The Many Adventures of an Aussie Disney Honeymooner

[zanzibar138]

Did you eat the food without utensils?

Certainly did! It wasn't at all bad.

Vegas has got to be one of the best places in the world for people watching.

What does that mean? "flutter"?
Going out on a limb and assume it has nothing to do with acting like a butterfly.

Oh, having a flutter is Aussie slang for gambling. I have no idea why lol!

Play on the pokies??? Now what is that??

Pokies is what Aussies call slot machines. Short for poker machines I guess

Did you know for a while, back in the late '80's/early 90's, Vegas tried to sell itself as a family destination?

Back in the day, when there was still a Hooter's Hotel in Vegas, I once saw one of those travel coupon things trying to sell it as a 'romantic couples getaway'

Yeah... If I'm going to spend that kind of money, I want a better experience than that.
Try Whistler, BC.

That sounds much more worth $80. I probably would have paid $20 for the Fremont Street version. $80 is kinda ridiculous!

So... have you ever been to a Denny's? I'm going to assume not. Otherwise you wouldn't want to go there twice.

Haha my parents and I practically lived on Denny's on our last trip to DLR. Obviously we didn't think it was that bad. Probably a bit of novelty factor as we really have nothing like that in Australia. Plus it was ridiculously cheap and probably isn't anymore based on our general observations!

You an F1 fan? Or only watch it because Ben does?

I'm not enough of a fan of any sports to bother watching it on TV. Ben's grandma goes to watch it at the casino every week when it's on, and Ben often joins her. They both enjoy it. If he can, Ben will generally watch it on TV if he doesn't make it the casino. The timing is often very bad for Australia though - sometimes it doesn't start until 1am or later.

The only living "person" who can actually afford to gamble at Vegas...

They're designed to be difficult to get out of.

They definitely are!

Yeah... the outside is cool. I don't need to pay that much for a documentary.

Ben did some research and was interested to see the inside too. Seems like it's a bit of a special experience - not just your average theatre. I might have considered $40 just to see what it's all about, but $90 was way too much!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 4: In which we lose some money and zanzibar finds some fun

4.3. We so fancy​

Today we managed to stick to the meeting time of 9am. Our meeting spot was right in front of a nice looking crepe place, and I suggested that for breakfast instead of greasy pizza from the food court again. We definitely could have gone halvies!



The Fontainebleau was new since A's last trip, so he was keen to check that out. It was right up the other end of the strip to the Luxor, so we grabbed a taxi.



I was pleased to see what appeared to be some CNY decorations around.





I also managed to find a little more Disney! I would have liked to have found the shop these were from, but we didn't get to that.



Instead we checked out the gaming floor and the food court, both of which looked pretty nice. Definitely several levels above what we had at the Luxor lol! Unlike the Wynn though, this place still felt approachable enough despite being a bit fancy.





From new and fancy to... not so new and fancy lol! We crossed the road to Circus Circus.

Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

Also new to this end of the strip was the Resorts World complex. The part we walked through was pretty much just a high end shopping mall. They had a mini-Sphere, which mostly just had advertising on it, but I managed to catch it with the mirror ball image.



Ben was also excited to see an F1 shop, and went in to see if he could find a hat or something nice for Grandma. Everything was pretty expensive of course, and there was nothing there he thought she would really like. They had a limited sizing range in clothing too, so he left empty-handed.



I was pleased to see another historical acknowledgement - not sure if this was an actual sign from Stardust though, it wasn't very big.



We were in the vicinity of Peppermill, which A had heard great things about, so he suggested we go there for lunch. It was just across the road, and also happened to be right near a pharmacy, which I needed to visit. I told the guys I would meet them there, which I kind of regretted as it felt like a bit of a dodgy area! It was the only time I felt uncomfortable in Vegas. When I was done, I was surprised to see the guys still standing around out the front. Turned out there was a long line for a table and nobody could be bothered with that.

We'd also planned to do the High Roller wheel today, and spent a few minutes deciding whether to do the half hour walk or catch a taxi. Although we were acutely aware of how much money we were spending on taxis, Ben could feel his ankle starting to give him a bit of grief, so we decided to suck it up and get another taxi.

The taxi dropped us off right at the base of the wheel, where there were some ticket machines. Tickets were $28 each, which I actually considered reasonable for a half hour activity where we could sit comfortably with views of the strip. We purchased our tickets, but decided to have lunch first. A was keen to go to In-N-Out. It had quite a long line, but being fast food, we thought it would probably move quickly enough (which it did). Ben went to go find us a table while A and I waited for the food.



After lunch we were ready to head to the High Roller. Linq Promenade had a zipline too, which was also $80 so a definite no from us!



There was a little lounge area before the loading area where you could buy drinks to take on board (or just drink in the lounge). Ben lined up without bothering to look at the prices of drinks, then hastily left the line when he heard the total for the guy in front of him We also decided to skip the photo opportunity before boarding.

