Like a Bad Meal (V Keeps Coming Back) - THE END! 1/12/09

[Lauralee131]

Hey girlfriend! Just checkin' in....

 

[jcc0621]

I am finally caught up. I didn't realize you updated. My user CP didn't tell me you updated :-(

I called Member Services, not at all optimistic about my chances, and asked for Beach Club Villas… a studio… for a Sat. and Sun….

SCORE!

Amazingly, there was a BCV studio available for that Sat…. but not for Sun. Okay. No sweat. Just another opportunity to try more resorts out. I rolled again. OKW! Excellent – I had two of the DVC resorts I most wanted to visit lined up and a whole weekend all to myself!

Awesome

Except that I couldn’t really take that Monday off from work. It was fine when I booked, but then Leo got the flu. BAM – 4 days of vacation/sick time gone. There was no way around it, I couldn’t afford to take a Monday for myself and still have enough hours to cover Leo’s various school days off and future sick days. I canceled OKW.

I know your pain. I was just looking at the calander for next year and there are 18 days we have to figure our babysitting time for The rest are days Jim and/ot I already have off.

And then, sometime in March-ish, I found myself talking about my BCV weekend with my dear friend Char and it just popped out of my mouth: “Want to come with me for a girls’ weekend?”

Woo hoo

By the time I hit the Road to Disney, I’d abandoned the Good Camera in favor of the teeny-tiny camera and pocket full of one dollar bills. For bar tips, natch.

I made it to WDW in an I-4 land speed record time of 1.25 hours. There was no – I mean NO – traffic on the Interstate that morning. My car was hap-hap-happy and things were goin my way. I was Lenny. Kravitz. Asking the world, and The World, “Are you gonna go my way?” And the world said “Hellz yeah!”

Do you have a cannon on the front of your car and just blast the other cars out of the way

Coming up: a walk around Storm Along Bay.... minus the crowds!

Great update as usual V.

BTW - I warned, I mean told mom about AP!

 

[puggymom]

ly/mi

 

[willwriteforears]

PrincessV Really, it’s just V. Honest, that’s what I go by, even in real life. Most of the time... By now you may have noticed that I like punctuation. Nay, I LOVE punctuation! Which is not to say that I’m a stickler for punctuation; I just enjoy using it. In real life, I use it properly in everything I write. In trip reports and general DISing, I use in myriad ways to get my point across. You’ll find that I have a few favorites that are certain to be included in pretty much every post of mine:

…

-

;


All hail the semi-colon!

I love the semi-colon – by far my favorite means of punctuating. My mother hates the sucker and avoids its use at all costs. I used to have her proof-read my writing and every single paper would be returned with semi-colons circled and a little note saying, “two sentences would be stronger.” Well, maybe I didn’t want that particular phrase to be strong! Did she think of that, huh?!

Okay, I'm coming in way incredibly super-late, but as a fellow punctuation aficionado (speaking of, I should read Eats, Shoots & Leaves again *sigh of happiness*) and semicolon junkie, I have to sign on. It'll take some time to catch up, but catch up I shall.

In the meantime, I leave you with an oft-neglected punctuation mark, the interrobang. ‽

 

[thewesterberg]

In the meantime, I leave you with an oft-neglected punctuation mark, the interrobang. ‽

I had to go Google that one... I love it! Didn't know such a thing existed. You learn somethin' new every day!

 

[princessjv]

Now I am even more dissapointed that our DVC rental fell through in Dec. BCV looks great! You are very fortunate to have such a great friend whom you can rely on. I am really looking forward to reading how this trip goes.

 

[hematite153]

In the meantime, I leave you with an oft-neglected punctuation mark, the interrobang. ‽

One of my favourites! (I'm nowhere near V's level though.)

But, how do I get my computer to type it?

 

[willwriteforears]

I had to go Google that one... I love it! Didn't know such a thing existed. You learn somethin' new every day!

I've never seen the interrobang in print. Maybe I should make it my goal to get it printed somewhere.

