DisneyFreak98
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2012
- Messages
- 648
Today was the day Bethany had to go back home . But the good news was that Magical Express wouldn't be picking her up until around 6:00, so we pretty much had the whole day with her. We got up and spent the morning hanging out at the RV while Bethany packed up all her stuff. Once she got her suitcase all packed, we were able to turn our table/bed back into a table. Mom made much a little before noon, and once we were done we started getting ready to go to Downtown Disney. Bethany gathered all her stuff, and we were off to the bus stop around 12:30.
We wanted to stop in at the lobby to confirm everything for Bethany's flight and Magical Express, so we walked over there once the internal bus dropped us off. Bethany got all the information she needed, then we walked back over to the bus stop to wait for our bus. Once came within a few minutes, and we were on our way! We got there a little after 1:00, and the first thing we did was go to the pin store! On the way there, Mom and Bethany had to stop to get a picture with their favorite Hundred Acre Woods friends.
We looked around he store for a while and traded some pins, and Bethany actually bought a couple. The next store we headed into was Basin, where we took some time to try out some of the products. Everything in that store smells so good, and we had a lot of fun. The boys stayed outside while we were in there (they didn't want to go into the girly store).
Once we were done in Basin, we went into the Ghirardelli store, where we got some free chocolates! I don't remember what flavor they were, but of course they were delicious.
After that we made a quick top at the bathroom before heading into World of Disney! On our way there we saw the most adorable Princess Parade go by. I guess every day they do a parade where all the girls who got their hair done at the Biddidi Boddidi Boutique get to walk around DTD and wave to all the people. It was so cute!
Once we were inside WOD, we were pleased to see that it wasn't too crowded. That store can get insanely stressful when it's packed with people, so it was nice to actually be able to move around freely.
We spent some time in there looking around, and Bethany got a few souvenirs and gifts for friends back home. At this point the boys headed over to go play at Disney Quest for a bit while Mom, Bethany, and I continued to shop.
We finished up shopping in WOD, then we walked around some other stores including Tren-D, Once Upon A Toy, and the Marketplace Co-Op. I bought the Beauty and The Beast soundtrack in Once Upon A Toy, which I was very excited about.
Once we were done looking around the shops at the Marketplace, we started making our way over to the West Side. Bethany wanted to go to the Candy Cauldron, and they also have some other good stores over there.
We passed the Characters in Flight balloon on our way, and we talked about how we always thought that would be a really cool thing to do. We never did end up doing it, though.
We made it to the Candy Cauldron, and we looked at all the tasty treats there. Bethany seriously considered getting a caramel apple, but she decided against it. They have so many other amazingly cool designs, though!
Once we were all done there, we stopped in the running store, Fit2Run. Both Mom and Bethany have been running for many years, so they really loved that store. If you remember back in January, I had mentioned that Mom had a back/hip injury and wasn't able to run so well anymore. Well, the injury was doing much better, but she still wasn't running. She could walk, swim, and bike, but running put too much strain on it. But good news! It continued to get better, and by the time we got home, she was able to start running again! She's running now just like she used to, with absolutely no pain.
So, we finished looking around there, then we started making our way back over to the Marketplace. It was a warm day out, so on the way we stopped at one the food carts to get smoothies! They had all sorts of fun flavors, and I believe I ended up getting the strawberry banana kind. It was really good!
We stopped to look in one last store before heading out, and that was Lefty's.
Lefty's is a store that is completely dedicated to left-handed people, and I just so happen to be left-handed. They have stuff like specially designed pens, scissors, and other tools. It's very neat. Bethany got a couple of pens for a left-handed friend of hers back home, then we started heading out of DTD.
We weren't heading home, though! Saratoga Springs is right next to Downtown, so we wanted to go over there and check it out. They used to run boats in between Downtown and Saratoga, but since they redid the whole boat system for the new Disney Springs, they now have a walking path.
It wasn't a big deal for us to walk, and the path was was beautiful, with amazing views of DTD.
We made it over to Saratoga Springs, but unfortunately the path brings you to the back of the resort. We were wanting to get to the front where the main lobby is, and we had a heck of a time trying to get there. Let me tell you guys, that resort is huge. I mean, it is ginormous. We probably wandered around there for over 20 minutes, ending up at random buildings and parking lots. We looked at maps, but we could hardly even tell where we were! It was getting close to 4:00 now, so eventually we just gave up. It was still a nice stroll around Saratoga, but we were kind of bummed we couldn't find the main building. It's a beautiful resort, though!
We backtracked our steps to get back to the walking path, where we made our way back to Downtown. When we got back to the main entrance, Bethany decided that she really did want to get a caramel apple. I remembered that they sell them at Goofy's Candy Co., which isn't as far away as the Candy Cauldron, so she and Mom went to get one there. I offered to take our other bags and head back home while they went and did that, so they handed all the stuff to me and I headed to the bus stop. I only waited about 5-10 minutes for a bus, and once I was on they did a driver switch. Well, what do you know, while the drivers were signing in and out, who should walk on the bus but Dad, Sam, and Travis! It was a funny moment and we were all like "Hey, oh my gosh, fancy seeing you here," before sitting down together. I told them all about our adventures around Saratoga Springs, and they told me about the fun they had at DQ.
Soon enough the bus was moving, and we were on our way home. Once we got back to the Fort it was only a few minutes before our yellow bus arrived, and we were back at the RV. We got home around 4:45, and Mom and Bethany arrived about 15 minutes later.
Bethany finished packing up all of her things, we ate sandwiches for dinner, then about 5:40 we started saying our goodbyes. We all got hugs, said see you real soon, then Mom accompanied Bethany down to the Outpost to wait for her bus. She got back about 15 minutes later, and she told us that Bethany was getting a private ride to the airport! We thought that was kind of funny, but I guess if only one person is flying out around one time, then that's what happens.
We spent the rest of the night pretty much just hanging out at the RV and straightening up. Travis and I did go swimming for a little while, which was lots of fun as always.
We went to bed around 9:30, with plans of heading to Animal Kingdom the next afternoon.
We wanted to stop in at the lobby to confirm everything for Bethany's flight and Magical Express, so we walked over there once the internal bus dropped us off. Bethany got all the information she needed, then we walked back over to the bus stop to wait for our bus. Once came within a few minutes, and we were on our way! We got there a little after 1:00, and the first thing we did was go to the pin store! On the way there, Mom and Bethany had to stop to get a picture with their favorite Hundred Acre Woods friends.
We looked around he store for a while and traded some pins, and Bethany actually bought a couple. The next store we headed into was Basin, where we took some time to try out some of the products. Everything in that store smells so good, and we had a lot of fun. The boys stayed outside while we were in there (they didn't want to go into the girly store).
Once we were done in Basin, we went into the Ghirardelli store, where we got some free chocolates! I don't remember what flavor they were, but of course they were delicious.
After that we made a quick top at the bathroom before heading into World of Disney! On our way there we saw the most adorable Princess Parade go by. I guess every day they do a parade where all the girls who got their hair done at the Biddidi Boddidi Boutique get to walk around DTD and wave to all the people. It was so cute!
Once we were inside WOD, we were pleased to see that it wasn't too crowded. That store can get insanely stressful when it's packed with people, so it was nice to actually be able to move around freely.
We spent some time in there looking around, and Bethany got a few souvenirs and gifts for friends back home. At this point the boys headed over to go play at Disney Quest for a bit while Mom, Bethany, and I continued to shop.
We finished up shopping in WOD, then we walked around some other stores including Tren-D, Once Upon A Toy, and the Marketplace Co-Op. I bought the Beauty and The Beast soundtrack in Once Upon A Toy, which I was very excited about.