We were boarded with a couple of other small groups. There were probably 8 of us, and there was enough room for us all to be able to take in the views from all the different angles. It was getting a little overcast, but it stayed dry and we all enjoyed the views and even the commentary. This was one of my favourite things we did in Vegas.







We were heading out for a special dinner later that night, so we thought it was about time to head back to have a bit of a rest and freshen up. It would have been a long walk back from there, which no one was super keen on, but we were equally not keen to keep spending money on taxis. We decided to take the monorail, which was only a few $$ each, and was something else the guys hadn't done before.

It took a bit of finding to get to the platform, and it was quite busy, but it turned out to be a pretty good way to get around, and I thought we probably could have saved a couple of taxi fares if we'd discovered it earlier!

The monorail took us to MGM, and from there it was a relatively short walk through New York New York and Excalibur to get to the Luxor. We checked out the view of the rollercoaster on the way through. I had planned to do it at some stage, and probably could have managed to part with $25 for such a unique experience, but I somehow never quite made it.



Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

Back at the hotel, we organised our meeting time and place with A, and headed back up to our rooms. I took the opportunity to use the lovely soaking tub, and decided to hand wash a couple of pairs of undies and socks to get me through until we had a chance to do a proper load of washing. Then got into my nice dress and boots (which I had brought specifically for this occasion), and did my hair and makeup. In the meantime, I think Ben had a little nap and a shower. Then we headed downstairs to meet up with A, feeling pretty swish! We had considered walking to the Paris, but since we were all dressed up (and I was wearing heels), we decided to just get a taxi. Ben played photographer along the way.



We were quite early, so we decided to head over to the Bellagio for a look to fill in some time, taking in the sights of the strip on the way through. Being a Saturday night, there were plenty of party-goers all dressed up (or more to the point, dressed in hardly anything lol!).



A led us to the conservatory, where they had quite a spectacular floral display for CNY.







It was time to head back to the Paris to check in for our Eiffel Tower dinner (courtesy of A as a wedding gift).



We had gotten back more quickly than expected, so we still had a few minutes to fill in. We indulged in a round of very overpriced drinks at one of the gaming floor bars and enjoyed the theming.



It was finally time for our dinner. We checked in, and were immediately taken up in the lift. I didn't think to take a video, but I loved the way it looked like we were actually going up a lift in the Eiffel Tower. We were seated at a window table, as A had booked for us.



We decided to forgo appetizers in favour of dessert. For mains, I ordered filet mignon and Ben ordered duck. I can't remember what A ordered, but everything was delicious and we all enjoyed the views of the Bellagio fountains as we ate.



I couldn't go past the creme brulee for dessert, which was the best I've had. Ben got the chocolate hazelnut cake, which was also delicious. Both were presented beautifully, but I got a better (but still not fantastic) photo of the cake.



We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience for a special occasion.

Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

After dinner, while we were all dressed up, we'd planned to visit a couple of rooftop bars off the strip (for views of the strip). When we were done with dinner, we headed down to the taxi rank and got a taxi to the Palms. We wandered a little looking for the rooftop bar, and eventually found the entrance. To our surprise, it was free entry, but I told I would need to put my camera away. They were ok with me using my phone for photos though.

Up at the top, we were greeted with some interesting sculptures and a DJ playing Latin music.



We got our drinks and headed straight to the deck. Unfortunately the deck was surrounded by high glass fencing, but the view was pretty amazing nonetheless.



Ben and A liked the look of these rooms overlooking the strip with a private plunge pool on the balcony!



Drinks were expensive, and there was another rooftop bar nearby for us to check out, so we only stayed for the one drink.

It was only a 10 minute walk from The Palms to Rio, which I could manage in my heels, so no need to take a taxi. Rio was an older hotel, but A pointed out the tracks on the ceiling where they used to have some sort of acrobatic entertainment. At this time they were setting up for some sort of small concert.

We found the entrance to their rooftop bar, which again had free entry but wouldn't allow me to use my camera. At least both bars would still let me take it up, and just told me to keep it in the camera bag.

Here's what we came for. A completely unobstructed, perfect view of the strip!





This bar had an amazing DJ playing R&B hits and mingling with the patrons inside and outside on the deck, dancing and chatting between songs. We found some couches outside under a heater and settled in for a couple of drinks.





I was having a great time and could have stayed for hours! This was another of my favourite experiences in Vegas. But again, the drinks were expensive, and it was uncomfortably chilly for A (even though I was the one wearing a dress lol!), so at about midnight we headed back to the hotel. We made plans to meet up with A in the morning (around 9am I think) and called it a night.

 

[pkondz]

Certainly did! It wasn't at all bad.

Oh, having a flutter is Aussie slang for gambling. I have no idea why lol!

Oh!
Never would've guessed.

Pokies is what Aussies call slot machines. Short for poker machines I guess

Okay, that makes sense. I wondered if it had something to do with poker.

