I Have to Do WHAT ?!?

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Yes, we were crazy enough to go to WDW in the middle of this pandemic.  There are multiple reasons why this report will be briefer than normal:

• Our trip was shorter, and I took a lot less pictures.
• Photoshop recently upgraded to their 2020 edition, which won't work in Windows 7, and because I really, really dislike Windows 10 I've refused to upgrade my desktop.  So I can't edit my photos.  You will see them in all their crooked, unedited glory.
• And, on a more serious note, I am suffering from what is commonly called Cyclist's Palsy in my left hand and have a lot of difficulty typing.  Will have tests run on Thursday to find out whether I need an operation on my elbow, hand, or both.  I neglected the condition for a long time, and the surgeon said my recuperation will be 2 years, and even then I will never regain full use of my hand.  Getting old is no fun.

Thank you Themepark, for telling me how to insert my pictures!

 

[dblr....Rennie 224]

I'm in for this ride, sorry to hear about your arm issue and hope it will be taken care of. Now on with the show!!!

[ThemeParkCommando 81]

I'm In!  Hopefully, I can help with Imgur, too. 

In Imgur, go to your image gallery, and select the picture you want to link.  On the right, there should be a series of options.  Choose the 'copy' button to the right of Direct Link.

Then, on Fortfiends comment, click the 'link' button from the menu.  River test pic.   Past the link in the URL box, and then type your title for the link. 

OR, to get the picture to just show as it is below, click the 'Other media' button at the bottom right of the comment box, and select 'Insert Image from URL', paste the direct link from Imgur, and the picture should show up.  I can see my dog below, can anyone else?

 

[Ivy 36]

Gwen, I am looking forward to hearing about your trip!  Sorry to hear about your elbow, hoping things will work out okay.

 

Themepark, I can see your dog photo. Great shot!

 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Thank you Rennie, Themepark, and Ivy, for going along with me for as long as my hand will hold out for this trIp!

I don't often take selfies, but this one sums up our trip pretty well:

 

Anyway, we had reservations to arrive on November 15 and leave on December 15.  But because we couldn't buy an annual pass and also because of the restaurant situation, we decided to move our arrival date up to November 29.  We arrived early that morning and after a bit of wrangling got assigned to 706, which is our new favorite site.  We spent that day and the next six wandering around the Fort, resort hopping, going out to eat, etc.  

it was sunny and cold.  Really cold.  All but our first and last days.  I wore a long sleeved shirt, a turtleneck sweater, and a sherpa-lined heavy hooded sweatshirt over all that.  And I was still freezing.

[djsamuel 322]

Walked by your site at 706 but you were not at the site.  Nice location.  That loop seemed really nice all December.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I’m in. I am sorry to hear about the problems with your hand. I will keep you in my prayers. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

1 hour ago, djsamuel said:

Walked by your site at 706 but you were not at the site.  Nice location.  That loop seemed really nice all December.

Sorry we missed you!  The loop was very popular with locals.  Most of our neighbors only stayed 1-2 days.  There was constant turnover.  We couldn't believe how much they decorated just for a night or two.

1 hour ago, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

I’m in. I am sorry to hear about the problems with your hand. I will keep you in my prayers. 

Thanks, Yvonne!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Normally the first thing we do after getting our site set up is catch the boat to the MK and walk down Main Street.  Then we spend our first full day in the Magic Kingdom.  That wasn't going to happen since we couldn't buy APs.  So the first day we just went looping (with our masks on, of course) and got dinner at P&Js.

On Monday morning we drove over to the Contemporary for breakfast at Chef Mickey.  It was all you can eat but served family style.  Thankfully they gave us the option of declining any dish we didn't want brought to the table.  So we declined the pastries, the salmon, the salami and cheese (only because it was genoa instead of hard salami), pancakes, and the kielbasa and breakfast sausages.  Maybe a few more things.  We did ask for extra bacon.  This is what we received our first round:

 

You can't really tell it in the picture, but that was at least 1.5 pounds of bacon!  And we ate all of it!  This meal, by Disney standards, was a good value.  It was $25 per adult including coffee and juice.

Here's the Contemporary tree:

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

So this is a good time to explain the title of my trip report!

Before we went into breakfast I wanted to go to the restroom on the 4th floor of the Contemporary to wash my hands.

Would you believe I had to see the nurse and have my temperature taken before they would allow me to use the bathroom?

So if I had a temp what would they had done?  would they have allowed me to wet the floor rather than go in?  We'll never know.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

Thankful you didn’t have to find out the answer to that question. 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Good to see you report.  I think you were here at the coldest (so far) temps we have had.  Good thing you had layers to don, even then it was too cold for you

Sorry about the hand and I agree a lot of old age stuff is NO fun at all.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Sorry to hear about the pain and wish you had had warmer weather. But glad you got to spend some Disney time and I'm super thankful that you're sharing this report.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

On 12/30/2020 at 7:41 PM, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

Thankful you didn’t have to find out the answer to that question. 

