Some people ARE worth melting for ….. 40 Disney days – the trip of a lifetime updated October 10

[dizneeat]

Really enjoying the report so far. Can't wait to hear about Disneyland and the cruise! -Amanda

Great that you enjoy it so far. There is lots more to come and there is a lot to tell about DL and the cruise. It was an awesome time.

Hi! I just read through your whole report. Loving it!! What an amazing adventure you had, I can't wait to continue reading about it.

Welcome here! And I am happy to hear that you are enjoying it so far.
It was a great vacation with lots of wonderful and magical experiences. There is more coming up very soon.

Your 2017 plans sound wonderful as well, we had a really great time at DLP last September, although we did do a lot of dining and really enjoyed the restaurants.

Thank you! We cannot wait to return to WDW and for F&W as well. It is something we have always wanted to do and never could.
I really hope that DLP will be a happy time this time. It is kind of our "home" park, being from Europe it is the Weekend getaway park for us. But we have not been since 2014 after our European cruise and it was not a good time we had. See, we did not return until this upcoming trip. So I hope things will be going better in February.

I am really excited to hear about the Panama Canal cruise!

The cruise was nice, but the company was awesome. You are going to hear a lot about them.

Merry Christmas!!!

Thank you! Hope your Christmas was merry and bright as well.

Merry Christmas Karin and Tom!

Thank you! Hope you and Fran had a great time with your family as well.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 9, August 11

An A for effort - Part 1

We had decided on sleeping in today. And today we really wanted to. But by 8am we could not sleep any longer, as there was quite the noise outside. And once we got out of bed and into some clothes to go outside we discovered that there were several cast members outside mowing the grass on huge mowers.

We watched for a while, then went back inside, took showers and prepared a nice big breakfast with groceries out of the fridge, which we really enjoyed. By 10.15 we got ready to check out the pool at Kidani.
It was not very far to walk and we were still early, so after checking out the area a bit

we found some loungers, applied some more sunscreen and then lay on our loungers for a while

until we finally headed into the pool. It is a great pool and very nicely themed.

People were coming down the slide

and we swam a bit, then just drifted around and just enjoyed it. After about half an hour of fun in the water we got out and baked in the sun for a while, before going to check out the rest of the area. We first went over to the children’s splash area,

which is so nicely done and makes you wish you were a child again to be able to play in there. We then headed up a path and finally made it to the Hot Tub. Since it was empty we went in.

We spent quite some time in it, discussing how our vacation was going on and what we wanted to do with the remaining time we had at Walt Disney World. After some time a couple came by and got into the Hot Tub as well and we started talking. They were pretty impressed with the length of our trip and we were pretty impressed they had been in Austria on one of their travels. A little while later we all got out of the Hot Tub, they took the slide back to the pool, while Tom and I walked back to our loungers, left our shoes there and took another dip in the pool.

To be continued ....


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[dizneeat]

Day 9, August 11

An A for effort - Part 2

A little while later we all got out of the Hot Tub, they took the slide back to the pool, while Tom and I walked back to our loungers,

left our shoes there and took another dip in the pool. This time there were more people in the pool and we did not stay as long, but after drying off a bit we went to the pool bar to pick up a drink.

Tom got the

Lynchburg Lemonade, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, fresh lime juice, and Sweet-and-Sour with a hint of peach. The

