refreshed by a/c, we chose to dine al fresco.

View attachment 418459

I had a craving for an Aloha Pork Sandwich ~ pulled pork with cheddar, Asian slaw, cucumbers and tomatoes on a brioche bun, served with French fries.

Woody did not have a particular craving, but he was pleased with his Turkey Club Melt ~ roasted turkey, bacon, tomato, Havarti cheese and sun-dried tomato mayonnaise on multigrain bread, served with a Poly chips.

View attachment 418460

Everything was delish. Woody let me have some of his Poly chips and I let him eat some of my fries. A win-win!

A nice breeze had developed and would have made for a delightful walk back to GF. Unfortunately the breeze brought sprinkles with it so another monorail ride for us!
Click to expand...

LOVE Captain Cooks! My hubby and I always split the pulled pork nachos. That’s our “secret” lunch spot when it’s way too dang crowded in MK.
 
DisneyGigi

DisneyGigi

Well-Known Member
Tuvalu said:
Wednesday, con’t

Woody and I finally got our showers and then discussed our evening options. Decision made, we walked over to the main building to catch the monorail.

I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of the new Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique location since it had closed for the day.

View attachment 418451

BBB has taken over the former hair salon. The salon was tiny, and so is BBB.

View attachment 418452

View attachment 418453

That’s all of it, folks. Nothing more to see.

Since all BBB locations have a dedicated photo shoot spot, and there is literally NO ROOM inside here, one was added on the opposite side of the second floor near the Grand Staircase.

View attachment 418454

As you can see, the area is roped off when BBB is closed. A PP photographer is stationed there when BBB is open to take pictures of each transformed “princess.” (And even those cuties who have not been transformed, @dryerlintfan 😉).

Woody and I boarded the monorail and got off at the 4th stop.

View attachment 418455

Tuvalu is home.

View attachment 418456

You may be wondering why we just didn’t walk to the Polynesian. If it hadn’t been a sticky humid 107 degrees (@DisneyGigi 😉) we would have. We practically broke a sweat walking from Conch Key to the main building. We needed a/c!
Click to expand...
Maybe it is my age but I swear it was hotter this August than any August I have ever been. (07,08,09,14,15,16,17, or 18!) You know how much I love summer but this year it was brutally hot and I came home to insane heat for here. It is not supposed to be 92 in the mountains the first week of October.(actual temp at the airport) It wasn’t as humid here though thankfully, So 92 felt like 95. Po-Tay-Toe/ Puh-Tah-Toe, lol still HOT!! 🔥

I will regret fussing about it though now that the pool is officially shut down and I had the heat on this morning. 😭

And great pic of you guys at the Poly. You guys are so photogenic. Your whole face smiles when you smile. :) I just realized this was the first trip ever I did not set foot at the Poly at all. 😳
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom