August 2020 - 9 days of masks - here now

[omniscientmommy]

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[dachsie]

Definitely take better care. Are y'all drinking enough water?

 

[CruellaNY]

Sorry your trip has had a few "downs", having been last month and to Universal in June I know it's hard in the heat with masks. There were a couple days both months where by mid-afternoon I turned to DH and said "ok I gotta get this off" and we took a break but since we've had to wear masks in public since mid-April at home, I didn't find it that bad overall. Definitely need to stay hydrated and that can sometimes be hard to remember! I hope your next couple days are better, I think eating a good meal for breakfast and waiting a bit to hit the parks is a good idea. Crowds seem to decrease by later in the afternoon as well

 

[omniscientmommy]

Day 5- dh woke up crabby because the bed stinks. He is really like I want to leave now. I don’t really know how to handle that because the room is paid for and at this point it would cost over $500 to change our flights. I also am fine with just sitting by the pool and not going to the parks. I definitely did not drink enough water yesterday. I pushEd the fluids.

We got up about 8am and just sat around and picked up the room. We had to vacuum because the floor was covered with popcorn from last night. I took out the trash and the kids watched NextGen.
About 10 we went down to the pool and while we were swimming I had the laundry going. At 12 we were all hungry so we headed back to the room and had some lunch and relaxed in the room. We were finally getting ready to leave for MK at 3 when it started pouring. We waited 10 min and the worst part passed us, so we headed out.
We got on the bus at 3:23 and landed at MK at 3:40 walked into the park at 3:50.

We walked back to Tomorrowland to get on Buzz with a posted wait of 10 min, got in line at 3:58 and got on at 4:06. When we got off we noticed that Buzz was on a stage over by Space Mountain so we walked over and snapped a pic of the boys in front of him. Tomorrowland Speedway had a 0 min wait so we got in line at 4:15 and on the ride at 4:20. Halfway through the ride it started to sprinkle. Dh ordered food from Cosmic Rays and ordered the kids chicken and fries. Of course they ate the fries and nothing else.
It was lightly raining as we finished eating and headed to teacups, posted wait 5 min. The kids and dh got in line at 4:58 and on the ride at 5:02. They had to wait for the sanitize the ride before letting people on. After we walked over to the bathroom and then ds6 said he wanted to go on Mickey’s Philharmagic, dh took him and I took ds9 to a couple shops. Dh and ds6 got in line at 5:20 and the show started at 5:40.
While they were doing that ds9 and I went on Peter Pan which had a 5 min posted wait got in line at 5:30 and on at 5:37. Then we went over to Small World which had a posted 5 min wait, got in line at 5:45 and on ride at 5:47.
After we all met back up at the exit of Small world ds6 wanted to go on Peter Pan which was a walk on. After we walked over to Pecks Bill’s for dh and I to eat something for dinner. We finished about 6:45 and made our way to the front of the park. We exited the park and got on the bus at 7, which had only pulled up right before we got there. We got back to SSR at 7:20.

A much better day just going in the afternoon!

So after helping ds6 in the shower I walked down to the front to buy Sprite and some shorts that I wanted. Right now the Summer stuff is on sale, 30% off and I also got my 20% off with the AP. Awesome! After I walked to the front desk and asked if they could send some toilet paper up and 2 pillows.
I told dh that housekeeping was coming and I hopped in the shower. When I got out dead fish smell hit me in the face walking out of the bathroom. They gave us the stuff in this black garbage bag and the outside reeked! We took the stuff out and I threw out the bag downstairs.
However when I walked back in the room I was again smacked in the face with dead fish smell. We made popcorn and left the bathroom door open with the fan on hoping that would help. Nope, so dh called down to the front at 8:40 to let them know and ask for a candle or something. Same housekeeper came back and sprayed some odor killer on the floor and left. At this point it’s now 10pm and I’ll worry about the smell tomorrow.

 

[omniscientmommy]

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[ml sumner]

I'm enjoying reading your real and honest reports. Hope your next few days are the best!

 

[omniscientmommy]

Day 6 - woke up at 8am and NO fish smell!! Woo hoo! Dh slept until 8:40 and then jumped right in the shower and got ready. We left the room and got to the bus stop at 9:12. The bus pulled up at 9:15 and it was a full bus. We got to AK at 9:50 and through the gates at 10.
We casually walked through Pandora and into Africa. The kids were hungry so we stopped and got a pretzel and juice. That coffee/pastry place near the safari is closed. While kids were eating I got them shirts from the gift shop.

Afterwards we went to the safari which had a 5 min posted wait but was a walk on. It was 10:55. A lot of the animals were no where to be found. Sleeping? However we did have an ostrich that came really close to our vehicle. I somehow always forget how jolting that tour is.
We got off and headed over to rafiki planet train it was 11:16 when we got in line and 11:30 when we got on the train. When we got off we walked back to the conservation center and dh was like, wth is this?! I told him and he said why did we get off the train?! I told him previously we’d have stayed on and just rode back but with corona you have to get off. He wasn’t happy to have to wait in line a 2 d time for the train back.
Of course the train that was at the station when we got back was already full so we had to wait for the next one. We sat on a bench at 11:50 and the train showed up at 12:03. After the kids wanted ice cream, ds9 got a Mickey ice cream sandwich and ds6 got a frozen lemonade. While they were eating it I ran over to Starbucks for a spinach/feta wrap and a refresher. I didn’t finish my coffee this morning because Dh rushed us out the door.

At this point it was now 12:35 and dh was hot, hungry and crabby. So we headed out of the park getting to the bus stop at 12:56 On the bus at 12:59. The bus was changing drivers and we finally left at 1:11. Our bus was halfway full and I noticed the family sitting down one spot over, the husband/dad had his mask down as a chin strap. He proceeded to pull out his iPad and ignore the evil glare I gave him. Like I get we’re hot and uncomfortable but let’s just follow the rules. Dh said in no way is he going to say anything to anyone about a mask and he said that he’s not getting into any fights for me saying something to someone.

We left AK at 1:12 and were back at SSR at 1:30. Dh ordered taco bell from grub hub and ran up to the front to get it. Afterwards the kids ate and had screen time.
At 2:45 I took the kids down to the pool, high rock, and left dh in the room. He had a headache . While we were at the pool I got a non alcoholic lava smoothie and for all three of us to split. At 4:40 we came back to the room and I showered. Of course right at 5 the boys start complaining about being starving....

We ordered food from Grubhub because ds9 wanted pizza. I got eggplant Parmesan and some garlic bread. We didn’t finish Aladdin last night so we’ll probably do that and eat popcorn for dessert.
I want to go to Disney Springs to go to the Disney Store but I can’t bring myself to face a crowd of people not wearing a mask. A lot of people have gone and said skip it. I’m on the fence still because a CM told me they have Halloween stuff there already and ds6 LOVES Halloween and is already disappointed about no MNSSHP this year. We’ll see.

 

[omniscientmommy]

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[omniscientmommy]

We decided just now, 7pm, to cancel our park reservations for HS tomorrow and switch to MK. After reading reports that ROTR had a lot of issues today we couldn't justify going and only going on 4 rides and a broken/less than ROTR.

 

[CruellaNY]

Did you guys do the drawing class out at Rafiki’s? It’s really fun and I believe it was open when we were there last month!

 

[omniscientmommy]

Did you guys do the drawing class out at Rafiki’s? It’s really fun and I believe it was open when we were there last month!

No we went before dh had ate anything and he was very crabby. So we just walked through and left. The kids did want to stay and explore but I wasn’t pushing it.

 

[omniscientmommy]

Day 7 - Kids woke up at 8 and of course we got up too. I made coffee in the room and the boys watched Disney on the TV. We brought their iPads and those should have got put up on day 1. DS9 is trying to get on his every time we’re in the room to play this stupid game, which he now got dh hooked on. I woke up at 11pm last night and dh was on his iPad playing this game!!
I decided I was going to check out Disney Springs. I figured going when they opened would be the best choice. Dh and ds9 decided to stay behind so it was just me and ds6. We got ready and walked over to the bus stop at the Springs and after no bus for 15 for DS we decided to walk. It was 10:10 at this point when we started walking and we got to Ds at 10:20. We walked through the entrance by Congress Park.

We went into Once Upon A Toy first and just looked. Then we walked over to Pin Traders and got 2 pins. Ds6 had really wanted something from Indiana Jones but since the show isn’t running the shops of theirs had been closed as HS. So we found a Indy pin for him and a Pluto with Chip and Dale pin for ds9. We then headed over to the Star Wars shop where ds6 wanted to buy this Boba Fett arm gun and I told him we didn’t need more plastic stuff, plus it was $30. So then he remember that ds9 had got a shoulder porg at HS and he wanted one. Ds6 keeps calling it an arm chicken... lol. That was $20 down to $17 with the AP discount.
We walked over to the World of Disney, no line, it was 10:40 at this point. Got two items, one a neon Mickey shirt for ds9 and a Zero( nightmare before Christmas) hoodie for ds6. Ds6 LOVES the Nightmare Before Christmas. He was Jack Skellington for Halloween when he was 3 & 4, so he wanted to get all the Halloween stuff while there. Yes they have Halloween stuff out. I wanted this neon women’s cutoff hoodie but they only had it in size XXL . So we checked out and walked over to the bathrooms. After ds6 was hungry and wanted a lemon loaf from Starbucks so I caved and said ok.
It was 11:12 at this point and while we were looking for a place to sit I spotted Ghirardelli and realized they might have some more mocha mix, I’m out of what I brought from home for our trip for my morning mochas. The “store” part didn’t open until 4, but I went into the soda fountain part and asked if they would sell me the chocolate sauce from the store. They said yes!!! Woo hoo!!!
We stopped and ds6 ate outside Ghirardelli and I called dh and asked if they wanted food from Earl of Sandwich. They said yes. On our way to the sandwich shop we walked by the co-op and I saw the hoodie I had wanted earlier and couldn’t find in my size. Ran in and made the purchase, and it was 30% off and I got my AP discount of 20%! Then we walked into Earl of Sandwich and ordered. Food took about 7ish min to come out.
It was about 11:50 as we walked out of DS and headed back. I thought about trying to wait for a bus because ds6 and I were hot but we decided to hoof it. Oh boy that walk back felt like FOREVER! We had both drank a full bottle of water each when we were sitting outside Ghirardelli but with a fuller backpack I was starting to get a headache. We finally got back to the room at 12:20. I grabbed a bottle of water and started drinking along with trying to eat my Earl’s Club. I got dh chicken tortilla soup and he said it was spicy. Now my husband loves spicy 🌶 food and for him to say it was spicy means it’s SPICY! 🌶
Ds6 wanted good wear his new hoodie, which I explained he smelled bad. So of course he decided to shower so he could wear his new hoodie.

Disney Springs wasn’t busy IMO while we were there. We did go right when they opened and only stayed on one side of DS, we didn’t walk past World of Disney. Mask compliance was great and the only time I saw a nose was at Earl of Sandwich by the employee who was getting the sodas for people. We didn’t get any drinks there so I didn’t complain and just stayed far from where she was.

