How was it?? I am sad to leave but knowing Ill have time to sot down and read everyones trip reports in full when I get home gives me something to look forward to!
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Its 2:45 and we’re ducking out of AK. We’re spent and did almost everything we planned. We are going to take the Mears bus back to the Swan for informational purposes and see how it is.
AK was a wonderful day but it was definitely the right park to choose for us for our departure day. We did rides multiple times, had a TS lunch, watched some cavalcades, facetimed our kids, sat in a relaxation station for the first time (outdoors, it was nice) and felt finished by 2:00. We could have filled our time with the trails or if Nomad Lou ge would have been available we could have spent time there… but it wasnt. And we were tired so leaving early to catch our flight felt perfect. If we had chosen any other park as our departure day Park, I would have felt jipped.
Edit adding: The “new” buses for Swan & Dolphin from AK were great! If you’re walking out of AK its a green awning to your left. We were lucky and one arrived as soon as we arrived. I dont think it added many more steps than a Disney Resort bus. If staying at Swan again I would use the Mears bus straight from our resort for AK. Obviously not for MK as they drop you at the TTC.
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It was great! Fantastic morning! I’ve got details on my trip report for your reading pleasure later. 
Resting a bit now and back to HS in an hour or two!
Sorry. It was a 75 minute wait when we were there a few weeks ago–I wasn’t expecting that either.
My trip is complete! I got to meet @Cindy70 and she was as sweet as I imagined her to be! Liner meet up complete 
We tried to be awkwardly socially distant 
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Forgot to mention this in my report. This seems to be a trend now, especially on weekends. People are catching on to the sacred spaces. Was told 40 min and ended up being about 25 last Sat when I was there. So it’s best to stop by early and get on the list and have something else to do for awhile til they text you.
Amazing trip, you guys crushed it!
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Thanks for sparing me 
HS was a crazy (fun) day. I dont think we ever stopped moving! I kept trying to find time to come to the forum and then a new fun thing would happen 
It’s Sunday, the morning after, and we’re unpacking. I miss walking on the Boardwalk, headed to a new day of adventure, but we are so happy to see the kiddos. And the kiddos are definitely happy that we brought home some Magic 
Once we unpack and get settled I’d like to give some final thoughts about traveling to Disney right now and would love to answer if anyone has questions about the parks/transportation/ all the things!
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This term needs a reset.
If you search forum, you’ll see it’s not braggadocious of me to state that I brought the term Sacred Spaces out of Church of Disney catechism and into popular use in forum. It refers to the Most Sacred Vision of Walt-Jesus made manifest on Earth, which is to say the WDW Bubble and the shrines contained within it, the apotheosis of which is EPCOT, and its shining double-knit Dacron™ vision of the future.
Alas, Walt-Jesus went to His reward and was assumed into Disney Heaven before His Most Sacred Vision could be realized in His time on Earth. It was left to the imperfect efforts of men, and thus was subject to men’s failings and men’s corruptions. Which is to say it was polluted by the Demon Rum and grasping of the filthy lucre, which is why we see the ever-growing blight of “bars” and “lounges” across the face of the Sacred Spaces. Alcohol wasn’t even invented until 1968, so its presence would be foreign and sorrowful to Walt-Jesus. The frequent central Florida rains are, in fact, His tears of sadness at the fallen state of His creation.
So this Nomad Lounge would most definitely not be part of the Sacred Spaces, but den of iniquity that’s a blight on its face.
@OBNurseNH is a dear friend of mine, but I believe it was through her misappropriation of the term Sacred Spaces that this blasphemy was loosed on the world (and World). I had until now refrained from admonishing her sin, but I believe the window where she would repent of her own volition has passed. I hope only to save the rest of you from following this crooked path of depravity.
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With a 90 minute wait it must have some type of powers- magical, spiritual or otherwise. I didnt get to go so yall can call it whatever the heck yall want.
I was a bit bitter walking away from Nomad Lounge without having been let in. Like a child being told I wasnt allowed to sit at her “friends” lunch table.
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Tomayto tomahto
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It was so much fun getting to meet you! This has been a fun little journey planning our Disney trips. Maybe another Liner meetup the next time I’m in Texas?. Thanks again for all of your advice!
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Thank you for sharing your amazing trip! My family is heading down in a couple weeks and was wondering about outdoor places to eat (to avoid masks off with other diners). Were there any (relatively) quiet outdoor spaces to enjoy food we takeaway from Disney restaurants/bring in with us? Also, any rides we should avoid because the lines did not feel safe (e.g., indoors a long time, people not social distancing)? Any other suggestions (other than getting there early) for avoiding crowds? THANK YOU!
