The One with the Masks - November 2020 TR (*completed 11/30*)

[noodle73]

Hello! I am so glad to be writing this trip report. For most of the year I wasn’t sure if we’d make it to Disney in 2020 or not. We go to Disneyland mostly and had a trip planned there for the first week of November. At the start of October, when it became apparent that DLR was not going to reopen in time, we decided to go to WDW instead!

Who is we? How about some introductions before I get started on the actual trip report.

Me: Kelly, aka Noodle <-- Inexplicable nickname I’ve had since I was a kid.

I grew up in southern California and went to Disneyland countless times over the years. I got to know WDW when I lived in Orlando for a few years after college, and DH and I honeymooned there in 2010, but we haven’t been back since then.

Favorite ride: BTMRR
Favorite character: Bing Bong
Favorite treat: Dole Whip

DH: He did not grow up going to Disney parks but I have made him a convert!

Favorite ride: Pirates of the Caribbean
Favorite character: Duke Kaboom
Favorite treat: Beer

Last year we took the kids to DLR for two days and had the greatest time. I am so thankful we were able to make another trip happen this year, especially after we had to cancel all our summer vacation plans. Here's a photo from that trip:



DD: She is almost 7. Her birthday is November 18th - the same as Mickey Mouse!

Favorite ride: Slinky Dog Dash
Favorite character: Cinderella
Favorite treat: She lost her mind over the pumpkin pie milkshake from Beaches & Cream.

DS: Another late November birthday so he is almost 5.

Favorite ride: Splash Mountain
Favorite character: Bruni (the fire spirit from Frozen II)
Favorite treat: the huge Mickey frosted sugar cookies

We flew to MCO on Sunday November 1st. Our flight was on time at 3:30, and we had carry-on bags only, so we went straight to the Magical Express. We had to wait probably 30 minutes until our bus left, and stopped at three other resorts along the way, so didn’t arrive at Wilderness Lodge until about 5:30. We stayed in a studio at the Boulder Ridge Villas. I’d asked for high floor near the lobby and we got a high floor (4th) but our room was all the way at the end of the very long hallway. We liked the resort overall but I do think the BRV rooms are in need of a refurb. The sofa couch was very tired and so squeaky. We mobile ordered from Roaring Forks for dinner. Two thumbs up for the pulled pork sandwich!

Next up - Day 1 at Magic Kingdom.

 

[DaisyNY]

Following along...

 

[kclark9830]

Joining in!

 

[Isabelle12345]

Following!

 

[CruellaNY]

Following! Wilderness Lodge is my absolute favorite resort We stayed at Copper Creek in September and luckily were in the Lodge back in January before the closure. I agree BRV desperately needs updating but the location is great and the Lodge is gorgeous!

 

[imktdqt810]

Following! I will be thinking of your DD next Wed since the 18th is my DS 16th BD!!

 

[suse66]

Joining in! I adore WL as well.

 

[noodle73]

Hey everyone! Thanks for following along!

We went to MK on Monday, November 2nd. We walked down to the boat dock at 8 and there were several parties already waiting there. The boat showed up at 8:25 and we were the last ones on it. We went through the health screening & security quickly and were into the park by 8:45. I think you'd be better off taking the bus to get there sooner, especially if you don't get on the first boat. Or better yet of course is to Uber to the Contemporary, but we didn't want to deal with car seats on Uber so we did all resort transportation. The kids really liked the boat anyway, and we were trying to have a more relaxed approach.Our first few rides were:

Peter Pan (walk on)
Haunted Mansion (walk on)
BTMRR (<10 min)
Splash (walk on)
Pirates (15 min)

I love Peter Pan and Haunted Mansion but hadn't been on either in a long time so that was a fun start to the day. At DLR PP was never less than 30 min which was too long for the kids last year, & HM had the holiday overlay. BTMRR is my favorite ride of all time and the kids love it too. They also really love Splash. I think both Splash and Pirates are a little better at DLR but they are both still really fun.



We mobile-ordered from Pecos Bill's at 10:35 and the food was ready at 10:45. I forgot to take many food photos on this trip but I enjoyed the taco trio. We sat outside and saw one of the cavalcades go by.

At 11:15 we were in line for the Magic Carpets (5 min), and then we walked through the treehouse.



I checked MDE and Space Mtn had a 20 minute wait so we headed over there next. The wait was only about 10 minutes. It's a pretty rough ride but I enjoyed it. I like the original Space better than the Hyperspace version. DS loved it but DD was scared because it was so dark. She loves roller coasters like BTMRR, 7DMT, & SDD but didn’t want to do Space again or try RnRC.

