Kogo Shuko Dreams of Magic and Mice (Updated 22/11/13)

[Kogo Shuko]

Hello all. My name is Kogo Shuko, although some call me Lynne, for some strange reason. People like my boss, my mother, and bankers. But what do they know? In the online ‘verse, I’m known as Kogo to those who know me, and Kogo Shuko to those who do not know me. I’m from Canada, so I guess I say ‘eh’ a lot. Bear with me.

This is my first Trip Report so bear with me!

Interestingly enough, this Trip Report really started years ago when I first took this online handle. Because if I hadn’t assumed this identity and joined another message board all those years ago, I wouldn’t be going to Florida every year.

As you may guess, just like many others, I have been to Disney before. In fact, in the past three years I have been to Florida five times. I didn’t necessarily go to Disney each time, but I certainly can say I’ve been to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom enough times that I can navigate my way to my favourite rides without needing a map.

I don’t want to regale you with my online history, but I would like to point out that I go to Florida to visit with my friend Carol, someone who I had initially met on a message board smaller than this one, but still just as dedicated to its own topic. It started off as an online friendship but quickly blossomed into the real thing when I made the trip to Florida with nothing but an address and the knowledge that my friend was a good 30 years older than me.

She may be my mother’s age, but she enjoys the same things as me, and that means we both enjoy going to amusement parks, seeing the world, and learning something new each time we see each other. I guess you could say Carol is my second mother.

All this to say I’ve yet again gone to visit her, only this time I’m a member of the Dis Boards. And it’s about time, I suppose. All things considering.

So will you join me on my trip to Disney? I’ll only have gone for three days (four if you include touring the resorts), but there was quite a bit of planning surrounding not only the rest of my trip, but those three days spent at the Happiest Place on Earth. I brought my Canon Rebel with me this time. That was sort of a game changer for me. The past few times I had been to Disney, I hadn’t really removed my camera from my bag very often. But with a fancy new camera, the possibilities of photography opportunities became endless…

The majority of this trip report will be placed on my blog. So for those of you who are interested in reading about Gypsy Vanner horses, searching for seashells in Sanibel, and stuffing myself with shrimp at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, please visit me at http://kogoshuko.wordpress.com

Be sure to leave me comments if you like what you read and see.

If those things don't interest you, and you're here because Disney is the most amazing thing in the world, read on fellow Diser. For I have a few things to say about my trip.


**
This Trip Report would never have happened without Carol Chastain - South Hill Designs Independent Artist. ​

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Pre Trip Planning

I planned this trip for months. The skeleton of the itinerary was created in May, and we continued to tweak it well into the end of August. It is important to note that I am the itinerary creator. Carol and I both contributed ideas and suggestions for places to go, things to see, and foods to nom on. But in the end, Carol admitted that she’s completely useless when it comes to planning her time accordingly and left me to create an itinerary, including a few things I wanted to do that would seem mundane to her.

So this itinerary had been hashed out for months before it finally became what was known as the final product.

So once that was successfully created, I then turned to deciding what to do to surprise Carol. First thing was first. We were going to be eating at Le Cellier on September 28, all three of us. Tim very rarely gets to participate in our plans, so this day would be extra special. And since Carol is something like my second mother, and I knew she was super sentimental, I decided to go all corny.

I ended up heading to the DISigns section of the boards and asking for some special graphics. I made the requests to Mandy, and Mandy proved to be amazing at what she does. I think the best way to show off her talented work is to show you the wonderful T-Shirts I made with the graphics! And I promise you WILL see them! Soon enough.

I chose the lime green for myself so that I’d be a walking DisBoards beacon. I knew that Carol loved pink, so that was an easy choice for her. And Tim got blue, because blue is a good colour.

So that was my first present bought for her.

Next, I went in search of chocolate bars that you can’t get in the United States or are hard to find in the United States. Talk about a delicious treat, right?! Probably not good for her health or her waistline, but we’re on vacation, so just enjoy! These included Caramilk bars, Aero, Oh Henry, and more!

I was intent on giving Carol as many gifts as possible – after all, she was letting me into her home, once again. So I broke out my pin collection and decided maybe I could share some with her. So I made her her very own lanyard of Disney pins, to do with as she liked. I also pinned them to a Canadian lanyard so that she could be an honorary Canadian.

