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

[noodle73]

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

It was worth it for us, BUT we are very much “rides” people. We don’t do usually parades, fireworks, or character meet-and-greets even when they are available. We’ll sometimes do a show. Since we are mostly at DLR - where there’s only two parks but they both have a lot of rides that we all enjoy - it was kinda weird to go to a park like HS where there’s only 4 rides we want to do. We were glad to have the chance to experience WDW this year while DLR is closed & we did really enjoy our trip, but I don’t know if I’d recommend it right now if you really love the other stuff.

 

[noodle73]

On Thursday, November 5th we went back to MK. We started out the day pretty much the same, except that we were first at the boat dock (at 8:00) so I didn't have to worry the whole time we were waiting if we'd get on the first boat or not. The boat came at 8:25 and we were in the park at 8:45.





We walked on to Peter Pan and then headed over to Haunted Mansion at 8:55 but they didn't start the ride until 9:00. It's a little frustrating how you don't know which rides will be running early. Overall on this day we didn't have as much luck as on Monday. We still had a great day, but it wasn't *quite* as great as Monday.

After HM we walked over to BTMRR and just as we got there it went down, so we (and everyone else in line for BTMRR) went to Splash which made that line jump from 5 to 20 minutes. After Splash we went to do Pirates and the same thing happened. Right as we got into line it went from 5 to 20 minutes.

After Pirates we walked over to Gaston's for cinnamon rolls. As promised they were huge and delicious. We also tried LeFou's Brew. I liked the drink itself but not the foam on the top so much. This was the only time that we had trouble finding a place to sit.

We did Little Mermaid next (5 min) and then Seven Dwarves (40 min) and then Winnie-the-Pooh (10 min).





Next we headed over to do Buzz but it went down right after we got in line, so we went over to Astro Orbiter which had a posted wait of 10 minutes but turned out to be 25. That is another not-fun & slow-moving line in the hot sun. But it's probably the most exciting of the spinner rides (if any of them can be considered exciting) and the kids did enjoy it. After that we did do Buzz but no one liked it nearly as much as Toy Story Mania.

It was just after 1 at that point and we had lunch reservations at the Plaza at 2, but everyone needed a break from waiting in line in the sun, so we browsed down Main Street and rested on a bench outside City Hall. This turned out to be a great spot to watch some cavalcades go by! We saw Merida, Gaston, the princess float, and the Winnie-the-Pooh trolley car.



Lunch at the Plaza was good. I had the meatloaf.





After lunch we split up. DS and I went on Space again (15 min) while DH and DD went on the carousel.



We decided to try the Jingle Cruise next. The holiday overlay was fun, and this is one ride I think is better at WDW. I like the extra scene through the underground temple.





To end the day we did BTMRR twice in a row (15 min then 10 min) and then Splash (5 min).

For dinner we mobile-ordered from Roaring Forks again. (I placed the order while we were waiting for the boat at MK and hit "we're here" as we were docking at WL so we were just able to pick it up on our way back to the hotel room). I was still full from lunch so all I had was a Magic Bar!

Next up: Day 5 at Epcot!

 

[CruellaNY]

DH, DD, and I had the mac & cheese with pulled pork and onion rings

So how was this? I love pulled pork but am not a huge mac n cheese person. We usually end up at Yak & Yeti since we have the Landry's card and that's what we're planning for Thanksgiving day but this could be an option for our Feb trip!

fter Pirates we walked over to Gaston's for cinnamon rolls. As promised they were huge and delicious.

YES my fave! They are HUGE and I always ask for extra frosting lol. Missed it in July as it was still closed so I was sure to get one in Sept!

The holiday overlay was fun, and this is one ride I think is better at WDW. I like the extra scene through the underground temple.

I really don't enjoy Jungle Cruise except when it's Jingle Cruise

all I had was a Magic Bar!

Whoo my absolute favorite Disney snack! My avatar was even a Magic Bar for a while lol

 

[Skyborndancer]

Thanks for sharing! I'm interested in safety, If I may ask: How were the crowds? How hard was it to distance from people? What was disney cleaning like?

