There's No Sleeping at Disney! - A Oct-Nov 2020 Trip Report. MINI TR COMPLETE 5/10

[Verstehen]

Hope everyone is staying healthy and happy! As I mentioned, my Dad received the vaccine so that was great news. He'll actually be visiting this weekend for a few days. We won't stay on property (he's rented an AirBnb near my house) but we do plan to go to Epcot one day. I do know that the risks are far from zero with the vaccine, especially with only him being vaccinated, but we decided that the risk was reduced enough that it outweighed the emotional impact of continuing to stay apart. My sister and mom are also getting vaccinated in a few weeks (my sister already received her first dose), so they'll be coming in April. Community transmission is low right now and I hope it continues to fall as more people are vaccinated.

I was looking through my pictures in the MDE app and found a picture I hadn't pulled before, from our Magic Kingdom day from this trip. I'm pretty sure when we got on Buzz Lightyear, April was asleep, and this picture was our first indication that she'd woken back up!

Anyway, back to your normal report!


Day 5 (Sunday, November 1st), Part 1

We woke up around 9 am and took our time getting ready. We were tired of the in-room oatmeal breakfasts (and at least one of the oatmeal cups, my Dad discovered, was super salty! No idea how that happened; he ended up contacting Quaker Oats and getting some free coupons). So we decided to check out the Riviera’s quick service, Primo Piatto, for breakfast.

I mobile ordered. I believe we both got the lemon blueberry pancakes, but Dad had vegan sausage with his since he doesn’t eat pork, and I got bacon.

It was a struggle to get down there, but we made it shortly before breakfast was scheduled to end. A little late, but at least it meant that the place was pretty much empty.

Not sure if this is how Primo Piatto normally operates (I’m guessing not), but the way it worked was, I marked that we were here in the mobile order once we arrived, got April set up in her high chair (at that point I realized I’d forgotten her bib or her placemats or something, so Dad had to run upstairs to grab it). A few minutes later, our order was placed on a long table near the counter. It was prepped in a to-go bag, and it seems like how they package all orders, even if the party is dining in the restaurant. It’s probably just easier for them, but it was a little awkward unpacking everything at a table ten feet away from where we picked up the food and eating it out of a box instead of a plate.

We gave April some of our pancakes, and I think I also brought down one of her muffins. She ended up throwing a lot of it on the ground. This was a pretty common thing, and I always felt bad for the waitstaff, but it’s pretty inevitable when you have a baby who’s learning to eat. Too bad she doesn’t have a dog to clean up after her like she does at home!

In terms of the food, I thought it was alright. I’d heard (and continue to hear) a lot of absolute raving about the blueberry lemon pancakes, and I love pancakes so I was eager to try them. Honestly, I found them to be nothing special, and honestly they were a little dry, like pancakes made from a mix. Maybe I would have liked them better if I’d actually gotten to eat them on a plate. I almost wish one of us had just gone down to grab the to go bag and then we would have eaten in our room, but I didn’t know it came out like that until we were already settled down. It wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, just not the wow factor I was hoping for or expecting from reviews.

We went back to the room, and I have in my notes that I (or we) cleaned. I’m not remembering 100% what was cleaned, but I imagine I had to tidy up a bit since when we’d gotten back the night before I pretty much just dumped the bag of clean clothes somewhere and wanted to get them away. I’m sure also after a few days in the room, there was a bit of clutter about it and it felt nice to clear it away.

Once that was done and we had all our stuff in order, it was time to head to Epcot!

We walked over to the Skyliner station. I was excited to get back into a park and to be doing it in style!

During the ride over, my Dad asked what the plan was for dinner. I hadn’t made any ADR’s for that day so I was just like, uhhhhh IDK, food booths? He asked, “But aren’t there way less food booths than usual?” He was skeptical that we could make a meal out of them and I saw his point. I decided to check the MDE app for available ADR’s but if nothing was available, we could always do counter service. I did like the convenience of table service, though.

Luckily, I was able to find us a table at Teppan Edo, which we’d eaten at before and enjoyed. I do love a good hibachi restaurant, and hadn’t gotten to eat at one in a couple of years. So this was a pleasant surprise, and truth be told I was glad we wouldn’t be piecing together a meal from the festival booths.

We got off the Skyliner at Epcot around 12:30, and were ready to go!

First, I needed some booth food. I look forward to the escargot at France every year, and since it’s right next to the International Gateway entrance, it seemed like the perfect time to stop and try it.

My dad is grossed out by escargot (I don’t think it’s kosher) but I love it. I think it’s a weird but tasty and fun thing to eat, not to mention unique. We settled on a bench near the easels so I could eat. We also loaded up on suntan lotion. I do miss being able to just walk around and eat; not sure how much COVID this rule of eating while stationary really prevents, but it’s not the hardest rule to follow. Thankfully places to sit or stand with food in Epcot are pretty plentiful!