Here is an idea of what it looked like (hint, this is my own collection):

I also went to Etsy and found someone who makes amazing wrapped wire rings. I got a set of green Mickey rings for myself and a set of pink ones for Carol.

Gifts certainly wouldn’t be complete without at least one can of maple syrup for Tim.

And I also gathered no less than eight dog toys, and some dresses for the two Chihuahuas that are known as my nieces. This would be my first year meeting Tessa, but Lucy and I are good friends. She sees me as a special treat that visits only once a year.

Carol is always telling me that her little dogs are destroying her mechanical pencils, so in to the suitcase went a package of those as well! Not for the Chi’s, mind you, but for the lady who can never find pencils!

My favourite gift for her was a small photo album filled with photos from our previous trips!

Carol's gifts were given to her one at a time. Some were small, some were big.

But each one was something she liked.
​

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Chapter

Day One - The Flight
Day Eight - Vistana Villages Resort
Day Ten - Spaceships and Sports Cars
Day Ten - Soarin' Through Epcot
Day Ten - Pretzels and Poutine - A Canadian Meal?!
Day Eleven - Converse, Surprise Bags, and Waffles
Day Twelve - Pirates, Rabbits, and Dole Whips

The following days can be found on my blog at Kogo Shuko's Thought Bubbles Trip Report:
Day Two - Sweet Tomatoes
Day Three - Gypsy Gold
Day Three - A Mime and a Lovebug
Day Four - Wait! It's a Four Hour Drive?!
Day Five - The Art of Shelling
Day Six - More Shells
Day Six - The Bubble Room
Day Seven - A Shelling Paradise
Day Eight - Bubba Gump Shrimp Company
Day Eight - Halloween Horror Nights
Day Nine - Lazy Summer Days

 

[macraven]

hey homie, i'm here reading and enjoying.

those pins are kewl!

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

hey homie, i'm here reading and enjoying.

those pins are kewl!

Thanks!! I have some favourites that won't even go on the lanyard... just in case. I don't want to lose them!

Following along!

Yay! Thanks for the follow!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

I apologize in advance for the LONNNNG post about my flight. Especially since there are NO photos.

Day One - The Flight In

I fly a lot. I'm used to long customs lines and finding out my luggage didn't make it to the right airport, and running to catch flights. So when I decided to book my flight through a travel agent (a friend), I made it clear that I wanted at least two hours between flights and would prefer to make the transfer in an American town.

And after some problems, I finally did get the flight I wanted. I would transfer in Chicago at O'Hare, but I would have three hours between flights - more than enough time to wander the airport, find my next gate, and eat a good breakfast.

Not only was it precisely what I wanted, but it was also a good eighty dollars cheaper than most of the other flights!! I most definitely wanted that flight, and I was happy to hand over my credit card info to book my flight with United Airlines - even if I did have a few misgivings about them.

You see, every time I'm booked with United, I always get the urge to watch United Breaks Guitars by Dave Carroll of Sons of Maxwell. This time, I put it on when I found out a friend of mine had never seen it before. It's a catchy tune, and holds a very big message. And the last time I had watched it (which was the last time I flew United), my bag never got off the first flight and kept on going, even though I had made it successfully to my second flight.

It arrived twelve hours late at two in the morning, and they drove it to me free of charge (sorry, our bad). Only, they rang the doorbell, even though I had clearly made a note to simply leave it on the doorstep, especially as Carol doesn't have many neighbours and none of them would be interested in stealing a banged up zebra print suitcase. A doorbell ringing at two in the morning is normally not a good thing, and it certainly didn't help when all three dogs went berserk, barking at the door.

Although I suppose the resident alligator could have decided my suitcase looked like a tasty meal.

So, as I said, I had a few misgivings about United, but I was willing to get up extremely early and head down to the Ottawa airport, if it meant I had an easy layover in Chicago.

How early?

I was up at 3:15, and out the door by 3:45. I took a cab to the airport, as no one in their right mind would be willing to drive me there at that time of the morning. The cabbie was friendly, and when I jokingly said, "I give you two guesses where I'm going," he came up with Australia. It's certainly on my bucket list, but he was just as impressed by Florida.

I get to the airport just minutes after 4:00am, and I head to the United Airlines desk. I walk up to the lady, super excited about the day ahead, and the virtually stress free flights I had waiting for me.

...

