****Official January 2021 thread****

[JFox]

I thought I’d be the same way, but I did end up eating the snacks on the way down and today at our connecting flight, I was starving, so grabbed some food, but had to board right away and ate on the plane. My wife who was more concerned with social distancing on the trip was even eating on the plane, lol.

But we’ve been eating in restaurants frequently at home so we didn’t really approach the trip much differently. And for the most part, All the restaurants we went to were “covid” packed. Meaning, all socially distanced tables were filled, so it seemed a lot of people weren’t too concerned with eating indoors.

in the end though, you do have to do what feels most comfortable for you. Hope your trip goes well and you have a great time!

T-minus 12 hours and counting. I packed a bag of Gummi Bears in my carry on. Strictly for medical purposes.

 

[Leigh L]

T-minus 12 hours and counting. I packed a bag of Gummi Bears in my carry on. Strictly for medical purposes.

Awesome! Happy travels today!
It looks like some chilly weather the next few nights but not as bad as originally forecast. Have fun!!

 

[Leigh L]

When the sun comes up, we'll be 48 hours out!
I need to pack today. Seriously. I don't know what's wrong with me haha.
DH has his clothes in a suitcase and DDs have all their stuff ready to pack. Usually I have suitcases lined up and ready to go by a week or two ago and bugging everyone else to get moving on their packing .

(Although I do have a pile with some shirts, Minnie ears for DD13 and myself, PPE, and other things piled up in my bedroom for the last few days. That's a start I guess LOL.)

 

[figmentfinesse]

Gideon's reopening Saturday! And I am officially in single digits today. Time has gone pretty fast up until now, let's hope that continues for me.

 

[evlaina]

Gideon's reopening Saturday! And I am officially in single digits today. Time has gone pretty fast up until now, let's hope that continues for me.

Single digits here, too! Flights changed 3 times so I'm hoping the next 9 days are uneventful there!

Happy to hear about Gideons....I saw chatter on FB saying it would be closed till April!

I've been 70% packed for 2 or 3 weeks now, just so I don't need to do that laundry. That darn Florida weather keeps changing though, so I'm concerned with the leggings/Spirit Jerseys I've mostly packed. While I am all for warmer weather (it's currently snowing where I am now), I wanna wear all my new jerseys!

 

[evlaina]

T-minus 12 hours and counting. I packed a bag of Gummi Bears in my carry on. Strictly for medical purposes.

I pack 2 bags of Haribo gummy Smurfs each flight!

 

[FinnsMom7]

Today is my 2 week out mark and I really just hope the PM temps increase a little. Only 1 park day this trip so that will be fine (will have our light winter jackets with us anyway from airport so easy to stuffed in a backpack for chilly night) but having a rehearsal dinner party and wedding where jackets aren't really an option is driving me insane. but at least I will be in FL on vacay!

 

[GBRforWDW]

We made it home last night and everyone was exhausted! Lol. 100,000+ steps in a week was really insane!

Before our flight yesterday, we had breakfast at Topolinos inside Riviera Resort and it was amazing. Everything we tried was filled with flavor that is unique to the restaurant. And seeing all the characters in their French Riviera art costumes was so fun. All 4 characters came out twice together and once individually, so lots of fun picture opportunities. For the most part, they all stopped so you could take selfies with them in the background. If you were taking a video and they stopped for a picture, you can give them a thumbs up and they'll go back to doing their thing.

The airports we went through on the way home were fairly empty. The TSA wait list at MCO said 5-10 minute wait at 11am, but no one was in front of us when we got there, so it was straight to the bins and x-ray scanners. The train to the gates we rode had about 4 parties in the 3 cars. The plane, however, was nearly full with most middle seats empty. This plane had 50 rows, so was bigger. We connected in Detroit. First time I'd ever been through there. It was empty, hardly anyone anywhere. The plane out had 18 rows and was probably half full or less. And our home airport had very few people when we landed. Our luggage was already waiting for us by the time we arrived at luggage claim.

The only travel mistake I made was not filling up the rental car before going back to the airport. . Just slipped my mind after the amazing breakfast. Of all the overly inflated priced things I did all week, that'll be the one I regret the most, lol. Oh well, I still managed to stick to what I had budgeted for all the dinners and souvenirs, though I did use cash for all my tips rather than adding to the credit card so that helped some.

This trip was a ton of fun and I'm glad I went, but being back home, working from my home office, sitting in a chair, not wearing a mask is a beautiful thing! Lol. For the most part, masks weren't an issue for us while there. The cooler temps and lack of humidity definitely helped.

I hope the rest of you all have an enjoyable time on your upcoming trips.

 

[Leigh L]

@GBRforWDW, glad to hear you had an awesome trip and a good trip back! (minus the gas part). I think it was another thread I read about your DHS day which sounded awesome.

Thanks for the review of Topolino's in its current form, we've been wondering about that

 

[GBRforWDW]

@GBRforWDW, glad to hear you had an awesome trip and a good trip back! (minus the gas part). I think it was another thread I read about your DHS day which sounded awesome.