We stopped by the castle for a photo on the way to Space.



Next we did the Mad Tea Party (5 min) and then Little Mermaid (15 min). Then we hopped in line for the Barnstormer with a 10 min posted wait but it turned out to be 20 min in the hot sun, and that ride is NOT worth 20 minutes!



We had to recover with brownie sundaes from Auntie Gravity's.



We went on Winnie-the-Pooh (15 min) and then Dumbo (10 min) and then finally committed to the 45 min 7DMT line. Mostly the wait times posted were accurate or 5-10 minutes higher than actual. For 7DMT we waited 40 minutes. We all loved the ride although I wish it was a little longer.



We mobile ordered dinner from Pinochio's at 4:45 and it was ready at 5. I had the meat-lovers flatbread. We didn't have any trouble finding a table at either Pecos Bill's or Pinocchio's.

After dinner we did Splash (15 min) and BTMRR (15 min) one more time.

Overall we did 16 rides and other than 7DMT we didn't wait more than 20 minutes for anything. It's nice how the lines are always moving, and I like how the social distancing markers create more space. Even when it's not the whole 6 feet it's nice to have a little breathing room. Also some of the queues are really cute! A few times I wish we weren't going through so fast that I could have seen everything better!

Just realized that at some point in the afternoon we went to the Country Bear Jamboree but I don't remember exactly when. It was fun to see that weird old show again. I forget her name but my favorite is the one who comes down from the ceiling. It was nice to be sitting down inside for a little bit too. We came out just in time for another cavalcade.



We had to wait about 20 minutes for the boat back to Wilderness Lodge which was tough after such a long busy day but the boat ride itself is a peaceful way to end the day.

Next up: Day 2 at Hollywood Studios!

 

[noodle73]

Following! Wilderness Lodge is my absolute favorite resort We stayed at Copper Creek in September and luckily were in the Lodge back in January before the closure. I agree BRV desperately needs updating but the location is great and the Lodge is gorgeous!

I wish we could have stayed in the main Lodge. The kids would have loved the bunk bed rooms! We will definitely consider staying there in the future - just probably not in BRV.

Following! I will be thinking of your DD next Wed since the 18th is my DS 16th BD!!

It's a good day for a birthday!

 

[noodle73]

On Tuesday, November 3rd, we went Hollywood Studios. First of all, I should tell you that we are not big Star Wars fans. I liked the original trilogy and have seen them many times, but I didn't enjoy / haven't seen the others. The kids have seen A New Hope but that is all. So obviously we didn't bother to get a boarding pass to RotR which took some of the pressure off this day. We still wanted to get there early enough to do a few rides ahead of the crowds though.

We got to the WL bus stop at 8:50 and the bus arrived at 9:05. We got to the park at 9:25 and were in line for Slinky at 9:45. We all loved it. Super fun and super cute theme. I wish we had it at DLR. I might even like the SDD ride itself better than BTMRR, but BTMRR has the edge on the overall best ride award due to nostalgia. I didn't buy the PhotoPass because I think mask photos aren't worth it, but I did like this one because I think you can tell how much fun we are all having.



Unlike Star Wars, we ARE big Toy Story fans, so I thought the whole Toy Story Land was fabulous. After SDD we did Aliens twice (both <10 min wait).





After that all the lines were too long so we headed back to the Trolley Car Cafe. I had a latte and we split the carrot cake cookie. It was delicious. But probably my 3rd favorite of the sandwich cookies we tried this week. Haha, I didn't realize I had a sandwich cookie theme going on until right now!

Next we went to the Tower of Terror. The posted wait time was 55 minutes but we were on in 45 minutes. The first half of the line was a little tough in the hot sun. (It was 11 when we got in line). But once you're in the garden it's shady, and the queue through the lobby, etc is really well done.

I have never gone on this ride, by choice - I do not love the stomach-dropping sensation - and I wasn't really looking forward to it, but the kids really wanted to go and I didn't want to miss out on going with them. However it was a little too much for them and for me. DH was the only one who liked it. I think the kids might like it better when they are older but I will pass from now on.



It was noon when we were done with ToT and we had a 1:00 reservation at Beaches & Cream, so we headed to the Skyliner. There was no wait at all at that time of day, of course, so it was a pleasant ride over to the Epcot station.



We walked over to Beach Club (and after seeing Stormalong Bay the kids really want us to stay there next time) and checked in at Beaches & Cream. Our table was ready in about 5 minutes. Mostly we are Quick Service people, but I had my heart set on this one, and it did not disappoint. This was the highlight meal of the trip for me.