 

[willwriteforears]

One of my favourites! (I'm nowhere near V's level though.)

But, how do I get my computer to type it?

It would have to be a character in one of your fonts, and then you'd have to get to the character set (or create a shortcut key) to insert it. As far as I know, it's not a character in any of my fonts. The one I pictured, I copied from the Web.

 

[PrincessV]

I prefer to Blame it on the Rain. Yeah. Yeah.

ACK, my ears, my ears!

And I've never set foot in the BC or YC!

- you really must!

Hey girlfriend! Just checkin' in....

Is that hint?!

Don't worry, we'll come back and read... whenever you update!

Do you have a cannon on the front of your car and just blast the other cars out of the way

No, I swear, I-4 is pretty much dead Sat. mornings!

Okay, I'm coming in way incredibly super-late, but as a fellow punctuation aficionado (speaking of, I should read Eats, Shoots & Leaves again *sigh of happiness*) and semicolon junkie, I have to sign on.

Hi there fellow junkie! Funny - I was jsut starting in on your TR when I had to close down yesterday - so I need to do some catchign up, too!

In the meantime, I leave you with an oft-neglected punctuation mark, the interrobang.

Now I am even more dissapointed that our DVC rental fell through in Dec. BCV looks great!

I'm sorry Jen! It's still a wonderful place to visit, even without spending the night!

 

[PrincessV]

When I last left off, Char was still on her way to WDW and I was taking a photographic tour of BCV. After exploring the public areas of my new weekend Home, I decided to give Storm Along Bay (SAB) a glance or two.

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning – sunny, warm, dry-ish and just enough clouds in the sky so as to provide depth in photos! I strolled out of the BCV entrance and through the Solarium connecting the BCV path to the BC interior. No pics of the Solarium yet, because it was pretty full of folks downing some breakfast chow whilst perusing maps and guidebooks. Really, there were a lot of people in there, getting ready to start their touring days.




START their touring days??

It was 9:15am – what were they doing hanging around the resort planning their days?! It was hard, but I resisted screaming out to the masses, “Get a move on people! Parks are open and you’re losing valuable touring time – do you want to spend the next eight hours complaining about the long lines and large crowds? Move, move, move!”

No, I didn’t scream it. I didn’t even say it under my breath. I just shook my head a bit and walked by with a knowing smile upon my face. After all, what good does our advanced DIS knowledge do if the masses are informed, too? Best to leave them in the dark, says I.


Anyway, after a short walk through the BC lobby, I made my way to the SAB entrance on the far BC end, next to the shipwreck, and headed on in. To my surprise, the pool was not yet open – it didn’t open until 10am – so I had ideal photographing conditions. Woo hoo!

In my not even remotely humble opinion, SAB is paradise! Can you believe, in all my years of Disney-going, never before had I been within the SAB gates? Sure, I’ve walked by it numerous times, but this was my first time seeing every nook and cranny of the place. And let me tell ya – much like a Thomas’ English muffin, SAB features MANY nooks. And crannies, too. Oh yeah, I knew for sure that I’d be returning later that day for pool time. No question. For sure. Absolutely. Done deal.


With some time yet to kill, I settled into one of those fabulous rocking chairs on the BC’s back porch and dove into the latest issue of OK! Don’t hate me because I’m a tabloid junkie. I swear it’s only on vacation!

Just as I’d brushed up on the latest craziness in Brangelina land, my phone rang and Char said she was at the BC entrance gate. I packed up, met her under the portico and got in her car for a ride to…. The self-park lot.

I know.

Char’s not a fan of the valet. And it was nice enough that I didn’t mind the walk, so I went with her. We got her suitcase stored with bell services, took a quick tour of the BCV public areas, (with which Char, too, was MUCH impressed – yay!), and headed out to our single park destination for the weekend: Epcot (EP).


Char’s Seasonal Pass had already expired and she had a doozy of a ticketing situation. She needed a day for this weekend in May.
She also needed a total of 4 days for a June trip with another friend and her family.
Come Oct., she’d need a day, possibly two, for EP’s Food & Wine Fest.

