We made our way out to the bus stop area, and I spied a bus stop with a Downtown Disney sign over it. Okay, that’s convenient! I’ve completely lost track of the general rules when it comes to what bus stops are at what parks (Didn’t it used to be no park-to-park busses? I am positive I’ve gone to Epcot from DHS and AK.), so a bus to Downtown Disney didn’t seem too out of the realm of possibility to me.
We waited there for several minutes as resort bus after resort bus drove by (most of which were for Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs, we noted). It was beginning to get a bit warm and sunny, and we had been doubting the existence of these supposed Downtown Disney busses from the beginning, but had decided to put our faith in the sign for at least a little bit.
A few more minutes went by.
“Alright. The next bus that comes by (we were close to where the busses were dropping people off to get into the park), I’ll ask.” I declared.
Another Caribbean Beach bus pulled up. I went over and asked the bus driver if there would be any busses going to Downtown Disney from there. Nope, just a random (and confusing) sign. He suggested we get on his bus, then switch once we got to CBR to a bus actually headed toward DD. (Since CBR is so close to DHS, it really wouldn’t be out of the way of our planned route.)
Sounds good to us!
We boarded the bus, happy for the brief moments of air conditioning. Just a couple of minutes later, we were already at CBR, and got off at the first stop to wait for a DD bus.
Wingnut bought a beverage while we waited.
A few minutes later, a bus heading for Downtown Disney appeared!
We meandered around the DTD shops for awhile, being sure to save the treasure trove that is Goofy’s Candy Company for last so our treats wouldn’t begin to melt. I always go into Tren-D, even though I probably will never buy anything from there (clearly, I am just not that trendy), but the displays are pretty cool.
As are the chandeliers.
(Question: Is it pronounced "trendy" or "trend"? Also, does it completely prove that I have an inability to shop there based on that question?
)
Of course, we went into World of Disney.
We bought a few items here (I swear, even when this store is completely empty, it is still entirely overwhelming.), and decided to use our gift card, where again the CMs had never seen one personalized like ours before before, and started passing it around and showing our picture to everyone within a nearby radius.
Once back outside, I took a picture of the Characters in Flight balloon, even though we've never actually gone up there.
I know I've said before that I'm not into the whole Vinylmation thing, but I did think this giant Mickey was pretty cool.
(As far as I can tell, the slippery slope that is Vinylmation collection has still been avoided!
)
The site of the future Splitsville:
We didn’t do much down on the West Side (
being mindful of Cookie Kwan’s territory, of course!), and as we turned back, I was starting to get a bit hungry. Wingnut said he didn’t want anything, but didn’t mind sitting for a bit, so I decided that I wanted to give a restaurant I had heard about over and over again on the Dis a try: Wolfgang Puck Express!
As we entered, I was instantly overwhelmed by the length and scope of the menu, and had absolutely no idea what I wanted to try. Between T-REX and the front door of the restaurant, Wingnut had gone from not wanting anything to us planning to share a dish. As I stood there looking at the menu, Wingnut started helpfully making suggestions.
“Barbecue chicken pizza?”
“Is that what you want?” I asked.
“I’m just making suggestions here. It’s entirely your decision.”
“Barbecue chicken pizza it is!”
Since we used one credit on our dining plan for the pizza, we also got a drink and a dessert. And since I completely forgot that WPE has crème brulee until we sat down, we got a cookie. And a bottle of water. (The water had nothing to do with forgetting about the crème brulee.)
We chose a seat in the mostly-empty restaurant, and a few minutes later, our pizza was delivered to our table!
We were surprised at the generous portion size of the pizza, it was more than enough for a snack for the two of us. We both enjoyed it, I thought it had a great flavor, and liked the barbecue sauce that was used. W: "A decent pizza, a little soggy towards the center."
(No, we didn't use the Cholula on the pizza, but it was still on the table from a previous diner, and I thought it would add perspective for the size of the pizza.)
After our snack, we decided to head back to the Polynesian (it was around 1 at this point), and waited at the bus stop for a few minutes.
A bus arrived a few minutes later, and we again savored the air conditioning that welcomed us aboard.
Taken for Merida
:
(Who else is super-excited to see this movie?)
Once back at the Polynesian, we wandered around the shops at the GCH for a bit (Wingnut particularly loves the Wyland art gallery that's there, we spent a good deal of time there looking at the various pieces.), then made our way back to Tokelau. I briefly contemplated going to the pool for a bit, and Wingnut said he would join me, but I then decided that the pools looked pretty busy already, so we hung out on our little patio for awhile before getting ready for dinner at another completely new restaurant (in a completely new resort) to us...Artist Point!!
Although I will admit that I don't understand the rush to get there. There are maybe a half dozen other rides in Disney that I would run to first (especially Rock n Rollercoaster!)
You know, there's a very special fountain there. 
It was convenient though!