Thanks for the review of Topolino's in its current form, we've been wondering about that

I know the menu is slightly different from before, I really wanted the apple wood smoked steak they used to have, but the choices are still great.

My trip reports have been all over. I should find them all and condense into one...lol.

 

[smokeyblue]

We made it home last night and everyone was exhausted! Lol. 100,000+ steps in a week was really insane!

Before our flight yesterday, we had breakfast at Topolinos inside Riviera Resort and it was amazing. Everything we tried was filled with flavor that is unique to the restaurant. And seeing all the characters in their French Riviera art costumes was so fun. All 4 characters came out twice together and once individually, so lots of fun picture opportunities. For the most part, they all stopped so you could take selfies with them in the background. If you were taking a video and they stopped for a picture, you can give them a thumbs up and they'll go back to doing their thing.

The airports we went through on the way home were fairly empty. The TSA wait list at MCO said 5-10 minute wait at 11am, but no one was in front of us when we got there, so it was straight to the bins and x-ray scanners. The train to the gates we rode had about 4 parties in the 3 cars. The plane, however, was nearly full with most middle seats empty. This plane had 50 rows, so was bigger. We connected in Detroit. First time I'd ever been through there. It was empty, hardly anyone anywhere. The plane out had 18 rows and was probably half full or less. And our home airport had very few people when we landed. Our luggage was already waiting for us by the time we arrived at luggage claim.

The only travel mistake I made was not filling up the rental car before going back to the airport. . Just slipped my mind after the amazing breakfast. Of all the overly inflated priced things I did all week, that'll be the one I regret the most, lol. Oh well, I still managed to stick to what I had budgeted for all the dinners and souvenirs, though I did use cash for all my tips rather than adding to the credit card so that helped some.

This trip was a ton of fun and I'm glad I went, but being back home, working from my home office, sitting in a chair, not wearing a mask is a beautiful thing! Lol. For the most part, masks weren't an issue for us while there. The cooler temps and lack of humidity definitely helped.

I hope the rest of you all have an enjoyable time on your upcoming trips.

Did they charge for parking at the resort? I just got an email today from Disney that said transportation to and from the parks is limited and that a suggestion was to have your own vehicle.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Did they charge for parking at the resort? I just got an email today from Disney that said transportation to and from the parks is limited and that a suggestion was to have your own vehicle.

To be honest, I really have no idea if I was charged for parking. I'm not seeing it tied to my credit card at this time, though I wouldn't be surprised if I get billed later. When we drove to the parks and they scanned our magic bands, they could tell we were staying at a resort and didn't charge us there for parking.

When I originally scheduled my vacation, I did select Disney Magical Express. I wouldn't think that'd set it to not charge me for parking, but would be a weird loophole if it did. The security guard had no issue finding my reservation and letting us through.

Another possibility, we did split our stay between AoA and AKL. Wonder if it's possible they saw our AKL reservation and assumed we were DVC members, so didn't charge us at AoA for parking. That seems unlikely though because the WDW site states DVC members only get free parking at non DVC resorts if they used points for that stay. If I see any charges come in for parking, I'll let ya know.

 

[JFox]

We arrived safe and sound. No issues on either flight; Southwest. Each was full. I opted to upgrade to priority boarding since my SW CC will refund the fees.

15 minute wait for ME and 3rd stop. Dropped our bags and took an Uber to dinner. We ate dinner off property at U n Me Revolving Hot Pot. So good!

Alarm set. MK tomorrow to celebrate our Disney Wedding anniversary. 3 ears for us. On our wedding day my husband promised that we would always celebrate our anniversary in a castle and this year is no different. BOG lunch.

I'm already tired.

 

[Leigh L]

@JFox Happy Anniversary! Have a great day!

BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, MK has extended its closing hours to 9 p.m. on Sat and 8 p.m. on Monday!

 

[JFox]

@JFox Happy Anniversary! Have a great day!

BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, MK has extended its closing hours to 9 p.m. on Sat and 8 p.m. on Monday!

Thank you!!

No, I hadn't see that change. Yeah!!

 

[Leigh L]

Thank you!!

No, I hadn't see that change. Yeah!!

And they took it away!
What's up with that Disney?
I just got another Touring Plans alert - had gotten one last night and I verified in Disney's site and it was extended. Now it's not

 

[GBRforWDW]

And they took it away!
What's up with that Disney?
I just got another Touring Plans alert - had gotten one last night and I verified in Disney's site and it was extended. Now it's not

I'm still seeing the extended hours for Saturday - 9pm and Monday - 8pm within the MDX app.

 

[Leigh L]

I'm still seeing the extended hours for Saturday - 9pm and Monday - 8pm within the MDX app.

Oh thank you!! I just checked the website and it's back again there too.

Touring Plans still has it listed internally as the earlier time. I'm so glad I'm not losing my mind!

 

[FinnsMom7]

Tgif all!
If I want to be at epcot by 1030, what time, approx, should I plan to get on skyliner? Staying at Pop.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Tgif all!
If I want to be at epcot by 1030, what time, approx, should I plan to get on skyliner? Staying at Pop.

Best bet is probably about 1-1.25 hours before you want to get there. Lines can be long in the morning.