Another Seasonal pass wouldn’t work, as it’s blocked out for June.
A regular FL Annual Pass was pretty pricey for 4 days of summer use.
The FL 3 and 4-day tickets wouldn’t cover all of her days.

I swear, the two of us worked those numbers in so many ways, Mickey-shaped steam came out of our calculators. There was no, NO!, good solution. In the end, she wound up getting a FL 3-day ticket, planned on using two of those days in June along with a new 3-day ticket, and would use the remaining day for F&W Fest in Oct. Come Dec., she might get a Seasonal Pass and use it for a holiday trips this year and next.




Personally, I would’ve just splurged on the Annual Pass and made more WDW trips. I’m Fuzzy like that.




Now, I haven’t mentioned it yet, but EP was chosen as our park for the weekend for a couple of specific reasons:

1. It’s Char’s favorite park and I also have much love for it.
B. Char had a special request to eat at Rose & Crown, and the only way to do so is to visit EP.
* We were there during EP’s Flower & Garden Fest. The previous year, we didn’t get to see much of the Fest thanks to two children, one of whom puked all over me. So we really, really wanted to use this trip to see the F&G Fest in its entirety, especially the Festival presentations in World Showcase. Remember that.




So off to EP we went via the International Gateway entrance, stopping for a couple shots of the magnificent gardens of the Canada pavilion:

Ooooo….. aaaaahhh….


We had a mission – nab some FastPasses (FPs) for Soarin’, then check out the Festival store in the old Wonders of Life building. We stopped along the way to check out the Peter Pan Garden, which was pretty darned cool:

Heh heh. Mom always said I had a “flair for the dramatic.”




After scoring some FPs, Char and I both decided we were hungry. Sure, it wasn’t even quite 11am, but we decided to grab a bite while we were near Sunshine Seasons and there were no lunch crowds.

It was soooooo nice to be able to enjoy every bite of my yummy Turkey & Muenster sandwich slowly and without interruption by my small child. And perhaps doubly so for Char, whose darling Baby B had just turned two. We took our time, talking and catching up over lunch. By the end, were ready for our next stop: the Festival store.


We took a less-than-direct route through the butterfly garden, at the entrance to which I saw this:

Sure enough, my allergies took a bruising in that flower garden. But. I take Zyrtec. Which bets both Claritin and Allegra by a landslide. NOScheringCorp. NOAventisPharmaceuticalInc.

During our journey to the Festival store, my cell phone rang… and it was BCV telling me our room was ready! Woo hoo!! But we weren’t ready to leave yet, so I wrote down the room number and we continued with our plan.



You know how some people come back from WDW and feel like they took way too many pics? I routinely come back realizing I took way too few pics. And I’m a freakin’ photographer! You’d think I’d come away with ton of images, right? But I think my secret life as a photog may actually be the problem. Some part of my brain is always looking for the “money shot” – the one that’s perfectly framed, beautifully lit, well colored, and screams “Frame me!” upon first look. Anything less than that tends to get edited out before I even touch the camera.

All of which to say, I didn’t take any pictures inside the Festival Store. And. I’m pretty sad about that now.

The Festival merchandise was okay – nothing about which to write home. But it was located inside the Wonders of Life pavilion. One of my very favorite places in EP and an area no longer open, save for special events like F&G or Food & Wine Fests. Even then, it’s just a shell of its former cool-as-all-get-out self… no more nausea-indusing rides (R.I.P Body Wars), no more movies (R.I.P. Making of Me and TMI-for-Americans story of life), no more yummy/healthy snacks (R.I.P. scrumptious CS spot whose name escapes me.) Farewell, even, to the giant DNA sculpture outside the building.

A moment, if you will, for the Wonders of Life pavilion….

… of which I still have no photographic documentation.

D’OH!


No photos, but I did find a couple of neat gardening gifts for a co-worker who was retiring the following week. So that was good.