Back in the day, when there was still a Hooter's Hotel in Vegas, I once saw one of those travel coupon things trying to sell it as a 'romantic couples getaway'

Well... romantic for 1/2 of the couple, possibly.

Haha my parents and I practically lived on Denny's on our last trip to DLR. Obviously we didn't think it was that bad. Probably a bit of novelty factor as we really have nothing like that in Australia. Plus it was ridiculously cheap and probably isn't anymore based on our general observations!

I'm guessing it's still ridiculously cheap. I've eaten there twice. The second time because I assumed the first time it was so bad, that couldn't possibly be anything but a mistake. The mistake was in me going twice.

I'm not enough of a fan of any sports to bother watching it on TV. Ben's grandma goes to watch it at the casino every week when it's on, and Ben often joins her.

Ohhhh...

If he can, Ben will generally watch it on TV if he doesn't make it the casino. The timing is often very bad for Australia though - sometimes it doesn't start until 1am or later.

If he's a fan, tell him to consider a subscription to F1TV. It's (IMHO) fairly reasonable at about $150USD for an entire year. You can watch anything (practices, qualifications, races) either live or anytime after at your leisure. You can watch the regular feed or switch to any driver's in-car camera.

 

[Steppesister]

I was getting a little stressed trying to keep within my lane (driving from the other side of the car), get used to thinking in miles instead of kilometres,

HAHA! SEE?! Not just us going YOUR way.

We all decided it wasn't worth continuing without knowing how much longer the detour would take

Yes, I get that. With limited time, best to keep on truckin'.

Which was a bit of a problem as that's where our map was!

Yep, that is a huge problem when traveling. I've been known to just print them out anymore. Cell service, even if you HAVE data is dicey.

When we stopped to take photos, they came wandering up to the car, very interested in us and keen for pats!

Awwww!

I made Ben stop for photos at the national park sign.

It's a rule; this must be done.

That was our first stop too and like you, we didn't venture too far in. We knew it was going to get grossly hot later on and wanted to keep trekking while it was still early to see more before we could barely get out of the car.

varying textures and colours. Some looked like large piles of sand. Some had high ridges and deep valleys. Some had prominent layers of different colours. It was all fascinating.

VERY! I love Death Valley for all of that.

The road rose steadily from the hotel, somehow gaining 5,575 ft (or 1,699 m) of elevation in the 45 minute drive. It was only the last quarter mile when the road starting zigging and zagging with a 13% incline grade. We made it by about 4:30pm, just in time to see the sun disappear!

It is quite staggering the roads in that park. But so glad you got to a really nice viewpoint for the sunset. Magical!

I also loved the view behind us, where the last of the sun was still lighting up the tops of the mountains.

Wonderful colors and layers here.

YUM!

but backtracking would only add an extra 20-30 minutes and we all agreed that it would be well worth the effort to not get caught short on those isolated roads! Just a shame no one noticed that we would need petrol before we set off for the day.

Better safe than sorry. (Like me at Uluru. OY!)

Great photo of you guys!! Love the white expanse.

I think a photo like this would take some serious patience, lots of repeat visits and a bit of photoshop skill on top of that.

I'd read mixed reviews about the Devil's Golf Course, apparently named after someone's exclamation that only the devil would attempt to play golf on the rough terrain.

That was one we left out. Looks really interesting though. Lots of cool photo opps I'm sure.

Moving along, the next attraction we came to was Artist Drive. This was a one-way loop (of about 5 miles I think) that weaved through the bottom of some of the mountains, some of the which had fascinating layers of colours.

Ohhh, I loved this area sooooo much. I think that was my fave of the stops we made. It was nice reading about the various minerals that make up the layers to give them the specific colors. Magnesium, sulfur, etc...

We were getting a bit annoyed by this time, but headed next door to the general store part, where we found some pre-made salads and sandwiches. Success! We finally found someone who was willing to take our money!

Ummm, yeah, that's just weird. Glad you found something though. Sheesh!

The colors and shapes at that point are really neat. I loved our stop there.

I assumed this was Red Rock Canyon. I would have loved to stop there (and it had been pencilled in as a possibility), but it was just getting too late (and the guys still seemed 'natured out').

I've wanted to hike in there for like EVER. Every time I fly into Vegas (not often) I tell myself that someday I'd like to do that.

We ended up spending about USD $80 on a US power cord for my laptop.

Yeah, they are super $$$ here. I needed one a few months ago and it was about the same.

We no longer had time to do laundry,

Oopsies. Always a sink, but....

and promptly starting pulling out of the hotel carpark onto the wrong side of the road He quickly corrected when A and I started yelling at him!

Oh how I know this scenario. Intimatey! MOM!!!! STAY ON THE LEFT!

Ok, that's an awesome photo!

We all enjoyed the tour very much and thought it was worth the investment of USD $30 per person and an hour of our time.

