Scared Silly But Loving It

[dolphingirl47]

Great update love the photos! How nice to meet Laura and go to the Dreams Unlimited party

I am soooo jealous of your D & B cruiseline bag collection!

I could wonder around looking at those lights forever. Never enough time!

It was great to finally get to meet Laura in person. There were some people I was hoping to meet including my fantastic travel agent Kelsie, but that did not happen. There were just so many people around.

I love my Dooney's. They are not cheap, but if you calculate the cost per use, they actually turn into a bargain. I never leave the house without at least one of them.

The lights are really amazing. I felt I had long enough this time round, but I am hoping to get another chance to see them in the future.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

It was great to finally get to meet Laura in person. There were some people I was hoping to meet including my fantastic travel agent Kelsie, but that did not happen. There were just so many people around. I love my Dooney's. They are not cheap, but if you calculate the cost per use, they actually turn into a bargain. I never leave the house without at least one of them. The lights are really amazing. I felt I had long enough this time round, but I am hoping to get another chance to see them in the future. Corinna

I have a cruise in September I am hoping to get my first Dooney then. Which one do you use the most?

 

[franandaj]

Though I thought I wouldn't get behind, life gets in the way and I did. That sounds like a long but fun day! I would have loved to go on TSMM five times!

 

[dolphingirl47]

I have a cruise in September I am hoping to get my first Dooney then. Which one do you use the most?

I use my wristlet as my wallet so this goes wherever I go. Other than that it is between my backpack, which I love to use when I go sightseeing or for the parks and the charms tote, which I use as my work bag. It is just the perfect size.

Though I thought I wouldn't get behind, life gets in the way and I did. That sounds like a long but fun day! I would have loved to go on TSMM five times!

Life unfortunately has the habit to get in the way. It was a crazy long day with so many experiences, but I savoured every second of it. Getting to do TSMM so many times in one day was a real treat.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 6

I had set the alarm call for 7:00. I wanted to get some chance to sit outside on the balcony and enjoy the animals. I actually hat woken up shortly before my alarm call and had gone to have a shower, but was back in time for the alarm call. On our previous visits to Disney hotels, it was a combination of Stitch and Mickey doing the wake up calls. This time round it was Olaf from Frozen. I had not seen the film at this point and it did not feel as magical as the usual wake up call. I put on the coffee and while this was brewing, I checked out the shiny things that I had received in the post. I was in heaven. By the time the coffee was ready, Graham was also ready and we went out on the balcony. Graham had kindly picked up some Zebra Domes for me from Mara the previous day and I enjoyed those with my morning coffee.







I was not quite sure what Savannah we were on when I came back to the hotel the previous night, but my request for Arusha Savannah had been granted. Initially we did not see any animals, but shortly afterwards an antelope of some description appeared within view and was soon joined by two friends. Shortly afterwards a Wildebeest, a Giraffe and a Zebra showed up. It was great just spending an hour on the balcony enjoying the lovely warm weather and the view.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Unfortunately I needed to think about making tracks. I reorganized my backpack and my overnight bag and then we headed downstairs. On the way, I took some photos of the Christmas tree and of the lobby. We made it to the bus stops by 8:30. I had assumed that Graham would head off to Downtown Disney to get a Lynx bus from there, but the bus that he needed left from the Transportation and Ticket Centre. So he chose to come to Epcot with me and then take the monorail back to the Transportation and Ticket Centre. We did not have to wait long for the bus and even though there were plenty of people waiting and there were already people on the bus that had got on at Kidani, we managed to get on the bus and even managed to get a seat. The bus dropped us off in an area that was a bit further away from the entrance and this turned out to be a blessing. I had always intended to leave my overnight bag in a locker in the park so that I did not have to carry it around. I was not looking forward to taking this through the bag check. As we were walking towards the entrance, I spotted an alcove with a bunch of lockers. I decided to check those out and they only cost $1 to use. The lockers were the perfect size for my bag. There was only on problem. I needed 4 quarters for this. Normally we always have a number of quarters whenever we are in the USA, but neither of us had any. I had a number of $1 notes. Fortunately just as I was about to give up, a family walked past us and I asked if they could change one of my $1 notes for quarters. Fortunately they were able to and I locked my bag away. This was not only an absolute bargain, but I had to walk past those lockers in order to catch the hotel shuttle in the evening anyway so this was really convenient.





















With the bag safely stored away, we headed towards the entrance. We went through the back check together and then I said good bye to Graham and he headed off to the monorail. The entrance plaza looked chaotic and I was getting a little worried about the crowds. However, I figured that I had my Fastpasses for the attractions I really wanted to do and the Candlelight Processional lunch package so I would be OK even if the park was crowded. However, it looked much worse than it was. I think with multiple readers replacing each turnstile, it does look busy and chaotic. Once I was inside the park, I stopped to have some photos taken by one of the Photopass photographers and then I headed inside the park. I spotted that Pluto was out with next to know line so I stopped for a hug and some photos. I started to think that this was my lucky day. The same theme continued when I walked past Spaceship Earth. Normally I give this a wide berth in the morning as this tends to be very busy first thing. I do however always check the wait time. The posted wait time was 15 minutes, but I could not see anybody waiting outside. I know that once you are through the door, you are essentially straight at the loading area. So this was too good to pass up. Sure enough, it was a walk on. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.






















