COMPLETED 9/5 - I'm just here for the food...and the lightsaber! - May 2021 Trip Report

[Araminta18]

Hi everyone!

We did a Disney trip from May 23 - May 29th, and since I suffer from Disney withdrawal, I love to write trip reports as a way to re-live the magic! With COVID, I hadn't been reading the Disboards at all - just made me too sad with everything going on. So not sure if anyone will read this, but I write it mostly for myself anyways.

I'm gonna just jump right into it!
Who: Me and my husband Trevor
When: May 23rd-May 29th
Where: the Swan!

Introductions first, obviously.
I'm Tiffany. I'll be 34 (I think? anyone else have a hard time keeping track of their age?) in September, and while I'm a librarian by education, I currently do federal records management, since records management is where the pay is, and I gotta pay for Disney! Favorite princess is Sleeping Beauty, but I also love Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel. Favorite ride: uh...how can I pick just one? Haunted Mansion, Slinky, Millenium Falcon, Flight of Passage (since this time we didn't have to do the pre-show and that preshow is the worst), Tower of Terror...so many! and I have to add Rise of the Resistance to the list now! I just love the theming at Disney--it makes me happy.



My husband, Trevor. He's 35. He loves Star Wars, but has grown to love Disney--his favorite characters are Boba Fett, Vader and Stormtroopers, and on the non-Star Wars side, Grumpy. His favorite rides used to be Haunted Mansion and Star Tours--he doesn't really like coasters or thrill rides, but I did get him to try Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain and I don't know that he'd call them favorites, but he definitely likes them. I think the only rides he won't ride at Disney are Everest and Rockin Roller Coaster and most of the time Tower of Terror. And I don't mind riding solo, and he doesn't have any problem entertaining himself, so it works out really well. After this trip though, gotta add Millenium Falcon and Rise of the Resistance to his list. Ooh, he's sitting next to me now so I asked him for his favorite rides and he threw in Jungle Cruise and Kilimanjaro Safaris. He's a man of depth!



We had planned a big trip to Disneyland in Sept 2020 (see sad aborted pre-trip report in my sig... ), but of course that didn't happen. But we were both able to get vaccinated in late February, and then since we were fully vaccinated, in April went out to see my parents and my one brother who still lives at home to help with some family issues (I assume most people can relate--all the things the pandemic made us put on hold!). It was so good to see them after not seeing them for over a year! But it was not really a relaxing vacation. And with the stresses of work and everything, I basically just said "screw it, we're going to Disney". After all, Trevor still hadn't seen Galaxy's Edge and he needed to, right?!

We booked a stay at the Swan hotel through Costco that came with tickets, and then I used points and cash to book our flights from the DC area on Southwest. And luckily I pulled the trigger right before 60 days so I was able to book a reservation at Savi's and Oga's, thankfully, and make reservations for whichever parks I wanted. (also anyone else TOTALLY OVER park reservations? and only hopping after 2 pm? lame sauce. I hope that bit goes back to normal, though sadly I feel like it probably won't).

I really felt like I wasn't able to plan a whole lot for this trip -- no fastpasses or anything and lots of the restaurants still closed, and then add in that we were dealing with family stuff for a lot of April and then work was super busy (I was in full-time language training for a few weeks, including a final test, so I was studying Portuguese for most of early May). And I usually way over-plan our trips so this was quite a new experience. I did find time to plan out our shirts and buttons and my ears though....



But FINALLY it was the day!

 

[Araminta18]

Table of Contents
Arrival Day - Sunday May 23 (part 1)
Disney Springs - Sunday May 23 (part 2)
Wine Bar George and Swan Room Tour! - Sunday, May 23 2021 (part 3)

Rope Dropping Hollywood Studios - Monday, May 24 2021 (part 1)
Rise of the Resistance and Breakfast Ronto Wraps! - Monday, May 24 2021 (part 2)
Blue and Green Milk and Docking Bay 7 and Jack Jack Cookie Num-Nums, Oh My! - Monday, May 24 2021 (part 3)
Building the Lightsaber! - Monday, May 24, 2021 (part 4)
Millennium Falcon and Dinner at Epcot - Monday, May 24, 2021 (part 5)

Deja Vu Morning? - Tuesday, May 25 2021 (part 1)
Woody's Lunchbox, Rise of the Resistance, and the Outlets! - Tuesday, May 25, 2021 (part 2)
Some Not-Star Wars Rides, and Oga's Cantina! Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 (part 3)
Lightsaber Pictures -- and a Duel! Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 (part 4)
Galaxy's Edge and Lightsaber pictures Tuesday May 25th, 2021 (part 5)

