Monday January 12th.
The beds at AKV are so comfy and the room is so dark and quiet, it
is very hard to get up in the morning! I was ready to go at 8:30,
but DW was not as excited about the dawn. However, I knew that we
had a busy morning ahead of us, so we had to get moving.
DW was not feeling any better this morning and actually, her ear
ache was worse. So, I knew that we were going to be visiting
Centra Care urgent care center. We also needed to pack up our
stuff, move out of our 1-bedroom savannah view villa and into a
1-bedroom villa on CL. Woohoo!
So, we packed up our stuff and then headed down to the Mara for
breakfast. I brought cereal and stuff for breakfasts in our room,
but we had some extra counter service credits because we got lunch
as part of our Keys tour yesterday. We each got the Bounty
Platter, which is the same breakfast platter served at every
resort counter service, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, a biscuit,
potatoes and two mini Mickey waffles. This is a heck of a lot of
food for one person! We also had our first incidence of CM
rudeness. DW asked for her waffles to be on a separate plate and
the CM grabbed the waffle and slammed it down on the same plate as
the other food! DW asked again for a separate plate and with a
great deal of huffing and puffing, the CM grabbed a small plate
and SLAMMED the waffles down on it. Wow. Someone needs to go on
the Keys to the Kingdom tour! The food was cold, but thankfully
theres a microwave, so just a minute of being zapped and the food
was nice and hot.
Then, there was the adventure of getting all of our luggage down
from our room to bell services. We seemed to have acquired several
more pieces of luggage in just a few days! We were going to call
Bell Services, but they are always so busy in the morning that we
figured it would be faster just to drag things down there
ourselves. So, we made it to the very busy lobby, checked out of
our room and got ready to check into our new room!
Morgan, from the CL came down and took us up to the 6th floor. We
had a comfortable, easy quick check-in and were given our room
keys. We also had a fed-ex package that absolutely had to get
mailed out today and Morgan promised that she would take care of
it for us.
Pic of CL
I looked over a print-out of our dining reservations and noticed
that we have a Specialty Cruise booked on Tuesday! WOO! I had
called ALK concierge and requested the Illuminations cruise, but
had never heard back from them, so I figured I didnt get it.
Surprisingly enough, it was reserved for us, even without our
leaving our CC # for a deposit. Too weird! We put down a deposit,
so tomorrow were going on an Illuminations cruise! Woohoo!
15 minutes after being called, the free Centra Care shuttle
arrived for the quick 10 minute trip to the facility. We had
called our insurance company that morning and they said that if
Centra Care billed them directly, they would pay them directly.
Well, Centra Care said that they didnt do direct billing to our
insurance, so we would have to pay out of pocket and then get
reimbursed by our insurance company. Okie Dokie. I wish this had
been clearer prior to our arriving there, but we didnt have many
other options.
They told us on the phone that there was about an hour wait. Sure
enough, we got there at 11:30 and DW was seen at 12:30. She was
diagnosed with an ear infection, given antibiotics, a pain med and
some OTC decongestants. They give you the medication right there,
so theres no need to go to a pharmacy. The shuttle dropped us off
back at AKL and the entire trip took from 11:30 1:30, not bad
for a walk-in clinic!
We went back to The Mara for lunch. I got another pita sandwich
with a fruit cup for dessert.
DW got a pepperoni pizza. Well, actually, she got the African
stew, but she dropped it! Woops! She decided to try the pizza as
its less spillable then the stew. The pizza is not typical WDW
pizza. Its very thin crust, almost flat bread like and looked
quite good. The pita sandwich was tasty as always and the fruit
fresh and juicy. Sorry, no pic of the pizza. DW wasnt in the mood
for me to be taking pictures of her food!
After lunch, we headed up to the CL to wait for our villa to be
ready. I had just settled in with my book and a cookie, when the
concierge came over to tell us our villa number. Yeay! We got into
our villa at 2:30pm. Unfortunately, it isnt a savannah view, but
we have an interesting view of the human animals in the human
tank. It is totally baffling to me that people will go swimming
when it is 60 degrees out! Burrrrr!
Pics from our balcony
While DW waited and read the paper, I scurried through the villa
and wiped every surface, door handle, door knob, curtain pull,
light switch, remote control, phone and the entire bathroom down
with bleach wipes. It only takes me 15 minutes or so and I feel a
lot better about it. I asked our Keys guide yesterday if shed
heard anything about Noro going through WDW and she said that no
one had notified Guest Relations about an outbreak. Hopefully its
settling down now, but I dont want to take any chances.
We unpacked a little, but since were leaving on Thursday (BOO!),
I didnt unpack everything. DW was starting to feel tired and out
of sorts again, so I left her to rest while I went over to Epcot.
It had been cloudy, humid and in the upper 60s all day, so the
rain wasnt a big surprise. It ended fairly soon after I arrived
at Epcot.
I just love walking into Epcot or any park. Theres still that
feeling of excitement and anticipation, every time I set foot into
a park. Maybe its the music or the theming or just knowing how
much fun Im about to have.
Epcot was nearly empty today! Everything, except for Soarin, was
a walk-on. Soarin had a 45 minute wait.