Next up, we rounded over to the UK. Dad had a question that had been sticking in his craw for I think a year at this point. During an earlier trip, I believe the one from last fall, he had noticed the tea timers in the tea shoppe. Honestly, at this point, I can’t remember what his issue with them was, but he was convinced something was wrong with them, like they were labeled incorrectly for the different types of tea with the timers. I’ve blocked most of it out because it was legit embarrassing. He was arguing. With a Disney employee. In a tiny store during a pandemic. About the tea timers.

There comes a point during most of my trips with my dad where I think, “Thank goodness we only have X number of days left because if we went any longer, I think I might kill him.” This was that point. If you read my report from last fall, it was probably the moment he made the poor cast member in China bring out like five little turtle figurines until he found one he was satisfied with. He’s usually a pretty easygoing guy, but when he gets his heart set on knowing or finding something, he will not let it go.

I think at this point I just exited the store until he found out what he wanted to know. When he came out, he asked if he could get a picture of me and April with the phone booths. All I can say is thank goodness for mask requirements, because you can't tell how annoyed I was.

At that point, we both needed something that we could bond over, so we went to Canada to get ourselves our beloved maple popcorn, which thankfully was not a casualty of the pandemic.

We wanted some more food in general and a pick-me-up. I headed over to the Citrus booth to get some food, and Dad went to the Starbucks across the way to get beverages for us.

I got the citrus chicken and also the lobster tail. I knew Dad wouldn’t approve of the lobster, but it was the one thing at the booth that April could eat some of. I gave her some of the meat, not sure if she ended up with any of it in her belly, but at least I offered it. Dad wasn’t too thrilled when he came back and saw the shellfish, but I wasn’t too thrilled with him wasting everyone’s time in the tea shoppe, so I guess we’re even!

I remember the food was pretty tasty, not much else beyond that.

Moving on, we parked our stroller outside The Land, and went inside to ride our favorite boat ride. There was pretty much no line, so that was nice. This was the only thing we wanted to do in here, so we left after that. We did snag a picture by the Epcot sign, which has become a tradition with me and April at this point, dating back to when I was pregnant with her (see my report from September 2019 for the original image!)

Next up we rode The Seas, which also had very little wait. The only problem was, April was fast asleep in her carrier. We were sad that she didn’t get to experience it with us, and we wanted her to be awake before we walked around this pavilion, so we exited directly from the ride and walked over to Spaceship Earth, since that seemed like a better activity to do with a sleeping baby.

Unfortunately, Spaceship Earth was down! And of course they couldn’t tell us when it would be back up, we decided to go back to the Seas. We walked in through the gift shop entrance and looked at some of the exhibits.

Shortly after, April began to stir, which meant she got to enjoy looking at some fish, so that was nice!

On our way towards the exit, we went to a cast member near the ride exit and asked if we needed to head outside to ride again. The cast member had us enter via the back entrance (I think where wheelchairs usually enter and exit). Not that there was a long line, but it saved us having to walk around the building again. This time April was awake and actually looking at everything! Sadly, this is a terrible ride for good pictures.

We went back over to Spaceship Earth, which was finally running again. There was a bit of a line, but it went quickly. Enjoy the worst on-ride photo in existence, taken by me.

We rode and then exited into the now eerily silent post show room. I know it’s been said by other reporters before, but dang is it creepy in there.

I think I’ll stop here and resume the report next post. Stay tuned for more Epcot!

 

[KathyM2]

I do know that the risks are far from zero with the vaccine, especially with only him being vaccinated, but we decided that the risk was reduced enough that it outweighed the emotional impact of continuing to stay apart.

This is such a tough decision, and you are handling it so well. I do worry about when more people are vaccinated that they won't continue to think of others and keep masking and distancing to protect those who haven't yet gotten it. Ugh. But as long as people are being careful hopefully it will be ok!!

You have me intrigued now about the tea timers lol

 

[Verstehen]

This is such a tough decision, and you are handling it so well. I do worry about when more people are vaccinated that they won't continue to think of others and keep masking and distancing to protect those who haven't yet gotten it. Ugh. But as long as people are being careful hopefully it will be ok!!

You have me intrigued now about the tea timers lol

I'll have to ask him to remind me what that was all about and report back here. There's a chance he may not even remember lol.

 

[Laurca1]

We took our son at a similar age. We don't regret it one bit. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Verstehen]

So my dad came the other week. It was a nice visit! I'll recap it once I finish up this report because I don't want to get sidetracked.

Day 5, Part 2

We figured we might as well finish up on this side of Future World (since there was nothing on the other side we could ride with a baby), and we went over to Journey Into Imagination. Oh, how I wish April could experience it the way it used to be in the 80’s.

In the gift shop, we stopped at the DVC Member Lounge counter to see if there was a wait to get in. There was not! But we had to get our card off the website, because neither of us had thought to bring a physical card. D’oh! That took awhile and by the time we got it, we scored the last available spots.

The lounge is a really chill place. Even now they’ve managed to make it very relaxing. If you’ve never been, it’s on the second floor of the Imagination pavilion and it’s a nice place with lots of windows for lovely views and seating for members to chill out in. There are snacks and soft drinks available, and some games for the kids (though not sure if the games are available right now).