An Alien Planet (no, not that one!), and wildlife of all sorts! Wednesday May 26th, 2021 (part 1)
Best Place for a Nap Wednesday May 26th, 2021 (part 2)
Exploring the Valley of Mo'ara Wednesday, May 26, 2021 (part 3)
Dinner at the Bull & Bear at the Waldorf Astoria Wednesday, May 26, 2021 (part 4)

Any Magic Kingdom Plans? - Thursday, May 27, 2021 (part 1)
Conquering the Final Mountain (and eating a lot) - Thursday, May 27th, 2021 (part 2)
Are We Galactic Heroes? - Thursday, May 27, 2021 (part 3)
I've Never Met a Photopass Photographer I didn't Like - Thursday, May 27, 2021 (part 4)

Beginning of the Last Full Day at Disney - Friday, May 28, 2021 (part 1)
Hollywood Brown Derby, Disney Springs, and a Quest for a Spirit Jersey - Friday, May 28, 2021 (part 2)
Last Night in Galaxy's Edge - Friday, May 28, 2021 (part 3)

Last Morning at Disney - Saturday, May 29, 2021 (part 1)
Final Afternoon and Flying Home - Saturday, May 28, 2021 (part 2)

Final Thoughts

 

[mercuryvenus]

Excited to read your trip report!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Joining in! I was there in late April. I agree lame sauce lol regarding park pass and park hopping after 2pm.
I‘m excited to hear about your adventures!

 

[kclark9830]

So Glad you got back to WDW! Looking forward to following along .

 

[rdkeim]

Following

 

[suse66]

Joining in to hear about all the fun! I am finally going back this August after not having been to Disney since December of 2019 and I can't wait!

 

[c3h3a3r]

Hi

Can't wait to read all about it

 

[Hubie]

Hello!

We'll be waiting to hear how your trip went.

 

[CruellaNY]

Joining! Doesn't it feel great to get back? We've been lucky to have been a few times post-COVID and it's been interesting to see the evolution and I totally agree about not hopping before 2. I think that's my biggest gripe other than not enough signatures being open! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[anjuan]

Looking forward to reading since we're staying at the Dolphin in August.

 

[Araminta18]

Arrival Day!
Sunday May 23 2021​

So...finally it was Sunday May 23rd: our Disney travel day! I was trying to be a little less...intense, so our flight was at 2:55 in the afternoon, instead of zero dark thirty like the flights I normally book. So we woke up at our normal schedule, went to church, finished packing and then our friend picked us up at 12:30 and we were off! We live in the DC area (specifically Northern Virginia but it's just easier to say DC ), and no traffic! Not necessarily surprising at 12:30 on a Sunday afternoon, but for any of you familiar with DC traffic, you know there can be random traffic jams at any time. So calling it a win when we got there by 1 pm with no delays.

One of the nice things about flying Southwest is the free checked bags, which we took full advantage of. Actually, on the way out we only checked 2 bags, but one of them was an empty bag with another bag inside of it -- I was planning on needing the space on the way back for souvenirs!

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So bags checked, we breezed through security (maybe a 5 min wait? If that? not bad at all), and headed into the gate area. We were at the old terminal at DC's National airport, so it's lollipop shaped: a large hallway with things to buy lining the walls and then like 10 gates arranged in a circle at the end of the hall. It's where all the discount carriers fly out of, I believe. So it was very loud in there, but we were able to find a spot to chill and wait to board the plane. It was 1:30 at this point.

Poor Trevor looks so tired! I promise he was excited.​

Also fun pic -- there was a bird in the terminal just flying around and chirping! Poor thing -- I hope it was able to find its way outside.

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I'd been obsessively tracking our plane all day -- it had been to 3 other cities so far and I was (as always) worried it would somehow be delayed but all was good! It was at the gate, ready to go.

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And the weather (as you can see) was gorgeous, so there were definitely going to be no delays, right?

Wrong. We were waiting on delayed crew members, but thankfully not delayed very long. We ended up pushing back from the gate at 3:11 -- takeoff was scheduled for 2:55 so probably a 20/25 minute delay? Not bad, not bad at all.

We'd paid for early bird check in to get the A boarding group. Southwest lets families board between A and B groups, and on a flight to Orlando, no way did we want to be after family boarding. We were A41/42, and that was good enough to get Trevor the very last exit row seat with his extra leg room! I almost got an aisle seat next to an empty middle seat, but the very last person on the plane sat next to me. The rollercoaster of emotions waiting for Southwest to finish boarding can't compare with any rollercoaster.