Black Cherry Lemonade, Grey Goose Cherry Noir Vodka, Odwalla Lemonade, fresh Lime Juice, and Grenadine topped with Sprite, was what I wanted to try. Both drinks were freshly made and we took them to a table on the side, where we sat down and enjoyed our treats. Once we had finished our drinks we walked back to our room and after taking showers and some lunch we chilled for a while.
By 2.30pm we were ready to head out again.
We needed a suitcase so we went to a mall and went to find the Samsonite Store. On the way there we went past a Fossil Store and Tom had a look inside, as he wanted to have a look at a new smartwatch. They had it and he was so not sure if he should buy it, but in the end, with a little persuasion he did buy it. Next stop was the Disney outlet. Needless to say that we did find a few things that we needed, some Fish Extender gifts and a few Disneyland 60th anniversary items that were hugely discounted.
And then we were off to the Samsonite store. We had bought a really good duffle bag there a few years back and we are still happy with it, so why not give it a try. But this time we were looking for a suitcase. A shop assistant was there to help us and showed us different types and finally we had found one we liked, but we were so unsure about the measurements. It looked huge and I did not want to be fined by Lufthansa if it was too big. We discussed and took the measurements and when we said that I definitely wanted to check on the Lufthansa site they told us that they had free WiFi. Why didn’t they tell us in the first place? We checked on the German Lufthansa site, checked the suitcase again and it fit. It was very close to the maximum measurement, but it was still allowed. And with that we handed over the credit card and were able to roll home our suitcase.
Back to the car we went as in the meantime it had gotten later than expected and we had an ADR at Sanaa. On the freeway we hit the traffic jam and it took us even longer than we had feared. But in the end we made it back to our room, rolled the now filled suitcase up to our room, got changed and off we went to Sanaa. It was just walking down the hall and then down to the restaurant and we were there just in the nick of time.
We signed in and were told to wait and while we were looking for a seat a host was coming and took us to our table. We got one of the smaller side tables and there were quite a few tables for two which they filled ever so slowly. Menu in hand we looked through what was on the menu. In the end we decided to share the

Indian Style Bread Service, a choice of 3 breads and 3 accompaniments. We chose

Garlic Ginger Naan, Onion Kulcha and Papadum and got the

Mango Chutney, Spicy Jalapeno-lime pickle and the Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus. It was served pretty fast and it looked like more than enough for the two of us. We started eating and trying the different dips with the different breads and it was delicious.
Why hadn’t we ordered this on previous visits to Sanaa?
The only downside, it had filled us up a lot. So when our main courses were served we were already pretty full. We had both chosen the

Potjie Inspired, a choice of two dishes, served with basmati rice. Tom had gone with the

Goan Seafood Curry and the

Braised Beef, while I had chosen the

Butter Chicken and the

Spicy Durban Shrimp. So we got to share four different tastes. All of them were quite good, but since we were full before they had even been served it was a bit too much and neither of us could finish their plates. So once we could not eat one more bite, we just asked for the bill, paid for our meal and walked back to our room.

To be continued ....


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[dizneeat]

Day 9, August 11

An A for effort - Part 3

So once we could not eat one more bite, we just asked for the bill, paid for our meal and walked back to our room.

We did not have much time to spare as we needed to go to the Animal Kingdom to use up our FastPasses. So after we had changed into park gear we headed down to the car and drove the short way over to the Animal Kingdom where we were directed to the parking pretty close to the entrance and where we did not need to board a tram and could just walk to the security check. Not many people arrived at that time, so bag check was a breeze and soon we were inside the park heading towards our first FastPass.
We soon got close to Expedition Everest

and could see that there were quite a lot of people around, but surprisingly after we had scanned our Magicbands and walked through the line we could see that there were not too many people in the standby-line. We asked for front row and got in line after another couple and were actually seated within minutes. The ride was fast and even more fun at night

and when we returned, we just looked at each other and were on our way to check out how long it would take to ride again in the standby line. It said 20 minutes and we were willing to give it a go. Well, the 20 minutes turned out to be a walk-on.

Again we rode in the front row and loved it. When we got off we wanted to try if we could ride again and yes, again it was a walk on.

This time we decided that we would just ride in any given row and were seated towards the very back of the train. And once that ride was over we just joined the rest of the people who had been on the ride with us and walked right on a fourth time.

