Trip Report Tu in ‘25

Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise
Tu in ‘25

These lyrics came to mind when I thought about my trip reporting. (I also thought, Here we go AGAIN but the above sounds much more poignant.) It’s now that time of year when my Disney trips are frequent. And this Disney Senior loves sharing her visits with y’all because your engagement makes it fun!

Yes, there will be stuff that’s the same. Yes, there will be surprises (too soon for the reveals). And yes, there will be sun rises!

Spring break countdown is at 4 days.

Since this intro needs a picture, here are Tu.

 

[Tuvalu]

Cute story about the little boy. You totally should have said goodbye back and then hid.

I wouldn’t have needed to hide as I was already hidden, draped by the darkness while sitting behind the railing. Too creepy!

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

In the daylight I was able to watch monorails in addition to the ferrys, though you can’t see the monorail in the second pic without enlarging it. Like a side-view mirror on a car, “Objects are closer than they appear.”

Woody was now up and he joined me outside for a final look at our million dollar view.

We had a couple more hours before official eviction time, though housekeeping had already knocked on the door wanting to start cleaning for the next occupants. We needed some breakfast and discussed our options. A “free” (or should I say “included”) breakfast won the coin toss. With that, we gathered our belongings and said goodbye to Polynesian Island Tower.

So has your view changed on the tower?

No. I knew going in it would be a one-and-done stay. I still feel the tower does not fit in with the ambience of the Poly and has overcrowded the resort, despite an additional pool and table-service restaurant. The former tranquility has been replaced by commotion. The current amenities do not support the number of guests staying there, let alone those “just visiting” - and our experience trying to get dinner (and space on the monorail) proved it.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

It was a very short drive to the Wilderness Lodge. We expected our room wouldn’t be ready but still needed the Front Desk to switch our bands over. When the CM noticed we were club level guests she offered to call the concierge to escort us to the 7th floor. We declined, saying this wasn’t our first time.

Lobby view from 7th floor. The guests below were assembling for their DCL bus to Port Canaveral.

I scanned my band to unlock the door to the Old Faithful Club.

As Woody and I headed to the breakfast bar, I happened to glance out a window and audibly gasped. Woody was a few steps ahead of me and came back to see what had caused my reaction.

The Lodge has been under refurbishment for nearly two years, but during my multiple visits I had never seen this much scaffolding! I told Woody I wanted to check out the extent of it after breakfast, since I knew @Wicked Sisters have an upcoming stay.

Our plates.

The club concierge confirmed that our room wasn’t ready. She said all south-facing club rooms were out of service due to the refurbishment. This worked in our favor as I had requested a north-facing room (now guaranteed) and there would be fewer guests utilizing the club lounge (no crowds!) during our stay.

When we finished eating, we took the elevator down to the first floor. The windows that had been “frosted” (to hide construction) during my June stay with Em were now clear.

The scaffolding was confined to one small section and wasn’t quite as shocking from the outside.

The refurbishment of this wing was complete!

 

[cgersic]

I wouldn’t have needed to hide as I was already hidden, draped by the darkness while sitting behind the railing. Too creepy!

A family favorite is singing the "goodbye" from The Sound of Music when the kids are going to bed after their So Long, Farewell number, while we do the hand wave. I wouldn't have been able to stop myself in your instance

 

[Jock Reasoning]

I don't post often, but I wanted to let you know that I really enjoy reading these and appreciate all the time and effort you put into them. I'm heading to WDW in 11 days and stuff like this really enhances the anticipation!

 

[Tuvalu]

I don't post often, but I wanted to let you know that I really enjoy reading these and appreciate all the time and effort you put into them. I'm heading to WDW in 11 days and stuff like this really enhances the anticipation!

Hope you have a fantastic time!

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

Woody and I took advantage of our complimentary water park admission today, based on the fun Em and I had back on our June trip. I’ll admit to being a little more excited about a water park than Woody was, but he was game for something different.

Since Blizzard Beach was a , we were off to

My last visit here was in 2009. Woody’s was in the late 90s. His memories center around watching Em play in the little kids area, watching our sons in the wave pool and Shark Reef (he hated snorkeling.) This would be an unfamiliar experience for both of us.