By the time I got off Spaceship Earth, my Fastpass window for Soarin had opened. I headed over to The Land. Near the entrance to Garden Grill, they had a beautiful Gingerbread display that even had a Gingerbread version of the Disney Magic. I cannot remember seeing this last year and decided to come back to this after the ride. After the experiences from the previous day, I was a little nervous when I approached the Fastpass entrance. Sure enough, when I touched my Magic Band against the reader, the Mickey head on the reader turned blue and a message came up that I had no Fastpass reservation. I tried to explain to the cast member that I had a reservation and offered to show him on the phone, but he did not believe me and waved me off into the distance to make a Fastpass reservation. I was furious, but it did not seem worth trying to argue the point. I was lost. I had no idea where I was supposed to go. I asked another cast member who walked by and she directed me to another cast member who had a modified iPad. I explained my problem to her and she was the kind of cast member that makes Walt Disney World special. She gave me a huge smile and told me she would sort out my issue. She scanned my Magic Band on her iPad and all seemed to be in order. She then took me over to the Fastpass+ kiosk and again the Fastpasses for that day showed up. She asked me if I was a DVC member, which I confirmed. She advised that this is a known issue with DVC members as they are trying to add so much information to their profiles that it overloads the system. She asked me if I had a Smartphone and advised me to always have the page with the current Fastpass reservations open and the phone to hand when I approach a Fastpass entrance. She then walked me back to Fastpass entrance and confirmed that she had checked on the kiosk and I had indeed a Fastpass reservation and was within my window. The cast member then overrode the system and the Mickey head turned green. I was on my way. I did get a nice treat for my troubles though. Normally even though they don’t have a single rider line for Soarin at Epcot, single riders end up at the edges. This time round, I got a seat in the middle. The scents that they pipe in at various points of the ride are much more intense in the middle. This was the first time ever that I had a middle seat. I rather enjoyed the experience.

 

[dolphingirl47]

When I came out of Soarin, I decided to check out the waiting time for Living with the Land. The posted waiting time was 15 minutes, but there was no line to speak off. In the end I had to wait for one set of boats to load and leave the loading dock and I was on the next boat. I have always liked this ride. They have added a few holiday touches to the greenhouse like dressing up rosemary bushes like Christmas trees. The area where they have the unit with the aquarium at the bottom and the lettuce at the top was all covered up. I was wondering what they are going to do with this area as this was not added all that long ago. Once I had finished this ride, I headed back upstairs to take a photo of the Gingerbread display. This proved easier said than done. They have implemented a one-way system that I do not remember from previous visits. There is a rope between the down and up escalators and also between the two doors. So I had to follow the walkway around and go out of the door and then come back through the other door. Fortunately when I came back and had taken the photos I wanted to take, there was a cast member at the rope and she let me through so that I did not have to go down one escalator only to come straight back up the other one.





















I still had some time until my next Fastpass window opened so I headed over to the Imagination Pavilion. The posted waiting time was 10 minutes, but again it was a walk on. There have been persistent rumours that this ride will go into a lengthy rehab this year and I wanted to make sure I get to ride this one last time just in case they decide to evict Figments again. I enjoyed the ride and then headed over towards the other side of Futureworld as my Fastpass window for Test Track had opened. On the way, I stopped at the Pin Trading Station and managed to get some pins for Holidays around the World including an annual pass holder pin and a DVC member pin and a special pin for the Candlelight Processional. Then I headed over to Test Track.

True to form, the Mickey head at the Fastpass entrance turned blue and a message popped up that I had no reservation. This time round I was prepared. The cast member was just about to send me to a Fastpass kiosk to sort this out, when I showed him the reservation on my phone. He tried to update something with the reservation, but the Wi-Fi signal in that area is weak and I could not get a mobile phone signal either. In the meantime a family had arrived and half of them had problems with their Fastpass+ as well. So in the end he just manually granted access to me. At the time I did not understand what he was trying to do on my phone, but this would become clear later in the trip. I walked through the Fastpass line and then had a brief wait to enter the room where you design your car. I found this aspect rather tedious especially as I had finished my car a long time before the allotted time was up. Once the time was up for everybody, the doors opened and we got into another line which led onto the loading dock. What really annoyed me is that once they realized that I was by myself, they asked me to step aside while they were loading other people and to add insult to injury, while I was waiting to be called, they were calling people from the single rider line. I know that they may have waited a lot longer than I had, but I did not expect that as a single person with a Fastpass, I would be treated differently from other people holding Fastpasses. After three loading circles I was called and directed to an empty row. I was joined shortly afterwards by two other people. We were advised to touch our Magic Bands to the readers at the loading dock to transmit our car design to the system and then it was time to get in the car. I actually liked the ride, but then I like blue. The back-story made sense to me and I liked that at points, it showed how the designs of the people in the car measured up. Mine came up top for aerodynamics, but was not much good at anything else. It did look pretty smart though.