So finally we got it together and left to go to MK. Got to the bus stop at 2:56 and the bus arrived at 2:59. There was only one other family on the bus. We arrived at MK at 3:20, just in time for it to start pouring. ⛈ We ran through temp check and security to the bathrooms next to Guest Relations. Afterwards we booked it through and just tried to walk under as many overhangs as possible. We tried to play the Sorcerers card game but found out that some of the portals are not accessible. Specifically the one across from Pirates of the Caribbean, so we have that up.
We went to the Tiki Room since it was raining and there was an 8 min wait until the next show. So we got in the room about 3:48 and once the show was finished we headed over to the haunted mansion. Ds6 wanted to go on while ds9 was saying he wasn’t going. So it had a 5 min posted wait but was really a walk on, it was 4:20. We got up to the cars and ds9 freaked out and started crying. Ds6 and I were already on the car at that point and we stayed on. Then when ds6 realized it was a dark ride he freaked out and started crying. He then proceeded to cry quietly the whole ride.
After the ride I got him a frozen lemonade and we met up with dh and ds9 by the Tangled bathrooms. We sat there and ordered some dinner from Pinocchio. Once that was ordered up we headed there and sat inside. It was raining on and off still so we figured we’d sit inside while we waited for our food. Food was ready 4:35 and we finished eating at 5:16.
We then walked over to It’s A Small World with a posted 5 min wait but the ride was stopped for cleaning and we didn’t get on until 5:25. So I didn’t notice when we rode it the other day but in the Goodbye room they have signs up that are actually monitors. They actually say Goodbye and then have someone’s name that is in the boat. This time it had ds6’s name which was cool!
So it was now 5:47 and ds6 wanted to go on Mickey’s Philaharmagic, 3rd time this trip. It had a posted 10 min wait and we walked in the show 6:01. So there was a lady in the show who brought a baby in and he/she was crying. Once the show started we couldn’t hear the baby so no big deal. We were at the back of row and noticed during the show some starts filming it on an iPad. Like wth? It’s a 3D show what can you possibly do with a bootleg 3D show filmed on an iPad?!
We asked the kids what they wanted to do before we left and they said cars, so we went over to Tomorrowland Speedway. The wait time was posted 5 min but it was a walk on. It was still drizzling and I didn’t want to ride so dh took the kids. At first the guy had said that are boys could go together since ds9 was tall enough to push the pedal but the lady loading the cars said she had to hear it was ok from one of us.
After the ride we went to Auntie Gravity’s to get some dessert. I got a strawberry smoothie, which is dairy free. I’m lactose intolerant. Ds9 wanted a vanilla shake which they only had chocolate shakes, cue the pouting. So we left there and headed to the exit. Dh found a cart with frozen lemonade which is what ds9 originally wanted and then ds6 asked for a drink. While standing at the cart the ducks were roaming around and a duck decided it was going to just go serve himself. The duck just walked back behind the cart and started eating popcorn from the ground. Lol it was funny to see.
Finally on our way out and we waved goodbye to Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and some friends that were up by the train platform. We walked right up and the bus was there waiting. They were changing drivers so we had to wait a min and there was one family before us. We sat right in front and only had 2 othe families on the bus with us. We left MK at 7:05 and were back at SSR at 7:18.
Everyone showered and we turned on the season finale of Alone! Glad we’re able to catch it. If the dude Roland doesn’t win we’ll be shocked.

 

[omniscientmommy]

 

[omniscientmommy]

 

[omniscientmommy]

 

[WishesQueen]

Looking forward to hopefully going in October.

 

[omniscientmommy]

Day 8 - Ds9 and I both woke up at 8:30, dh and ds6 got up at 9. We bummed around the room and I decided it was time to pack some of our stuff so we aren’t rushing tomorrow. All the dirty clothes and things we no longer needed out got put away and I pulled out our travel clothes and other essentials. We had some breakfast and the hobbits had second breakfast. Then we headed down to the pool at 11:50. Dh stayed in the room to watch work/study videos.