I'm sure you've already guessed that things didn't go so smoothly at the United desk. And you'd be right. It turns out that for some reason or other (probably not enough tickets sold) my flight to Chicago... had been cancelled!

So what did United do? Why they ran over to the Air Canada desk and put me on the flight I turned down three months ago! All free of charge, mind you, which means I was spending 80 dollars less than everyone else on that flight. But still... there was a reason I didn't want on the Air Canada flight - and it was because I didn't want a stress headache.

The Air Canada flight left Ottawa at 8:00am instead of 6:00am, which meant I was at the airport two hours earlier than needed. But instead of heading to O'Hare or Dulles or even JFK, this flight went to Toronto, and I was terrified of Toronto because the last time I went through Toronto, I had two hours between flights to pick up my suitcase (and they sent me to the wrong carousel), go through customs, put the suitcase on another conveyor belt and then run to catch my flight. I barely made it.

Have I said I fly a lot?

Anyway, this layover was all of one hour and ten minutes between one flight landing and the other taking off. Talk about super stress!

So I sat around the Ottawa airport for a few hours, finished watching the third season of the Walking Dead, ate some Tim Hortons for Breakfast and then boarded my flight to Toronto. The lady at the Air Canada desk had already assured me that I would no longer have to pick up my suitcase before customs, thus at least saving me a good twenty minutes.

But I was still stressing out anyway.

The flight landed ten minutes early and the moment I was off the plane I was running for the connecting flights section of the Toronto Pearson Airport, to find out just how much they had changed their transfer practices.

I arrived to find a lady willing to show me how to self check my ticket, and then sent me to a waiting area to look at some screens to find my name. When my name would come up, my suitcase would be considered checked and heading to my next flight. I showed up, looked at the screen, and immediately saw my name. Woo!

I moved on to Step 3, which was going through customs. I had already filled out my tiny piece of paper, which I handed over, and then got in the shortest security lineup I've ever seen in an airport. Not complaining, I threw all my stuff through the X-Ray and then hopped back into my shoes.

With security and customs complete, I then booted it across the airport, powering through the moving walkways to get myself to my gate as quickly as possible.

This entire process took approximately half an hour. Taking into effect the ten minutes extra that the pilot added on to my wait time between flights, I managed to get to the next gate with enough time to sit my butt down and read some more of my book.

Apparently Toronto has fixed their transfer process more than extremely well! I've never had a transfer go as smoothly and quickly in my life.

And when I got to Orlando and moved across the airport to the baggage claim, my bag arrive exactly as I walked up to the baggage carousel!

So even though my day started rather sour, I ended up getting to Orlando an hour earlier than was planned.

Carol picked me up, and we headed back to her place. I quickly unpacked my bags and then we headed to Publix to pick up supper and some breakfast foods. After that, I took a nap. Because I really needed one.

And that was the first day of my vacation and the story of my flight. Overall, a good experience.​

 

[macraven]

glad to hear you ended up in orlando an hour earlier.


i would have worried also about the connection you ended up having to go through.
bet you were very happy it ended well.

 

[Kogo Shuko]

glad to hear you ended up in orlando an hour earlier.


i would have worried also about the connection you ended up having to go through.
bet you were very happy it ended well.

I was ecstatic... and will always rave at how amazing things were done this year!!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Day Eight - Vistana Villages Resort

Thursday started bright and early – I was up at the same time I’m normally up during weekdays – six fifteen!! Which is way too early for a vacation, but we had a lot to get done.

We packed the car, checked out and headed back to Leesburg!

We weren’t in Leesburg very long. Just long enough to repack for our trip to Orlando and eat lunch. And then we were out the door again and headed to Vistana Villages Resort.

The front view:

The back view:

The room was amazing, and I have a strong suspicion it was larger than my own apartment. In fact, the washroom was really two and a half washrooms, which included two sinks, a shower, a whirlpool bathtub and a toilet. With enough doors in between to easily give privacy to up to three people.

The shower room:

My personal sink:

Carol's personal sink:

The Whirpool bathtub!

I opted for the fold out couch bed while Carol got the bedroom, but we both had a flat screen TV.

Carol's bedroom:

The living room also housed the dining room table that I had to move to the wall in order to move the coffee table and arm chair over, so I could keep my bed out. Not only was there a dining room table that easily seated five, but there was also a breakfast nook that surrounded the kitchen sink.