The parking lot had no section identifiers and we were directed into a space at the furthest end of a row. We couldn’t even see the entrance upon getting out of our car. We followed the crowd ahead of us and I made sure to take a picture of our row number just before we reached the walking path to the gate.

It was a hefty walk!

Woody mentioned the unusual absence of security screening like Em and I had done at BB.

We visited the viewing spot first. For the picture, of course!

My initial observation was there weren’t as many shaded areas as BB to drop off our stuff. We walked around for a bit before I saw two small (low to the ground) beach chairs in the shade from a couple trees.

The chairs we secured were adjacent to the Crush ‘n Gusher beach.

I explained to Woody that this was the former Shark Reef area and that Crush ‘n Gusher was Disney’s first water-propelled coaster. Em and I made visiting Typhoon Lagoon a priority on our summer family vacation in 2009 just to ride it. We rode Crush ‘n Gusher five times in a row and evidence of our delight has sat on Woody’s desk for the last 16 years.

“Then we should do it first!” Woody announced. The sign said 15 minutes, but there was no one in the queue.

I couldn’t remember if I had favored one of the three slides all those years ago, so we just went right.

 

[Tuvalu]

I’d forgotten how fast our raft could go! (Internet pic)

I was giggling so hard, especially in the tunnels. I was a little concerned with the inevitable splashdown but we fared ok! Just had to paddle ourselves over to the stairs.

Since the attraction wasn’t crowded the lifeguard asked if we wanted to keep our tube and ride again. Woody surprised me with a resounding yes!

This time we went left.

More giggling through the tunnels and even more when Woody got stuck in the back of the tube at the bottom!

Again we were asked if we wanted to keep our tube and ride again. Twenty years ago it would have been an absolute YES! But now our legs needed a break before climbing all those stairs.

I found an old pic of Shark Reef. I did enjoy the snorkeling back in the day!

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

One new attraction had been added since my last visit and it didn’t require climbing stairs.

Dare I brave another family raft ride after my embarrassing attempt at climbing out of the raft at Blizzard Beach?

I dared. And FOMO was the reason.

I’d read about the audio-animatronic parrot and wanted to see it for myself. I’m not of the generation who enjoys virtual experiences. POV videos can make me queasy and the constant chatter of “content creators” makes me gag.

If I can’t have the experience in person, oh well.

But if I have the opportunity in person, I don’t want to miss out.

I could not find an online picture of the parrot so you’ll just have to believe me when I say he is in the hull of the shipwreck.

Better pic.

Note that the rafts hold 2-4 people and are much smaller than the family rafts at BB. I figured Woody and I would have our own raft and he could help me out if I needed assistance.

I figured wrong. We were paired with a young couple from the U.K. who were absolutely delightful. But 4 adults in that small raft was a tight (and awkward) squeeze.

At two minutes, the ride is long with lots of the same twists and turns. Woody did not care for it at all as he found it more annoying (repetitive) than thrilling.

None of us had difficulty disembarking.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

Following our “misadventure” we opted for the relaxation of floating in an inner tube in the lazy river. Doesn’t this look dreamy?

Except reality wasn’t *quite* like this. Our entire half-mile journey (we went around twice) resembled the photo below except with more people in tubes. Bumper-to-bumper traffic in water!

I will say the extra 6” of water in Castaway Creek (compared to Cross Country Creek at BB) made a huge difference for our toes (no scraping) and overall enjoyment. We just wished there had been fewer people along for the ride!

Lunch was next at Leaning Palms. The line to order was crazy long, so I mobile ordered. My wait for our food was at least 15 minutes, but it took Woody that long to find an open table anyway.

At least our Cokes had syrup!

We intended to check out the wave pool and the other tube slides after lunch. Mother Nature had other plans! As we finished eating it began to sprinkle. The formerly blue sky was gray. We hurried to back to our beach chairs to retrieve our belongings and headed for the exit. Most people stayed put, assuming it was a simple shower.

We knew better. The deluge began before we made it out of the park. We could hear the announcement to get out of the water and that all attractions were now closed.

Loud thunder soon followed. We sought shelter in a covered area in the parking lot, far from where we’d parked.

We watched a Lyft drive on the wrong side of the road and illegally park to pick up a fare.