That sounded amazing! I'd have loved this!

In hindsight, we should have grabbed a coffee and a snack first

Road Trip Rule #2:

Never pass up snacks if you don't have any already in the car.

(Rule #1 pertains to bathrooms)

Along the way, we came across a little kitschy shop, and decided to stop there in case they had any food. They didn't, but the distraction did us all the world of good and we got over our little grump and enjoyed looking around.

We stopped there too. LOTS of fun stuff in there.

It may not have been such a disappointing experience if we hadn't had that great encounter with the less spoilt donkeys on the way to Death Valley.

Exactly. We encountered some outside of Oatman and fed them, then completely just breezed on through the town without even stopping. We'd gotten a more authentic time with the gentle (ish) ones already.

4 nights was the negotiated minimum and, even when it was causing issues for flights and the timing of our WDW arrival, Ben was not willing to forgo any time there.

And in the end, did he feel like it was enough? Too much?

I just remember it being loud and crowded and chaotic and crazy

That's what I found too. I can't handle much more than a day or two there.

deciding factor for me was the nice deep soaking tub in the bathroom

YES!!! This!

Ben didn't like his first cocktail, so I finished it for him... well, when in Vegas

What happens in Vegas...

I was feeling a bit seedy after that last drink

"seedy"

I'd never heard that term in that context before. Huh!

overpriced pizza, and I got an overpriced Coke.

That's Vegas....

The last thing he wanted to show us was the golden nugget.

I had no idea that was even a thing! Who knew!

At the end of the street, we found a White Castle and a Denny's, and decided on White Castle which, for any non-Americans following along, basically just do sliders. It was a pretty average experience with pretty average food, but it did the job for a decent price. I was actually a bit sad that we didn't end up going to a Denny's at all on this trip!

They fill the void and that's about all. Fun story, my sister had an acquaintance who had spent some time in prison and he said that White Castle was actually the only food he's eaten that was worse.

I saw this seemingly random neon hanging in a void over the escalators, and was pleased to read that she had been rescued from the previous building that was there. Apparently she was quite well-known and even had a name - Vegas Vicky.

I remember this as a kid from when I visited with my grandfolks, I think.

Cool!!

Although we were acutely aware of how much money we were spending on taxis, Ben could feel his ankle starting to give him a bit of grief, so we decided to suck it up and get another taxi.

Uh oh! I hope this doesn't come into play at Disney. :/

WHOA! What a view and great photo!

Then got into my nice dress and boots (which I had brought specifically for this occasion), and did my hair and makeup. In the meantime, I think Ben had a little nap and a shower. Then we headed downstairs to meet up with A, feeling pretty swish!

Swank! Nice! It's fun to get fancy now and then on vacay!

We decided to forgo appetizers in favour of dessert. For mains, I ordered filet mignon and Ben ordered duck. I can't remember what A ordered, but everything was delicious and we all enjoyed the views of the Bellagio fountains as we ate.

I always do the opposite, not being much of a sweets fan, but wow, what an awesome view, and the dinner sounded delicious!

Great photo of you two!

 

[pkondz]

Today we managed to stick to the meeting time of 9am.

Impressive. I presume A didn't have quite the late night as the previous one.

Our meeting spot was right in front of a nice looking crepe place, and I suggested that for breakfast instead of greasy pizza from the food court again.

Crepes > pizza for breakfast.
Pizza > crepes for dinner

The Fontainebleau was new since A's last trip,

Never seen it. New since my last visit, too.

I also managed to find a little more Disney! I would have liked to have found the shop these were from, but we didn't get to that.

I know where the shop is. Just a few miles to the West... in Anaheim.

From new and fancy to... not so new and fancy lol! We crossed the road to Circus Circus.

I'm going to assume you posted this because of the movie "Big"?

Also new to this end of the strip was the Resorts World complex.

New to me, too.

Ben was also excited to see an F1 shop

Oh, cool! I'll need to remember this, next time I visit.

Everything was pretty expensive of course,

In Vegas? Expensive? How odd!

They had a limited sizing range in clothing too, so he left empty-handed.

Well, shoot.

I was pleased to see another historical acknowledgement - not sure if this was an actual sign from Stardust though, it wasn't very big.

Guessing it's not original... but the font looks right (from memory.)

Ben could feel his ankle starting to give him a bit of grief, so we decided to suck it up and get another taxi.

Probably a good call, then.

Tickets were $28 each, which I actually considered reasonable for a half hour activity where we could sit comfortably with views of the strip.

A was keen to go to In-N-Out.

And? What was the verdict?
I find their burgers to be not bad compared to other large chains, but otherwise, just okay.

There was a little lounge area before the loading area where you could buy drinks to take on board (or just drink in the lounge). Ben lined up without bothering to look at the prices of drinks, then hastily left the line when he heard the total for the guy in front of him

we all enjoyed the views and even the commentary. This was one of my favourite things we did in Vegas.

