Girls Only Fabulous Food & Wine Fiesta Trip Report - COMPLETED...

[arieljasmine]

Fantastic shopping day, especially cosmetics shopping - my favourite! Glad you got to go to your event eventually!

Laur's

 

[CustardTart]

The phone call from Mickey came through bright and early. I snatched up the phone with a little outburst of non-Disney approved language before staggering sleepily to the bathroom. We had to be over at the Magic Kingdom for 8.30am as we were due to do the Keys To The Kingdom tour! I was pretty excited but noticed immediately that my room mate Sophie was in less than tip top spirits. Unfortunately, she'd used her teeth to prise off last night's Wine Tour wristband and in doing so had aggravated a prior dental complaint. We were well stocked with Tylenol so I gave her a couple and took some in my purse should she need them later in the day. We raced out and caught a bus to MK. The journey seemed quicker than we'd expected so arrived with time to spare. Fortunately Sophie's toothache had abated and she was able to take some photos of the deserted park...

And then I had to get involved...

We checked in and were issued with name stickers and earpieces, whilst our delightful young guide for the morning introduced herself. And so it began. I'm not going to give a blow by blow account of the tour as I'm sure you can read that elsewhere. To be honest, I was preoccupied by Sophie's evident discomfort and didn't really pay too much attention. Suffice to say, we had a good time but not a great time. Of course, it was fab to be privy to all the secret bits we had looked forward to seeing but, despite Sophie insisting on us staying until the end, I spent most of the tour anxious for it to finish...

Eventually we were dismissed and, rather than spent more time in MK, we chose to return to the resort and figure out what we could do about Sophie's tooth pain! After taking more drugs, the pain subsided and she was able to get to sleep, so I left her to it. I spent time browsing the Yacht Club shop before returning to the room and reading quietly for a couple of hours... Sophie woke up at around 5pm feeling considerably better and ravenously hungry! As we had plentiful counter service credits remaining, we decided to raid Hurricane Hanna's Grill at Stormalong Bay...

Using 4 credits, we tried a bit of everything and munched (Sophie with extreme care) our meal poolside. Bellies full, we ambled back to the room for more pain killing drugs and more relaxation. This was the first afternoon we'd spent chilling out and I think we both needed to recharge our batteries. I popped to the concierge lounge and poured a couple of glasses of pinot noir. We lay on our beds, sipping wine, watching TV and making plans for tomorrow. After a while, Sophie began drifting in and out of sleep. Crossing my fingers that the pain wouldn't disturb her too much, I dimmed the light so she could settle for the night and soon followed her example...

 

[arieljasmine]

I hope Sophie was feeling much better the next day, it sounds ever so painful. Loved your pics of the MK.

Laur's

 

[Chilly]

Just caught up, great report!

I had a Glowtini as well on holiday - very nice!

Like you I love The Mummy and posed for Simpsons photos but don't get any feeling from IOA, not sure why, I'm hoping Harry Potter will make it better.

Can't believe they said you'd picked a bad wine, why is it on their list if it isn't any good?! Might be worth writing to Disney about that bad experience.

I love Four 4 a Dollar before Beauty and the Beast, maybe even more than the show!

Opposite to you i've never been on the cowboy, always the gangster Great Movie Ride.

Hope the tooth ache doesn't spoil anymore of the holiday, I loved the KTTKT.

 

[KayleeUK]

Poor Sophie - I hope she is OK for the next installment

 

[CustardTart]

Overnight, Sophie's tooth pain hadn't let up. After waiting for her drugs to kick in, we decided to find for a pharmacy and see if something a little stronger was available. We readied ourselves and before too long were on our way to Walgreens. It transpired (much to Sophie's anguish) that we couldn't purchase anything stronger over-the-counter BUT she could combine her existing cocktail of drugs with another painkiller. And that's what she did. The improvement was almost immediate and made a massive impact! I thought for a moment she wanted to go back and kiss the pharmacist but the promise of a Pumpkin Latte from a nearby Starbucks proved to be a stronger lure. Seriously, it was such a relief to see her so much better. I guess it doesn't matter how old your children are, you're always their mum and seeing them in pain is just horrible... Anyway, after some restorative caffeine, we opted for a return to Florida Mall. There were a few things left on our lists and a little space left in our luggage so it seemed the logical choice...

