At first they didn't want me to come, now they don't want me to leave! April 2021 F&G TR (Updated 9/6!)

[igrsod]

We are also going on the 17th! Also the 14th. Can't wait for this!

That's so exciting. See you there. I haven't decided on costumes yet. Have you?

 

[VAtink]

That's so exciting. See you there. I haven't decided on costumes yet. Have you?

For one night I'm going as a Wilderness Explorer. The other night I haven't decided yet, may reuse one from a past Halloween party. Can't wait for all you can eat Mickey bars!

 

[Suejacken]

I know! Like once I can see being an accident, but to keep doing it is just crazy rude.



Haha, yup!



Yeah, glad I have time to find a different flight, or potentially have this flight go back to being an early morning one. I'm ready for the airlines to stop messing with their schedules!

My dad is 91 and we went to alberquerque with his brother. He left from Newark airport but I had to arrange flights back to Philly for him. I booked him on Southwest for Fri. 6/18. He had connecting flights and would have gotten home by about 6pm. they sent an email about changes To his flight. I checked it out and his second flight was set to leave an hour before he landed at the connecting airport. I had to change his return to Saturday and now he doesn’t get in until 1am. there was no way to get to Philly from Alberguerque at all on 6/18. I have no idea how their system did that. When I called them the rep said oh that’s not going to work. Lol

 

[VAtink]

Day 3, Part 3: Making Disney Friends!

I had a great break in the AC while I caught up on trip notes and just rested. A little before 2 I started to get ready again to head off to Epcot for Lunch/Dinner (and I guess breakfast since I hadn’t ate anything yet).

I ended up getting to Epcot at 2:04, and it was so much less crowded than the previous two days. I guess the crowds really don’t start showing up there until later in the afternoon.

My first stop this time was France where I got the goat cheese tart and the La Vie en Rose Slushy.



The flatbread was amazing, perfectly flakey, and the drink was delicious!

I wandered around the area for a bit after that taking some pictures.


Hi Remy!


Cannot wait for this ride to open!

I next stopped at La Isla Fresca and got the Lamb Curry and the Tropical Freeze with Rum. The lamb was good, not my favorite thought, but the drink was delicious! It went down waaaay too fast!



I found a table near the booth and got settled in and ready to eat when a woman came up to me to ask about the food and drink. I had already taken my mask off at this point to eat, so I was hit with the dilemma, do I put it back on to talk to her, or do I leave it off. Well, I left it off, and she didn’t mind, and funny enough, she’s my new Disney friend, Rhonda!

We ended up chatting and just got along great, and once we found out that we were both fully vaccinated we decided to hang out so she actually came to eat with me! We ended up chatting for a while, it was really fun, especially being there on a solo trip having someone to talk to was really nice!


Definitely weird getting this close to someone after the past year!

She is awesome, and we’re still texting about our trips!

While eating we heard the cavalcade music start up and soon after the princesses came by. They seemed so off though, like grumpy looking, so after they went by Rhonda goes “well they looked a bit full of themselves, didn't they they?”


Grumpy princess video...

I mean, I guess they are princesses after all!

Eventually Rhonda moved along to get more food, and I decided to head out of the park for another quick break before my evening plans. We did make tentative plans to meet up later, we’ll see if that happened!

On the way back to the room I swung by the store at the YC to pick up more Powerade, and when I got to the “wait here” tape on the floor before the register I stopped and, well, waited. I didn’t think this was a big deal until the CM working behind the counted shouts “Now THAT is EXACTLY what you’re supposed to do! You have restored my faith!” HA! Seems like it’s pretty rare for people to follow the markers in there.

Next up: Really though, where are the fireworks?​

 

[VAtink]

My dad is 91 and we went to alberquerque with his brother. He left from Newark airport but I had to arrange flights back to Philly for him. I booked him on Southwest for Fri. 6/18. He had connecting flights and would have gotten home by about 6pm. they sent an email about changes To his flight. I checked it out and his second flight was set to leave an hour before he landed at the connecting airport. I had to change his return to Saturday and now he doesn’t get in until 1am. there was no way to get to Philly from Alberguerque at all on 6/18. I have no idea how their system did that. When I called them the rep said oh that’s not going to work. Lol

Oh no! That is ridiculous, how on earth did that even happen? You would think with technology these days they could avoid making these kind of mistakes!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I love the France pavilion. So excited for the new ride. How fun to make a new friend! Historically, I've loved meeting up with new people, particularly during Food & Wine, by sharing a table or attending an event together. That said, I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. This last year has done a number on me. Will see how I do on my next trip with increased crowds and no masks (for fully vaccinated people (which I am) but think we all know people will ignore that detail).