Usually, you just go up the stairs or elevator, are greeted at the desk, and are free to go find seating and get yourself some drinks and snacks. Now, of course, you’re directed to your own table, which is six feet from all surrounding tables, and you are only allowed to take your mask off once you are seated. You can still get drinks; they have a Coca Cola Freestyle machine so we definitely wanted to take advantage of that, but a cast member will do the pour for you, so you can’t just browse around the interface like you (or I) normally do.

Dad went up and got drinks for us. I think I got some kind of Sprite combo with cherry and lime. Always my go-to!

It was nice to chill here for a bit. I don’t think we stayed long; there’s not a whole lot to do here even in normal times, and of course April wanted to crawl around. We let her go around our table a little, but then she started wanting to branch out, which was a big no no.

We needed a bathroom break (one sucky thing about the lounge is that it doesn’t have a bathroom!), so we went around the building to the almost-secret bathrooms behind the Imagination Pavilion. When we walked out, we saw Joy!

She was just dancing around and miming some different things, like riding a horse. It was cute! Honestly, I was never big into characters before I had April, but now I want her to see as many characters as possible. It’s such a shame she can’t really MEET meet them right now, but at least she gets to see them, and maybe it’ll help it be less intimidating when restrictions are lifted and I force her to take pictures with them again, haha. For now, she was just kind of intrigued, maybe a little confused.

Also, I have to say, there’s something very “2020” about a character named Joy, unable to actually meet with children, who we must watch from behind a fence.

Too introspective? Alright, let’s move on.

I was hungry again, so I stopped at the Caribbean booth across from the Starbucks to grab an empanada. It was tasty! Dinner wasn’t too far away, so it was the right snack to keep me going until then.

We went over to Mexico then. I asked Dad to take a picture of me in front of the pyramid. I was wearing the Day of the Dead leggings I got from Ambrie since it was November 1st! I actually got these and the mermaid leggings I’d worn the day before in a random legging sale. You pay half price and get two random leggings from their collection. They are really comfy and cute!

We went inside the pyramid. There was a bit of a line but it moved quickly. We got our customary sombrero picture.

And then we went on It’s a Small Mexico. I’m glad we got to see the animatronics while they were operating! I’m going to be so sad if they’re never brought back.

Next we continued around the world, and I have in my notes that we stopped for beer in Germany. If my memory serves at this point, he went to the counter in the pavilion’s courtyard, across from the caramel shop. I don’t remember what beer he got, but I’m sure it was dark. I do think I tried some and liked it. At this point, it was also raining and April was getting cranky from being stuck in the stroller for so long. I had pulled the seat back and covered the top of it for her in the hopes she would stay dry and get some sleep. She did stay dry, but I don’t think she got much sleep.

I also think we stopped at the benches outside of the bathrooms in the American pavilion so Dad could enjoy his beer, now that we have a “no drinking while walking” rule. (Side note: I asked him during his visit last week if he, as a medical professional, believed that barring eating while walking really helped mitigate transmission. He said he believed it was less about that and more about the fact that if they allowed walking while eating or drinking, then it would be much harder to enforce the mask policy because anyone who is told to put their mask back on could simply claim they were eating or drinking).

I’ll pause here and pick up the rest of our evening in the next update.

 

[KathyM2]

The lounge is a really chill place. Even now they’ve managed to make it very relaxing.

This looks like a great place for a break on a hot day. I'm sure it's not as empty in "normal" times....

It’s such a shame she can’t really MEET meet them right now, but at least she gets to see them, and maybe it’ll help it be less intimidating when restrictions are lifted and I force her to take pictures with them again, haha. For now, she was just kind of intrigued, maybe a little confused.

So many little kids are terrified of the characters...hopefully it gets to the point where she will WANT to go see them after not being able to for so long!!

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Day 2, Part 3

Our dinner destination that night was a favorite of ours: The Edison!

We checked in right at our meal time, around 7:30, and were seated almost immediately. For the first time, we were on the first floor, near the bathrooms. That was kind of a bummer, as it meant we were kind of in a corner, but there wasn’t a whole lot going on in the restaurant anyway.

Likewise, the menu seemed to have been severely pared down. The last time we were here I had an amazing pulled pork mac and cheese that must not have been on the menu anymore or I would have ordered it.

But first, drinks! I got a cocktail called the Time Turner.

It’s rum, campari, lime juice, pineapple, and orgeat. Very refreshing. Reminded me of my beloved Trader Sam’s, which I hope reopens soon.

My dad was eager to continue his quest for dark beer, and he was optimistic about the Edison since he’d had a great dark beer here before. Unfortunately, their beer menu had also been slashed due to the pandemic, and I imagine the dark beers were the first to go (again: who wants to drink dark beer in a Florida theme park?). I’m not sure what he got, but I’m sure it wasn’t dark enough, because it never is. A dark enough beer for him would be one that did not reflect light at all.