Commentary too? Interesting. Was it historical or geographical (or both) in nature?

We decided to take the monorail, which was only a few $$ each, and was something else the guys hadn't done before.

Nor have I.

The monorail took us to MGM, and from there it was a relatively short walk through New York New York and Excalibur to get to the Luxor.

You could've then taken the free tram from NYNY to Luxor. Have taken that one many times.

I took the opportunity to use the lovely soaking tub,

mmmm... soaking tub....

feeling pretty swish!

I bet you did!

there were plenty of party-goers all dressed up (or more to the point, dressed in hardly anything lol!).

A led us to the conservatory, where they had quite a spectacular floral display for CNY.

I love the conservatory there. I've never been disappointed. And the Chihuly glass display in the lobby is stunning.

It was time to head back to the Paris to check in for our Eiffel Tower dinner (courtesy of A as a wedding gift).

Very nice.

We decided to forgo appetizers in favour of dessert.

I need to remember this...

For mains, I ordered filet mignon and Ben ordered duck.

Both sound yummy.

we all enjoyed the views of the Bellagio fountains as we ate.

Very nice. How high up is the restaurant? First level? Surely not at the top. I'd think that would be too small.

I couldn't go past the creme brulee for dessert

To our surprise, it was free entry, but I told I would need to put my camera away. They were ok with me using my phone for photos though.

Huh. I wonder why?

Beautiful view

Rio was an older hotel, but A pointed out the tracks on the ceiling where they used to have some sort of acrobatic entertainment.

I remember there were scantily clad women who would float by. I never saw it in person, but I remember the advertising for it. I think I saw it in a movie once, too.

Fun photo of you two.

 

[zanzibar138]

If he's a fan, tell him to consider a subscription to F1TV. It's (IMHO) fairly reasonable at about $150USD for an entire year. You can watch anything (practices, qualifications, races) either live or anytime after at your leisure. You can watch the regular feed or switch to any driver's in-car camera.

I think we've got enough subscriptions Might be through Kayo, but he does have access to all the races to watch live or later.

Impressive. I presume A didn't have quite the late night as the previous one.

No, we were all pretty sensible the second night. I think even A said he was in bed before midnight.

Crepes > pizza for breakfast.
Pizza > crepes for dinner

Those crepes > that (gross greasy food court) pizza anytime!

I know where the shop is. Just a few miles to the West... in Anaheim.

I'm going to assume you posted this because of the movie "Big"?

Yes, Ben was excited to see them because of that movie. The novelty wore off pretty quick though, they were pretty much everywhere in Vegas lol!

In Vegas? Expensive? How odd!

Not including accommodation and park tickets, we found Vegas to be more expensive than WDW (for food, drinks, add on experiences etc).

And? What was the verdict?

I'm not really a fan of burgers, so probably not the best person to ask. To me, a burger is a burger. I actually prefer fast food burgers as restaurant burgers sometimes tend to be soggy and gross and messy to eat.

Commentary too? Interesting. Was it historical or geographical (or both) in nature?

Mostly historical. I always find it so interesting to listen to when doing tours and things, but my brain just can't seem to retain anything history-based!

You could've then taken the free tram from NYNY to Luxor. Have taken that one many times.

I think the guys had taken that one previously, but we never bothered on this trip. Based on our experience walking around the hotels, it may have taken us longer to find the tram stop than to just walk

Very nice. How high up is the restaurant? First level? Surely not at the top. I'd think that would be too small.

I had to google it. Apparently it's on the 11th floor. It didn't seem that high, but my sense of perspective was out a little bit in Vegas!

Huh. I wonder why?

Apparently it was to stop professional photographers from going up there to take photos to sell.

I remember there were scantily clad women who would float by. I never saw it in person, but I remember the advertising for it. I think I saw it in a movie once, too.

Yes, A did say something about a movie. It might have been one of the James Bonds

 

[zanzibar138]

Ooh, you got all caught up!

HAHA! SEE?! Not just us going YOUR way.

Oh definitely. Driving a car from the opposite side is difficult either way!

Yep, that is a huge problem when traveling. I've been known to just print them out anymore. Cell service, even if you HAVE data is dicey.

I wasn't too concerned about losing service in Death Valley as it all looked pretty easy to navigate with just one major road through. I forgot to mention, but we also had the same thing leaving Zabriskie Point. I was happy to just go with it as long as we could get directions up before we got to Vegas!

That was our first stop too and like you, we didn't venture too far in. We knew it was going to get grossly hot later on and wanted to keep trekking while it was still early to see more before we could barely get out of the car.

It must be stupidly uncomfortable in the height of summer! I was very pleased that we visited in winter.

VERY! I love Death Valley for all of that.

Better safe than sorry. (Like me at Uluru. OY!)

I may actually have told the guys your anecdote at the time I think you'd just posted about it a few days earlier.