The living room and dining room:

The kitchen:

The apartment came with a dishwasher, oven, microwave, full sized fridge, and a washer and dryer! Inside the cupboards, I found all sorts of goodies: Pots and pans, dishes, a toaster, cutting knives and ladles, measuring cups, and even a blender! Talk about fully equipped kitchen!

Personal washer and dryer:

Wall art in the room:

Desk in the living room:

​

 

[macraven]

great looking place to stay!

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Day Ten - Spaceships and Sports Cars

I awoke Saturday morning with the intention of getting ready and going! And that’s just what we did. Tim came up to Orlando for the day and we headed to EPCOT.

It was time to unlock the magic!

Tim and Carol in their new shirts

Six months ago we made a reservation at Le Cellier for dinner and that was to be the highlight of the entire day.

After spending almost a half hour at a window trying to get my simple, three day ticket with the voucher I had been promised would simply need to be presented, we finally made it into the park and headed straight for Spaceship Earth. The line seemed long, especially since I’m so used to simply walking into the building and getting on, but it only took about fifteen minutes before we got in and onto the ride.

Carol and I sporting our new shirts

I love the pattern

I really do enjoy this ride, particularly the end of it. However, this time I wasn’t in for the treat I’m normally excited for: my picture didn’t end up showing on the screen, so it was just an animated person. I was a bit disappointed, as I wanted to forward the video to my email address so I could enjoy it later on.

However, we then moved on to the Innoventions Centre. We took a tour of the Vision House and were amazed by the bright red dining room chairs that were created with recycled bottles. If you flipped the chairs over they were branded with the Coca Cola logo!! Very neat!

The Coca Cola chairs!

Our guide continued our tour of the house, showing us the glued on cheese in the kitchen and the mess in the girl’s room. Her favourite spot in the whole house was the washroom. Why? Because of the toilet. That toilet did everything. And I mean everything. It even had a warmed seat, so your tush never gets cold on those long winter nights.

Fake cheese!

After learning about all these great efficient ways of living, we finally headed back outside and to the Test Track!

The Test Track was revamped since the last time I had been at Epcot, and it was most definitely interesting to go through the new wait line. Chevrolet has more than just provided sponsorship for this ride, they’ve pretty much turned the entire thing into a giant Chevrolet ad. I’m a Chevy kinda girl, so I was entertained by the different things they put up in the wait line.

Chevy Miray

Oh, and I managed to spot… a hidden Mickey!!

I was very proud of my find and took a picture as proof!

Hidden Mickey

Even though the wait was an hour, I found it seemed to go by quicker. They block most of the line view so you can’t see just how far you’ve got to go, and they filled it with shiny and new things to look at and wonder about. These certainly aren’t cars that we’ll be seeing on the road in the near future, but it’s definitely something fun to look at.

Once you’ve made it past the shiny things, they set your group up on a screen. You have to scan your Disney ticket and then you get to make a virtual car. I had the reins on this one and made a fancy car with a powerful engine. Isn’t it so pretty? Can you imagine me driving around my hometown in this car?

Ain't she pretty?

After that, you then get back into the line and wait until it’s your turn to get into one of the cars. It isn’t much of a wait after that. And then you get to race the different cars that the people created that are sitting in the car with you. Mine lost horribly.

The ride hasn’t changed too much, but they’ve changed the lighting, and some superficial things. They’ve incorporated a lot of black light magic into the indoor portion of the ride, and it definitely makes it look like we’re going quicker than we really are. As always, I enjoyed the Test Track.​

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Day Ten - Soarin' Through Epcot

After that, we hiked back across the park and decided to spend a few moments with Figment, as I’ve heard that he may be disappearing soon.

Do any of these inventors look familiar?

Figment partaking in one of my favourite activities!

Once we had had our fill of using our imaginations, we headed over to The Land to wait in another sixty minute line for Soarin’.

Entering The Land

Looking at the pretty things in line

The thing about Carol is that she loves to talk. And as such, she makes small talk with complete strangers pretty much anywhere we go. So our hour long wait turned into something much quicker as we began to chat with an older lady who had brought her granddaughter to Disney for the weekend. We also chatted with another woman who was at the park by herself.

In the end, I handed over a Moose keychain to the young girl and a zipper pull to the lady who was riding by herself. It turns out she was from a small town in Colorado that Carol used to live in. Talk about a small world!

Almost there!

