Trip Report Whose Trip Is It Anyway?

It's mine. But it wasn't supposed to be.

The vacation to celebrate my <number redacted> birthday with my beloved Woody was supposed to happen at the end of January and included time with @lindawdw, @ajrwdwgirl and a few other forum friends. But a predicted ice storm and a couple other extenuating circumstances caused us to cancel our plans two days prior to departure.

This trip was supposed to be a belated birthday celebration for my mother during winter break for my brother's family. I was going to accompany her and assist with her mobility challenges. The day after we canceled my birthday trip, Mom announced she no longer wanted to go to WDW and insisted Woody take her place since the resort was already paid in full. (She did have several local celebrations on and around her actual birthday.)

Our airline tickets were refunded and since Woody prefers driving from Atlanta we added a couple nights to our trip. No spoilers yet, just a math problem.

Winter break + Presidents' Day + Mardi Gras + Lunar New Year + Snowbirds = A crowd collision of massive proportions

When: February 14-19, 2026
Where: Disney's Art of Animation Resort
Who: Tuvalu and Woody, with family introductions to come

 

[radiorae]

Monday, con’t

Which park was our destination?

View attachment 911733

TEAML had about 15 minute head start over us and headed first to Slinky Dog. Since Woody and I are not line cutters we opted for another attraction during early entry.

View attachment 911736

The wait wasn’t too bad. The CM assigned us to gate 2, where a family of four was waiting to board the next “lokey motive.” The dad (dressed in athletic gear) turned to me and announced, “I’m gonna stretch cuz everything hurts.”

He then proceeded to do so, using the gate bars for support, as he reached up, down and squatted in the thirty second period before the train arrived.

Was he invading my space? Absolutely. Did he care? Absolutely not.

I was thankful we did not have to share the seat with him.

View attachment 911734

View attachment 911735

The Strangers Exercising Atrociously While Enjoying Everyday Disney (SEAWEED) club strikes again! They also tend to be card carrying members of the adjacent Strangers Without Any Boundaries (SWAB) club, so this story checks out. Ew. I, too, am glad your personal space was quickly restored.

 

[Tuvalu]

YES @radiorae!!! Now I remember thinking about your post from last summer as I was watching Stretch Armstrong do his thing.

Do you see the man in the bottom left? He was taking advantage of the break between sets to turn the plaza into his own personal CrossFit gym. In this particular picture he’s in the middle of an impressive amount of decline pushups. No audience, no live-streaming. Just a man getting in his reps.

You:

Me:



And Buc-ee!

 

[Minnie1986]

Monday, con’t

Which park was our destination?

View attachment 911733

TEAML had about 15 minute head start over us and headed first to Slinky Dog. Since Woody and I are not line cutters we opted for another attraction during early entry.

View attachment 911736

The wait wasn’t too bad. The CM assigned us to gate 2, where a family of four was waiting to board the next “lokey motive.” The dad (dressed in athletic gear) turned to me and announced, “I’m gonna stretch cuz everything hurts.”

He then proceeded to do so, using the gate bars for support, as he reached up, down and squatted in the thirty second period before the train arrived.

Was he invading my space? Absolutely. Did he care? Absolutely not.

I was thankful we did not have to share the seat with him.

View attachment 911734

View attachment 911735

“I’m gonna stretch cuz everything hurts.”

Was he invading my space? Absolutely. Did he care? Absolutely not.

This grinds my gears more than I can put into words. As someone who frequently needs to stretch, I can understand the impulse, but to do so in a small confined space where it is readily apparent that you're going to invade someone else's space; and announcing it like that makes it okay is so far beyond rude. I swear, some people are so willingly oblivious to common decency, it's astounding. I'm so sorry that happened. Not cool at all.

 

[Minnie1986]

The Strangers Exercising Atrociously While Enjoying Everyday Disney (SEAWEED) club strikes again! They also tend to be card carrying members of the adjacent Strangers Without Any Boundaries (SWAB) club, so this story checks out. Ew. I, too, am glad your personal space was quickly restored.

I absolutely love these acronyms (and the accompanying GIF )

 

[mpaulam]

@radiorae…definitely stealing SWAB!!
@Tuvalu…perhaps he considered himself in stretching in your space since he was kind enough to tell you he was going to do so?