I don't think Disney would have been too happy with me if that had happened!  😂

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Yesterday I had electromyography and nerve conduction studies performed on my left arm.  They were no fun (understatement) but not as bad as I had imagined.  Thankfully the doctor who performed them discussed the results with me so I don't have to wait until my January 11 appointment with the surgeon to find out anything with my surgeon.   It turns out my entire problem is in my elbow, not my hand.  My ulnar nerve is being compressed in my elbow.  So at least I only need to have surgery in one location!

So I left off with us eating at Chef Mickey.  When we finished we decided to go resort hopping.  Since the monorail stop at the Poly is closed for now, the only other monorail stop is the GF.  While there are lots of fans of the GF gingerbread house (including me), I have to say it was nice to see their tree without the distraction of it.

At that point I was suffering mightily from castle withdrawal.  I mean, really, we'd been in WDW well over 24 hours and I hadn't seen Cinderella Castle.  I'd broken some sort of record.  I don't care where I go in the World.  If I don't see the castle, I don't truly feel like I'm there.  So we got  back on the monorail and caught glimpses of it as we sped back to the Contemporary.  Then I raced out to the fourth floor viewing deck and breathed a sigh of relief.  I had my zoom lens with me, and there she was!

I thought I was prepared.  I'd seen plenty of pictures online.  BUT NO!  That is not Cinderella Castle!  That. is. not!  That. is. an. imposter!  

I'm going to have haters.  I know it.  Many of you will love this paint scheme.  Go ahead.  I'm happy for you.  But to me this is as bad as the 25th birthday when the castle looked like Candyland doughnuts had been dropped on it.  (photo from https://allears.net/2019/07/15/__trashed/, but the photo below makes it look many times better than it was in real life.  I know.  I was there for that one too.)

http://allears.net/wp-content/uploads/archive/tp/mk/images/1997-02-cakestle-425x625.jpg

When you have perfection, you just don't mess with it. IMHO only an infant doesn't understand this.  This opinion will surface again in this trip report (again contrary to popular opinion).

 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

The next morning we we were entering day 3 of 6 days of having to fill our time of not being able to go to the parks.  We decided to go the Disney outlet on I-Drive since it's usually not as busy as the one at Vineland.

We got there mid-morning and tried to get in line to enter the line to get into the store.

Disney CM:  No, no, no!  Do you have reservations?

Me:  Reservations for what?

Disney CM:  Do you have reservations to get in line to enter the store?

Me:  W h u t?

Disney CM:  If you'd like to visit our store, you need to make a reservation to get in the line.

Me;  Uh. okay, I guess, put us on the list.

At that point I'm in a state of shock.  After about 20 minutes I received a text that it was our turn to enter the line.  Once we arrived back at the store they checked our names and our phones to make sure that we did have a texted permission.  These people meant business!  We got lucky and entered the store in about ten more minutes.  Not too bad.  Yes, we got a few bargains.  Worth the wait, the hassle,  and the drive?  A definite no.   

And while we were waiting to go in, we saw a couple leaving pushing two carts loaded down with at least 50-60 huge stuffed Disney bags.  eBayers for sure.  

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

IOHO.  That's In Our Humble Opinion.  Mine and David's.

Orlando has to be suffering.

Our hearts hurt for the city.  What we saw on the way to the outlet hurt us.  Orlando as we knew it is no more. 

We drove down I-4.  I't's 3-4 lanes each way.  For miles we were the only car on the road.  Usually it's packed.

Miles of hotels and restaurants were shuttered.

We drove past the entrance to Universal.  Only 3-4 cars were around us.

That part of Orlando was literally a ghost town.  We couldn't comprehend what we were seeing.

Is our country like this from the Atlantic to the Pacific?  Are we a shell of what we once were?

 

 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Gwen, it is different from days gone by.  During lock-down I drove to Longwood during usually very busy rush hour time, traffic was missing.  It's picking up now.  Maybe it was so slow for you because of holiday time?
 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Gretchen, I don't know.  This was at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 12/1.

[Ivy 36]

On 1/1/2021 at 8:05 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Yesterday I had electromyography and nerve conduction studies performed on my left arm.  They were no fun (understatement) but not as bad as I had imagined.  Thankfully the doctor who performed them discussed the results with me so I don't have to wait until my January 11 appointment with the surgeon to find out anything with my surgeon.   It turns out my entire problem is in my elbow, not my hand.  My ulnar nerve is being compressed in my elbow.  So at least I only need to have surgery in one location!