This time we wanted front row again

and had to wait for the third train out, as there were two groups ahead of us, but we did not mind, there was plenty of time to make it to the next FastPass, even with waiting for front row. And after those four rides on Expedition Everest it had gotten completely dark and we walked over to Kilimanjaro Safaris to ride it at night. I had read that it was something you had to experience and so I had tried to get a FastPass for later that day.
We were surprised that even though we had been able to ride Expedition Everest with no wait time at all, there was quite a line for the Safari. Thank goodness we were in the fast lane. Soon we were told which row to get in and we found out that they filled those rows well. There were five adults in our row. Soon we went onto our adventure, but I have to add that I prefer a safari in the day time. While some of the areas were nicely lit, it was hard to make out some of the animals.

They changed the route during nighttime and it was a nice experience, but we had no desire to do it again at night, once we got off. And by then we needed to head back to Asia as we still held one more FastPass. A FastPass for “The Jungle Book – alive with magic”.
We thought that if we would get there shortly before they opened the doors it would be perfect. So we arrived around 15 minutes early and were directed towards a really long line. Our FastPasses were scanned twice once they let us all in and we found seats halfway up the stairs, towards the end of a row. We sat there waiting for the show to begin and were pleased to see that they had Photopass photographers taking photos of guests holding a Jungle book sign. Needless to say, we needed one too.

We had sat there for about half an hour before the show started and again, while it was really nice, it was nothing we wanted to repeat.

There was lots of dancing and kind of “Bollywood Music” and we decided to give them an “a” for effort, but that was it.
We were happy to be able to say that we had seen it, but we would not be sad to see it go. Once the show was over we were swept out of the theatre with the rest of the guests and went towards the exit.
We walked to our car, joined the masses who left the Animal Kingdom right now and drove back to Kidani. When we got to our parking area we found out that all the spots were taken and it took us a while to find one. And while it was not too far away, I would not have liked to walk around the parking area on my own at night.
We soon were back in our room and packed up the rest of our stuff before we fell into bed.

To be continued ....


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[franandaj]

Sounds like a nice relaxing day lounging by the pool, and then shopping. I'm glad to hear that nighttime at AK was not a tremendously memorable event, not that you didn't have a good time, but that we didn't have time to make it over there at night. We did the nighttime safari last time we stayed at Kidani and it was neat, but you could really only see the ones that came up close to the vehicle, so I can see how Kilamanjaro Safari at night would not be as enjoyable as the daytime ride.

I didn't realize that Lufthansa had such strict baggage limits on size of luggage. I'll have to be sure and pay attention to that once we are planning an international trip as we always have the largest suitcases possible.

 

[MissPrice]

The pool looks awesome. My 2 year old would LOVE that play area. I have always wanted to try Sanaa but haven't made it there yet. The food looks delicious. Also, what a gorgeous bathroom. EE 4 times in a row?? You guys are hard core. My neck hurts just thinking about it. -Amanda

 

[dizneeat]

Sounds like a nice relaxing day lounging by the pool, and then shopping.

It was lovely to just enjoy the pool during the morning hours. Especially since there weren't too many people there and it is such a wonderfully themed pool. And, who does not like shopping?

I'm glad to hear that nighttime at AK was not a tremendously memorable event, not that you didn't have a good time, but that we didn't have time to make it over there at night.

You know, it was nice to tick it off the list, but, had they not stopped it altogether, we would not have gone back. While it was interesting, it lacked that Disney touch.

We did the nighttime safari last time we stayed at Kidani and it was neat, but you could really only see the ones that came up close to the vehicle, so I can see how Kilamanjaro Safari at night would not be as enjoyable as the daytime ride.

We might try KS when the sun sets, but never again when it is really dark. You could see what was close up and well lit, but many animals were a bit further away and it was really hard to make out the animals in the dark environment. It is much more fun in the daytime.

I didn't realize that Lufthansa had such strict baggage limits on size of luggage. I'll have to be sure and pay attention to that once we are planning an international trip as we always have the largest suitcases possible.