I think a photo like this would take some serious patience, lots of repeat visits and a bit of photoshop skill on top of that.

And/or some serious luck.

The colors and shapes at that point are really neat. I loved our stop there.

I would have loved to have spent more time there and checked out some of the trails.

Oh how I know this scenario. Intimately! MOM!!!! STAY ON THE LEFT!

Ok, that's an awesome photo!

Thank you! I also took one looking down, and couldn't decide which one to post as I think the one looking down better shows the 'vertigo-ness'. So here's a little bonus content for you

Road Trip Rule #2:

Never pass up snacks if you don't have any already in the car.

(Rule #1 pertains to bathrooms)

They both sound like very sensible road trip rules.

Exactly. We encountered some outside of Oatman and fed them, then completely just breezed on through the town without even stopping. We'd gotten a more authentic time with the gentle (ish) ones already.

For us it was worth stopping for the old wild west town experience, but it would have been nicer to arrive before everything started closing up!

And in the end, did he feel like it was enough? Too much?

You'll find out in my next post, but by the last day he'd had enough. A was still enjoying it though and even stayed an extra couple of nights after we left!

That's what I found too. I can't handle much more than a day or two there.

After my last experience, I was actually surprised by how well I coped. I think arriving on a Thursday worked well - it gave me a chance to ease into the experience a bit before the weekend crowds hit.

"seedy"

I'd never heard that term in that context before. Huh!

Oh! That's the only context I know! How would you use 'seedy'?

They fill the void and that's about all. Fun story, my sister had an acquaintance who had spent some time in prison and he said that White Castle was actually the only food he's eaten that was worse.

I'd believe that.

Uh oh! I hope this doesn't come into play at Disney. :/

Spoiler alert... it does a little.

Swank! Nice! It's fun to get fancy now and then on vacay!

We had several opportunities to get dressed up on this trip and it was always fun!

Great photo of you two!

Thank you, I love that shot too!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 4: In which we lose some money and zanzibar finds some fun

4.4. The calm before the storm​

Waking up for our final day in Vegas, Ben had decided he'd had enough. He was tired, over walking aimlessly through casinos and really over spending money. He knew we were going to have a big 2 weeks ahead of us at WDW (not to mention the very big travel day we had directly ahead of us!), and he wanted to save our money and energy. So he called A to tell him to just do his own thing for the day, and we'd meet up later for our planned evening activity. We leisurely got ready to head down for breakfast on our own.

The best compromise of price, convenience and nutritional value was the frozen yoghurt where we'd gotten crepes the day before.



They charged for frozen yoghurt by weight, which worked well for us since I tend to eat smaller servings. There was also a massive toppings bar.



I got a mix of strawberry and vanilla yoghurt with a selection of fruit, crushed peanuts and a tiny drizzle of the berry sauce. It was one of the best breakfasts on the trip! It was actually more yoghurt than I would have normally given myself, because it kind of came out in clumps.



While we were downstairs, we grabbed a few snacks and drinks from the store to get us through the day.

We spent the day resting, watching TV and getting our luggage organised. I had another bath. Ben had another nap. After seeing how quickly my clothes had dried after hand washing, Ben decided he would do a few things too. I decided to wash one pair of jeans to get me through, with the understanding that I would need to spend some time on them with the hairdryer. Ben didn't quite understand the concept and pretty much emptied his entire laundry bag into the bath including several t-shirts and shorts lol! And then hung everything up still pretty wet and all scrunched together. I knew it would never dry like that, so I helped him wring everything out a bit more and wrap it up tight in a towel to get as much moisture out as possible, and then spread it out as much as I could. Spoiler alert... much of it was still pretty damp the next morning. Ben didn't do any more hand washing after that

Later in the day, we met up with A, who had bought us all tickets to an ice hockey game (or as you guys call it, just plain hockey ). The stadium was super close, just on the other side of New York New York. I enjoyed seeing it from a different angle and took a few more photos as we walked past.





I really liked the area around the stadium, which had some great sculptures. It doesn't really come across in this photo, but as we got closer to the arena, there were so many people wearing gold, and those who weren't were wearing black. I felt like I was going to stand out a lot in my bright pink puffer jacket lol!



We arrived super early, as we didn't really know what the done thing was. Ben and I hadn't really had lunch, so it gave us time to get something to eat before getting settled in our seats. If I'd thought Vegas was expensive, we hadn't seen nothing yet! I can't remember if we bought A's as well, but I do remember the total cost was $80. For 2-3 tiny hot dogs and 2-3 drinks. The hot dogs were good though!



After enjoying our tiny hot dogs, we made our way to our seats to get settled for the game. We were there for the experience more than the game (none of us know a single thing about ice hockey), so A had just got us cheap seats right at the top.