 

[VAtink]

I love the France pavilion. So excited for the new ride. How fun to make a new friend! Historically, I've loved meeting up with new people, particularly during Food & Wine, by sharing a table or attending an event together. That said, I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet. This last year has done a number on me. Will see how I do on my next trip with increased crowds and no masks (for fully vaccinated people (which I am) but think we all know people will ignore that detail).

Me too, and they did such good job with the addition! It looks so nice back there! I even love the new bathrooms!

It was great getting to make a friend this trip, although I definitely hesitated at first about sharing a table and getting the picture. It's crazy how this past year has conditioned me to want to stay far far away from others! In the end though I figured we were outside and both fully vaccinated, so the chances of catching anything were super low so I was ok with it. I am curious to see how it is when we go in September with the no masks and no distancing and likely larger crowds. Outside I'm not too worried, but inside is still a bit of a concern with the variants around. Oh well, we're not planning on doing a ton indoors, so we'll work with our comfort levels!

 

[Suejacken]

Oh no! That is ridiculous, how on earth did that even happen? You would think with technology these days they could avoid making these kind of mistakes!

I don’t have any idea but I’m glad I caught it as soon as they did it so I could change his flights. I am really enjoying your report

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

I made my way to the bus stop after my quick shopping trip, and found that once again the YC/BC stop had a decent line. Side note, has anyone else staying at the YC/BC noticed that there is ALWAYS a line for their buses while all the other bus stops are empty? Every time I get to a bus stop there has been a line for YC/BC, but never any lines for any other resorts. What is up with that?

I don't feel like that we have had this happen to us, but maybe I jut never noticed...

They changed the flight again, but this time it had me leaving DC around 5 and flying up to Boston, before finally flying down to MCO and arriving at like 11:00 at night! Ummmm, that's a firm NOPE!

We fly out of Philly and we literally can't get to orlando without going to boston first. So, we don't fly jet blue for that reason

CM working behind the counted shouts “Now THAT is EXACTLY what you’re supposed to do! You have restored my faith!” HA! Seems like it’s pretty rare for people to follow the markers in there.

too funny!

 

[CruellaNY]

Glad you got your Boo Bash tickets! I was on the phone on and off that day but luckily got everything done I needed to and since Thursday, the waits haven't been as long (for us anyway) at all. But when they announced they hadn't loaded the Boo Bash tickets yet at 7 it was a big crap show lol!

And your flights Ours to Punta Cana next month have already been changed twice and I'm holding my breath that they don't change again. And- this was horrible - I have a family going to Hawaii next month; Big Island from NY on arrival then leaving from Kauai. Well yesterday I see that the airline changed their return flight and has them going home from Oahu, an island they will NOT be on! So unless they swam......anyway that was a mess and took forever to fix and now they have a 7 hour layover (but at least they don't need to swim) and it's all because AA kept changing/cancelling flights. Airlines are so bad with this lately and I hope it stops soon!

I do have to say, I miss the stretching room so much! The ride seems so short now without it!

I do too! Some pre-shows I don't miss but this one I do. We just got back Wednesday and we rode HM twice and both times I lamented the lack of stretching room time, it bothered me more than on previous trips.

when I saw CMs coming through and clearing the street, so I knew something would be coming! I found a spot to stand next to the street, and sure enough saw the trolly coming down the street!

Love the Dapper Dans and we always stop for the trolley show too!

 

[VAtink]

I don’t have any idea but I’m glad I caught it as soon as they did it so I could change his flights. I am really enjoying your report

Yeah, that's really lucky you caught it! And thank you!

 

[VAtink]

I don't feel like that we have had this happen to us, but maybe I jut never noticed...

Haha, well I have been known to have really bad timing, so it could really just be me!

We fly out of Philly and we literally can't get to orlando without going to boston first. So, we don't fly jet blue for that reason

Ugh, that's annoying. They used to be my favorite airline, but with the schedule now and the increase in cost and all the nickel and diming they do now I'm moving on!

too funny!

Haha, I know! I love getting kudos for simply following the rules!

 

[VAtink]

Glad you got your Boo Bash tickets! I was on the phone on and off that day but luckily got everything done I needed to and since Thursday, the waits haven't been as long (for us anyway) at all. But when they announced they hadn't loaded the Boo Bash tickets yet at 7 it was a big crap show lol!