I have seen them making people pay up for extra large luggage and especially if it goes over the allowed weight limit. Not sure if they would be that picky if you travel business or first class, but I am not taking any chances in premium economy.

The pool looks awesome. My 2 year old would LOVE that play area

It was such a cute area and so many things for kids to do. Makes you wish you would be that age again.

I have always wanted to try Sanaa but haven't made it there yet. The food looks delicious.

You should really give it a try. The food is a bit different from the usual fare, but very tasty. I am pretty sure that we will get the bread offering again, as it was to die for. Hm, maybe next time we could just get the large bread offering with all the dips and desserts - something to think about.

EE 4 times in a row?? You guys are hard core. My neck hurts just thinking about it. -Amanda

Ah, we love riding EE or BTM several times in a row - so fun.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 10, August 12

Home away from home - Part 1

Today was moving day again.
We got up around 8am, Tom took a shower while I put the last few things into the suitcases and got them ready to change resort again. Once I had had my shower as well, we sat down and had breakfast with leftovers out of the fridge and then we sat out on the balcony enjoying the view for a little while again. Then we called bell services to pick up our luggage and transfer it to Old Key West where we would move to lateron that day.
We had some stuff that we wanted to take with us, so Tom went to the garage to put it in the car.
It didn’t take long and someone from bell services came along to pick up the rest of our stuff. Then we went through the room one more time, checking for forgotten items before we walked down to the car and went over to Old Key West to check in.

We parked in one of the check in spots and headed over to the front desk, where we were greeted outside by a cast member with a tablet, who then sent us inside as he was not able to check us in. A friendly young cast member then checked us in, let us know that we would stay in the Turtle Pond area and that we would be on a higher floor, but our one bedroom villa was not ready yet. They handed us our new magicbands, tried them at their computer and promised to send an email once it was ready. We had kind of hoped that the villa would be ready, but we had a backup plan.
So we went back to the car and drove to the mall close to Little Lake Bryant.

We arrived there and looked into several of the stores before hitting the Character Warehouse. Again, we found several things we really liked and picked up. Around 1pm we were done with shopping and since we did not have a room number yet we decided that we would just go and have some lunch. I had planned on getting something at Disney Springs, but we were not feeling it and since we were in the area we decided to drive over to Steak ‘n’ Shake.
It is something we only discovered a few years ago and we really love it there. Once we arrived there we were lucky to find parking right in front of the restaurant and headed inside. We were seated right away, our server was very sweet, but there definitely was a language barrier as we did not understand a word he said, but somehow we were able to communicate. We ordered Diet Cokes and Tom usually has a milkshake and this time it was no exception. Our server soon returned with the Diet Cokes and the

Oreo Milkshake for Tom. They have so many different burgers, so it was hard to decide, but finally I had decided on the

Guacamole burger, A Double Steakburger topped with delicious, fresh guacamole, served with lettuce, vine-ripened tomato, red onion, pepper jack cheese, and chipotle sauce and a side of fries. They were offering seasoned fries and I opted for the Parmesan Cheese 'n Herbs spiced ones. Tom had ordered the

Philly Cheese Steakburger, two patties with melted American and Swiss cheese, topped with plenty of grilled peppers ’n onions. All served on a savory toasted bun with garlic mayo and a side of fries for which he had chosen the Cajun seasoning. Food was really nice and our soft drinks were refilled in no time and it was an all around enjoyable meal. And while we were sitting there munching away, we got a text that our villa was ready and they “revealed” the room number.
So, once we had paid for our meal, we were on our way back to our home away from home for the next 5 nights. We made one more stop at the Boardwalk.

We needed to go to the Boardwalk Bakery as we wanted to order a cake for the day we had been invited to dinner at Michelle’s house. So we headed down to the Bakery, got in line and a cast member took our order, we paid for it right there and then and then we went back to the car. We walked along the side of the building, slipped in through an open door and walked up to the BelleVue Lounge which was still closed. We looked around the Boardwalk for a bit,

as it is one of the resorts we have not stayed at yet, but after a while we left and headed back to the car. A little while later we arrived at Old Key West,

stopped at bell services to let them know our room number and asked to have our luggage brought over. They promised that it would be there in a few minutes and we went ahead.