Soarin’ is a great ride, and we enjoyed every minute of it. As soon as it was over, we said goodbye to our new friends and then scooted on over to Living With the Land. It’s always fun to take this tour, but this time I kept my eyes open for hidden Mickeys. And I was soon granted a little bit of entertainment when I found one near the fish pens.

Another Hidden Mickey

Now that's some heavy lemons!

Edible flowers!

Lily pads!

Once we had finished up in The Land, I realized we had forgotten to take a ride in Ellen’s Energy Dream!! So we did some more walking and got there just in time!! I really do enjoy this ride as I’m a big fan of Bill Nye. I also enjoy looking at those big dinosaurs. And Ellen is always funny, so it’s well worth catching this one if you’re at Epcot, at least in my opinion.

I remember these even from my childhood...

By this time, we knew we had to head into the World Showcase. We entered the throngs of people enjoying the Food and Wine Festival, and soon found ourselves feeling stressed out. I had never seen this many people in Epcot before, nor did I want to see this many people there ever again!

We managed to squeeze through the people and entered the Mexican Pavilion, where we got on the Grand Fiesta Tour. Doesn’t everyone love Donald Duck? I love this little ride! While we went through it, I scoured the scenery looking for hidden Mickeys, and I found one! Yay!

I love this

I found it! Woohoo!

By this time, we realized we had to get ourselves to Canada in under an hour, so we headed that way. But we didn’t think we had enough time to stop in Norway or even Japan to look at the store.

But when we got to Canada, it turned out we were early!! So I dragged Carol and Tim to the Circle Vision to watch the video!! Now, to be honest… as a Canadian… I really don’t understand why they chose Martin Short. To be honest, I barely know who Martin Short is. So it begs the question… why choose him?

And what I can’t figure out at all is why they didn’t bother to mention Ottawa at all. Short talks about how Canada has lots of big urban cities and boasts Victoria but not Ottawa?! I mean, fine… I guess it doesn’t have that great of a nightlife, but it’s the nation’s capital! That would be like showing all the main cities in the United States and forgetting to add Washington, D.C.!!

But I did have some fun. I pointed out the general area where my friend Chantal lives in Montreal, as she lives not too far from one of the big landmarks in the city. So at least I could do that. And they did show some footage of Ottawa, so I pointed out where I work.

But really… even Martin Short’s version of Canada isn’t exactly Canada…

Just sayin’.​

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Once we were finished watching the short video we finally headed over to Le Cellier and entered the restaurant. We were seated in the Saskatchewan section of the restaurant, despite Newfoundland being etched into the wall right beside me.

My favourite province to visit

Fancy restaurant

Carol and Tim knew what they were ordering, both having filet mignon. I, on the other hand, was a bit more tight for cash… and a bit more… Canadian. I ordered the cheddar cheese soup… and the “Le Cellier” poutine.

My server, from Winnipeg, even commented on how she knew I was a real Canadian because not only did I not ask what a poutine was, but because I pronounced it like a proper Canadian who eats it all the time.

Poutine isn’t necessarily a Canadian thing. In fact, it’s really more of a French Canadian thing. So it’s very popular in Quebec and some parts of Eastern Ontario. I’m from the Cornwall region, not far from St Albert, one of the leading names in cheese curd making. I’m serious! They make the best squeaky cheese ever!

Unfortunately, because of stricter cheese regulations in the United States, real cheese curds simply cannot be found… anywhere. Not even in a restaurant that boasts as being Canadian. So the poutine that was brought out to me really wasn’t a poutine. But I knew this before going in. I just wanted to see how they were trying to make their own.

But before I get to that, I want to talk about their pretzel breadsticks. You see… I love pretzels. Those big, doughy ones you get at amusement parks, midways, and movie theatres. I seriously… love them. In fact, when I was budgeting for this trip, I gave myself five dollars extra to buy a pretzel. That’s how excited I was to eat one.

And here Le Cellier was giving me free pretzels!! So I had to try one while waiting for my meal. And boyyyyyyy were they delicious! So delicious in fact that I grabbed the second one so they wouldn’t take it away.

I loved them SO MUCH I got my picture taken with one!

When they brought us our dinners and asked if we wanted more bread, Carol pointed out that I loved the pretzels. Our server turned to me and asked if I wanted more. I smiled meekly and then nodded my head vigorously.