So I left off with us eating at Chef Mickey.  When we finished we decided to go resort hopping.  Since the monorail stop at the Poly is closed for now, the only other monorail stop is the GF.  While there are lots of fans of the GF gingerbread house (including me), I have to say it was nice to see their tree without the distraction of it.

At that point I was suffering mightily from castle withdrawal.  I mean, really, we'd been in WDW well over 24 hours and I hadn't seen Cinderella Castle.  I'd broken some sort of record.  I don't care where I go in the World.  If I don't see the castle, I don't truly feel like I'm there.  So we got  back on the monorail and caught glimpses of it as we sped back to the Contemporary.  Then I raced out to the fourth floor viewing deck and breathed a sigh of relief.  I had my zoom lens with me, and there she was!

I thought I was prepared.  I'd seen plenty of pictures online.  BUT NO!  That is not Cinderella Castle!  That. is. not!  That. is. an. imposter!  

I'm going to have haters.  I know it.  Many of you will love this paint scheme.  Go ahead.  I'm happy for you.  But to me this is as bad as the 25th birthday when the castle looked like Candyland doughnuts had been dropped on the castle.  (photo from https://allears.net/2019/07/15/__trashed/, but the photo below makes it look many times better than it was in real life.  I know.  I was there for that one too.)

http://allears.net/wp-content/uploads/archive/tp/mk/images/1997-02-cakestle-425x625.jpg

When you have perfection, you just don't mess with it. IMHO only an infant doesn't understand this.  This opinion will surface again in this trip report (again contrary to popular opinion).

 

I agree with you, I don't particularly like the new paint colors. I think I read somewhere that it is just for the 50th celebration. But I am not sure about that.

 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

On 1/2/2021 at 4:10 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

Gretchen, I don't know.  This was at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 12/1.

Too early in month for Christmas crowds.  Maybe you just hit it lucky.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Ivy, I hope you're right about the paint!

 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

So let's get this TR rolling again.

That evening we went over to Olivia's for dinner.  Dining reservations, even with lower crowds overall, were much harder for me to come by. And then the restaurants have limited menus.  Each restaurant always has a vegetarian option. And then a fish option (not a seafood option but fish, like mahi mahi or  tuna or "catch of the day").  Which only leaves 3-4 options for people like me who don't like vegetarian or fish options, and lots of times one of the remaining options is pasta, which I don't eat since I'm a low carber.  Bottom line:  we didn't have too many options to choose from.  And that was one of the reasons we chose to go Olivia's that night.  We each had a great Caesar salad, and then we split this 14 ounce serving of deliciousness:

We followed it up by splitting this little jewel:

A key lime tart.  With no artificial taste or color.  The real deal.  It was so good!

And guess who we found there!  Remember Joy from the evening service at Trail's End?  She was our server!  She said she can't wait for Trail's End to reopen so she can get back there.

Here's a pic of the Christmas tree at Old Key West:

And one of the ornamens:

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

The next day we stayed around the Fort until dinnertime.  Then we went over to the Contemporary.

David had the beef medallions (which was filet), 

abd I had the pork dish:

Then we split this dessert:

It was good, but frankly we thought the meal at Olivia's was better.  The cost was approximately the same.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

On 1/1/2021 at 8:41 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

 

Is our country like this from the Atlantic to the Pacific?  Are we a shell of what we once were?

 

 

Sadly, Gwen... yes.  Millions in our country have handed over their freedoms and liberties, in exchange for fear.  Common sense and educated reasoning has been replaced with mindless belief in the main stream media and many in our government.  A virus with a 99.9% recovery rate for an overwhelming majority of our population.  A belief that covering our faces not only does any good, but that it’s only about a virus.  Businesses ran for generations by families, destroyed because we allowed those “in control” to have too much power.  These same people will do as I’ve said for almost a year now... continue to force more control, they will push to mandate a vaccine that will be incredibly dangerous (have you seen the proposed bill in NY?!), continue to drive out the middle class and push billionaires to an even higher status (keep in mind this last “stimulus” gave MILLIONS to Walmart, a company that reported a gain in 2020 over their 2019 earnings).  Unless we (Americans from both major parties) recognize that elections are not honest, that our vote can be pushed aside...then our republic is lost.

 

If Americans do not wake up, if those living in fear do not step out and realize that they are being lied to, our country will crumble quickly into a totalitarian society.  It will happen and our children and grandchildren will pay a gut wrenching price.  If 2020 showed us anything....it showed us just that.

 

Love you, Gwen.  I’m sorry to jump in on a trip report....man, we miss the Fort...we desperately miss the innocent days of our greatest “problem” being how we’d get a reservation or make rope drop...we desperately miss our country.