To be continued ....



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[huntwoof]

Yes... Steak and Shake .... We have VERY similar tastes in restaurants. Now you have to try Bojangles, Zaxby's, or Chick Fil A to complete the cycle

 

[thumper*]

Hi Karin I just found this TR and am loving it. Can't wait for the rest.

 

[momof3princes]

The pools looked great! We love the bread service at Sanaa, you need any help eating it I can send my 3 boys your way. They can eat their weight in bread AND meat
Next trip for sure I am taking the time to go to the Disney Outlet stores!!!
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas

 

[Pinkocto]

What a fabulous day lounging by the pool and going to AK. I had not noticed those cute snakes in the kids splash area.

I am one of the few who really enjoyed the Jungle Book show, I absolutely loved the music and am sad I won't be seeing it again.

Glad you were able to find a new suitcase and that you could verify the dimensions were ok.

Sounds like a relaxing transer day, aside from the giant mowers outside your room. How bizarre they would do that early.

Your lunch looks yummy!


Thank you for your trip dates, I put them in my phone. Looks like the first week while you're at WDW is when we'll be able to get together. Our Alaska cruise starts September 4, so we'll be heading up there the 2nd or 3rd.

 

[dizneeat]

Yes... Steak and Shake .... We have VERY similar tastes in restaurants. Now you have to try Bojangles, Zaxby's, or Chick Fil A to complete the cycle

I am glad you approve. And we might even visit one or two of your other favourite restaurants on our next trip.

Hi Karin I just found this TR and am loving it. Can't wait for the rest.

Very happy to have you on board. And even happier that you enjoy my TR.

The pools looked great.

They were awesome. And the kids area was so well thought out and fun.

We love the bread service at Sanaa, you need any help eating it I can send my 3 boys your way. They can eat their weight in bread AND meat

I had seen the bread service in trip reports, but we never thought about trying it. And this time, after trying some of the breads during the Wanyama Safari we really had to try it. Needless to say, we will definitely order it again.

Next trip for sure I am taking the time to go to the Disney Outlet stores!!!

The one at Little Lake Bryant is nice, but the one at the former Belz Mall is really great and they have really neat stuff to very reasonable prices.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas

Thank you, we did. Hope yours was wonderful too!

 

[dizneeat]

What a fabulous day lounging by the pool and going to AK. I had not noticed those cute snakes in the kids splash area.

Being at WDW for more than two weeks was so nice. Usually we never take a lot of time to spend at a pool, but with all the time we had it was the right thing to do.

I am one of the few who really enjoyed the Jungle Book show, I absolutely loved the music and am sad I won't be seeing it again.

Don't get me wrong, it was nice, but it was really long and it was a REALLY hot evening. I would have liked it more if there had been some kind of script, but to me it was a lot of dancing and singing and it was HOT!!!

Glad you were able to find a new suitcase and that you could verify the dimensions were ok.

Since I have seen them being very picky with customers who had gone over the weight limit and they are pointing out the dimensions all the time, I did not want to buy one that I would have to pay extra for. And it IS a big suitcase.

Sounds like a relaxing transer day, aside from the giant mowers outside your room. How bizarre they would do that early.

Once we were comfortable with Disney getting our luggage from one resort to the other our moving around from resort to resort became really easy.
As much as I was stunned by the mowers in the early morning, it was interesting to watch them do it.

Thank you for your trip dates, I put them in my phone. Looks like the first week while you're at WDW is when we'll be able to get together. Our Alaska cruise starts September 4, so we'll be heading up there the 2nd or 3rd.