Once we were done looking around the shops at the Marketplace, we started making our way over to the West Side. Bethany wanted to go to the Candy Cauldron, and they also have some other good stores over there.
We passed the Characters in Flight balloon on our way, and we talked about how we always thought that would be a really cool thing to do. We never did end up doing it, though.
We made it to the Candy Cauldron, and we looked at all the tasty treats there. Bethany seriously considered getting a caramel apple, but she decided against it. They have so many other amazingly cool designs, though!
Once we were all done there, we stopped in the running store, Fit2Run. Both Mom and Bethany have been running for many years, so they really loved that store. If you remember back in January, I had mentioned that Mom had a back/hip injury and wasn't able to run so well anymore. Well, the injury was doing much better, but she still wasn't running. She could walk, swim, and bike, but running put too much strain on it. But good news! It continued to get better, and by the time we got home, she was able to start running again! She's running now just like she used to, with absolutely no pain.
So, we finished looking around there, then we started making our way back over to the Marketplace. It was a warm day out, so on the way we stopped at one the food carts to get smoothies! They had all sorts of fun flavors, and I believe I ended up getting the strawberry banana kind. It was really good!
We stopped to look in one last store before heading out, and that was Lefty's.
Lefty's is a store that is completely dedicated to left-handed people, and I just so happen to be left-handed. They have stuff like specially designed pens, scissors, and other tools. It's very neat. Bethany got a couple of pens for a left-handed friend of hers back home, then we started heading out of DTD.
We weren't heading home, though! Saratoga Springs is right next to Downtown, so we wanted to go over there and check it out. They used to run boats in between Downtown and Saratoga, but since they redid the whole boat system for the new Disney Springs, they now have a walking path.
It wasn't a big deal for us to walk, and the path was was beautiful, with amazing views of DTD.
We made it over to Saratoga Springs, but unfortunately the path brings you to the back of the resort. We were wanting to get to the front where the main lobby is, and we had a heck of a time trying to get there. Let me tell you guys, that resort is huge. I mean, it is ginormous. We probably wandered around there for over 20 minutes, ending up at random buildings and parking lots. We looked at maps, but we could hardly even tell where we were! It was getting close to 4:00 now, so eventually we just gave up. It was still a nice stroll around Saratoga, but we were kind of bummed we couldn't find the main building. It's a beautiful resort, though!
We backtracked our steps to get back to the walking path, where we made our way back to Downtown. When we got back to the main entrance, Bethany decided that she really did want to get a caramel apple. I remembered that they sell them at Goofy's Candy Co., which isn't as far away as the Candy Cauldron, so she and Mom went to get one there. I offered to take our other bags and head back home while they went and did that, so they handed all the stuff to me and I headed to the bus stop. I only waited about 5-10 minutes for a bus, and once I was on they did a driver switch. Well, what do you know, while the drivers were signing in and out, who should walk on the bus but Dad, Sam, and Travis! It was a funny moment and we were all like "Hey, oh my gosh, fancy seeing you here," before sitting down together. I told them all about our adventures around Saratoga Springs, and they told me about the fun they had at DQ.
Soon enough the bus was moving, and we were on our way home. Once we got back to the Fort it was only a few minutes before our yellow bus arrived, and we were back at the RV. We got home around 4:45, and Mom and Bethany arrived about 15 minutes later.
Bethany finished packing up all of her things, we ate sandwiches for dinner, then about 5:40 we started saying our goodbyes. We all got hugs, said see you real soon, then Mom accompanied Bethany down to the Outpost to wait for her bus. She got back about 15 minutes later, and she told us that Bethany was getting a private ride to the airport! We thought that was kind of funny, but I guess if only one person is flying out around one time, then that's what happens.
We spent the rest of the night pretty much just hanging out at the RV and straightening up. Travis and I did go swimming for a little while, which was lots of fun as always.
We went to bed around 9:30, with plans of heading to Animal Kingdom the next afternoon.