Yeah, that was quite a day! At first I was comparing it to the days when F&W events could be booked, but it ended up being much much worse! Just glad that everything worked out!

And your flights Ours to Punta Cana next month have already been changed twice and I'm holding my breath that they don't change again. And- this was horrible - I have a family going to Hawaii next month; Big Island from NY on arrival then leaving from Kauai. Well yesterday I see that the airline changed their return flight and has them going home from Oahu, an island they will NOT be on! So unless they swam......anyway that was a mess and took forever to fix and now they have a 7 hour layover (but at least they don't need to swim) and it's all because AA kept changing/cancelling flights. Airlines are so bad with this lately and I hope it stops soon!

Woah, they changed the departure island? That is nuts! What are these airlines thinking! Glad they got it worked out, but still a 7 hour layover isn't very fun. I can't wait for all this messing around with flight schedules to settle down.

I do too! Some pre-shows I don't miss but this one I do. We just got back Wednesday and we rode HM twice and both times I lamented the lack of stretching room time, it bothered me more than on previous trips.

That is probably the one I miss the most, although I do wish they also had the one for MMRR since I've never seen it before. Fingers crossed they bring them back soon! Although I do hope they keep the shorter FoP one...

Love the Dapper Dans and we always stop for the trolley show too!

Yes! It was so great seeing them! I really loved the cavalcades, it was such a fun surprise when one went by, I hope they keep them around.

 

[VAtink]

Day 3, Part 4: Really Though, Where are the Fireworks?

I headed back to the hotel after the early afternoon in Epcot, and had a bit of a break in the room before I was ready to head out again. This time I was heading back to the MK! I really just wanted to see the castle all lit up at night, but I figured I’d do some rides while I was there as well.

I got to the bus stop at 6:30, and the bus arrived at 6:43. Not too bad, I think this was the shortest wait I had all trip. We ended up arriving at the MK right around 7.

I took my time heading into the MK, stopping for pictures on the way in and just taking in the scene.



After getting pictures along Main Street I checked the app to see what the wait times were like and decided to head over to HM since it was the lowest wait, and sure enough it was walk-on.



Once off I checked the wait times, but the rest of the rides were all still pretty high, most over an hour, so I decided to see what SW was like, I couldn’t imagine it would be crazy long.

When I arrived the posted wait was 20 minutes, but in the end it took 30 minutes to get on a boat. They did seem to be running more boats than usual, there was a huge boat jam at the end of the ride, so it took a long time to get to the unload. While waiting I monitored wait times and saw that Splash had gone from 65 down to 45, so decided to head over there once I got off the SW boat.

By the time I made my way over to Splash the wait time had bumped back up to 60 minutes, but since by then we were well within the last hour of the night, it was around 8:20 and the park closed at 9, I decided to wait and hoped it was shorter. Well, I apparently have bad luck with wait times during the last hour. I waited until about 8:45, and the line hardly moved, made it maybe 30ft in 25 minutes, yuck! That, plus the fact I have never seen the queue so full for Splash (it filled up the entire area back there and it was not from social distancing, that wasn’t happening at that point at night!) made me change my plans and I got out of line and decided to go get some more pictures of the castle. I was just too tired at that point to stand around waiting for what appeared would be well over a 60 minute wait.

I got to the hub to find PP photographers and was surprised at how packed it was. I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't have the fireworks back at that point, the hub was pretty jammed at that point, so it’s not like they’re preventing people crowding together by not having them! I did get a few pictures, and ended up heading out right around 9.



Not the most productive evening, especially compared to the morning. Only two rides and a few pictures in two hours wasn’t ideal. It was really nice to see the castle at night though!

I made my way to the bus stop, getting there a bit after 9. There was already a pretty big line waiting, but it still took about 20 minutes for a bus to arrive. Fortunately I fit on the first bus (phew!), and soon was back in my room ready to crash! Lucky for me, the next morning I could sleep in a bit!

Up Next: Will I Get a Boarding Group???​

 

[suse66]

I took my time heading into the MK, stopping for pictures on the way in and just taking in the scene.

Nothing like a leisurely stroll down Main Street!

Not the most productive evening, especially compared to the morning. Only two rides and a few pictures in two hours wasn’t ideal. It was really nice to see the castle at night though!