Even with all the hold ups, I still had some time until my last Fastpass window opened. I headed over to Mission: Space. The waiting time was not long at 15 minutes for the green version and 10 minutes for the orange version. However, I had read in the Brits’ Guide to Orlando that this ride has a Single Rider Line. So after the experience at Test Track, I decided to ask the cast member near the entrance about this. I was advised that there is no Single Rider Line, but she then asked me if I was by myself. I told her that I was and she gave me a special Fastpass and sent me down the Fastpass line. This was a nice thing to do and definitely not necessary, but I appreciated the little bit of Pixie Dust. Unfortunately when we were in the room for the pre-ride briefing there was some technical issue that delayed us getting on the ride and once we were in our rocket there was a further delay. Still, eventually I got to do the ride and I rather enjoyed it.

I decided to stop at Club Cool on my way to my next Fastpass+ reservation. At the end of October, they swapped most of the old flavours out. They kept the Beverly (a very bitter non-alcoholic apéritif from Italy) and the VegitaBeta (a non-carbonated Apricot and Passion fruit flavored drink from Japan). I was quite surprised that they decided to keep those as I thought those were the least appealing options from the old line up. I was very sad to see that they have removed the Mezzo Mix from Germany and Smart Watermelon from China as those were my favourites. The new flavours were Guarana Kuat (a Guarana Berry flavored soft drink from Brazil); Inca Kola (a sweet fruity flavored soft drink, comparable to bubblegum from Peru); Sparletta (Raspberry Cream Soda from Zimbabwe); Bibo (a Kiwi Mango soft drink from South Africa); Fanta Melon Frosty from Thailand and Fanta Pineapple from Greece. On the whole I liked the new line up better. My favourites were Sparletta and Fanta Melon Frosty. My least favourite were Inca Kola and Bibo, which were simply too sweet for my taste.

I headed to my last Fastpass+ reservation for the day, which was the Character Connection. I told the cast member about the issues that I had been having with Fastpass + and she just waved me through. This was the longest wait I ever had for a Fastpass and I am not actually sure if this saved me anything as I ended up waiting for about 30 minutes, which was the same as the posted waiting time for the standby line. Once I was allowed into the room where the characters were, I got a good idea what caused the delay. There were two very large families in front of me and they all had photos taken individually, in various combinations and then as a group. This took forever. Still as I got to see Mickey, Minnie and Goofy, this only equated to a waiting time of 10 minutes per character and I was quite happy with this.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Once I was finished with the characters, I made my way over to the World Showcase. I had some photos taken on the way and then headed over towards Mexico. Opposite the shop near the entrance to World Showcase, Duffy has a Meet and Greet spot. The line did not look too long so I got in it. Duffy did take his time with everybody and there was no shade. It was just about my turn to meet Duffy when he went in for a quick milk and cookie break. Fortunately he was not gone too long and he spent some time with me on his return. We had a lovely interaction.



































When I came past Mexico, there were quite a few people hanging around in the area where Donald sometimes appears in his Mexican outfit. As it was dark last year when I met him, I was rather hoping to get a photo with him in daylight. Unfortunately this was not to be and he was not listed at all for that day on the My Disney Experience App. So I moved on. I could not believe that there were people already waiting in the standby line for the Candlelight Processional. It was about 13:00 at that time and there were already 10 people waiting. The first show was not until 17:00. My lunch reservation was getting closer. On my way over to the Moroccan Pavilion, I stopped at the Japan pavilion. It has become a tradition to pick a pearl on every trip to Walt Disney World. This time round I got a lovely soft pink pearl. Most pearls that I picked never got set, but this one was so pretty that it warranted a setting. They had a very pretty Sterling silver dolphin pendant that was very reasonable so I decided to go with this. I had to leave this with them and they told me to come back in about an hour.