The rain had been steady for 20 minutes when we decided to bail. We were completely drenched when we got into our car. I was disappointed we did not get more time at Typhoon Lagoon yet was grateful for the time we had.

I’d received a text earlier that our room at the WL was ready, so there were showers and dry clothes in our immediate future.

Or so we thought….

 

[littleroo]

 

[Zipadeelady]

Sunday, con’t

Following our “misadventure” we opted for the relaxation of floating in an inner tube in the lazy river. Doesn’t this look dreamy?

View attachment 882451

Except reality wasn’t *quite* like this. Our entire half-mile journey (we went around twice) resembled the photo below except with more people in tubes. Bumper-to-bumper traffic in water!

View attachment 882459

I will say the extra 6” of water in Castaway Creek (compared to Cross Country Creek at BB) made a huge difference for our toes (no scraping) and overall enjoyment. We just wished there had been fewer people along for the ride!

Lunch was next at Leaning Palms. The line to order was crazy long, so I mobile ordered. My wait for our food was at least 15 minutes, but it took Woody that long to find an open table anyway.

View attachment 882452

At least our Cokes had syrup!

View attachment 882453

We intended to check out the wave pool and the other tube slides after lunch. Mother Nature had other plans! As we finished eating it began to sprinkle. The formerly blue sky was gray. We hurried to back to our beach chairs to retrieve our belongings and headed for the exit. Most people stayed put, assuming it was a simple shower.

View attachment 882454

We knew better. The deluge began before we made it out of the park. We could hear the announcement to get out of the water and that all attractions were now closed.

Loud thunder soon followed. We sought shelter in a covered area in the parking lot, far from where we’d parked.

View attachment 882455

View attachment 882456

View attachment 882457

We watched a Lyft drive on the wrong side of the road and illegally park to pick up a fare.

View attachment 882458

The rain had been steady for 20 minutes when we decided to bail. We were completely drenched when we got into our car. I was disappointed we did not get more time at Typhoon Lagoon yet was grateful for the time we had.

I’d received a text earlier that our room at the WL was ready, so there were showers and dry clothes in our immediate future.

Or so we thought….

I remember taking my Em snorkeling at the Shark Reef back in 2008. We thought it was so neat, and soooo cold! That's what I remember most about it.

 

[mpaulam]

That studio looks great for 2 people and the view is amazing!

 

[Tuvalu]

Sunday, con’t

It was still raining - though not as hard - when we pulled under the porte cochère at WL. We unloaded our luggage and I waited for Woody’s return after he’d parked the car.

Then we lugged the baggage up to the room we’d been assigned. We entered to discover it was a disability room. The king bed was so low to the ground that there was no storage underneath. The sinks were not outside the bathroom per usual - a single sink, toilet and tub shower with curtain (not door) were together in one room. The closet was half its usual size. And there was a connecting door to an adjoining room.

No, this would not do - especially for a week.

We did not touch anything and essentially backed out of the room with all our stuff. We hauled everything to the club lounge and Woody waited with it while I went to speak with the club concierge.

“We were given a disability access room which we did not request,” I told her. “Would it be possible for us to have another room?”

“Oh absolutely!” she replied. “We want you to be happy.” She began typing on her keyboard.

“I have you switched over to another room, but it’s not ready yet.” (Of course it’s not, I thought to myself.) “You’ll get a text when it is and you can go straight there,” she added.

I walked my cold, wet self over to Woody. “Good news, we have a new room. Bad news, it’s not ready.” So both of us drowned rats sat in the corner of the lounge with all our possessions - for another HOUR! We were just about dry when the room text came.

Was it worth the wait?

Oh my, yes!!

We unpacked and settled in and finally took showers. Woody watched a little racing and I read until Happy Hour began at 5 pm.

We nibbled on some cheese and crackers with our wine before taking the bus to Epcot. I was dismayed to find that the WL/Ft. Wilderness stop had been moved to a different gate much further from the park entrance.

At least it wasn’t raining!

 

[Laurenciaa]

Keeping the WL room occupied in your absence Tuvalu! They have now started some scaffolding at the patio next to the lobby!

 

[Dave B]

I know its not the same resort, but I was wondering if you have ever been on the ski lift that takes you from Ft Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom?