The 6 Days of POFQ!(with pics): COMPLETE!

[Philadisney]

Next was a pit stop in Club Cool, where I was crushed to find that they no longer have Vegibeta. I hate carbonation, so I found vegibeta most delightful. I settled for some smart watermelon, and tried to ‘trick’ DBF into drinking some of that tasty Beverly : to my dismay, he thought it “wasn’t very good” - that’s it? No gagging, no spitting? Hmph. You are no fun.
Back the other way ‘round the WS for us, with a pit stop in Minnie’s Butterfly Garden - very sweet. I love Mexico, and we happened to be there just in time for the mariachi cobre, who I adore!! DBF isn’t into that sort of thing, but I insisted we watch a couple of songs before conceding and heading off to El Rio del Tiempo. I enjoy this silly ride, and unlike last year, I didn’t have a frosty margarita before jumping aboard so I actually remember it this time DBF kept talking about the Norway boat ride, so Maelstorm was next! It was a FP, as we all know, but we decided to stand by since it was only a 20 minute wait. This ride was a jolly good time for all, and DBF admired the sweaters they sell in the Norway shop, until he bothered to look at the price tag - so much for that.
It was starting to get to be the evening and we wanted to be able to get our free picture before Illuminations, so we headed up front to pick out a photo. DBF’s memory card was full, so I shelled out $10 to have all the pictures burned to a CD. This was totally worth it, it allowed us to free up space to take more pictures since we still had 24 hours left in the world, plus the blank CD they used was really cool - it had a wacky pixelated mickey icon on it It took about 15 minutes for them to download the pics and burn the CD....hmmm, just enough time for another ride on SE!
Hey wait a second...we’re hungry!! Not too hungry though....sushi-and-kaki gori hungry maybe. Off to Japan! We went into the Matsunoma Lounge, which is a sit down restaurant at Japan that is very laid-back and specializes in sushi. It took them a while to seat us (I don’t know why - it wasn’t full, I think the waitstaff had their hands full with the crowds of people wanting to eat hibatchi-style in Teppanyaki). I ordered a beautiful blue drink called the Mt. Fuji, and DBF had some sake. We shared a few different kinds of sushi rolls. We were seated by the window of the restaurant, which is several stories off the ground, so we had a gorgeous view of the lagoon as the sun was setting it was so memorable and romantic. I wished we could have just hung out up there for the fireworks, but I wanted me some kaki gori! So we paid our bill and headed out, both getting the rainbow flavors. They were yummy but I think next time I will just get the melon flavor - it was deeeeelishious. We slurped our syrupy snow and hightailed it allll the way to the opposite side of the lagoon, so we could watch the fireworks from the little pavilion between the two gift shops where the boats pick up. It’s my very favorite spot. The fireworks were amazing and we both loved Illuminations! We said see ya tomorrow to Epcot

and back on the bus to POFQ, to find yet another little pal waiting for us in the bathroom!

On the fifth day of vacation, POFQ gave to me
a splendid butterfly,
a precious little bunny,
a heart for Lady Vacuum,
a towel toothbrush holder,
a friend for Mr. Vacuum,
and a view of a magnolia tree!

The next day - more character stalking and our quest to find out what Epcot France really looks, tastes, sounds, feels, and smells like.

 

[Philadisney]

Loving your trip report!!

Going again.....i'm so envious! Have a great time and we'll be waiting for another TR!

glad you are enjoying it! i am excited to start my next TR...i was starting to write my pre-trip report for that today at work during some down time, and then I was like, oh yeah...I should probably finish my other TR first

 

[TLinden16]

I'm really loving the pictures of Mr. Vacuum. I think he needs his own website!

 

[TLinden16]

I'm really loving the pictures of Mr. Vacuum. I think he needs his own website!

 

[indigoxtreme]

Great report keep it going.

 

[Philadisney]

I'm really loving the pictures of Mr. Vacuum. I think he needs his own website!

i don't know if i should be admitting this, but he does have his own website! hmmm. can you tell i have a lot of spare time on my hands?
i mean....he made it himself.

 

[Philadisney]

We woke up to find that POFQ had left us an early surprise today.
On the last day of vacation, POFQ gave to me
a Magical Express envelope,
a splendid butterfly,
a precious little bunny,
a heart for Lady Vacuum,
a towel toothbrush holder,
a friend for Mr. Vacuum,
and a view of a magnolia tree!
This was not a surprise that I was happy to receive. It meant that we were really going home!
But not before we crammed in a few more magical disney adventures. First it was off to the pool for one last swim - this lasted about 3 minutes, the pool was FREEZING this morning. We quickly returned to the room and took some last minute pictures.

I did NOT want to say goodbye to Lady Vacuum. Here I am shedding my first tears of the day (not sure why DBF thought my pain was worth documenting)

We packed up and dragged our luggage to the main building to check out and drop off our bags with the Magical Express people. They were kind enough to hold onto our stuff while we spent one last day at the World. Next, we said our goodbyes to POFQ by taking some last minute pics. Here’s the pool

We also took some photos with the alligator statues that surround the pool, here’s one of Mr. Vacuum finding himself in an uncomfortable position

Then it was off to Epcot to catch up on everything we missed the day before and do the things we wanted to do again - Soarin’, for starters! We got a FP and headed off to Epcot France while we were waiting. First was the film, which I love! The music is outstanding, and I secretely enjoy how outdated the movie is - those early 80's haircuts and skimpy orange biker shorts remind me of a simpler time indeed. Feeling hungry, we hit the bakery for lunch. I had a croissant with ham and cheese inside, and I don’t remember what DBF had but I do know that we split the chocolate mousse for dessert. It was delightful.
Into the perfume shop, where I, feeling weepy, decided that a good way to remember Epcot would be to douse Mr. Vacuum in French perfume. He reeked, but it worked, I could bury my nose in the little guy and breathe in the smells of Epcot France for almost a full week afterwards.
Hello, what’s this behind the perfume shop? Some friends out enjoying this lovely day? We got in the very short line to meet one of my favorite princesses, Ms. Aurora

who was absolutely darling and called me princess and said i looked lovely. heeeeeeeeee.
Now, do you notice someone in the background of that pic? Who is he, and what could he possibly be doing?? Find out....NEXT!

 

[Philadisney]

Standing all alone by himself in the corner was the Beast! And what had he been doing while we were visiting Aurora, you ask? Well DBF and I went over to him and he turned around and reached out his hand to me. The Beast was holding two little pink flowers that he had plucked from the garden behind Princess A! He offered them to me and his character greeter said “He saw you from afar and he thinks you are beautiful.” AAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWW!!!
I bid a fond adieu to the Beast, and we were off to Soarin’. It was WAY better the second time - we were front and center!!! Perfect view, no feet dangling in our faces. We had a good time with the woman riding next to us, who was there with her daughter. She was absolutely terrified of the ride. We kept reassuring her that it wasn’t frightening at all, and she ended up having a good time
Next it was over to Innoventions again, to get another Disney Visa character pic. A surprise today - not just our old pals Minnie and Donald, but Goofy was there too! Now, we’re not too good at character interaction. after working at Epcot in college I just cannot stop thinking about the actual people inside the costumes (I mean, not that there are any). The photoperson noticed my shirt and bag, and said “Oh, you like Alice!” I said “Yes, she is my favorite” and the photoperson said “Sometimes she is in the UK, wait right here. I’ll go call and see if she is there today!” And she ran off, leaving us alone with the sleepy-looking character handler and the three characters. Ummmmm. Talk about the most akward 5 minutes of our lives! I don’t remember what we did or said, but I do recall that I rummaged through my purse a bit trying to look like I was searching for something. I think we killed some time by having them sign a postcard or something. It was very weird - and as it turned out, Alice wasn’t at Epcot today anyway. So much for that!
We did some more exploring around Innoventions, I love the part where you can send silly postcards to people back home!
We claimed our free picture at the camera center and then were off to finish exploring the WS. First a stop in Mexico for a fiesta margarita, then on to China to see the Hong Kong Disneyland exhibit, which had some neat stuff.

Some serious wandering around Germany was next - we bought gummi frogs and gummi cola to eat on the plane. Sadly, we realized that our time was running short - we had to be back at POFQ for our ME bus by 4:30. I decided another margarita was in order - kiwi this time. We sat by the lagoon and watched the water while we sucked down our last taste of the World.
Everything went smoothly from there. We made it back to POFQ and onto the ME bus where we made several stops before heading to the airport - I got to see OKW and Saratoga Springs, which was very cool. We watched the cute little video they show you on your way back - adorable! We had a nice window seat on the plane and listened to the complimentary XM radio and ate germany gummis until we got sick.

Thanks for reading along everyone! Now I am off to start my pre-trip report for my next trip in just 8 days! This time instead of a meander around the World in spring, it’s one of the busiest holidays of the year in the hot hot summer heat with my crazy parents! Stay tuned for a very DIFFERENT trip report!

 

[byoung]

Great reports.

 

[lucky978]

Great job! Looking forward to your upcoming trip report. Say HI to Mr. vacuum for me!

 

[Wiki]

Your report was wonderful! I loved seeing Mr. Vacuum in your TR, he's very cute! Enjoy your 4th of July trip, I'm looking forward to your next TR!

(I'm originally a Philadelphian, still one at heart!)

 

[Timon]

Great report! Thanks for sharing. It looks like you three know how to have a good time

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the great reviews. It must be nice to be heading back already. Have a great trip.

 

[KathyRN137]

 

[Philadisney]

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments! You are all so kind, and I'm glad to know that you've enjoyed reading about our marvelous little trip! I am going to start my pre-trip report for my next trip soon, (7 days to go!), I'll post a link here when I put it up.

 

[Philadisney]

Great report! Thanks for sharing. It looks like you three know how to have a good time

Cass, I loved your TR from October!! Glad you found your way over here!

 

[Nisa]

Great report! Sorry 'bout your breakup but I'm sure there's probably way better for you out there!

Anyway...I wondered if you tipped Mousekeeping? The last time we were there we got NO cool towel animals and there's been some discussions on this board about tipping versus not tipping. So I just wondered. We heading to POFQ in September and would love to find some cool surprises.

Have a great trip! And make sure to write up a report as soon as you can.

 

[Beana9802]

OOh, thanks for posting a link when you're set. I love your writing style, and like to live vicariously through you all when you go on these trips. :0)

 

[anewvance]

Thank you for writing such a great trip report. I enjoyed reading every bit of it. And I absolutely LOVE Mr Vacuum, he's adorable and I loved the pictures. I'm so sorry to hear about you and your bf... yuck!

 

[Philadisney]

more nice comments....all y'all are too kind!
Nisa, we did tip housekeeping - I left $1 a day. I was interested to see if they would take it - last year I stayed at CSR and made elaborate envelopes that said MOUSEKEEPING on them with the money inside, well the first day they took the envelope, but for the next three days they didn't! This year I just stuck the money under the alarm clock every morning, and they did take their tip.