 

[dolphingirl47]

I then went over to the Moroccan Pavilion where I was going to meet up with two people from the DIS. I had booked the Candlelight Processional Lunch Package as soon as reservations opened in July. At that time, I expected to be by myself and had booked Biergarten. This was the cheapest package and I find that buffet works well for me if I am eating by myself as I can just help myself to food as soon as I get there and pay and leave when I am done. Nearer the time, I realized that some people I know through the DIS would be at Walt Disney World the same time and we made plans to meet up. It so happened that the day that worked best for us was my Epcot day. One of the people I was due to meet is vegetarian and the other is pescetarian so Biergarten, which is heavily meat-based, was not going to work. I had a look at availability for the lunch package for three and one of the restaurants that came up was Restaurant Marrakesh. Graham and I had eaten there once during our honeymoon and I had loved it. However, this is not the kind of restaurant that I would go to by myself and as Graham rarely comes to the parks with me, I had never been back. We decided that this would work for all three of us and I made the reservation. As I approached Restaurant Marrakesh, I could see Pam and her mum sitting outside the restaurant. I headed over and we said “hello”. We then went inside and were seated straightaway. It felt like we had known each other forever. We spent all lunch talking and just got on. I still loved Restaurant Marrakesh and maybe I loved it even more this time round. Even though Morocco is North Africa, the culture is strongly influenced by Arabic culture. As I have worked for an Arabic company for the past 8 years and have visited Dubai many times, I was now able to appreciate certain details that went straight over my head the during my first visit. Lunch was delightful. As soon as we were seated, we were brought some traditional bread. The package included a starter, main course and dessert plus a non-alcoholic drink. I went with iced mint tea, which was lovely and refreshing. For my starter, I had the Beef Brewat Roll, which consists of baked layers of thin Pastry filled with seasoned Minced Beef and Egg and dusted with Sugar and Cinnamon. For my main course I had Chicken with Vegetable Couscous. I had expected chicken pieces, but I actually ended up with a quarter of chicken. Had I known this beforehand, I would have gone with the Beef Couscous. However, the chicken and the couscous were full of flavour and absolutely delicious and in the end I was very happy with my choice. For dessert I had the Baklava. This came with a Date Sauce on the side, which I left. They may not have been the best Baklava that I ever had, but I did really enjoy them. This was a perfect lunch: great surroundings with traditional entertainment, delicious food and wonderful company. Once we had finished our lunch and had paid, I could not believe how long we had taken over lunch. Time definitely flies when you are having fun.

Fortunately it was not yet time to say goodbye. The highlight of the day was yet to come. First of all so I needed to go back to the Japanese pavilion to pick up my pendant. This had turned out rather nicely. We had a quick look around the shop there and by the time we came out, we spotted that quite an impressive line had already formed for people that had the tickets from the Candlelight Processional Lunch Package. Even though we had a guaranteed seat, it was still a question of getting good seats. There was nothing else that any of us wanted to do so we got in line. We did not have to wait very long before they let us in. Even though we were quite far back in the line, we got the perfect seats. We were right behind the VIP section and the wheelchair seating with a clear view to the stage.

I had seen the Candlelight Processional for the first time last year and loved it. Last year the narrator was Geena Davis and even though I had never heard of her beforehand, she was absolutely amazing and the whole experience was completely magical. So once our plans for this trip started to shape up, I was in no doubt that I would go to see this again. At that stage I was not really worried who the narrator would be. Still, when plans started to take shape, it quickly became obvious that the Saturday would be the best fit for a variety of reasons. I was absolutely delighted when I realized that the narrator for that day would be Whoopi Goldberg. She was one of the “heroes” of my teenage years and even now, many years on, I love films like Sister Act and Ghost. I could not believe my luck. In the run up to this trip I had read quite a few reviews stating that people had thought she was terrible and felt that her heart was not in it. Some reviews even stated that she was the worst narrator for the Candlelight Processional they had ever seen. Indeed, there were a number of people who cancelled their reservations for meal packages once she was announced as the narrator. I decided to keep an open mind and was very excited about seeing her at relatively close quarters.

I was all caught up with what was going on. It is nice how the Candlelight Processional unfolds slowly with the orchestra at first being all by themselves and playing some songs. They were then joined by the Voices of Liberty and then the choirs filed in. Where we were sitting some of the choirs filed in straight next to us. The last person to come on stage was Whoopi Goldberg. I admit to being a little bit star struck. The introduction was different this year and referred to the fact that the Candlelight Processional was a tradition that Walt Disney himself started at Disneyland. I had not known this before. I know that they have the Candlelight Processional on a much smaller scale at Disneyland, but had not realized that it had gone on for so long. There were also some changes in the songs and in the order of the songs. Fortunately Silent Night was still included and the first verse was still sung in German. As far as Whoopi Goldberg is concerned, she exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high to start of with. She seemed to enjoy every minute of the Candlelight Processional and was singing along to some of the songs. She may not be a religious person, but she told the Christmas story with both passion and compassion. She really brought this to life. The only indication that she is not a religious person is that she made a quip in her closing remarks that being exposed to the beautiful live music with the choirs and the orchestra could almost convince her to go back to church. One thing I thought was a really nice touch was that as part of her closing remarks, she encouraged to say a prayer for Nelson Mandela, who had just passed away, and called him a present day prince of peace. The whole Candlelight Processional was truly magical and I was feeling very privileged that I was able to experience this. I would be quite happy now to “retire” from the Candlelight Processional as I struggle to see how this could be improved upon. However, if I ever happen to be in Florida again when Whoopi Goldberg is narrating the Candlelight Processional, I would move heaven and earth to attend.












