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The flight was uneventful -- I read the whole time (shoutout to Ellen Emerson White's The President's Daughter series...highly recommend. ) and soon enough we were touching down in Orlando. Huzzah!

Insert obligatory picture of the Fauxorail:


Ah there we go Trevor -- he looks slightly more excited and slightly less tired. ​

Since we were staying at the Swan, no Magical Express for us (first time!) and most sadly, no automatic baggage pickup. So we had to go down and wait to pick up our bags and OH MY GOODNESS that took FOREVER. I swear our bags were like the last ones off the plane. Checking timestamps, we waited 35 minutes for our bags. BLERGH. I know it's not actually that long, but when you're so close to Disney, every minute delay feels like forever.

Actual footage of me pacing in front of the baggage carousel waiting for our bags.​

To get to the Swan, we'd booked Tiffany Towncar -- it was $150 for a round trip (plus tip), but I'd heard tales of crazy uber pricing surges, and the reviews here of Tiffany Towncar were all so positive that it sounded like a good option. I was so glad we booked it! Our driver was Eddie, super prompt and helpful. He'd been texting us ever since we landed, telling us what carousel our bags were on and once we (finally) got our bags, he was there immediately to pick us up. He picked us up at 5:50 and we were at the Swan at 6:15. Pretty sweet!

Some day I will get a good shot of the arch...this trip is not that day! ​

I took a bunch of random shots of the Riveira hotel as we drove by, as well as of the skyliner, but I won't inflict them on you. I will however give you this one, reminding you where we were staying even though I totally mentioned just a few sentences ago.

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Ok, so here is where it gets interesting (hahahaha probably not really to you guys, though I think it is interesting). Our plan for the night was Disney Springs (we had a dinner ADR I was SUPER SUPER excited for...any guesses? 10 points if anyone guesses right!), and I was hoping that we could get over there in time to get in the virtual queue for Gideon's cookies (see the title of this trip report ). Gideon's online FAQ says that for their Disney Springs location, they usually close the queue around 7 pm, so that's the rule of thumb I was operating under. So it's 6:15, we've just arrived at the Swan with all our luggage, we need to checkin and get to Disney Springs by 7. That's doable, right? Close, but doable!

In the lobby, this was the line for the front desk. And you can't really tell, but there was 1 CM working at the counter. After 10 minutes, we hadn't moved at all -- he was still helping that same person that he was helping in the photo below. We'd taken advantage of the wait to put on our Disney sandals and I'd pulled out my ears, but I was starting to get really anxious. 10 minutes for one person and there were 4 people in front of us?!

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Bell Services is immediately to the right (just out of sight in this photo) so Trevor and I discussed it and decided to leave our bags with Bell Services, check in later and just grab an Uber to Disney Springs. We'd still be fine, right? Right?

HAHAHAHAHAHA We go out to the bus stop, just to see if there was a bus to Disney Springs coming. No times were listed on the Swan's electronic bus board, and at this point it was 6:30, so I was like ok, let's get an uber. When I'd checked earlier the price was ok (not great, but ok) and there were ubers about 5 minutes away. HAHAHAHAHA of course now that I actually went to book the uber, the driver who grabbed it was 20 MINUTES AWAY.

EXCUSE ME WHAT.

I was...not happy.

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Though at this point, I mean honestly, what could we do. So I practiced deep breathing and focusing on how we were at Disney and it was fine.

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Ok, I'm mostly joking. I wasn't super happy, but it really was fine. The uber driver finally came at 6:52, and in the meantime we actually did get to check in to the hotel! We were waiting 20 minutes so we wandered back into the lobby just to see and of course the line had cleared up, so we were able to get our room key. So that was nice. (I'm deliberately withholding info about the room until the next post...any guesses about our room? Our Costco package came with a "resort view upgrade", and I'd requested (this is a quote): "We'd prefer a view of the theme parks (Hollywood Studios or Epcot) and a higher floor, if possible! Thank you!...did we get what I'd requested?! Who knows....... )

Anyways, so 6:52 the uber picks us up, we arrived at 7:03 pm and got to navigate the maze that is the marketplace side uber drop-off of Disney springs. Seriously, that drop off is RIDICULOUS. I'm going to make a map, 'cause I have no idea how to describe the insanity. You basically go back and forth the length of the whole drop off like 3 times.

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Ok, so on the map it doesn't look that bad (the red line is the path we walked). But late, when you're in a hurry, and it's freakin' hot 'cause its Orlando....it felt SOOO long. Especially cause you can't just enter there by the Christmas store, you have to go all the way back up to where Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique used to be. It's bonkers. I hope it's just a COVID thing that goes away soon.