 

[noodle73]

So how was this? I love pulled pork but am not a huge mac n cheese person. We usually end up at Yak & Yeti since we have the Landry's card and that's what we're planning for Thanksgiving day but this could be an option for our Feb trip!

YES my fave! They are HUGE and I always ask for extra frosting lol. Missed it in July as it was still closed so I was sure to get one in Sept!

I really don't enjoy Jungle Cruise except when it's Jingle Cruise

Whoo my absolute favorite Disney snack! My avatar was even a Magic Bar for a while lol

I was a little disappointed in the pulled pork mac & cheese. The pulled pork was a little dry. When I was looking at menus before our trip I thought it sounded so delicious that we made it at home with Kraft mac & cheese & pulled pork from a local BBQ place, and that one was better than from Flame Tree. Although no onion rings at home! I kinda wish we'd done the Y&Y. That was my favorite meal when DH & I were there on our honeymoon, but table service with the kids can be more hassle than it's worth.

Re: Magic Bar, I'm pretty sure it was one of your trip reports @CruellaNY that made me aware of this fabulous treat, so THANK YOU!

 

[noodle73]

Thanks for sharing! I'm interested in safety, If I may ask: How were the crowds? How hard was it to distance from people? What was disney cleaning like?

It didn't feel too crowded when we were there. Walking around we never felt like we were too close to anyone. Often less than 6 feet apart but not elbow-to-elbow. As for cleaning they do clean the rides every two hours and I always noticed CMs cleaning off tables in QS places as soon as anyone got up. But it does seem that it's gotten much more crowded in the past two weeks due to the holidays and Disney raising capacity.

 

[CruellaNY]

I kinda wish we'd done the Y&Y. That was my favorite meal when DH & I were there on our honeymoon, but table service with the kids can be more hassle than it's worth.

Well, ya live and learn lol. I've tried a few things there that looked and sounded great - but did not live up to the hype And then I get bummed I used up stomach space on something not good!

Re: Magic Bar, I'm pretty sure it was one of your trip reports @CruellaNY that made me aware of this fabulous treat, so THANK YOU!

Aw this made me smile

 

[footballmouse]

 

[princessbelle2015]

Joining in!!

 

[noodle73]

Hello everyone! I have returned from a week of birthday celebrations - the kids are now 7 & 5! - followed by a small but fun Thanksgiving. It's time to talk about our last day at WDW.

On Friday, November 6th we went to Epcot. I should have planned at sit-down breakfast for this morning because the 11 a.m. opening time at Epcot meant we had a little too much time mooching around the hotel. The kids played for a long time with their bubble wands though and then watched some Disney Jr. They became obsessed with the show "Big City Greens" on this trip.





(There was absolutely no one in sight so I let the kids take off their masks).

At Epcot we walked by Test Track but the line at opening was 60 minutes already so we just headed on to World Showcase. We were on the first boat for the Gran Fiesta Tour. I had never gone into the pyramid in Mexico or done the boat ride before so that was fun. I'd like to eat the San Angel someday. It reminds me of Blue Bayou in Pirates at DL.





Next we went to Norway and we were happily surprised that Frozen Ever After was open. It was supposed to be closed for refurb the whole week we were there but lucky for us it reopened one day early! No one seemed to know it was open yet so we pretty much walked-on. The kids both love Frozen, of course, and it's one of my favorites too, so we all enjoyed the ride. Very cute.



This house is adorable! I'd live there.



We walked through China and on to Germany, where we tried the gingerbread-caramel sandwich cookie. SO GOOD! This is the 1st place sandwich cookie of the trip, although the ice cream macarons in France were a close 2nd. We also shared a huge pretzel, and we saw the Anna/Elsa and Mickey/Minnie cavalcades go by.









I've used up my 10 photos so will continue in the next post...