We were in no particular rush to leave the theatre. I was well and truly done for the day in more ways than just one and Pam and her mum had a while until they needed to be somewhere. We waited until the theatre had nearly emptied before we headed out. We were all going in the same general direction so we walked towards the exit. When we went past the Chinese pavilion, somebody called my name. It happened to be somebody who we had met on our Hawaii cruise. We chatted for a couple of minutes. It was nice to see her. What was even nicer was that she had just met somebody who we both know. I had been worried about that person as she was due to fly from Manchester on a day where severe storms had been forecasted and I had read on Facebook that it had been pretty bad. I had been worried if she had made it. So now my mind was put at rest. It soon was time to say goodbye as they were heading over to the Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade and the fireworks. Shortly afterwards, it was also time to say goodbye to Pam and her mum. I thoroughly had enjoyed spending time with them and hope that we will have the chance to meet again at some point in the future.

There was last thing that I needed to take care of before heading out towards the bus. As I did not have much joy with my missing Photopass photos the previous day and still did not have the photos for the photo package from Tusker House, I decided to pay the Photopass Centre at Epcot a visit. There was quite a long line, but I still had some time until the bus was due to depart so I decided to see how I get on. The line moved surprisingly quickly. When it was my turn, I was told yet again that they were having trouble with uploading photos. He advised me check again the next day about the Tusker House photos. I still had the receipt that I was given when they scanned my Photopass card at Dinosaur and this had the reference number of photo on it. Ironically this was the only ride photo this trip where I was given a receipt for. He was very happy to see this and filled out a claim form and advised that this would be added to my Photopass account in the next 24 to 48 hours. I still did not have what I came for, but I had the feeling that he did genuinely care and at least tried to get the matter resolved for me.

I then left the park and headed out towards the bus stop from which the hotel shuttle was due to depart. One the way, I collected my overnight bag from the locker. I got to the bus stop in plenty of time and the shuttle ended up being about 5 minutes late. This time round we just had to drop off at one other hotel in the Lake Buena Vista area before heading back to our hotel. That was the theory anyway. In practice the bus switched itself off when we stopped at the other hotel and would not start again. Our driver tried a few times and then radioed for help. Fortunately there was another bus from the same company not too far away that had just finished a drop off and they rerouted this to come and pick us up. About 15 minutes after the initial stop, we were back on our way and it took not long for us to get back to our hotel.

Once we arrived, I went back to our room. I took a wrong turn at some stage and found myself looking at a wall instead of finding our room. I retraced my steps and fortunately I had not gone far wrong. I was back at the room shortly afterwards. Our plan had been to eat at Olive Garden that night so once I dropped off my stuff; we headed out to the I-Ride Trolley. We did not have to wait long for one to arrive. This was a Saturday night and International Drive was heaving with people. Most restaurants that we passed had long lines of people and unfortunately Olive Garden was no different. There was quite a long line and the quoted wait time was 45 minutes to an hour. It was already just past 20:30 at that stage and the wait time was simply too long. We headed back to the trolley stop and this time we had to wait a bit longer until a trolley came. We decided to head back to the hotel. Graham had suggested that we have dinner at the hotel restaurant, but at that point I was so tired that I physically hurt. I knew that I had to eat something, but I suggested that we check out the hotel deli. This is what we ended up doing. We both had a bottled Tazo Iced Tea. Graham ordered a Pepperoni Flatbread, which was huge and came with a delicious hot Marinara Sauce for dipping. I had decided on the Cuban Sandwich. They have tables in the deli, but we decided to take our food back to the room. The sandwich was amazing and full of flavour and I did pinch some of Graham’s sauce, which made this even better. Graham also thoroughly enjoyed his flatbread. Once we had finished our food, we got ready for bed and I think I was asleep before Graham was even in bed.

 

[RachelTori]

So glad you got to see Whoopi! We saw her 2 Christmases ago. She was awesome (and adorable)!

Your photos are the best, Corinna! Thank you for sharing them with us.

 

[dolphingirl47]

So glad you got to see Whoopi! We saw her 2 Christmases ago. She was awesome (and adorable)!

Your photos are the best, Corinna! Thank you for sharing them with us.

I still can't believe that I actually got to see her live. She was amazing.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

What fantastic pics.

And even better to have completed a DisMeet with Pam and her mom; with a CP and Whoopi!

Great update.

 

[jenseib]

Ok, I am confused?? So you kept your hotel near sea world and just did a one night stay at AKL then?

That would be awesome to see Whoopi. I always loved her on Star Trek.

Too bad about Olive Garden, but sometimes you just can't wait that long and I understand about being tired.