I rode Soarin and sat next to a lovely elderly gentleman from
the UK. This was his first trip to WDW and he was here with his
wife, their grown children and grandchildren. He and I chatted a
bit before the ride and I explained to him what the ride was like.
He said that it sounded like fun. Well, the poor guy. As soon as
the ride lifted off, he started hyperventilating! I grabbed one of
his hands and his wife grabbed the other and we both tried
distracting him. I ended up narrating the entire ride to him,
telling him what sequence was coming up next and getting him to
slow his breathing down by smelling the oranges and pine scents.
He did calm down a bit and by the time the ride was over, seemed
to be enjoying it. Once he was safely down on the ground, he even
said that hed like to ride it again! I dont think his wife will
let him.
Since I was in The Land pavilion, I had to take a trip through the
Greenhouse. DW and I took the walking tour, Behind the Seeds, a
few years ago, which was excellent. It gives a much more detailed
description of all of the botanical research that WDW is involved
in. I managed to get seated in a boat with an entire Brazillion
tour group. Oh Joy. They talked loudly through the entire ride and
I dont think that they were talking about plants. Why would you
spend so much money to go to WDW and then not even pay attention
to the attractions?
Bananas!
Mickey Pumpkin
Empty Epcot!
I was starting to feel a bit hungry, so I took a little detour to
Norway for a goodie. I was going to get a sweet pretzel with
almonds, but it was just too big. So, I got a School Bread
instead. I have never had School Bread and was pleasantly
surprised at how tasty it is! The coconut is perfect with the
sweetness of the filling. It was more bready and less like a donut
than I had expected. Quite good.
Have you ever noticed how the Swans are attacking the Eifel Tower
in France?
For some reason, I never noticed just how clearly you can see the
Swan/Dolphin from Epcot. It looks like its inside Epcot!
Feeling more energetic, I headed back to Future World to ride
Figment..er..Imagination. While on the way, I stopped and asked a
Photopass person to take a picture with my own camera. They never
mind doing that, but I was surprised to have two whole families
cut in front of me in line to get their photos taken and the
Photopass person didnt say a word. I guess that they figure that
families are more likely to purchase photopass pictures than
someone traveling alone? Annoying.
Look, I have a big ball on my head AND in my belly!
Figment was cute, but I miss the old Figment ride.
I had to find my buddy Nemo, so after Figment, I wandered over to
the Living Seas. I have also decided that I no longer feel like a
pregnant hippo, I feel like a manatee! Manatees eat 8 hours a day
and thats about how much Im eating! I wish I could just float
around like they do and not have to waddle around dealing with
gravity.
Speaking of eating, it was getting towards dinner time, so I
headed back to the World Showcase. I stopped in Canada and admired
the gardens and saw the Canada movie. The waterfall on the walkway
towards the movie was off! I was very surprised as Ive never seen
it not working. The walkway isnt nearly as pretty without the
waterfall.
England was about the only busy place in Epcot this evening. The
Rose and Crown was quite full and there was a long line for
fish-n-chips. It seemed like most people were hanging out in the
UK enjoying the evening and a pint or two!
As I headed over the bridge to France, I heard a familiar song
coming from Morocco! Its a very popular belly dance song called
One Thousand and One Nights, so I knew that the dancer was
performing. I waddled as fast as I could over to Morocco and saw
MoRockin and the dancer on their new stage to the right of
Morocco. The band has a bigger place to play, but the dancers
space is smaller. Im not quite sure thats fair, but I guess its
the band that is selling the CDs, not the dancer. Shes quite
good and there was a large crowd around her. I watched her and
tried not to dance too obviously, which is so hard! The music is
so compelling that it is hard to stand still.
Blurry Belly dancer pics
After the dancers set was over, I got a chicken schwarma platter
from the Tangierine Cafe, which was huge! There was a lot of
chicken, a big scoop of hummas, tabouleh, and a big piece of pita
bread. This platter is more than enough for two people and there
was no way I could even come close to eating half of it.
After dinner, I reluctantly decided that it was time to head back
to AKL. I love walking around Epcot after dark, its just so
pretty and the air feels so comfortable and soft. It was still
humid, but that nice skin rejuvenating humid that feels like
walking through silk. It was a very pleasant walk back through
England, Canada, Future World and out to the bus stop. The bus
pulled up just as I reached the bus stop and I was back at AKL by
8:00pm.
The CL offers desserts starting at 8pm, so I was right on time for
an oatmeal cookie and milk to end my day with. Plus, the pool at
night is really pretty.
Tomorrow, we have lunch reservations at Tutto Italia and the
Illuminations cruise! Woohoo! So, will DW feel up to some park
touring? Will our cruise get rained out? Will there still be food
left at the CL by the time we get up for breakfast? All these
questions, and more will be answered tomorrow night.
it's nice to see everything going on "right now."
She realized her mistake just before pulling into the AK bus stops, so we did a little detour. It was pretty funny.
Some day...although after 5 kids I've got a bit more belly to dance with...lol. 
Gotta love the mickey on the back of your dw's head...did she get the pixie dust too? You find that stuff forever, I swear. Can't wait to hear more!!
Check our your local community ed program. They usually offer some classes.
All the great pictures of AKL has me so excited for our trip.