We just swam at the Grandstand pool. Really there’s hardly anyone ever there during the day. Which is great! While the kids were playing ds6 tripped and feel into ds9. Ds6 tried to grab onto ds9’s back and instead scratched his back. Ds9 cried a bunch and I made him sit in the cold pool to help it. It’s not terrible but ds9 is VERY sensitive, and a slight hypochondriac. Everything is a BIG Deal to him.
Dh came down to the pool and played for 45 min then headed back up for more studying. He’s trying to get some IT security certifications and there’s like a ton of training videos. He figured while we’re here he’d try and get the training videos in. Not how I want to spend vacation but whatever.
We finally left the pool at 2pm and went back to the room. Ds9 had easy Mac and ds6 had PB&J, while having screen time.

We finally got ready and left the room at 3:40, we got to the bus stop at 3:42 and the bus showed up at 3:49. We arrived at Epcot at 4:09 and walked back to Germany, the long way. We got a pretzel and brat for the kids. It was 4:45, and ds6 refused to eat the brat. So we ate 1/2 of the 2 giant pretzels and then headed to China. We got a beef bun thing, it was good. Ds6 wouldn't try it but ds9 liked it. It was 5:10and then Elsa and Anna came by.
Then we walked back towards Italy where I got in line for tortellini while dh took the kids to the bathroom in American area. I met up with them and he ran and got the kids funnel cake while we sat at a picnic table. It was 5:30 and we walked to Japan to get shaved ice and a teriyaki chicken bun. I didn't care for the bun and the shaved ice was for the kids. They sat and ate the ice while the Jammitors played. Dh went and grabbed a turkey leg.

After the kids made a mess and dh dripped grease on his shirt we got up and left. We had these birds that would not leave us alone while eating and were freaking ds6 out so he was glad to leave.
We walked to Morocco and got chocolate baklava and a beef kefta pocket. I didn't like the baklava, neither did ds9, ds6 wouldn't try it and dh is allergy to nuts. The beef bucket was good and Ds9 liked it.
Ds6 kept trying to get us to leave and we couldn’t figure out why. We stopped by the bathrooms in Morocco and I realized he needed to ‘GO’, in private. So we used the companion bathroom and he felt better. We then walked to France for ice cream and a crepe because it’s Disney why not have two desserts . It was like 6:30 at this point and while we were waiting for the crepe dh walked across to the Brazil stand and got fried pork belly. It had been drizzling before but now it really was just raining, not super hard but enough to start soaking our shoes. We decided to head towards the exit.

On the way out I wanted to have 1 drink so I got an Alunai Sunrise , meh. I’m not a big drinker and honestly I took like 4 sips before we hit the exit and I dumped it. I’ll take my calories in food over drinks.
We were out of the park at 7:05 and at the bus stop at 7:07, with the bus arriving at 7:23. We left at 7:27 and we back at 7:40ish. I wasn’t watching the time at that point.
I don’t feel like it was busy but there’s some definitely some areas that have pinch points. Once the rain in the afternoon comes a lot of people leave.
Everyone showered and had screen time and now it’s sleepy time.

 

[omniscientmommy]

 

[omniscientmommy]

 

[omniscientmommy]

Day 9 - The day most people dread, the day you go home. Dh and I are definitely looking forward to going home. I love being on vacation but not having a kitchen or our own room, and only 1 bathroom are things we don't enjoy.

So the alarm went off at 8:30 and we got up, begrudgingly. We stayed up later because the people nextdoor were like banging doors or something until like 11. I have no idea what they were doing but seriously! We have kids and when they start getting rowdy in the room they get yelled at right away because we have to be mindful of others.
Anyways.... I got up and made my coffee and started getting ready. I ordered breakfast from Artists palette since we ran out of cereal. On the way back to the room I saw 1 guest and 1 CM not wearing a mask. Both of them were outside but just so people know it's going to happen. There'll never be 100% compliance because not everyone wants to follow the rules.