 

[Chilly]

Lovely day from starting out on the balcony through meeting friends to an expected dinner.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What fantastic pics.

And even better to have completed a DisMeet with Pam and her mom; with a CP and Whoopi!

Great update.

It really was a fantastic day all round.

Ok, I am confused?? So you kept your hotel near sea world and just did a one night stay at AKL then?

That would be awesome to see Whoopi. I always loved her on Star Trek.

Too bad about Olive Garden, but sometimes you just can't wait that long and I understand about being tired.

Yes, we got a really fantastic deal on the hotel at SeaWorld as we were staying for more than 7 nights and doing two separate bookings would actually have worked out more expensive. I used my DVC points for AKL so I was not out of pocket for this.

Lovely day from starting out on the balcony through meeting friends to an expected dinner.

I enjoyed every second of that day.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 7

This day started a bit more leisurely. We were going to spend the first part of the day at Aquatica. Aquatica was not due to open until 10:00. I had not set the alarm and we woke up shortly before 8:00. We got up and got ready and decided to go across the road to the Village Inn to have some breakfast. Even though we had stayed at this hotel a number of times before and this restaurant was always there, we had never eaten there. I had however heard that this was worth trying. So we decided to try this for breakfast. Once we were ready, we set off. This looks like a basic diner, but the menu was pretty extensive and the food was delicious. We both had Coffee and Orange Juice and I was delighted that apart from Half and Half, we also got some little pots of French Vanilla Creamer. I was in my element. Graham had the Ultimate Skillet, which came with two Fried Eggs, Country Potatoes, two savoury Hickory-smoked Bacon Strips, two Sausage Links, Ham, Mushrooms, Green Peppers, Onions, Tomatoes and Melted Cheeses and White Toast. I had the Rio Grande Skillet, which consisted of two Fried Eggs, Country Potatoes, tender Pork Carnitas layered with Red Peppers, Onions, Fire-roasted Pork Green Chili, Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheeses, Sour Cream and Salsa. It also came with pancakes and I chose the Pumpkin Pancakes with Pecan Sauce. Everything was delicious, but the portions were far too big. Graham managed to finish this, but I did not.

When we finished our breakfast, we headed back to the hotel to get our tickets and to get changed. We then headed back out to the trolley stop and caught the trolley to Aquatica. The entrance to Aquatica is pretty much diagonally across from the back entrance to the hotel, but Graham had told me that there was a rather large car park between the entrance and the actual park. As we had a pass for the I-Ride Trolley anyway, it just made more sense to use this. We did not have to wait long for a trolley and the journey to Aquatica took about 10 minutes. Once we had entered the park, we headed straight to the underwater viewing area for the Commerson’s Dolphins. We spent a while there watching the dolphins. There was a member of education staff down there and we spoke with her for a while. It soon became obvious that she knew a lot about the species in general, but very little about the actual animals that they have there. Still, I learned a lot about Commerson’s Dolphins that I had not known before.












With the educational aspect out of the way, we headed for the water. Our first stop was Loggerhead Lane, which is a traditional lazy river with inner tubes. This is not particularly long, but has a viewing window to the habitat of the Commerson’s Dolphin and also to an aquarium. This was a nice addition. Unfortunately the lazy river also had a lot of water jets, waterfalls and misters that were all shooting ice cold water at people passing through. I was not too impressed with this and after a couple of laps, we moved on. We headed to Roa's Rapids next. This is a variation on the lazy river theme. The current in this is a lot quicker and there are also islands with rapids either side of them. Graham had done this earlier in the week and had not really rated it. I had done some research before the trip and read that this is a lot more enjoyable when wearing a life jacket. So I suggested that we should try it. There are plenty of life jackets available in all sizes near the three entrances to Roa's Rapids. We got a life jacket each and headed for the water. It took me a little while to figure out the correct position in the water, but once I found a way to essentially just float in the middle of the current, it was a lot of fun. Graham enjoyed it this time round, too. I lost count how often we went round, but we were in there for about 90 minutes.















As you have probably have noticed by now, I am not exactly into thrill rides and this most certainly also applies to slides in water parks. I am usually OK with the family raft rides though. So this is where we headed next. Aquatica has two of those: Walhalla Wave – a twisty slide with enclosed, pitch-dark segments and HooRoo Run, which is a triple-dip slide that is described as short, but fast. They share a tower and it is only before we go up the last staircase that you have to decide which ride you want to do. You can’t really see what to expect from the ground level and I just figured with those being family raft rides, they would not be too bad. We decided to try HooRoo Run first, but once I was up at the loading platform and saw what I was about to let myself in for, I could not face it. This slide looked to be near vertical with two areas where it temporarily leveled out before another near vertical part. I asked Graham if we could try the other one instead. He was OK with that idea. We went down one staircase and up another and were on the loading area for Walhalla Wave. This also looked a little too thrilling for my liking, but I still felt that I would cope with this. In the end it came down to either being brave or having to walk down a considerable number of stairs. Being brave appealed more. This was actually not too bad. The first twist was a little scary and it pretty much turned the raft with us in it on its side, but after this, it was actually a lot of fun. I am still not sure if I would choose to do this again.