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Finding a table outside to enjoy a snack, a quick water break, or even a meal was much easier this trip than trips we’ve had pre-COVID. Disney has added more tables randomly throughout the parks since they know we must be stationary to eat/drink. In Epcot, there are bar tables (those taller tables with no chairs) all along the water of World Showcase. Its a beautiful view and a nice place to stop. They don’t belong to any restaurant in particular, you can just grab one. There are not chairs so if you want to get off your feet, I would recommend walking into one of the countries and you will find many places with tables. For example, We walked into Italy and found a lot of open tables with shade, chairs, and all spaced out. In Magic Kingdom, we found tables in Liberty Square and Tomorrowland with ease. Many of the restaurants that are closed have tables outside for those wanting to rest or bring food from other locations. Animal Kingdom has an outdoor Relaxation Station at Pizzafari that we found very convenient and in a good central location. You can bring food and drinks there and it’s outside with umbrellas. The most difficult place to find somewhere to sit was Hollywood Studios, but honestly, we weren’t really seeking places out to sit there. So perhaps its easier than I experienced. Galaxy’s edge has a few QS restaurants with outdoor tables. We had a drink and snacks at Baseline Tavern (which was so great) but it’s hard to snag a table. So you’ll want to send someone to get a table while someone else orders because there is not mobile order.
Most of the TS places we ate were indoors. The waiters had masks and shields, the tables were very spaced out and they did a great job of it. We hadn’t eaten out at all before we went to disney but never felt weird about it at Disney.
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Hi Laura - thanks so much for the speedy and thorough reply! This is SUPER helpful in preparing for our trip. We haven’t been eating indoors either, but I’m not surprised that Disney is doing a good job with this. Maybe we will give it a try! Thank you again and thank you for your amazing write-up and pics of your trip. Looks like you had a blast!
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Some final thoughts:
On Traveling to Disney right now: We feel spoiled. We felt like the crowds were low (and if they started to NOT feel low, we easily moved locations), the logistics of getting into the parks were a breeze and lines were very manageable, especially if you monitor the wait times on the app and jump when they’re low. It was such a fun trip. We were so grateful that Disney provided us an escape and a wonderful memory, it was very easy to follow their rules with masks, distancing and whatever else they needed us to do. There were noses sticking out at every park we went to, but they were few and far between. Some people had no mask on at all and that was annoying. I’m assuming a CM saw them eventually and corrected them. We did see CM correcting people right and left… but then we also saw some ignoring rule breakers. We just kept to ourselves and did the best we could.
On going to Disney without Kids: of COURSE we missed our kids. BUT- I would go to Disney without them again in a heartbeat. My husband and I loved the freedom and convenience. No strollers or bags. We both are extremely fast walkers and it was incredible how quickly we could get from one place to another without our kids. We loved the leisurely lunches and dinner together, getting full conversations in that we don’t get to at home without being interrupted by our little munchkins. We did not feel a lack of Disney magic- it was just different magic. I cannot WAIT to take my kiddos back and have those wonderful memories with them, but I will never ever forget the trip my husband and I took together. It was absolutely wonderful and we WILL do it again.
The Swan: The rooms need some paint and some caulk and a little love and attention, but the location and price made up for that ten fold. I’ve never been the type to say “It doesn’t matter where we stay, we just sleep in the room.” That is NOT me. I like a nice, quiet room with good customer service and nicer amenities. The Swan had a wonderful bar, the pool was AWESOME, great food you could pick up and bring to the room, great customer service and the beds were good enough. (the pillows were awful though. We tried quite a few). The proximity to Epcot and HS made this hotel FABULOUS. Yacht Club and Beach Club would be my first choice over Swan if they were all the same price. But generally they are not. So Swan is fine by me!
This was about as perfect of a trip as I could have hoped for. We rode everything we wanted to, sometimes multiple times. We ate really good food at restaurants that were on my bucket list. We were at the front of every Rope Drop and felt that amazing rush of success every morning as our RD plan worked out. The only negative was that we didn’t get a RoTR BG at 7 am… but then we DID at 2, so all was good. There’s not much I would change about this trip. It was everything I wanted it to be and more.
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We found a shortage everyday. In years past they were everywhere! I’m glad we didn’t buy a package. I would have been upset. When we do pay for all the photos, we take plenty at all the spots.
On our second Magic Kingdom day, we wanted a photo in front of the castle, but there was nary a photographer around. They seemed to all be on Main Street…but we wanted something close from the hub. We found some kind folks willing to take a photo with our phone. Literally a minute later a photographer showed up a few yards away!
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Now that you mention it, I dont think I saw any photo pass ppl outside of main street, maybe 1 at HM walking into Fantasy Land.