We ruminated on the menu, and we decided to get two burgers to split: The Edison burger (minus the bacon), and the Beyond burger. We’d both heard good things about the Beyond burgers and wanted to try them. At the time, I wasn’t giving April meat and wanted to get her some kind of side that she could eat. I saw the carrots and thought that sounded great, so I asked the waiter if they were cooked in honey. He said no, so I ordered them. Turns out, I didn’t ask the right questions.

Our food arrived, and while the carrots were delicious, they were not something I would feed to a nine month old who is just learning how to eat.

They were super starchy and I think they’d been grilled. We tried feeding her a couple of the softer ones, just to suck on, but she didn’t really go for them. In the end, I gave her bits of burger bun, some mushed up fries, and some of her baby snacks to supplement. Meal of champions!

We enjoyed our burgers, but they weren’t anything spectacular. Overall, this was the least good time we’ve had at the Edison, though I don’t know that this will stop us from trying it again once the pandemic is over.

We finished our meal and then headed out to the car, then drove back to the Riviera.

Back at the room, we decided it was early enough that we wanted to do some pool time, but I had a slight issue. It’s a little TMI so feel free to skip this next bit.

I’d had a sneaking suspicion since earlier in the day, but now there was no denying it. I had a clogged duct. If you’re a mom and you’ve never had one, you’re lucky. They’re pretty painful and can lead to bigger issues like an infection. And the last thing you want on a Disney vacation is an infection, especially since if I got a fever I wouldn’t be allowed into the parks. It was too late to call my doctor but I decided I would call first thing in the morning. In the meantime, since my dad is a dentist, he said that if I really ended up needing antibiotics, he could find the right one and prescribe it for me so that I wouldn’t have to go home.

I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, and it was too early to worry about that anyway. Right now the big issue was pain and discomfort, and the best remedy is to just nurse as much as possible. So I tried to focus on that and not worry. But it sucks super bad having your vacation interrupted by any sort of pain or medical issue, even a minor one!

Okay, TMI stuff over. Onto the pool!

The Riviera has a really small footprint, and the two pools are actually super close to each other, on opposite ends of the courtyard. We’d experienced the main pool the night before, and now we decided to try the quiet pool and see what it was all about. We hoped, against hope, that the hot tub on this side would be a bit more empty.

Alas, it was not to be. If anything, the hot tub was more crowded on this side. Wah! There should be sign up shifts for the hot tubs. I really can’t wait until I can sit around strangers without worrying about getting them sick, or me getting them sick.

Instead, we sat on the steps of the pool and just enjoyed the water as best we could. I think Dad did a few laps, as is his way. At one point, we were joined by a very sweet but talkative girl who got suuuuuuper close to us to ask about April. What was her name, how old was she, did she like the rides, etc. One thing that sucks about the pandemic is I am NOT good at asking people to step away from me if they’re too close or not wearing masks, and I am especially not going to tell a child to get away. It was really awkward and I spent most of the conversation trying to think of a polite way to ask her to back up.

This might turn into a rant, but it’s one of the (many) things I hate about the pandemic. I LOVE meeting people at Disney. During almost every trip, you’ll find me making new friends in the resort lounge, or chatting with folks in the hot tubs. It’s one of my favorite parts about going to Disney, and one thing I wish for April is that as she grows, she meets friends at Disney too. I hate that I couldn’t just enjoy this nice conversation with a sweet little girl who just wanted to talk to my baby. I hate that the pandemic has taken these simple pleasures from us. Ugh. People, please wear masks and get vaccinated so we can get back to normal soon!

Okay, rant over. Promise.

We finished up at the pool shortly after that, and went back to the room, where we noticed the AC would not turn on. Not good! It was going to get very hot in that room very fast without it. So we called the front desk who sent up a nice cast member to look into it. Before he’d even stepped into the room, he said, “It’s because your balcony door is open.” It turns out that at the Riviera (and maybe at all/most Disney resorts?) the AC is set to not turn on if it senses the balcony door is open. It’s part of their green certification.

The cast member said he’d just override that setting for us, even though we said we were happy to keep the door closed when the AC was on now that we knew. We also asked him if this was such a common issue, why doesn’t the front desk just ask us if the balcony door’s open before sending someone up? He shrugged and said, “I don’t know, but they pay me to come up here, so I’m not complaining!”

Mystery solved, we decided to watch some TV before bed. The Riviera has smart TV’s with Chromecast, and I had figured out how to get my Hulu account running on it. I love the show What We Do in the Shadows and wanted to introduce it to my dad. Anyone else watch it? It’s so hilarious. We watched a couple of episodes before falling asleep sometime around 11 or 12. Oh, and I didn’t bother putting April in her pack n’ play that night. We’ll see how brave I am tomorrow!

Eep I’m so scared of getting a clogged duct! My LO is just five weeks old but she’s also EBF and it’s a lot more work than I’d imagined. Congrats on ten months!

 

[Verstehen]

Eep I’m so scared of getting a clogged duct! My LO is just five weeks old but she’s also EBF and it’s a lot more work than I’d imagined. Congrats on ten months!