To show just how much I don't know about ice hockey, I actually thought the game was starting when the players came out for a warm-up, and were surprised at how empty the stadium still was It didn't take too long to figure out what was going on, and it turned out to very obvious when the game was actually starting! It was all very theatrical, with drummers and dancers and mascots and props and lighting effects. For a moment I wondered if we'd actually ended up at some sort of hockey-themed theatre show instead It was quite the spectacle and definitely worth experiencing.

Once the game started, it was quite interesting watching the players, the reactions when the Knights got a goal, and the sweepers that periodically came out to maintain the ice. I hoped against hope that they would not show us on the big screen, which thankfully they did not!

At what I thought was half time, they had a bit of a competition for members from the audience and a little show with the dancers and drummers. I was pretty much done by then. I'd had the experience of attending the game, I generally had no idea what was going on, and I had no vested interest in the scores. Plus it was freezing in there and I'd had to put my gloves on! I thought I could sit through another 20 minute period (which of course was far longer than that with all the interruptions to play), and it would be pretty interesting to see what kind of spectacle they had at the end if the Knights won.



Well, as most of you reading along would probably know, an ice hockey game actually has 3 periods, so we weren't even halfway yet! I realised when Ben turned to me halfway through the second period and said 'halfway through' I think even Ben was ready to leave after the second period, but we dutifully sat through the third as well. It actually got a little bit exciting towards the end, and the Knights ended up winning! I got my video ready to roll as we counted down to the end, ready to capture whatever spectacle was going to happen to celebrate the win, and...

Nothing.

Literally, the players just left the ice and people just got up and started leaving. So disappointing after the big fanfare at the start of the game.

So we just got up and left too. Down the never-ending escalator of death with what felt like every other person in Vegas and out onto the street amidst the celebrations. A bought a souvenir hockey puck, and we headed on for one last group dinner in Vegas. We'd past a bar at New York New York that seemed appropriate. It seemed like it might be the official post-game hangout, with lots of Golden Knights signs and such. The food wasn't memorable. I think I had some sort of chicken sandwich.

After dinner, we wandered back through another new-to-me section of New York New York. I really enjoyed the theming in that area. It's the type of thing I wish we'd done more of rather than spending so much time wandering through gaming floors.



We said our goodbyes to A and headed back up to our room to prepare for our early morning departure the following day.

I was surprised how much I'd enjoyed our time in Vegas. I think I actually ended up having a better time than Ben! We did spend a lot of time following A through gaming floors and around fairly generic hotels and casinos. I would have preferred to spend more time in the more heavily themed areas of hotels, and spent less money on taxis and drinks at generic bars. Now I'm the one who feels like I've got unfinished business in Vegas, and Ben is the one not interested in going back lol!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 4: In which we lose some money and zanzibar finds some fun

4.5. Goodbye Vegas, hello Disney!​

We were super excited to be beginning our Disney adventures today! But first, we had the 4+ hour Spirit Airlines flight to Tampa, departing at 8:40am. Then the drive to WDW of what seemed to be highly variable timing based on traffic, but we were estimating about 2 hours.



We woke early and packed the last of our things. Most of Ben's washing was still damp so he just had to put it in a plastic bag in his suitcase. We were checked out and in the taxi on the way to the airport by 6am.

The airport wasn't too busy, and we found it fairly easy to manage, although Ben had forgotten about the very rigorous security screening in the US (we're not used to having to take our shoes off, and for domestic flights within Australia, we can take through liquids and can now even leave our laptops in our bags for screening).

The airport wasn't at all like I remembered from my last trip - it may have been renovated since then as I remember it being a lot older! But I do remember the last minute opportunity to lose all your money.



We went to find our gate first, and Ben waited with the carry on bags while I went to find something for breakfast. I found a 'waffle bowl' for me and a brekky wrap for Ben, which I took back to the gate.



After a while, we were called for boarding. Given the premium nature of our trip and our luggage requirements, I'd booked the 'comfy' package, which came with a spare seat between us, checked luggage, a snack and a drink during the trip, and of course priority boarding. By the time I'd added all the luggage we would need to the base fare, there wasn't that much of a difference. We hadn't really been taking notice of the time, and had been engrossed in playing games on our phones when they called for boarding. I like to be organised with everything that I'll need out of my bag before I get on the plane, and by the time I'd got myself organised, they were already calling the next group lol! Still, we were early enough boarding that there was no problem fitting our carry on bags into the overhead storage.



I gave Ben the window seat, and he got some photos along the way.







I certainly wouldn't bother to 'upgrade' to comfy again unless the fare difference was very minimal. It was nice to have the spare seat between us, but that table was permanent and it would have been nice to configure the row how we wanted. The snack and drink were also pretty lame. We got a small cookie and half a can of Coke poured into a cup. I was very glad that we'd had a proper breakfast and also bought drinks to take on the plane.

After a couple of movies, we were coming to land at Tampa. We got a bit of swaying again approaching the runway, but nothing like we had gotten in LA, and it was another nice smooth landing.