I got waffles, bacon and sausage for ds6. For ds9 who always claims he's not hungry I got an adult breakfast platter with OJ. He ate some of the eggs, potatoes, mickey waffle and sausage. He basically ate 1/2 the food. Dh ate the other 1/2. We finished up packing and then brought down our suitcases to bell services at 10:40.
After we rushed back to the room where I wolfed down a bagel and enjoyed the last 10 minutes of A/C and no shared space. No one on the boards here claimed the water jugs and 4 cases of water. I called bell services and asked what we should do, they said leave it in the room. So left them for bell services to come get.

We headed down to the Grandstand pool at 11:05 with our backpacks filled with our stuff we need out for today. IE: clean change of clothes, travel pillow, tablets, etc. We also brought 1/2 case of water and a bag of snacks for the kids. The kids played on and off and snacked until about 1 before they decided they were “hungry”! We then headed over to high rock pool and set up camp near the stairs.
I mobile ordered food from Artist Palette at 1:13 and it was ready at 1:19 . We went back and forth to the pool and played the pool scavenger hunt game. We didn’t win but tied for 2nd place. Then I got 2 smoothies, one lava and one strawberry. I also got 2 extra cups to spilt them. Ds9 then drops his on the ground. I let the lifeguard know and we rounded up our stuff.
At this point it was 3pm and we needed to start clean. I had looked on the SSR resort lover’s and owners and saw that the Spa had a shower in it’s bathroom so we planned to wash and change. Yeah the shower is currently closed. Oops. We could only rinse in the shower and then change. I bird bathed it with my cleansing wipes.

With everyone rinsed we went up to the lobby/waiting area and brought out the chargers. We had both phones and 3 iPads charging. While that was going on I did the baggage shuffle with bell services to try and get our stuff we had used today into our bags. Afterwards it was 4:30 and after sitting there for an hour with a mask on we went and got drinks and snacks from Artist Palette and we sat there for a half hour.

We went to collect our bags at 5pm and wait for our 5:20 DME pickup. Ds9 then starts to complain about a stomach ache. He had a bottle of Nesquick chocolate milk before. This is the second time he’s had nesquick and felt ill. I gave him a tums and 1/2 a tab of Dramamine and tried to get him to use the bathroom. DME pulls up at 5:25 and we load onto the bus sitting near the front. I have motion sickness and try to avoid taking lots of Dramamine if I can help it. We had to make one stop at OKW, and there were 5 groups totaling 14 people on the bus.

We get to the airport at 6:04 and tipped our driver. ds9 needed a pit stop and thankfully felt better after. Then we headed over to Terminal side A because that’s where Southwest is. No one was in line and we got our bags tagged and then headed towards TSA. We had stopped to drink some water when the Southwest employee comes running over and said she forgot to give us our baggage tags. Oops. It was 6:24 and we got in line at TSA. We’re TSA pre-check, I had just walked in the line and gotten a little closer then I planned towards this woman an daughter in front of us. The woman was pretty rude when she asked me to move back. Like I don’t know what she’s going to do on the airplane when there’s people closer than 6ft to you! Geez! They didn’t have any markers on the ground, which when at WDW are everywhere, it literally just slipped my mind for a second.

So we get through the TSA ID point and the kids and I are through security when dh goes through. He sets off the x-ray and is directed to the full body scanner. Then his right foot sets off the body scanner and it has to go through the x-ray machine! Hahaha. Dh always seems to get pulled for extra security, it was a shock it only happened 2x at WDW. So the shoe is deemed fine and we go get on the tram.

We get off the tram and go to our gate. Ds6 is again hungry. Ds9 is also hungry. So dh goes to fetch food. Ds9 gets water and pretzels and a bun from Jersey Mike’s, yes they sold him just the bun! Ds6 get MCDs nuggets happy meal. We proceed to camp out by the gate with iPads in hand.
I will continue with the rest of our journey tomorrow. We are not supposed to land until 10:30 and I will be too tired to finish the post. So far I only see about 6-8 groups all 5 or less people, sitting in the gate area. We shall see.