Thank you! 13 months now and still going strong. I've had at least one other clog since then. The big thing is just nurse as much as you can, and use a warm compress in between. Makes a big difference.

This looks like a great place for a break on a hot day. I'm sure it's not as empty in "normal" times....



So many little kids are terrified of the characters...hopefully it gets to the point where she will WANT to go see them after not being able to for so long!!

It's not usually as full as you might think. It didn't seem much more empty than normal, I think because seating up there is usually scarce anyway and they don't let you up if they don't have seating. The difference now is they assign you a seating area, whereas before it was every party for themselves.

 

[Verstehen]

Day 5, Part 3

We then made our way to Japan. It was a bit early to check in for dinner, so we wandered around Mitsukoshi, though we didn’t find anything we wanted to buy. It was raining pretty hard by this point, so rather than wait inside the building we decided to hide under the stairs going up to Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining. There weren’t many people there and Dad had the idea that April could crawl around a bit and get some energy out before dinner.

I really wanted to get the frothy ramen from the booth, which I had enjoyed last year. I knew this would be my last chance to get it this year. So even though it was raining cats and dogs, I grabbed the umbrella, ran over to the booth, got my frothy ramen, and ran back to the stairs to enjoy it.

Success! And it’s a small snack so it didn’t spoil my appetite for dinner.

We still had awhile to go before our dining time, but April was getting restless and wanted to explore further than we were comfortable allowing her. So Dad ran over to the check-in booth to see if there was any way they could seat us early. To our surprise, they said yes! I think it only took a few minutes for us to be called upstairs.

We were seated at a table with one other party, separated from them by a large plastic divider. Like with Spice Road Table and the Moroccan cast members, I was surprised to see the restaurant was staffed almost entirely by Japanese cast members. I assume they have either a different visa than other countries, or are permanent residents/citizens.

Dinner was very lovely! I ordered the shrimp and steak, and Dad got the salmon. He shared some with April, though most of it ended up on the floor. I didn't get many food pictures except for this one of the cucumber salad.

We finished and paid the bill. It was nice to sit down and get out of the rain for a bit. April was very cranky, though, and we were ready to hit the Skyliner and go back to the Riviera for some much-needed rest.

Unfortunately, it was not to be.

I’m not 100% sure of the reason, but I’m guessing it was due to high winds or rain that the Skyliner was not operating that evening. We were instead directed to take the bus from the Boardwalk to the Riviera.

Ugh! This was definitely the low point of our trip. It was drizzling and April was absolutely inconsolable in her stroller. I felt like everyone was glaring at me as we walked in the rain from the International Gateway to the Boardwalk bus stop.

When we got there, of course, there was a HUGE line, and it was confusing to know what to do. After all, we were all going to different places. But since there was only one apparent line to stand in, that’s what we did. It stretched almost back to the front entrance of the hotel, with social distancing. It was just such a miserable experience. I get it was a safety issue with the Skyliner, but it didn’t feel much safer having to stand in a long line and then get into a crowded bus. At least it would be a pretty short trip.

On top of everything, April was hungry so I had to feed her while already in a stressful situation in front of all these folks.

But, of course, we survived. As we got closer to the curb, the line divided somewhat into the different destinations, and I will say the busses were coming pretty frequently. Soon enough, we were on a crowded but short bus ride back to the Riviera.

We were exhausted and cranky by the time we got back. Luckily, April was in better spirits once we were inside.

She went to bed pretty much without a fuss. I think she was at her limit really. After a couple more What We Do in the Shadows episodes, Dad and I too fell asleep, and as sad as I was that our trip was coming to a close, I realized that it was probably a good thing that tomorrow was our last full day.

 

[KathyM2]

Ugh! This was definitely the low point of our trip. It was drizzling and April was absolutely inconsolable in her stroller. I felt like everyone was glaring at me as we walked in the rain from the International Gateway to the Boardwalk bus stop.

That's the worst feeling, although people were probably just looking at you with sympathy...but it doesn't always feel that way!!

 

[rdkeim]

Kind of a challenging day for you. The upside is you were miserable in Disney Between the rain and the skyliner going down, not a good ending to your day. Hope your last full day was a good one!

 

[Verstehen]

That's the worst feeling, although people were probably just looking at you with sympathy...but it doesn't always feel that way!!

It is. I don't usually care what people think of me, but when I'm stressed and just want to be out of the rain, not a good recipe for calm!

Kind of a challenging day for you. The upside is you were miserable in Disney Between the rain and the skyliner going down, not a good ending to your day. Hope your last full day was a good one!

Haha, true. I do try to look at that as an upside.

 

[Verstehen]

This chapter is a little low on pictures, but when you read it, you'll see why. We had our hands full this morning!


Day 6, Part 1 (Monday, November 2nd)

Today was the day.

Our Hollywood Studios day, and our last full day.

It also happened to be the very last day you had to be in the park to get a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. That’s right; we were missing the new system that allows you to get a boarding group from the comfort of your bed by a whole day.