With this I had enough of thrills. I wanted to check out the wave pools. One of them was closed and the other one did not really impress me. We spend maybe 5 minutes in there and then decided to call it a day. On the whole, I did not really rate Aquatica. I have been thoroughly spoiled by Aquaventure at the Atlantis in Dubai and this is not even in the same ballpark. As far as water parks in Orlando are concerned, I am sure it is a lot of fun for thrill seekers, but did not really have much to offer for us. I think the two Disney water parks are a better fit for us and I am not in a rush to hurry back to one of those either.



We headed back to the Commerson’s Dolphin underwater viewing area to dry off a little, but realized that this would take a while. We decided to walk back to the hotel. I was just going to tip the water out of my water shoes and while doing so, I noticed that I had completely shredded the bottom of those in Roa's Rapids. As we were going to Discovery Cove the next day, I needed to get new water shoes. I also had issues with blisters on my feet. The shoes that I had been wearing up to that point on this trip are the most comfortable shoes I own and I had done miles in them including in theme parks. They have never even irritated my feet, but this time for some reason I had developed blisters. It was too warm to wear my trainers so I also wanted to see if I could get some sandals. So this left me with another challenge as we needed to fit in a quick shopping trip. We walked back to the hotel and quickly got showered and changed. While Graham got ready, I checked the opening times for Orlando Premium Outlets and then show times for SeaWorld. One of the things I really wanted to do was watch Blue Horizons one last time this holiday. I noticed that there was showing in just under half an hour. I told Graham this and we decided that we would go and watch this and then leave SeaWorld again to head down to Orlando Premium Outlets to get the shoes. Once we had done this, we would then head back to SeaWorld to watch Sea of Trees and check out the Manta Aquarium.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Graham was not quite ready, but as he walks much quicker than I do anyway, we agreed that I would get going and he would catch me up. By the time I was at the road across from the SeaWorld car park, he had caught up with me. The bag check was very quick, but I had some issues with my ticket. The light had turned green, but the turnstile did not move. This was the last thing I needed at this moment. We scanned the ticket again and this time it let me in. We employed some speedy footwork and managed to make it inside the Whale and Dolphin Stadium just as the show was about to start. We still got decent seats. We were quite high up and off to the left of the stadium. We were roughly parallel to the box where the Andean Condor waits for his big entrance. The show was amazing again. It was great to see the Andean Condor fly past so close. Another thing that was nice to see is that Pilot Whales had moved from the back pool to a pool that is right next to the show pool. I am hoping that this means that they will be ready to join the show soon.














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Once Blue Horizons had finished, we headed towards the exit. I picked up a map on the way out so that we had the show times and then we headed out to the I-Ride Trolley stop. We had a short wait for the trolley, but we were soon on our way. We had a nice clear run to Orlando Premium Outlets. Pretty much as soon as we arrived there, we found a shoe shop. I had a look around. I had to smile. The only water shoes that were available were about $60. I don’t pay that much for shoes I am wearing all the time. I was a bit more successful as far as the sandals are concerned. Even though they did not the right size, I was able to work out what I want. They were Clarks sandals and I knew that there is a Clarks outlet at Orlando Premium Outlets so this gave me something to work with. We were ready for a snack and decided to go to Starbucks. There was a huge line and we gave up on this idea. I had a quick look at the Disney Character Warehouse, but there was still nothing that called out to me. We then pushed on to the Clarks outlet. Unfortunately they did not have the style that I had seen at the other shop, but they had something very similar and the sandals turned out to be pure heaven on my feet. The sandals were actually from the men’s department, but I could not have cared less. They are black sandals, they fit and they are comfortable. As I was going to wear them straightaway, I asked the person at the till if she could put the box in the trash for me and she pointblank refused. She told me that there are plenty of bins just outside the shop and I could just throw the box in one of those. I was taken aback by this. I have made this request in plenty of shops and it was always accommodated. Yes, there were bins around, but I don’t think they are there to put shoe boxes in. As the box was also quite big, it was a struggle to fit it in through the small opening. Although I love my sandals dearly and they are probably the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned, I am not sure I would go back to that shop again.

When we walked past Starbucks again after I had finished my shopping, the line had gone down. So we decided to get our snack after all. We both had a Green Tea Frappuccino. Graham had a Blueberry Scone and I had a Cheesecake Brownie. This definitely hit a spot. We timed this perfectly. By the time we had finished our food and drink, the line was huge again. We made a quick escape and headed for the trolley stop. The inbound trolley was just arriving as we got there so we only had a short wait until we were on our way again.