You let us know when it is okay for you and we'll be there. We both really look forward to get together with you again.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 10, August 12

Home away from home - Part 2

They promised that it would be there in a few minutes and we went ahead.
We parked right in front of our building, walked up to the door and I scanned my magicband at the door and ….. nothing. Tom tried his magicband and the door would not open for him either. Some quick thinking was required and we decided to just get in the car, have an eye out if we could see someone with our luggage and head back to the front desk.
When we got to the front desk I spotted a bellman getting our stuff onto one of the carts and I let him know that our magicbands were not working and would he please wait until it was taken care of. I hotfooted back to the front desk and there was a line. It took a few minutes until it was my turn and the cast member tried our magicbands and they did not seem to work there either. She tried for about 5 minutes and then sent me over to the concierge desk to have them find out what was wrong.
So I joined the line at the concierge desk and finally a cast member started to look into it. After a while Tom came in as he thought he might have missed me coming out and we waited and waited some more. The cast member’s computer was super slow and she had to call IT and it took about 15 minutes to get my magicband done. They had no idea why Tom’s didn’t work and they just could not get it to cooperate. So in the end she asked if Tom would mind terribly if she gave him a grey magicband for now and he could pick up another one lateron. He did not mind and after about half an hour we walked back out. The bellman asked if things had been resolved and we told him that we hoped so.
He promised to leave right away with our luggage. So we got in the car, drove back and finally our magicbands did the trick. We had a lot of stuff in the boot of the car and while we were unpacking, the bellman stopped and helped carrying our stuff upstairs. Needless to say there was an extra big tip for him.
Once inside we walked around the villa to see if everything was in working order and we were pleased to see that we had one of the villas that had two entrances to the bathroom. I started taking photos of the villa

and Tom then stocked the fridge with the drinks we still had. And after freshening up and resting for a while we went back to the car to do some grocery shopping. 20 minutes later we turned into the Publix parking lot and headed inside. This time it took us quite a while, as we wanted to pick up a lot of things to take home. And while we were still looking for things we talked about what was planned for the evening and that we had FastPasses for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We both agreed on cancelling them and just have a leisurely night at home. So we picked up some more stuff for dinner as well, and when we tried to leave the store about an hour and a half after we had entered it, we found out that it was pouring down with rain.

So we waited out the downpour like a lot of other people and about another 20 minutes later we were able to make it over to our car without getting really soaked. Since we were not going to the parks anyway, we decided to go and pick up another treat as well. Down the road we went and from afar we already saw that the “Hot Now” sign was on and we quickly parked the car and went into the shop. There was quite the line, but soon it was our turn and we picked up a dozen glazed doughnuts

and a bottle of water, sat down next to the baking conveyor and sampled some of the sugary goodness. Once we were done we hopped back into the car and drove back to Old Key West. And after carrying up our groceries and putting them away we sat down to enjoy the evening. Around 8pm we put a pizza in the oven, opened a bag of salad mix and got that ready, opened the potato salad and coleslaw we had purchased and set the table.

We had dinner in front of the telly, while watching an episode of “The Hunt”,

while the washer and dryer were on. And for once we really had an early night.

To be continued ....



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[franandaj]

I didn't know that some rooms at OKW did not have the double entrances to the bathrooms. Your room looks exactly like the room we had there. We only stayed for one night, but I'd love to stay there again. I love the one bedroom villas so that you can fix yourself something for dinner, throw in a load of laundry and kick back and watch TV for the evening!

 

[dizneeat]

I didn't know that some rooms at OKW did not have the double entrances to the bathrooms.

If I remember correctly the ones at Turtle Pond Road have the double entrance. I am sure we did not have it when we stayed at Millers Road. I really prefer the double entrance AND we love the Turtle Pond Road area.

Your room looks exactly like the room we had there. We only stayed for one night, but I'd love to stay there again. I love the one bedroom villas so that you can fix yourself something for dinner, throw in a load of laundry and kick back and watch TV for the evening!