DD and I split the grilled cheese & tomato soup. I couldn't get enough of the tomato soup - It was so good! We also had the cheese & bacon loaded tots. DS got the kids' mac & cheese with fruit. He is a really picky eater and pretty much alternated between the kids' mac & cheese and uncrustables meals this whole trip. DH had the Reuben and said it was good.

For dessert we got the salted caramel pumpkin pie milkshake. This is similar to the "Crazy Shakes" from Black Tap at Downtown Disney which was DD's favorite treat last year. DD got a cookies & cream sundae.





We took the Skyliner back to HS. We browsed through some of the shops & wandered around a bit.





We did Star Tours which DS enjoyed the most. I didn't really like the 3D. Then it was time to choose a long line. It was MMRR or SDD again. I tried my best to sell MMRR because I really wanted to do it but the kids picked SDD. We might have tried MMRR but the wait didn't go under 80 minutes all day whereas SDD was 50 at that point which is still a long line for the kids.



After SDD we did Toy Story Mania twice (<15 min wait each time). The queue for that one is so cute! I am not very good at it but it's really fun.

After that I tried one more time to sell MMRR (still with an 80 minutes wait) but the kids were done, so we headed back to the hotel. We went over to the pool for a half hour then picked up dinner from Roaring Forks again.

Next up - Day 3 at AK!

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

Adorable kiddos, glad everything seems to be going great. We are headed down on 11/24 and hopefully get to ride MMRR, I will wait by myself if I have to...lol

 

[DLo]

Following along . Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

 

[noodle73]

Adorable kiddos, glad everything seems to be going great. We are headed down on 11/24 and hopefully get to ride MMRR, I will wait by myself if I have to...lol

I was really disappointed to miss MMRR. Should have just sent the kids back to the hotel with DH and waited for it myself!

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[hereforthechurros]

Your daughter’s face in the milkshake pic is everything! Hope the shake was as good as it looked.

 

[noodle73]

Your daughter’s face in the milkshake pic is everything! Hope the shake was as good as it looked.

Right?! Those are the best moments. Unfortunately on this trip so many smiles were hidden under masks. But I know they were there!

 

[noodle73]

On Wednesday, November 4th we went to AK.

When I lived in Orlando in my mid-20's I won an annual pass to WDW at my office Christmas party. I ended up moving away halfway through the year, but before I moved one thing I did was go to AK and ride Expedition Everest 10 times in a row through the single rider line. When DH and I went back for our honeymoon in 2010 we did pretty much the same thing. So we decided that would be our first stop.



We were into the park and at the ride at 8:50 but they didn't start running it until exactly 9:00. We went three times in a row with no wait at all. So much fun! DD was a little scared of that part that goes backwards in the dark but the rest of it was so fun that she went again.



Then we walked over to do the Kilimanjaro Safari (20 min). (We found the stone Dug & Russell along the way). We didn't have any amazing animal sightings but we did see a lot of them and the kids really enjoyed this ride. DS loved seeing his favorite animal.



I think Africa and Asia are so well themed. I love random little scenes like this.



We did the Gorilla Trail and the Maharaja Trek, then headed over to do the Triceratops Spin (5 min) and DINOSAUR (20 min but only because we caught a cleaning cycle). Can you tell we have someone who likes dinosaurs in the family?







We had lunch at Flame Tree Grill. DH, DD, and I had the mac & cheese with pulled pork and onion rings, and DS went for the uncrustable. We split the Tree of Life cupcake.





The kids were pretty exhausted on this day after going long at the parks on Monday & Tuesday, so we went back to the hotel after lunch for a nap, and then spent a long time at the pool.



After the pool we went to Disney Springs. We had dinner at the Daily Poutine and picked out souvenirs at World of Disney. The kids both went for bubble wands. I bought a hooded sweatshirt which I love and have been wearing nonstop since we returned home to cold cold Colorado.

Next up: Day 4 back at MK!

 

[Tink Fans]

Enjoying reading your trip report ~ lovely pics and glad you had a nice vacation. Yes, can't see the smiles BUT pics made me smile!

 

[Verstehen]

Joining in! Your kids are so sweet. I hope you eventually made it on MMRR, but if not you'll just have to come back sometime

 

[MeridaICR]

Sounds like you had a great time! Would you say it was worth it even with reduced attractions like no parades, no fireworks?

 

[noodle73]

Joining in! Your kids are so sweet. I hope you eventually made it on MMRR, but if not you'll just have to come back sometime

We only did that one day at HS so no MMRR for me. But we’ll be back, or DLR will have one in a few years.