We had a happy couple of hours and, after packing our car once more with dozens of carrier bags, decided to head back to the resort. Once en route however, I decided to detour! Call me crazy, but I wanted to check out the new Western entrance to Walt Disney World and this seemed a great opportunity, so off we went on our road trip! After one or two wrong turns and ending up in the Animal Kingdom car park, we eventually found it! I then wanted to try and find a condo development I knew about in the area - not so lucky that time but we did decide to drive on and visit Celebration! Wow! What a stunning development!! I parked the car and despite trying to control the urge, spent several minutes scouring real estate agents windows!!! Unfortunately, property is my personal addiction and I can never resist the chance to hunt down that elusive perfect house... Ah well! I saw plenty to interest but maybe another time. We had a gentle stroll around Celebration before getting back in our trusty Cobalt and retreating back to the World...

Sophie was still feeling OK so we spent the remainder of the afternoon in EPCOT. This was our last chance for a final taste of the delicious Moet pink champagne and we made that stall our first stop. Once again I was asked for ID (what the???) and this time I was able to oblige - felt ridiculous tho' and I'm pretty sure Sophie was more than a little irritated by the request... Mmm anyway, the fizz was still fantastic and we sipped our way around the stores, pausing here and there to ooh and ahh at the merchandise! We just love EPCOT and it seemed fitting that we spend our final full day floating around this fabulous fantasy land...

Eventually, we had to exit EPCOT. I once again demanded a packing session and re-jigged the contents of my cases to accommodate all my acquisitions... Time for a last glass of the concierge lounge's finest before freshening up for our final Signature dining experience at the Yachtsman Steakhouse!

And what an experience - we had an absolutely wonderful evening - fine food, fabulous wine and we were treated royally by our fantastic server, Oscar! The man was attentive, amusing and made our final evening extra-special - particularly when he presented my beautiful daughter with a red rose at the end of our meal! Thank you, Oscar, we'll never forget you...

We placed the rose in our shrine to all the champagne we had consumed during the Food and Wine Festival...

And we regretfully retired for one last sleep before heading home...

 

[CustardTart]

The day dawned with a final quick coffee from the concierge lounge. We were virtually ready to leave (thanks to my prudent preparatory packing) and, as we had a last morning treat of a 10.30am character brekkie buffet at the Cape May Cafe, we checked out in plenty of time. The bell hop collected our luggage and stored it for us whilst we had enjoyed a fab character-fest at the Beach Club! It was an excellent eggstravaganza and we enjoyed plenty of character interaction!

Goofy took a shine to Sophie and professed his love for this English girl in crayon on our paper tablecloth...

...he even returned to keep her company when I popped to the loo and seemed heartbroken when we left...

But we had places to be. Downtown Disney check-in to be exact! We loaded the car, waved goodbye to the Yacht Club and made our way to the Virgin check-in desk. We arrived around midday and were quickly processed. Within fifteen minutes, we were browsing the Virgin Megastore and passed another hour or so strolling around the Marketplace. The weather was so beautiful and it was hard to say goodbye. Fortunately we already had firm plans in place to return and so it was more of a 'see you later' than a serious farewell...

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully. We drove to Orlando airport, dropped off the car at Alamo and strolled through to the Hyatt lounge for a glass of White Zinfandel. After a browse of the airport shops where I bought a Kellerman book for the flight - we made our way through security. The flight boarded soon after and before long we were enjoying a glass of champers. I began my book but soon felt drowsy so settled for a sleep. Sophie had dosed herself up and was snoozing serenely next to me which was good news as she was planning to go straight to work once we landed!