We made it back to SeaWorld in time for the last dolphin feed of the day. This required a little bit of speedy legwork again. I was a little worried that I would miss out as there was a huge line. As there were so many people, they only allowed each person to purchase one tray of fish. I was fine with that. I paid for my fish and then got in line. This experience was very different from any other time that I have fed the dolphins at SeaWorld. As there were so many people, they did this in three groups. I was in the second group. Once it was my turn, it was a similar procedure from our first visit. We were asked to stand back from the interactive wall until we had received our safety briefing. We then were allowed to step up to the wall and our fish was brought to us. I was very amused by one of the dolphins. He had obviously worked out that this was a dolphin buffet and he started at the first person and made his way from person to person along the wall until the fish had run out. This shows just how clever dolphins are. They broke the session up a bit quicker as there was still another group waiting for their turn, but I still did not feel rushed and had some great interactions.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Once I had washed my hands, I went to find Graham. He had gone to one of the overlooks again. We watched the dolphins for a while from there and then we moved towards The Waterfront. We wanted to see the Sea of Trees show. According to the times guide on the map, there was a lighting ceremony at 17:30 followed by the first Sea of Trees show at 18:00. We got ourselves into position, but did not see anything until suddenly at 18:00, the trees jumped to life. This is a variation on the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights insofar that they come on and go off and “dance” to the music. What was different is that the trees are also able to change colour and the reflections of the tree in the lagoon also added something to the overall effect. This was truly magical. After the show was over, the trees remained lit and this was quite a sight, too. We stayed behind for a bit to enjoy them before heading back towards the entrance. Originally I had planned to stay to see three of the shows, but after three very long and busy days in a row, I was just too exhausted to contemplate this.

 

[dolphingirl47]

There was one last thing that we wanted to do. I had heard that the Manta Aquarium is a “must see”. I was under the impression that this was part of the queuing area and was getting ready to ask for the “chicken exit”, but fortunately this is a completely different area. I have to say the aquarium is absolutely stunning. It reminds me a little of the Lost Chambers Aquarium at the Atlantis in Dubai. There are a number of very different aquariums there with all kinds of different fish and other sea creatures. This was also were I encountered the only member of education staff that was genuinely knowledgeable. She was based in front of an aquarium that contained a Giant Pacific Octopus. Now this is not normally an animal that I would give more than a passing glance to. When we approached, she was talking to couple and I was just drawn in. She was very engaging and I came to realize that the Giant Pacific Octopus is actually a very interesting creature. I learned a lot from her and I was absolutely fascinated.





When we had a good look around the Manta Aquarium, we headed towards the exit. We quickly went back to the hotel to drop off my stuff and then we got on the next I-Ride Trolley for dinner. We had decided to head for Chili’s that evening. I had checked which stop we needed, but when we got to the stop before, the driver called out Chili’s as one of the businesses that are at this stop. So we got off there. It turned out that the stop that I thought that we needed was indeed the correct one. Still, the walk was not much further and it was a beautiful evening. This was a different proposition from the day before. International Drive dis not seem particularly busy and indeed we were seated straightaway. We both had some Mango Ice Tea and Graham also ordered a glass of White Zinfandel. I initially had planned to stick to the soft drink as I was quite dehydrated again, but then I spotted the Patron Margarita and once I had a couple of glasses of ice tea, I decided to have one of those. Patron is my favourite brand of Tequila and I really wanted to try this. Normally the Margaritas at Chili's are pretty ordinary, but this was one of the best Margaritas that I ever had. We shared some Southwestern Eggrolls as a started. They are Crispy Flour Tortillas stuffed with Smoked Chicken, Black Beans, Corn, Jalapeño Jack Cheese, chopped Red Peppers & Spinach served with Avocado-Ranch Sauce and are my absolutely favourite starter. We then both had Steak. Graham had the Ribeye Steak with Broccoli and Loaded Mashed Potatoes. I had Ribeye Steak with Black Beans and Loaded Mashed Potatoes as I am not overly keen on Broccoli. We both enjoyed our food, but were absolutely stuffed.





Once we had paid, we headed to the correct trolley stop. This time we had quite a wait for a trolley to arrive. The stop was right across the road from Magical Midway and we were thoroughly entertained by watching people ride the Sling Shot, which is an evil contraption consisting of a swing attached to bungee cords. I am at a loss why anybody would want to ride something like this and much less pay quite a lot of money for it. The Star Flyer does not appeal either. This is a wave swing, but at its highest point it is 230 feet and rotates 360 degrees at approximately 50 mph. I was quite scared enough by the Silly Symphony Swings at Disney California Adventure so I am definitely not tempted by this. Graham normally loves wave swings, but he was not tempted by this one either. Eventually the trolley came and we were on our hotel. We had another long and busy day and when we got back to our room, we got ready for bed straightaway.

 

[Chilly]

Lovely day from starting out on the balcony through meeting friends to an expected dinner.

That was supposed to be unexpected dinner!