Mmmmmmmm

Before they headed off to get me more bread, the one server asked if I wanted my rosé gravy on the side or poured over the poutine. I looked at her, cocked an eyebrow and said, “I’m Canadian; what do you think?”

She obviously poured the gravy over the fries and cheese!

I ate my second breadstick with my soup. The cheese soup was very good. A very creamy soup, it reminded me almost of a potato soup, but… well… obviously cheesier. This was the type of soup that I knew my father would like. It went great with that pretzel.

Cheddar Cheese soup... Mmm...

Once I had finished my soup…

It was time to try the poutine.

What Le Cellier calls "poutine"

So I stuck a fork into a fry, made sure there was a piece of cheese clinging to it, and popped it in my mouth.

The first thing that surprised me was the taste of the gravy. You could really tell it wasn’t a real poutine gravy – which, by the way, is a real thing. Poutine gravy, if not purchased as such, should be a simple brown gravy. Something you’d have with your potatoes. But this gravy really had a taste of wine to it. It was a fancy gravy. Something you’d have at a fancy restaurant with an expensive piece of meat, and a variety of season-fresh vegetables. It wasn’t something you’d put on fries.

Nevertheless, I didn’t hate the gravy. I did enjoy the taste of it.

What really made this poutine… off… was the cheese.

And look, I get that they couldn’t use real curds. That’s fine. But if you can’t use cheese curds, at least aim for a cheese that tastes similar. A nice fresh mild cheddar would suffice. But whatever cheese they were using was all wrong. It was bitter. And it did not go well with the gravy at all. In fact, when I finally stopped eating, half of the cheese was still on the plate!

This was quite clearly not the best poutine I had ever eaten.

Nonetheless, I will say that the fries were amazing. I am a lover of fries, I will not lie. And the fries at Le Cellier were delicious. I’d eat them again, if I could.

And I will say that the price of the poutine wasn’t so bad either. At eight dollars, I would say that most (fancier) restaurants would see this as a respectable price. Perhaps the chip stands would charge less, but anywhere else would be the same.

So, despite being pretty full at this point… I ended up ordering the blueberry ginger sorbet, as Carol was ordering a dessert as well. The sorbet… really, really tasted like blueberry. It was pretty much like eating frozen blueberries. It was definitely tasty!

Mmmm

Carol's Creme Brulee

So after eating all that food and paying our bills, we slowly left the restaurant. I briefly spoke to a girl from Halifax who told me her parents lived in Long Sault, which is about a ten minute drive from my hometown! So we both got all misty-eyed as we talked about St Albert’s cheese before I finally dragged myself away from my fellow Canadians.

Finally, after I waddled outside, Carol decided she would like to go to the Japanese pavilion, and we headed over to wander through the store. Carol ended up getting a few bowls and a paper fan. They even personalized the fan, writing her name in Japanese! Very cool!

I ended up buying a set of fake chopsticks. They stick into the feet of an adorable panda bear, so that the panda bear holds the chopsticks, making it easier to eat with them. I’m horrible at using chopsticks, so I figured getting this would be useful, considering how much I love eating sushi and ‘pho.

Once we were finished staring at all the pretty things, it was finally time to go back to the resort and fall asleep.

And that’s just what we did.​

 

[Kogo Shuko]

Day Eleven - Converse, Surprise Bags, and Waffles

Sunday was a day of shopping!

Carol slept in while I caught up on my interneting. But eventually we made our way out the door.

We drove to the Premium Outlet mall on International Drive where we wandered the parking lot for over ten minutes before magically finding a spot as close as we could get to the outlets. Once we were parked, we booted it over to the Converse store where I made a beeline to the correct aisle and picked up a pair of red Converse high top Chucks. I quickly paid for them and we were headed back to the car.

It honestly took less time to buy my shoes than it did to park.

We were witness to quite the spectacle. A local woman and a woman in a rental car were having quite a dispute over a parking spot. The local had the spot, but I guess the tourist was giving her a hard time, and there was quite a fight going on.

It ended soon after and we got back on the I-4 and headed to… Downtown Disney!

Our first stop at Downtown Disney was Ghiradelli’s. Carol LOVES chocolate, and this is always her first stop. I’m more than happy to oblige. However, while she was craving her favourite dark chocolate sundae, I decided to go with something a bit less heavy – I had the lemon sherbet sundae, but withheld the ginger.