Also, Char learned what was eating her gardenia blossoms and what to do about it. That’s right – they had a real, live horticultural expert from the one and only University of Florida – GO GATORS! - on hand to answer any plant questions you might have. To be honest, I didn’t really think they’d be able to answer more than some basic questions, but the lovely UF – GO GATORS! – expert was da bomb! Char told her what her garndeia buds looked like and the UF – GO GATORS! – Super Plant Woman drew a couple pictures of bugs, asking Char which they looked like. Char pointed to one and UF – GO GATORS! – Super Plant Woman said “That’sblahblahblahblahbuganditblahblahblahgarndeiabudssoyou’llwantotblahblahblahspraythemwithblahblahblahbittyblahblah.”

Listen, I live in a condo. I don’t do outdoor plants. I’m a big girl – I can admit that I tuned out.

But Char – Char was positively triumphant as we left the Festival store. She knew her enemy and was ready to wage battle. For the gardenias. Whatever.


We still had some time to kill before our Soarin’ FPs were due and we both had a craving for something tasty. Something sour-ish. And cold. And laced with tequila.

Oh yeah. The margaritas were calling. And we picked up on the first ring.


We did NOT get our delicious cups o’ fun-juice form the stand, but from Cantina de san Angel counter service. I’ve had margaritas from both venues, and the Cantina puts more liquor in their batches. I swear. Not that we’re a couple of lushes, Char and I. But we were without children, without parents, without commitments of any kind. Read: we wanted us some tequila. In our ritas.

I’m afraid, I failed to get any pictorial evidence of the drinks in question. But I assure you dear readers, the drinks did not fail to live up to our expectations. They were the perfect accompaniment to our loooooong conversation. No joke – we plopped down at a waterside table and talked for more than an hour and a half. That’s right – a good chunk of our touring day was spent sitting in the Cantina. No rides, no attractions, not even any F&G Fest features were toured. For an hour and half.

Did we regret it?

Not one single bit. Char and I worked together for years and with two different employers. She left me (not that I’m bitter) when she had Baby B and is now an independent contractor. But she’s very familiar with my work place and often has some insight into situations that I fail to see, being too close to the action. And work’s been tough for me lately. So we talked about what’s been going on and some possible solutions, as well as what’s been going on in her work world. Again, without interruption by the two little guys in our lives whom we love and adore, but away from which we desperately need time now and again. I can’t tell you how much good that hour and a half long cchat did us both. It was like a weight had been lifted form our collective shoulders, leaving us free to….


SOAR!

Because by the time we peeled ourselves off the Cantina chairs, it was time to ride Soarin’. Which, by the way, I highly recommend after ingesting some margarita. You’re welcome.


Post-Puddy, we took a trip on Spaceship Earth (SE). Char hadn’t yet seen the new additions and I was overly excited to show her the cool stuff at the end.

Sure. Char looks enthused here, but she wasn’t nearly as impressed as I’d been with the new and improved SE. I believe her words were, “Yeah, I still don’t like it.”



Good thing I love her so much.


Lulled by afternoon heat and Mexican tequila into a comfortable, slow strolling pace, we wandered around Future World a bit more, checking out some of the F&G Fest arrangements…

I swear, at that point we thought it was maybe early afternoon, but it was actually nearing 4:30 and we needed to go to our villa for cleaning and changing before dinner! So much for choosing EP so we could participate in all the F&G events we’d missed the previous year. Oh well. We’d had a terrific day and were looking forward to seeing our room.



Next: Does Char’s amazing room view mojo come through once again?

 

[thewesterberg]

AWESOME, AMAZING pictures! WHoa... took my breath away! You definitely got some nice shots!

And YEA for grown up time with a good friend. Heavenly, Necessity.

Sure. Char looks enthused here

Actually she's looking a little, hmmmmm....square?

 

[cmp1111]

Best to leave them in the dark, says I.

Right. Our secrets aren't secrets if we tell everyone.

This frog disturbs me for some reason.

Sounds like a good day. Chatting over margaritas is nearly NEVER a bad choice.

 

[Goofyluver]

Best to leave them in the dark, says I.