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

TEAML had gotten off Slinky Dog before Woody and I were through with MMRR and had moved on to Toy Story Mania. I texted in our group thread that we would meet them at the exit. There were benches we could sit on and this was our view -

The benches were wet from last night’s rain but we dried them off with paper towels. It was a much cooler morning than yesterday and instead of temps getting warmer as the day went on, it got colder due to wind and cloud cover. More on this in a bit.

The fam arrived about 20 minutes later. E was shivering. “I didn’t bring a jacket because I expected it to be WARMER!” she declared. M said she was cold too.

The boys were fine. Boys never need jackets, am I right?!

We stepped to the side to come up with a plan. The boys really wanted to ride Rock ‘n Rollercoaster. The girls requested MMRR. Woody went with the guys and I happily joined the gals for another visit through Runamuck Park.

M and E were dancing so beautifully with Daisy. One two three, one two three….

M requested shopping next and we headed for Keystone Clothiers. Both she and E had one thing on their minds -sweatshirts! As they pondered their choices I browsed the store and sent this pic to my A Goofy Movie-loving daughter. She thought the tee was funny.

M and E were purchasing their sweatshirts when we received a text from T, saying that after an hour wait in the RNRC queue the ride broke down! Fortunately as they were exiting they were given each given a “recovery” Lightning Lane to try the attraction later (or use on another attraction.) I texted our location and stepped outside Keystone Clothiers to watch for the guys as they made their way up Sunset Blvd.

 

[lindawdw]

The line for the Skyliner is always so long in the early AM but it does move quickly once it opens! Whenever I hear these stories about guests doing things without consideration to the others around them, I shake my head and ask myself what is wrong with people??? How fun that you got to ride MMRR twice but bummer that the guys waited all that time only to not get on the ride.

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

My brother C and his wife N were also in the park today and met us for an early lunch.

We had two separate reservations and hoped we could merge them and sit together. After a brief wait the staff was able to accommodate our request. Our server, Cousin Connie, managed just the right amount of playful banter with sincerity. She was great with our special requests and delighted both sisters-in-law with a Jello dessert from the kids menu.

The comfort food - fried chicken, meatloaf and pot roast - was delicious as always. Youngest L discovered he loves pot roast! It was a perfect family gathering around the table.

RNRC had reopened and the boys were itching to go ride. C&N had a purchased LL for the attraction and went along to see if the CM would allow them entry a few minutes early so they could all ride together.

Request granted.

(Em texted, “Dad’s having the nap of his life! And what’s wrong with T?! )

The excitement on L’s face is priceless.

 

[lindawdw]

Primetime Cafe is such a fun place to have a gathering for lunch and so glad they accommodated your seating together! Very cute/funny pics of RNRC!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

using the gate bars for support, as he reached up, down and squatted in the thirty second period

I may need to do this every time I see you from now on.

 

[Tuvalu]

Monday, con’t

Meanwhile I suggested that E,M and I do the Single Rider experience at Rise of the Resistance. They both enjoy the ride as much as I do but had no desire to wait in the two hour(!) standby line.

I said my goodbye to the Muppet clock which was removed by the end of the day. (Gonzo was already gone.)

My previous experiences of waiting less than 20 minutes for Rise Single Rider did not hold true for today. The line was long and slow-moving. I apologized to E&M, admitting I never expected so many single riders, but they both were gracious and said it was still much better than waiting standby.

We were rushed past the Stormtroopers and didn’t get the picture I wanted of M, as she was pulled from the line before E and I.

We did reunite with her in the hall. M and E are in the bottom of the next photo. Yes, all those people in front of us were single riders!! The standby line on the right was shorter!

E and M lucked out in that they were assigned the same interrogation room and sat next to each other in the transport vehicle. I was assigned my group about a minute later. We’d waited 45 minutes at this point. Of course the others were long finished with their fast limo ride and were texting to ask where to meet. I’d kept them apprised of our progress and said I would let them know when we exited.

I got the side view of the AT-AT.

And a perfect view of Kylo Ren in A-mode.

Fun and exhilarating as usual! I reunited with E&M who agreed the wait was worth it. Then we set off to find the rest of the family.

 

[Tuvalu]

I may need to do this every time I see you from now on.

 

[littleroo]

I may need to do this every time I see you from now on

Greetings @Tuvalu

 

[Tuvalu]

Greetings @Tuvalu

Nah. @Tony the Tigger be more like…