At Gatwick, we went through the usual procedures with unusual speed and, before long, we were gazing at the boot of my car, hoping all our cases would fit! Actually, it was lucky Sophie chose to hurry off to catch the Gatwick Express into town - my car isn't well endowed with luggage space so I ended up with a large rolling duffle bag strapped into the passenger seat!

We said goodbye and I thanked my wonderful daughter for yet another magical Ma/Daughter expedition! Thank you, Sophie - see you in May...

 

[natalielongstaff]

what a lovely time you both had......im looking forward to being able to have such trips with my dd in the future

thanks for sharing with us......on to the next trip then

 

[BRobson]

Wow thankyou Karen for another wonderful trip report I just hope that when Molly is all grown up we can have as much fun - either that or I may invite myself on one of your trips

The thought of drinking Champagne in Epcot everyday and spending hours is Sephora is my idea of heaven and not DH

 

[Minniespal]

Just catching up with your reports Karen. What a fantastic time you both had.

I love travelling with DH. There is nothing nicer though than a mother/daughter trip. My mum appreciates that shoes, handbags, cosmetics and clothes buying are a necessity. Whereas Tom just stands there and looks less than enchanted by it all.

 

[DisneyJo]

What a wonderful trip, I hope I can do the same with my girls in years to come

 

[arieljasmine]

Thanks for sharing your reports with us, Karen, I have loved reading them. I am pleased Sophie was able to enjoy her last couple of days without toothache, but can't believe she went straight to work after the flight Looking forward to your next report

Laur's

 

[Kirsteen]

Thanks for writing your reports Karen - they are brillant and have me in stitches the whole time Can't wait for the next one and I don't even have to wait that long - result! Have a great time with DS. Can't wait for the next chapter - Ma/DS do WDW.

Kxx

 

[CustardTart]

Thank you all for your wonderfully kind comments! Glad my musings have entertained you...

Ladies, I can't recommend our Mother/Daughter trips highly enough - we both have similar tastes and interests, so it's a most definitely a match made in Magic Kingdom heaven! Eight of us went to WDW in August 2006 and that was exhausting - you definitely can't please all the people all of the time, if you know what I mean... It's great financially too as, rather than finding the cash for a family trip, I'm just paying for little old me...

I couldn't believe Sophie went straight to work either but my DH's done just that many times and says it's the best way of powering through the jet-lag. After her experience, Sophie agreed with him too - plus she didn't want to waste a day of her holiday entitlement...

And now I'm looking forward to my next visit to WDW in December. My DS is still oblivious - tho' I've now suggested that we might be going to Paris for a few nights so he knows we're going somewhere! He's excited enough about that, so he'll flip when he realises we are WDW-bound - stay tuned...

 

[Minniespal]

DH's done just that many times and says it's the best way of powering through the jet-lag.

Tom does that too, says it makes such a difference. I prefer to ease back into normality with lots of sleep and chocolate.

 

[wils]

Thanks for another great report

 

[arieljasmine]

Tom does that too, says it makes such a difference. I prefer to ease back into normality with lots of sleep and chocolate.

And me

Laur's

 

[fizz13]

Well i don't know how I missed the report up until now but very glad I found it. i haven't stopped remined me of how much fun the Girly Tour was this summer, very glad you are repeating the experience soon. Oh and I'll be sure to bring my ID with me next month if I'm going to be hanging out with you, the hot mamma who looks way too young and gets CMs drooling
Did Sophie get her toothache sorted out finally?

 

[CustardTart]

...I'll be sure to bring my ID with me next month if I'm going to be hanging out with you, the hot mamma who looks way too young and gets CMs drooling

OMG - what have I set myself up for??? You are going to be soooo underwhelmed...

Did Sophie get her toothache sorted out finally?

Actually, it's still an issue and she's back to the dentist today! It seems like it's an impacted wisdom teeth issue and I'm crossing my fingers she gets it sorted asap...

 

[Chilly]

What a lovely Mother/Daughter holiday. I'd love to go with my Mum but she thinks she'd hate it!