 

[noodle73]

Continuation of Day 5 at Epcot:

We left Norway and continued wandering through World Showcase. The kids picked up the Kidcot postcard/sticker at every stop which helped keep them interested. Epcot is a different park for us because usually at Disney we are focused on rides but I do like seeing all the countries in World Showcase.









In France we tried both of the ice cream macaron sandwiches from Artisans de Glace.





We finished the World Showcase and headed back to the Land.





We did Soarin’ next. The wait was posted at 20 minutes but it was less than that and mostly just walking through the queue. The kids love this one & so do I. I think the different smells are such a nice touch. After Soarin' we did Nemo and then explored the aquarium.

I suggested doing a few more rides, but honestly not many of the Epcot rides are "must-do" for me, and the kids wanted to head back to the pool, so that is what we did. Our local pool was closed all summer and the kids have really missed it, so they did have so much fun at the WL pool. The splash pad area is really neat and they went down the waterslide in the main pool probably 25 times each.



And that is all! We headed home very early the next morning. A few final thoughts:

We were lucky with the weather that it did not rain at all. (The following week was tropical storm Eta). I had been worried about humidity since we live in a very dry climate but it didn't bother me at all. It was a little hot if we were stuck in a sunny line between 11-1 but mostly the weather was very pleasant in the 70s. We live in Colorado and it's gotten very cold here so looking back at these photos from just a few weeks ago in shorts & t-shirts is a little strange!

I was also worried about wearing a mask all day but that didn't bother me much either. The kids had been wearing masks all day at school so they were used to it already. (The week after we got home the school district switched back to remote until after Christmas). I thought that mask compliance was generally very good. There's only one time I can think of seeing a couple walking around with masks down & Starbucks props in hand but they had already been stopped by a CM. I did see people taking quick drinks of water in lines (and we did that too) but I didn't see anyone eating/drinking in line for an extended time.

We will probably stick to DLR for another 3-4 years. Until the kids are old enough to be into Harry Potter and we will do Universal too. Although... It does depend when DLR is able to open up. I assume it will open at some point in 2021, but if the timing doesn't work out for us we'll probably be back at WDW instead.

I know that some people caution against one-time or infrequent visitors going at this time but it worked out for us. Like I said earlier, we are mostly into doing rides at Disney, so the lack of parades, fireworks, and character meet-and-greets didn't bother us very much. I wouldn't have minded a few more shows, especially at parks with fewer rides. I thought it was really nice that we could plan this trip out less than a month in advance, and it was nice to have a more relaxed schedule rather than being tied to the FP+ itinerary. Although with FP+ we might have gotten to do MMRR which is my one regret...

Overall it was such a fun trip and I'm so glad we had a chance to go!

 

[CruellaNY]

Thanks for sharing your report! We returned last night from our Thanksgiving trip My 2 youngest are 15 and 18 and when they were toddlers their favorite park was Epcot! And that was before FEA and before they could ride Test Track or Soarin' lol.

The Mexico pavilion is neat and San Angel is really good; hope you get to return and try it sometime! Stay well!

 

[Jaina]

I'm glad you commented on my report so I saw that you had taken this trip! I haven't been watching the trip reports on the WDW side too much, and I should have been, since it seems so many DLR people have been visiting this year! It looks like your trip was just wonderful, and your kids are so cute! Way to be flexible and roll with what they needed and wanted. It sounds like it was fabulous, including the weather!!

 

[noodle73]

I'm glad you commented on my report so I saw that you had taken this trip! I haven't been watching the trip reports on the WDW side too much, and I should have been, since it seems so many DLR people have been visiting this year! It looks like your trip was just wonderful, and your kids are so cute! Way to be flexible and roll with what they needed and wanted. It sounds like it was fabulous, including the weather!!

Yes it's hard to find DLR friends on the massive WDW pages! I saw your October report earlier but just now saw you started the March one! I wasn't following things too closely for most of the spring though because it was just too depressing not knowing when DLR would ever reopen (especially to out-of state)!