Anyways. So we got dropped off at 7:03 and we are BOOKING it to Gideon's to try and get on that virtual queue. I even sent Trevor on ahead 'cause he walks faster than me and told him I'd catch up

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So...did we make it?! Was the virtual queue closed? Find out next time on what I promise will be much more filled with Disney merchandise and food and much less travel and artificial drama.

 

[Araminta18]

Excited to read your trip report!

Thank you! I'm excited to share it

Joining in! I was there in late April. I agree lame sauce lol regarding park pass and park hopping after 2pm.
I‘m excited to hear about your adventures!

Oooh you probably had way better weather Glad I'm not the only one who doesn't love the park ressies! Thanks for following!

So Glad you got back to WDW! Looking forward to following along .

Me too!! Thanks for following!

Following

Thanks for following!

Joining in to hear about all the fun! I am finally going back this August after not having been to Disney since December of 2019 and I can't wait!

Thanks for following! I'm so excited for you!!! August will be here before you know it!!

Hi

Can't wait to read all about it

Hello!! Thanks for following!

Hello!

We'll be waiting to hear how your trip went.

Hi!! Thanks for following!

Joining! Doesn't it feel great to get back? We've been lucky to have been a few times post-COVID and it's been interesting to see the evolution and I totally agree about not hopping before 2. I think that's my biggest gripe other than not enough signatures being open! Looking forward to reading more.

It does feel SO GOOD to be back! I'm jealous that you've gotten to go a few times - I already want to go back, but hopefully next time the parkhopping will have no restrictions. *crossing finger* Thanks for following!

Looking forward to reading since we're staying at the Dolphin in August.

Thanks for following! We loved staying at the Swan - I'm sure you'll have a lovely experience at the Dolphin too.

 

[sheri18]

Joining in..great so far. I can relate to all of it..lol. We are going next month..last minute...and we are staying at the Swan, so I’m curious about your thoughts...we stayed there 2 years ago on a split stay with the BC, but we’re only there for 2 days..and on your book. .. I was a little confused at first, were the new book from James Patterson/ Bill Clinton is called the presidents daughter..

 

[tbholc81]

Joining in! I'm excited to hear about your room.

 

[cajunfan]

Come back...I NEED to know!

 

[Piglet843]

Following!

 

[ReginaMills]

oh mannnn i need to know about the room!

 

[HumblePie]

Sounds fun - following along!

 

[Araminta18]

Disney Springs
Sunday May 23 2021 (part 2)​

So I left off with us running towards Gideon's, to try and get on the virtual queue before it closed. Did we make it?! Did we get in the virtual queue?!

No

​

Trevor beat me over there, and when he asked, the employee told him that they'd actually closed the virtual queue around 4:30 that day. Which oddly enough made me feel better -- it wasn't like we were close and had *just* missed it. I guess the FAQ on their website (that mentions them normally closing the virtual queue at 7 pm) is very much more an estimate? Oh well. The employee did say we could try coming back before close and seeing if they had had people not show up (that were on the virtual queue) and try standby, but we had dinner reservations at 9 (they closed at 10 pm) so we figured that probably wouldn't work. Oh well! It was our first night -- we'd definitely be back to Disney Springs and could try again a few days later.

So, with that disappointment, we did have some other goals still for Disney Springs, almost all of which revolved around food (one of the reasons for the title of this trip report!) First up, the closest: The Ganachery!

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There was a small line to get in, which surprised me. I guess I hadn't fully realized how the social distancing of COVID would mean there were SO MANY LINES everywhere. And lines make me a bit anxious that we're missing something *shrugs*, despite me consciously knowing that the lines are just cause of social distancing. So that whole bit I did not love. But despite the lines, it wasn't super crowded -- or at least didn't really feel like it.

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We only waited a few minutes to get into the Ganachery, and then there was that lovely chocolate smell! I'm addicted to those crispy chocolate pearls, so we had to stock up. And then once we were in there I kind of lost all self-control. We also got a bunch of chocolate-covered marshmallows and a chocolate Millenium Falcon (picture stolen from Disney Food Blog). All the chocolate!

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After that it was a whirlwind of Disney Springs. I think next Trevor went over to World of Disney while I looked into Ever After jewelry (didn't buy anything, despite the pretty Dooneys), and then swung by Amorette's for a cake. They had the Mulan cake, but we don't much care for green tea or matcha or any of the other flavors, so we got their normal "Amorette's Petit" cake. We get an Amorette's cake every time but usually we get one of the special cakes, so this was actually the first time we've had the normal cake! We didn't end up eating it 'til after we got home, but it was still delicious.