We just love one bedroom villas. It feels so much like a real home with all the amenities. And since we usually travel for a longer period of time, being able to just throw in a load of laundry is perfect for us.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 11, August 13

That’s what we call fireworks - Part 1

It was wonderful to wake up in our home away from home. We got up around 7am, took showers and then got ready to head out for breakfast.
We did not have to drive far, not even had to leave the resort.

So we soon parked our car close to Hospitality House and walked over to Olivia’s. They quickly checked us in and we were seated right away. Having a breakfast at Olivia’s is kind of a tradition, so I knew what I wanted even without looking at the menu. Tom ordered some

coffee and I asked for some

Earl Grey Tea, which we were brought a few minutes later. And it did not take long for our breakfast to be delivered. Tom had decided on the

Conch Republic Omelet, Shrimp, avocado, and pepper jack cheese, with breakfast potatoes and a buttermilk biscuit, a Conch Flats favorite! I always have the

Crab Cake Eggs Benedict, two-Poached Eggs and two Crab Cakes on an English Muffin with Key Lime Hollandaise and breakfast potatoes. And both were as yummy as we had remembered them. It did not take long and we had cleared our plates, paid the bill and were out the door again. We went back to our villa to chill for a while before driving back to the Hospitality House for The Legend of Conch Flats Tour.

We had been invited to the tour the day before by phone and thought it might be a nice extra treat before meeting our friend Michelle and her husband Vito again. So we went to the Papa’s Den and were greeted by our tour guide.

There were a few other people waiting and we waited until 5 minutes after the proposed time and then the guide started to talk about how Old Key West came to be, how the name of the resort was changed and what inspiration had brought the imagineers to come up with the resort. After about 10 minutes we moved outside and learned more about the population of Conch Flats and how the names of the different parts were created. It was a really fun tour and the guide was fun to listen to and he made it really interesting as well. We walked around for a bit more and got to the firepit and a special friendship palm tree that was as old as the resort. The area where the firepit is was the last stop and the guide then handed out bottles of water, some cooling cloths and special pins.

It was really nice especially since it was a free tour in the first place. Once the tour was over we had to hurry as we still needed our backpack and my small bag before we could make our way to Epcot. And while we were in our villa we decided that we would try to use the bus for a change. We usually drive to parks, but the bus stop was so conveniently located just across the street and we knew there was alcohol for us in the evening and we would have to get back by bus anyway. So we walked over to the bus stop, sat down, looked at the posted times and were thinking that it would be at least 15 minutes until a bus would arrive. But that was not the case. We had not been sitting there for more than three minutes and a bus pulled into our stop. It said Epcot. We asked the driver if it indeed went to Epcot and he smiled and told us to just come on in, this was where he was going. The bus was nearly empty and it was a nice short drive and we soon found ourselves at the security check. I texted Michelle, that we were at the entrance

and they let us know that they were at The Land, so after we had scanned our magicbands we walked right over to The Land.

When we arrived there we saw them waiting downstairs and hotfooted it down to Sunshine Seasons. Michelle had made FastPasses for all of us for Soarin, so after we had all hugged each other and talked for a while we headed over to Soarin. There were quite a few people even in the FastPass line, but soon we were directed toward a line and halfway down the line it stopped so we had a lot of time to chat and we talked about their invitation and that we thought it would be easier for us to just drive to their house if they wanted us to. And they were so happy we had offered that. After a few minutes the line moved again and soon we were told in which row to get. Angelina was excited to get on the ride and soon we were getting into our seats and ready for take off. This time we sat in the middle of the screen and it made quite the difference, as none of the buildings tilted to one side. When the ride was over we slowly went to a side elevator and the walked towards the exit. We were all hit by the hot weather outside, but we wanted to walk over to Test Track, another favourite of Angie’s. And while we walked towards the fountain I spotted two familiar faces. In 2009 we had experienced our first Disney cruise and had travelled with a group of Disneyfans. We became friends with quite a lot of them and I knew that John and his wife Kathy were at Walt Disney World those days. And there they were, walking straight towards us. So we stopped them, introduced Michelle and Vito and chatted for a while. Needless to say that we needed to take a photo