This was the earliest wake-up time of the whole trip, around 7:30 am or 8 am. I had yet to experience Rise, and had been unsuccessful at getting a boarding group before, so I was determined now that we would get one. Hollywood Studios opened at 10 am today, and I was determined to make it.

I skipped breakfast altogether, though I think my dad noshed on something. The plan was to take the Skyliner from Riviera to Hollywood Studios, and when we left the room, it seemed like we had plenty of time.

We got to the Skyliner station and boarded a gondola. I quickly looked up an article and video on how to make sure you get a boarding group. I downloaded the speed test app and asked my dad if he had a world clock on his phone so that when the time came, he could confirm it was 9 am, and I could have the app open on my phone. I felt prepared. I felt zen. I felt optimistic and excited.

Until we got to Caribbean Beach.

There were a lot of people standing in line to board gondolas at this station. I figured they all must be Caribbean Beach guests, and I felt bad that they had to stand in such a long line to get to Hollywood Studios.

Then the doors to our gondola opened, and a cast member very nicely told us to watch our steps as we exited.

“Oh no,” I explained, “we’re going to Hollywood Studios.”

“Yes,” he said, “Everyone has to exit here, and reboard.”

So while I focused heavily on what to do once I was actually in Hollywood Studios, what I failed to research, dear reader, was how the Skyliner worked. I had completely forgotten that Caribbean Beach was a transfer station for all lines, and no matter your destination, you had to exit once you got there. Hence, the very long lines of very anxious people going to Hollywood Studios.

We got out, as we had no choice, and assessed the situation. The line was very, very long. I approached a cast member who was holding an “End of Line” sign and asked him how long he thought we might have to wait to get to Hollywood Studios. He said, “30-40 minutes.”

We really didn’t have “30-40 minutes” if we wanted any chance of a boarding group. I asked him if he thought it would be faster to re-board back to Riviera and take our own car.

“Oh, most definitely,” he said.

So that is what we did. There was absolutely no one else waiting for a gondola to the Riviera, so we boarded right away and started the journey back. I took this picture right after we boarded the return gondola at 9:24 am.

Of course, since I hadn’t thought we’d need them, I had left my car keys in the room, but at least I knew exactly where they were. Dad and I agreed it would be much faster for him to run up to the room, grab the keys, and meanwhile I would take April in her stroller to the car and he would meet us there, then we would jet off. We’d be cutting it close, but we might still make it.

So that’s exactly what we did. I was worried Dad would still have trouble finding the keys, but I don’t think he had any problems. I got to the car (on the other side of the resort from the gondola station, of course), and I think I didn’t have to wait long before Dad showed up with the key. He used the fob to unlock it from a distance so I could start loading April in.

The GPS said we would get there around 9:55 am. The park opened at 9, so I knew this would be cutting it razor thin, and I also wasn’t sure if it counted the destination as the entrance to the parking lot, the park itself, or what.

On the way, we discussed our tactic once we arrived. “One person needs to unfold the stroller, and the other person needs to get April out of her car seat,” I explained. Several months later, I now realize we didn’t actually have to bring the stroller in just to get a boarding group, but I guess I figured it would be faster to push a stroller than to carry a 20 lb baby.

But it turned out that Dad didn’t really know how to either take her out of her car seat or unfold the stroller, which did not help my mood. It seemed that our chances of getting a boarding group were fading fast.

We made it past the parking stands, and were directed to a spot pretty close to the entrance. But it was 8:55, and I didn’t see how we could get past the temperature check, bag check, and through the tapstiles by 10 am.

But I still held out hope, and somehow, we made it inside at 9:58 am. I ducked us over to a corner just to the right of the entrance right after we tapped in. The website I had found suggested finding a spot relatively free of people, and there was only one other family in our vicinity. “Get your world clock app ready,” I said to Dad. “At 9:59, I’m going to need you to tell me exactly when it’s about to turn 9 am.”

“Oh, it can’t do that,” he said casually.

I blinked, certain that I had heard him wrong. “What do you mean, it can’t do that?”

“It shows me the time, but it doesn’t count down the seconds like that,” he said.

“Then it’s not a World Clock!” I said, admittedly not at my calmest or most put-together. “Why did you tell me you had a World Clock?!”

“I thought you just needed a clock!” he protested.

“Why would I just need a clock on someone else’s phone? My phone has a clock! All phones have clocks!” I’m sure the other family thought I being was a real B-word. I’m sure my dad thought that too.

By now, at least, I had the MDE app open, and was on the virtual queue page like my research suggested. I decided to just refresh like a madwoman until I saw the option to join. I did it a couple of times, and then, it happened.

I clicked the button. It had auto selected both me and Dad since we were both in the park. I clicked a couple more times as directed by the app, and seconds later, we got the all important notification.

Group 39, with an estimated return of 220 minutes! Not too shabby.

How did I celebrate this milestone? With a dignified high-five or something like that?

Oh, no. My blood was pumping with adrenaline. My heart was racing. I did the only thing I could think of. I screamed like I had just taken a lot of drugs and threw both fists into the air.

