After the last day posted (day 5?) my laptop decided to die a sudden death overnight. I of course didn’t realize that – just thought there was a problem. I snapped a photo of a message that would appear and a tech-savvy friend researched it to learn the hard drive was dying (or had died). I quickly got online (SB’s laptop and my iPad) and by the next morning I’d ordered a new laptop. I still need to get everything situated, and will not have time to complete the rest of the report, but I wanted to check back in briefly.

Overall this trip had a great deal of frustrating issues. The weather was a big one. After months of waiting for it to stop feeling like 100 degrees with the humidity, Mother Nature flipped a switch and gave me 50-degree mornings and barely 70-degree afternoons for the days I’d planned to lounge by the pool. Rain during Epcot Food & Wine plans wasn’t much fun either. Friends on the trip had mobility and health issues (not their fault) that caused plans to be changed, missed, and curtailed. The parks felt busier than they ever did before covid, which is also disappointing. I’m not interested in paying another $15/day to get something similar to Fastpass. So, my interest in spending any time inside the parks (other than to stroll Food & Wine) is pretty close to zero at this point. Masks being required indoors is a pain. At this point in the game I don’t feel I should have to protect the unvaccinated. Someone on the cruise boards made an analogy that this makes as much sense as setting the speed limit on highways at 10 mph because there are people who choose not to wear seat belts. Obviously we’re all entitled to our own opinions on the subject, so no big deal if we disagree.

There were also many positives. It was great seeing Pete & Judy & Bonnie again, and we had a great dinner at Big River Grille. It’s always fun with the Hollands too – and it’s so nice to hear Ari tell me he loves me. We had a great lunch at Terralina. Gideon’s virtual queue is ridiculous on the weekends but works ok on weekdays. We enjoyed Flight of Passage but will consider just paying for it next time. My time is worth something – I don’t enjoy standing in lines. The studio at Beach Club Villas and villa at Boardwalk Villas were both great. Loved seeing the fireworks front & center from our balcony. The lights on Spaceship Earth are very nice. The food offerings at Food & Wine were excellent, and many things seemed to be a bigger portion than in previous years.

I won’t be back to WDW until March, which is may be the longest I’ve gone between trips. I’m not counting a single night at Saratoga Springs on my way to a cruise in late February. Being disgruntled with the parks as far back as last January, I booked Hilton Head for Martin Luther King weekend in 2022. Just don’t want to deal with the mobs in WDW parks again.

My next trip is a HAL cruise (finally – after so many cancelations during the covid crap) but it’s preceded by a night at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort. That report will go to the HAL trip report list, although I’ll post the Vero portion here as well. Sorry again for the technical problems this trip!

Sue/WDW1972

On Monday, November 15, 2021 at 6:59:01 PM UTC-5, Sue/WDW1972 wrote:

>>>>Overall this trip had a great deal of frustrating issues. The weather was a big one. After months of waiting for it to stop feeling like 100 degrees with the humidity, Mother Nature flipped a switch and gave me 50-degree mornings and barely 70-degree afternoons for the days I’d planned to lounge by the pool. Rain during Epcot Food & Wine plans wasn’t much fun either. Friends on the trip had mobility and health issues (not their fault) that caused plans to be changed, missed, and curtailed. The parks felt busier than they ever did before covid, which is also disappointing. I’m not interested in paying another $15/day to get something similar to Fastpass. So, my interest in spending any time inside the parks (other than to stroll Food & Wine) is pretty close to zero at this point.
________

This is so sad, but we're feeling very much the same.
The pricing is through the roof, the magic has all but disappeared, and I HATE lines. FastPasses made the weather bearable - get in early, get done the attractions you want and get out to the pool! Our annual passes were at a break-even point at 10 days. I haven't done the math on the new pricing, but I'm fairly certain it's closer to a month in the parks.

>>>>Masks being required indoors is a pain. At this point in the game, I don’t feel I should have to protect the unvaccinated. Someone on the cruise boards made an analogy that this makes as much sense as setting the speed limit on highways at 10 mph because there are people who choose not to wear seat belts. Obviously, we’re all entitled to our own opinions on the subject, so no big deal if we disagree.

I love this analogy - it's SO TRUE!
________

>>>>I won’t be back to WDW until March, which is may be the longest I’ve gone between trips. I’m not counting a single night at Saratoga Springs on my way to a cruise in late February. Being disgruntled with the parks as far back as last January, I booked Hilton Head for Martin Luther King weekend in 2022. Just don’t want to deal with the mobs in WDW parks again.

I know I don't post much (if at all) here, but I'm doing so now just to tell you that I read every one of your reports and will very much miss you!

Good luck with your computer issues. I feel your pain!

On Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 2:56:54 PM UTC-5, Karen Brown wrote:
>
> I know I don't post much (if at all) here, but I'm doing so now just to tell you that I read every one of your reports and will very much miss you!
>
> Good luck with your computer issues. I feel your pain!

Thanks Karen! I love my new computer (faster, more RAM), so that's the silver lining. Sadly we weren't able to get it up & running to get all my photos off the hard drive. Shame on me for not having them backed up elsewhere, although many are out on Shutterfly or Firefox.

If you're interested in the cruise trip reports, send me an email asking me to add you to that list. My email is wdw1972 at aol (meaning @aol.com).

Sue/WDW1972