and then they went over to Soarin, while we walked over to Test Track. Michelle got new FastPasses for all of us for Soarin and we quickly brainstormed what we should do in the meantime. We went through a few rides in our minds and then decided that we wanted to try the new DVC lounge that was close by. We walked all across the park again and looked for the entrance, and when we found it, we joined the line of DVC members who wanted to do the same. Once it was our turn, we showed our DVC IDs and the cast member told us that she would put us on the waiting list. She needed a phone number to send us a text once it was our turn. I voiced my concern, because we had a foreign phone number and sending texts never works, so we asked them to send an email, but the cast member insisted they would be able to send a text. Okay then. Since they had told us that it would not take too long, we stuck around exploring the area, watching kids play and then finally checking all the merchandise. We had spent three quarters of an hour looking around and I was getting tired of waiting, especially since we saw a lot of people coming in and heading up to the lounge. So after another few minutes we decided to get in line again and just ask how long it would still take.
When we talked to the cast member again, she told us that we could not go up to the lounge twice in such a short amount of time.
Well, we have not been up yet, once, lady.
She called upstairs and the cast member who is in charge of sending the texts came down apologizing that the text had not gone through and we were welcome if we wanted to go up now. Perfect. So we went around to the back of the stairs, where the elevator was located and we went up to the lounge. We signed in again and walked around checking out the area and looking for some seats. We were really lucky as it was busy, but a family was just leaving and we could use their table and chairs. Tom and Vito went to get drinks for everyone and Michelle, Angie and I sat there enjoying the air conditioning. The lounge was lovely, so airy, even though the place is small.

We sat for quite some time chatting away before it was time to head back down and walk over to Test Track. We scanned our magicbands and joined people in the FastPass line. It moved slowly but it moved and soon it was time to help Angie getting into the ride vehicle and off we went.

Once we got off, the men checked out the cars and talked about what they liked and didn’t like and then we walked outside again. We had decided that we wanted to get some very early dinner and were now on our way to Via Napoli. We all took a restroom break on the way to World Showcase and then we slowly strolled through the countries. We did not have an ADR so we were a bit hesitant when we saw the many people waiting outside the restaurant, but Vito went in and asked if they had a table and they told us that it would be a 20 minute wait, but they would get us a table. It took about half an hour until they had cleared a table that was okay for us with the wheelchair and we soon were studying the menus. The waiter brought our drinks and Tom and I decided that we would share an appetizer and a pizza, as we had a reservation for a dessert partly lateron that day. We went with the

Arancini, fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu, which were really nice and tasty. Soon after we had finished them our

Pizza Capricciosa, one of their Signature Pies, with tomato sauce, mozzarella, eggplant, artichokes, ham and mushrooms was brought out and we ate about half of it, but there was no way we would be able to finish it.

So in the end Michelle and Vito, who could not finish their pizza either had the rest packed up and took it home. It was past 6pm when we left the restaurant and it was time for us to say goodbye. We all walked over to the International Gateway where we said goodbye to Michelle, Vito and Angelina, who went to the entrance to get to their car and Tom and I went over to the Friendship boats to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

To be continued ....



Don't forget to open the Christmas Calendars!​

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Here are the links:​

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Food Calendar ​

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Hat Calendar ​

 

[Flossbolna]

Karin, you are making really good use of your Christmas vacation! How nice to read all those updates! I am still in awe over all that resort hopping you did! I really like it that they are adding more and more of those resort tours now, they really sound wonderful. I did the one at the WL this trip and loved it!

 

[momof3princes]

My family and I love to roam grocery stores in areas away from home, always fun to see what is sold in different areas and try new things.
So nice to meet up with friends! That pizza looked so yummy!