The whole affair was not my finest hour, and the culmination of it was...well, let’s just say I’m glad I’ll never see the other family that was standing near us again. And also, can we agree that it’s a good thing Disney changed the boarding group policy?

All in all, I don’t think I’m a fan of boarding groups, either the kind you join in the park or from your bed. The idea of putting myself through that stress, even if it means I don’t have to stand in a line later, is not appealing to me at all. I know from talking to others that I may be in the minority, and I accept that, and maybe I’d change my tune if I had to stand in a four hour long wait for Rise. Hopefully at some point demand will calm down and we can just have like, normal hour long waits the way we do with Avatar, but I worry that the boarding groups themselves are creating artificial hype that will just exist in perpetuity.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED talk.

I think my dad was just relieved it was over and I wouldn’t make him rush anymore today. Now that we knew we were assured a spot on Rise, we could spend our time on whatever we wanted. I directed us over to the Chinese theater, excited to finally try Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway.

It had a super long line already, estimated at about 100 minutes. Dad was skeptical but I made it clear I did not intend to leave the park today without riding it. Writing this report makes me realize I acted a bit tyrannically on this particular day. I probably wasn’t much fun to be around. I guess that was a good sign it was time for the vacation to wind down.

We got in line, and stayed in it for maybe ten minutes. I was ready to stick it out, but when I saw it was snaking all around the courtyard (I initially thought that was part of a line for something else, though I’m not sure what), I agreed with Dad that we could always come back later. The Lines app didn’t make me feel optimistic that it would get much shorter, but maybe later on in the day we’d be more amenable to a long line.

The park hadn’t even been open an hour, and we’d already had such a full morning. With MMRR and Rise out of the question for right now, where would we go next???

 

[KathyM2]

Congrats on getting a boarding group!! I agree, the process is beyond stressful and a bit ridiculous. Who knows how this will play out in the post covid era....glad you got one though!! Sorry about MMRR...we didn't get to ride that either last time we were there pre pandemic...hope to one day!!

 

[piglet1979]

I would have been the same way. The only difference is my husband would be yelling too. Neither of us do well in high stress situations.

I am glad you were able to a boarding group.

 

[Verstehen]

Congrats on getting a boarding group!! I agree, the process is beyond stressful and a bit ridiculous. Who knows how this will play out in the post covid era....glad you got one though!! Sorry about MMRR...we didn't get to ride that either last time we were there pre pandemic...hope to one day!!

Aw I hope you get to ride it next trip!

I would have been the same way. The only difference is my husband would be yelling too. Neither of us do well in high stress situations.

I am glad you were able to a boarding group.

Yeah my dad is much calmer than me, especially since he doesn't care as much about getting on the ride, lol.

 

[Verstehen]

Day 6, Part 2

We decided to head over to Toy Story Land and check out the line for Toy Story Mania, definitely Dad’s favorite ride in this park. It had a “short” wait at about 40 minutes, so we hopped in the line, which with distancing stretched out into the Municiburg section.

I was hungry, having skipped breakfast in the name of getting out of the hotel room sooner, so I went over to the Joffrey’s stand to get myself a treat. Dad held our spot in line with the stroller while I put April in her carrier and went to the stand.

I picked out an apple fritter, and had a wristlet gift card to pay for it, but I didn’t realize I was short a couple bucks! I had left my wallet in the stroller so I was quite embarrassed. I rushed back to find Dad, who had moved considerably up in line, to fetch some cash.

I went back to the line, which had also grown, and resigned myself to waiting longer to get my precious fritter. But not long after I got into line, I was waved over by the kind cast member who had been helping me earlier. She had put my order on hold so I was able to just pay the remaining amount and run off with my treat.

Success!

I ate my fritter as we approached the stroller parking area and found a spot to leave our stuff. Then we went into the indoor queue. It wasn’t long until we were boarding a ride vehicle and racking up some points!

And I earned more, as usual! I hardly ever seem to crack “best in vehicle” though. Does it report best in vehicle that ride, or best in vehicle of everyone who has ridden that vehicle that day? I don’t know. All I know is, I feel like I’ve earned more accolades than the ride claims.

We weren’t interested in rider swap for Slinky Dog, or in standing in line for Alien Swirling Saucers. The line for MMRR was still too long, so the only thing really left to do was head over to Baseline Tap House. What could be done about it! I guess we had to drink.

I ordered the blood orange hard cider and Dad ordered whatever darkest beer they had available. We also got the pretzel to share. We went outside and found a table available, though it had a leftover charcuterie board. They hadn’t touched their pickles! This should be a crime. I wish I could have just eaten the pickles. If it weren’t COVID, not gonna lie, I might have.

We enjoyed just chilling while we waited for our boarding group to open up. We tried to give some pretzel to April; she munched on it a bit. Mostly Dad just had fun holding her.

He was hoping we could get a table at Sci-Fi Dine In, which is always a challenge, but now even moreso with COVID. I checked while we were at Baseline and there weren’t any reservations or waiting list spots available. Honestly, I don’t see us returning there anyway until April can sit in a chair by herself. With the high chair we’d need to sit at one of the actual table tables, and that to me just negates the whole point of eating at Sci-Fi.