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Amorette's Petit: Eleven layers of red velvet cake, chocolate cake, cherry mousse, chocolate mousse, raspberry pate de fruit jelly, raspberry jam, and italian buttercream

Then I met up with Trevor in World of Disney. The line to get in was super long, but it moved very quickly so the wait wasn't actually very long. Thankfully.

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The end of the line -- and you're right, you can't even see World of Disney in this photo!

At World of Disney it was pretty busy inside, so we didn't end up actually buying anything, though I did love all the merch. I did really like the pink/gold Spirit Jersey, but they didn't have my size so I didn't end up getting it. We then headed over to the Marketplace Co-Op to browse -- I love all the Dress Shop dresses and all the artwork. I'd recently (like a month before) gotten a new phone (iPhone 12 mini!) so my old phone case, which I'd gotten from Festival of the Arts in 2019, no longer fit, and I wanted another Disney case. I browsed all the options, and then ended up getting the same Hercules case I had before (the one I'd gotten from Festival of the Arts). 'Cause apparently I don't like change.

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From there, Trevor browsed in the Star Wars store (we bought the Sabacc game -- we've already played it once. It's pretty fun! Also simple and quick, so a pretty good family game--easy to pick up and play quickly but opportunities for strategy/complexity), and I looked in the Art of Disney store and then went over to Goofy's Sweet Shop. We love the "make your own" rice krispies and were looking forward to making several, but they weren't doing them, 'cause of Covid. I was super disappointed, let me tell you! They did have some pre-made ones, and we bought a oreo covered Mickey marshmallow which was also delicious, but I am still a bit sad about the make your own krispies.

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I then wandered back over to the Marketplace Co-Op to pick up my phone case (cause they had to make it/print it). Trevor was still in the Star Wars store. So I grabbed a seat outside the Co-op to put on my pretty new phone case and just kind of enjoy the breeze and people watching til Trevor was done. Look at that gorgeous sky!

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At this point, it was 8:40 -- 20 minutes to our dinner reservation (I know i'm so mean not telling you where it was...any guesses?!). I'd basically hit all the stores I'd wanted to at Disney Springs, and so I figured hey, why not wander over to Gideon's and see if there was a chance that we could get in. I told Trevor I was heading over (cause again, the man was still in the Star Wars shop, which is part of the reason why I figured we needed to make this trip so he could see Galaxy's Edge!), and started walking, though of course as I walked by the Lego sculptures I had to take some selfies.

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I got over to Gideon's at 8:50, and there was no one around -- even the standby line was pretty short. When I asked the employee, HE LET ME IN THE STANDBY LINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!​

I called Trevor and was like "COME HERE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW". Trevor was excited, but was like "um...our dinner reservation is at 9--in 10 minutes. We're gonna be late!" And I was like "we'll only be a few minutes late and it's Gideon's....I'm sure it'll be fine". Cause there was no way I was not going to buy Gideon's cookies.

The standby line was only about 5 minutes, which I spent taking excited pictures and selfies.

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We got in at about 2 minute to 9 pm, and I was immediately overwhelmed with the chocolate/baking smell. It smells so good in there! And the theming is AMAZING! I heard it described as Harry Potter meets Tim Burton, and that sounds about right. You can kind of hear the excitement in my voice in this short video I took inside (which I can't get to embed, so here's a link and I'll keep trying to get it embed later): Video of inside Gideon's!

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We bought ALL the sweets. We bought one of each of the cookies -- pistachio toffee, chocolate chip, triple chocolate, cookies and cream, peanut butter crunch. We also bought a slice of Red Velvet and Salted Caramel, as well as a little cup of vanilla frosting. We wanted to buy the chocolate covered cookie bites but they were all out. It smelled so good we just couldn't stop ourselves from buying almost everything! And then, when we went to to check out, they had this super neat fire effect at the register. We took a video too: Fire at the register!

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I still couldn't believe we actually got in. I was so excited! It was awesome to see the shop and all the theming.

While we there, about to check out, it was a minute or two after 9, and we got a call from our dinner reservation wanting to know if we were still coming. We reassured them that yes, we definitely were, and that we were at a store just across the way, checking out, and would be there in just a minute.

Where were we going for dinner?! To the restaurant just across from Gideon's -- Wine Bar George!!

Next post: our dining review and room tour at the Swan (I promise!!)​