And says I!

With some time yet to kill, I settled into one of those fabulous rocking chairs on the BC’s back porch and dove into the latest issue of OK! Don’t hate me because I’m a tabloid junkie. I swear it’s only on vacation!

Yea...me too...

Ooooo….. aaaaahhh….

K...I'll bite! Oooooo....ahhhhhh!

We did NOT get our delicious cups o’ fun-juice form the stand, but from Cantina de san Angel counter service. I’ve had margaritas from both venues, and the Cantina puts more liquor in their batches. I swear. Not that we’re a couple of lushes, Char and I. But we were without children, without parents, without commitments of any kind. Read: we wanted us some tequila. In our ritas.

Is there any other way for a senorita to enjoy her margarita?

 

[DisneyJo]

Sounds like a wonderful day V, how lovely to just chat with an old friend with Margaritas in a beautiful setting

BTW is the water at SAB fresh or salt?

 

[Tinkerbellarella]

I made my way to the SAB entrance on the far BC end, next to the shipwreck, and headed on in. To my surprise, the pool was not yet open – it didn’t open until 10am – so I had ideal photographing conditions. Woo hoo!

Ok, so I've never been to SAB because:
1.) I don't pool-hop and
2.) as previously mentioned I've never been to Y&BC
sooo...
Is that a SAND-BOTTOM pool I see?!?!

Also, Char learned what was eating her gardenia blossoms and what to do about it. That’s right – they had a real, live horticultural expert from the one and only University of Florida – GO GATORS! - on hand to answer any plant questions you might have. To be honest, I didn’t really think they’d be able to answer more than some basic questions, but the lovely UF – GO GATORS! – expert was da bomb! Char told her what her garndeia buds looked like and the UF – GO GATORS! – Super Plant Woman drew a couple pictures of bugs, asking Char which they looked like. Char pointed to one and UF – GO GATORS! – Super Plant Woman said “That’sblahblahblahblahbuganditblahblahblahgarndeiabudssoyou’llwantotblahblahblahspraythemwithblahblahblahbittyblahblah.”

GO NOLES!

 

[Wonders10]

But it was located inside the Wonders of Life pavilion. One of my very favorite places in EP and an area no longer open, save for special events like F&G or Food & Wine Fests. Even then, it’s just a shell of its former cool-as-all-get-out self… no more nausea-indusing rides (R.I.P Body Wars), no more movies (R.I.P. Making of Me and TMI-for-Americans story of life), no more yummy/healthy snacks (R.I.P. scrumptious CS spot whose name escapes me.) Farewell, even, to the giant DNA sculpture outside the building.

A moment, if you will, for the Wonders of Life pavilion….

… of which I still have no photographic documentation.

D’OH!

Next: Does Char’s amazing room view mojo come through once again?

I love the WoL too. You know why? That's where I worked during my college program internship. If you were there sometime between May 2003 and January 2004, I was there telling you not to eat or drink or videotape or take pictures, etc in Cranium Command and The Making of Me. Good times. I forget the name of the restaurant too but I always laughed when it advertised itself as healthy and lite food and then sold chili cheese dogs.

Enjoying your report(s) so far....can't wait to see if you liked your room!

Off topic here: I may (strong emphasis on the may) be moving to Lakeland. I am going there for an interview in a couple weeks and then I'll know if I've been offered the job. Anyway, do you know much about it? All I know is that it's pretty and about 30 minutes from WDW.

 

[KatGarcia]

Yep just another awesome epcot event I'd love to see...and sip those yummy ritas while doing it!

 

[jcc0621]

What a great day. I would love to have a day like that at EPCOT. Maybe if my solo weekend happens next year

 

[PrincessAlways]

So....you only read the tabloids on vacation???? Yeah, we believe you! I've never gone inside SAB! Those pics were great! It looks VERY inviting! I have a similar pic of myself with the crocodile! Aren't we silly?? A good friend, margaritas, time to relax & talk at EP...what could be better? Sounds like a wonderful day.