Nothing as delicious as Ghiradelli's

I fell in love with this sundae. I love lemons, and to top it, they covered the sherbet with a pineapple sauce that had more chunks of pineapple than sauce. It tasted light and it went down extremely smooth. Delicious and rehydrating, this sundae is something that I’ll be craving for a long time to come.

I almost inhaled it, and so had to wait while Carol finished her sundae. While she was doing so, my eyes wandered and I found a few Mickey heads. This soon became an obsession of mine, and I kept trying to spot them everywhere I went.

While we ate, this happened:

Volcano eruption!!

With the sundaes eaten, we then went to the Marketplace Fun Finds where I picked up a twelve dollar surprise bag (the price seems to go up each year). I also bought a keychain for my mother as she did mention that she needed one.

We spent some time in the Fun Finds store, staring at all the different items, but eventually we headed out and Carol made a beeline for the Trend store.

Carol spent quite some time in the store, and I eventually went outside while waiting for her. She bought a t-shirt and a jewelry holder.

After that, we headed on down to the Days of Christmas, where we feasted our eyes on all of the different Christmas items. I’m sad to say the only Dalmatians in this store are part of the scenery. As someone who loves 101 Dalmatians, I really would like to have some decorations, but the only thing they had available was a high heel shoe designed after Cruella, and truth be told, I’m not a fan of her as a villain (I prefer Scar).

I ended up buying a Peter Pan and a Tinkerbell ball. And another keychain – this one for myself! What can I say, I love keychains!

After that, we headed to the World of Disney where we looked at all sorts of jewelry and clothes and toys. Eventually, I purchased a little bird orange charm which I ended up attached to my phone case. That had been a plan all along, and I thought the idea of a bird that was also part orange to be extremely entertaining. And so… Florida.

Finally finished shopping, we headed back to the resort where we lounged around for a bit. Eventually, feeling hungry, we ventured out again… to eat at the Waffle House!

Now, I need to make a small statement here. I realize that Waffle Houses generally look run down and are often in a section of town you might not want to go. But we don’t have Waffle Houses in Canada and the first time I tried the waffles there, I fell in love! And ever since, I always tend to eat at the same Waffle House. It’s right on the Kissimmee Vineland Road, right next to the I4, and actually on the way to Downtown Disney.

The service is always quick at this Waffle House, and it never seems to be crowded. And have I mentioned the prices are phenomenal? This is also where I tried corn grits for the first time, and ever since I’ve become rather addicted to them. I eat instant corn grits for breakfast on the weekends.

An empty Waffle House

I ended up ordering the regular, which includes two eggs, four toast, three pieces of bacon (well, that’s my choice) corn grits (also my choice) and one giant, delicious waffle. Yum!

I wolfed down the meal and then convinced Carol that we should stop in at the Gift Land next door to see if they were still selling those dead sharks in jars.

Sometimes they have good stuff!

They were.

I ended up getting a nice t-shirt and a humpback whale figurine (I collect whales).

And then we went back to the resort. Carol went to the pool while I stayed inside and enjoyed a nice relaxing half hour in the Whirlpool tub.

Oh, and I watched some Fringe. Because I’m totally not addicted.​

 

[keishashadow]

as many times that I've gone thru figment's home, can't say I remember seeing this

nice to associate a face to the screen name

interesting perspective on LeCellier. The pretzel rolls & soup are a personal favorite.

did you find it easy to access to Disney from the vistana villages? I'm drawing a blank as to where it's located for some reason. we've stayed @ the Sheraton Vistana via a great rate and would book it again.

 

[Kogo Shuko]

I found that Figment on the ceiling!! I had to flip the picture around to make it look normal though.

Vistana is super close to Disney!! It's just a five or ten minute drive to Downtown Disney, so it's so easy to get there. Mind you, I'm comparing to the one hour commute from Leesburg area, so it seems pretty quick to me.

 

[macraven]

figment photos are always classy in trippies

 

[keishashadow]

they have stuff on the ceiling in Disney!?! who knew? lol

my kids like figment, never did get the appeal. Surprised they haven't chucked it for something else by now.

 

[macraven]

they have stuff on the ceiling in Disney!?! who knew? lol

my kids like figment, never did get the appeal. Surprised they haven't chucked it for something else by now.

yes!
it's in his upside down room.

i like the original figment ride better.
but what they do have now, is better than not having figment.


rumor out that figment might not be around forever.