Sometimes things don't turn out the way we hoped. Ride malfunctions and higher crowds really put a damper on plans. Glad to hear you still enjoyed the beautiful castle all lit up though.

 

[VAtink]

Day 4, Part 1: Will I Get a Boarding Group???

I was able to sleep in this morning and didn’t get up until 6:25!

I started getting ready, but at 6:57 I settled into my bed with my phone to obsessively stare at the MDE app and watch the clock. At 6:59 I started counting in my head, and right when I hit 60 (a hair before my clock actually changed) I hit the Join button and held my breath….

I got the screen where you select your party, and I paused for a millisecond in complete disbelief…did it really go through?!?!? This was quickly followed by panic when I realized I had paused instead of hit JOIN JOIN JOIN! Fortunately the pause was not long enough to miss out and I ended up scoring BG 34! Wahoo!!!!

After securing my BG, and triple checking that it was really there, I finished getting ready.

I was out the door around 7:20 and made my way down to the boat dock. I suspected this wouldn’t work out based on the conversation I had with a family at the bus stop the previous day where they mentioned the boats weren’t running early enough to get to HS before the park opened, but I figured I’d give it a try anyways just in case. I took some pictures while I waited.






Hello new hotel!

I only waited about 5 minutes before deciding to just walk. I love being able to walk over there!

This day the weather was starting to get warmer/more humid than the previous days, so it was a bit steamy walking over and I was glad I had extra masks to change into because that original one got a bit sweaty!

I arrived at HS at 7:40 and got in one of the lines that had formed a bit before the Skyliner station. There were quite a few walkers ahead of me and I was maybe 75 people back in the line I joined (people had formed three lines).

They held us there until 7:47 until finally letting us walk by the skyliner station and get into line for the temp check. The lines here were a complete cluster, there was zero organization and people who had been way behind me in the previous line managed to end up first in line for temp checks.

Eventually they had CMs come through the not so orderly lines we had attempted to form and organize us. We were a mess!

I noticed that guests started getting off the skyliner at 7:52, and were allowed to go the temp checks to the far right which we were not allowed to join, so the early people on the skyliner do have advantage over people who walk.

It was a pretty long wait this morning, and they didn’t start letting us through temp check until 8:17.

Once through the screening it was super fast getting through security and the tapstiles and I booked it over to Slinky.

On the way over, I pass the CM holding the sign for MMRR and as he sees me veering off to TSL he says to me “Oh I see, you’re just toying with us today!” HA!!!!!

I made good time back to Slinky and was only about 20th in line when I arrived, score!

I arrived at Slinky at 8:26, but the ride didn’t open until 8:36. Not a horrible wait, and much shorter than it would be soon after!

When we got to the loading area I saw I would be in the middle of the train, so I asked the CM assigning rows if I could possibly be in the back row, and he was happy to send me there! YAY!!!!!







Once off Slinky I decided to head over to MF:SR. This was an excellent choice, when I got back there I was all alone. It was crazy, there was absolutely no one else around besides the CMs! At first I thought the ride wasn’t open, I couldn’t figure out where everyone was! I guess a lot of people ran to MMRR or Slinky to start the day, which is so surprising considering last time I was there the hoards went straight to MF:SR!



The ride was (obviously) walk-on, and I had the whole ride to myself. It was so incredibly cool, but at the same time kinda eerie.

I opted to try the right pilot this time around, I figured I wasn’t so great as left pilot on my last trip, and the right pilot seemed easier with only having to go up and down. Well, I still sucked.

I 100% blamed my “co-pilot” and kept yelling at the seat next to me to stop crashing!

Even with the poor piloting it was so much fun, I was crying I was laughing so much!

Next Up: It’s a Runaway Railway! ​

 

[Araminta18]

That's great that you got such a good boarding group! And were able to go right to Slinky -- we tried that on one of our days and of course Slinky was down and didn't open for like an hour. Oh well Glad it worked out for you, and that you got a whole ride on the Falcon by yourself -- that's awesome!

 

[trainpuncher]

we're making our first trip soon and slinky looks like a wild time! didnt think id want to ride it, but now I'm def queueing it up!

 

[igrsod]

we're making our first trip soon and slinky looks like a wild time! didnt think id want to ride it, but now I'm def queueing it p!

It's a fun ride. You will love it.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Kind of sounds like HS didn't have there ***t together that morning a little. But glad you still got onto Slinky nice and early! And that you got a boarding group! I am really not a fan of the boarding groups right now. I like the idea of them but not the fact that you might not actually get one.