At some point, I was graced by the presence of this little guy.

He freaked me out when I first felt him on my arm, and then he leaped onto the ground. He’s pretty cute!

And then at 12:20 I got this magical push notification.

Woohoo! It was finally time to ride, only 140 minutes since park opening, 80 less than the initial estimate. But of course, with us it was not so simple. Rise has a height restriction, so only one of us could go at a time. We went over to the queue and asked how rider swap would work. They explained that it worked just as normal. They’d scan our bands, and one person would ride first while the other waited, and then the second person would go through the Fastpass queue.

Since it sounded like the first rider would theoretically have a longer wait, we decided that Dad would ride first, to limit the amount of time April would have to be separated from me. The cast member helping us out said that Dad would probably not end up waiting long at all to ride, either, so I decided we shouldn’t stray far. I also confirmed that going through the Fastpass line meant I wouldn’t miss the Stormtrooper room, and he assured me that was part of the experience, not the queue. I had purposely avoided ride spoilers since the ride opened, so I honestly had no idea what to expect or what features showed up at what point in the attraction.

It took some time to find a good spot for me and April to wait, but I finally settled us on the curb across from Baseline.

The wait was pretty short. While we were sitting there, my doctor’s office called to confirm my appointment the following afternoon, but luckily, the clog had completely cleared up by that point and I felt back to normal, so I went ahead and cancelled it. Phew! One less thing to worry about.

I'm so glad that dress in the picture fit, by the way. I still didn't fit into it during our last trip when I was only six weeks postpartum, and I was worried it would never fit again, but it does now! Hooray!

The cast member predicted it would take Dad about 30 minutes to go through the queue and full experience, so after about twenty five minutes I loaded April back in her stroller and brought us over to a seating area near the ride exit. Not long after, Dad exited. I saw him from far away and texted him that we could see him, and then amused myself by watching him look around for me.

He found us after about a minute. I asked him how it was.

His response: “It was fine.”

Honestly, I was a little surprised. Everything I’d heard about the ride from the past year was that it was absolutely incredible, worth the wait, and the best thing that Disney had ever made. I’d woken us up early and dragged us all across property because I believed the hype. And now Dad was telling me it was “fine?” Was it not operating at full mode? He couldn’t tell me, of course, but as I walked off to redeem my rider switch, I felt a little apprehensive that I would be leaving the experience feeling that everything we’d gone through to get access for this ride had not been worth it.

Stay tuned to find out if that was the case!

 

[KathyM2]

We decided to head over to Toy Story Land and check out the line for Toy Story Mania, definitely Dad’s favorite ride in this park. It had a “short” wait at about 40 minutes, so we hopped in the line,

This is my fave ride too. Though I have to admit with covid...I might be a little hesitant...were they disinfecting?

Your apple fritter looked delish!

Curious to see what you thought of ROTR...I loved it..maybe your dad was downplaying it? I will have to wait and see

 

[rdkeim]

Loved your story about your adventure getting to HS. Sorry but it made me laugh Both the trek to get there and the stress of getting a boarding group. My DH and I just finished a stay at Pop. Our first morning trying out the Skyliner to HS the line was a mile long to board. Then they said the wait at the transfer station was another 30-45 min. We hightailed it back to the bus area - nope no bus running. Ended up taking an Uber. I failed at getting a boarding group earlier in our room. We tried the world clock thing too and had the same problem - no seconds! Tried again at 1:00 while in line for MF and was successful! The group behind us in line was cheering me on. Anyway, I can't imagine going thru what you did with a baby in tow. I'm sure it's funnier for you looking back on it. I hope after all that you thought the ride was more than just "fine".

 

[Verstehen]

This is my fave ride too. Though I have to admit with covid...I might be a little hesitant...were they disinfecting?

Your apple fritter looked delish!

Curious to see what you thought of ROTR...I loved it..maybe your dad was downplaying it? I will have to wait and see

It was super delish! I don't think they're disinfecting ride vehicles after every rider, but I think they do clean them periodically. I'm okay with that personally because contracting COVID that way is pretty much unheard of, so we just disinfect our own hands before and after.

Loved your story about your adventure getting to HS. Sorry but it made me laugh Both the trek to get there and the stress of getting a boarding group. My DH and I just finished a stay at Pop. Our first morning trying out the Skyliner to HS the line was a mile long to board. Then they said the wait at the transfer station was another 30-45 min. We hightailed it back to the bus area - nope no bus running. Ended up taking an Uber. I failed at getting a boarding group earlier in our room. We tried the world clock thing too and had the same problem - no seconds! Tried again at 1:00 while in line for MF and was successful! The group behind us in line was cheering me on. Anyway, I can't imagine going thru what you did with a baby in tow. I'm sure it's funnier for you looking back on it. I hope after all that you thought the ride was more than just "fine".

Thanks! You'll soon find out how it went for me Looking back, I laugh too, though I'm not eager to go through that again. Sorry you had to deal with your own stresses there!