Tampa airport took a bit of navigating! We had to take a little shuttle to the luggage area. From there we followed what seemed like a thousand signs to the rental car pick up area, which we ended up needing to catch another shuttle for. I hadn't bothered to check our reservation and thought I'd remembered it being through Enterprise. Oops! That was the last one. Turned out this one was with Alamo. The people at both places seemed like they were losing patience and couldn't be bothered with us, but we did eventually get checked in, bought some snacks and drinks at the little kiosk on the way out to the carpark, and just took the first car we came across, which was some type of Ford SUV.



It was about 5pm by the time we left the carpark, so we did definitely hit some traffic going through Tampa. It seemed like it would never end actually! But it did eventually, and soon we were coming to a most magical sight!



By the time we found the car care centre and stopped for petrol, it was definitely coming up for 2 hours of driving, and we just made it in time to catch the last shuttle.



And without further ado, we were on our way to the Poly!

 

[pkondz]

Might be through Kayo, but he does have access to all the races to watch live or later.

Then that works.

No, we were all pretty sensible the second night. I think even A said he was in bed before midnight.

It's a Vegas miracle!

Yes, Ben was excited to see them because of that movie. The novelty wore off pretty quick though, they were pretty much everywhere in Vegas lol!

Not including accommodation and park tickets, we found Vegas to be more expensive than WDW (for food, drinks, add on experiences etc).

I didn't know that was possible.

restaurant burgers sometimes tend to be soggy and gross and messy to eat.

But... that's what makes them so good!

Based on our experience walking around the hotels, it may have taken us longer to find the tram stop than to just walk

I believe you!

Apparently it was to stop professional photographers from going up there to take photos to sell.

Ohhhhh...

Yes, A did say something about a movie. It might have been one of the James Bonds

I was thinking the same. I seem to remember one lady floating by and then James Bond being dealt a card from the bottom of the deck which had instructions for him on it. Older Bond... But not sure how old.

 

[pkondz]

Ben had decided he'd had enough. He was tired, over walking aimlessly through casinos and really over spending money.

That'll do it, alright.

The best compromise of price, convenience and nutritional value was the frozen yoghurt

Another breakfast that I'd not think of. I mean... why not??

I got a mix of strawberry and vanilla yoghurt with a selection of fruit, crushed peanuts and a tiny drizzle of the berry sauce. It was one of the best breakfasts on the trip!

Really! I'm gonna guess you didn't do the Mickey waffles that everyone raves about, then.

I had another bath.

Soaker tub... how could you not??

Ben didn't quite understand the concept and pretty much emptied his entire laundry bag into the bath including several t-shirts and shorts lol! And then hung everything up still pretty wet and all scrunched together.

Ben didn't do any more hand washing after that

No, I bet not.

(or as you guys call it, just plain hockey ).

The stadium was super close, just on the other side of New York New York.

Ah! So that's where it is.

there were so many people wearing gold, and those who weren't were wearing black. I felt like I was going to stand out a lot in my bright pink puffer jacket lol!

Come up here and you'll see a sea of white.

I can't remember if we bought A's as well, but I do remember the total cost was $80. For 2-3 tiny hot dogs and 2-3 drinks.

Never go to a hockey game hungry.
Unless you have an unlimited supply of money.

What the heck is that? No mustard? No onions? Nothing???????

We were there for the experience more than the game (none of us know a single thing about ice hockey)

That would be me with cricket.

To show just how much I don't know about ice hockey, I actually thought the game was starting when the players came out for a warm-up, and were surprised at how empty the stadium still was

It was all very theatrical, with drummers and dancers and mascots and props and lighting effects.

That's Vegas. Other venues don't do that. In Vegas, you need to get the non-hockey fans in the building. Here... not necessary.

I hoped against hope that they would not show us on the big screen, which thankfully they did not!

No Kiss-cam for you?

At what I thought was half time

You look warm... and pretty happy.

I got my video ready to roll as we counted down to the end, ready to capture whatever spectacle was going to happen to celebrate the win, and...

Nothing.

Literally, the players just left the ice and people just got up and started leaving. So disappointing after the big fanfare at the start of the game.

There's 82 games in a season. Way too many to have any kind of a celebration other than usually a perfunctory nod to the winning goalie. Celebrations get a bit more involved during the playoffs. But even then, only later on when the championship is decided.

I remember this area.

Now I'm the one who feels like I've got unfinished business in Vegas, and Ben is the one not interested in going back lol!

Goodbye Vegas, hello Disney!

From one expensive frying pan into the almost equally expensive fire!

We were super excited to be beginning our Disney adventures today!

Most of Ben's washing was still damp

for domestic flights within Australia, we can take through liquids

In any size?

I do remember the last minute opportunity to lose all your money.

Wouldn't be Vegas without that.

I'd booked the 'comfy' package, which came with a spare seat between us,

Sad. Newly married and already something has come between you.

Sphere!

The snack and drink were also pretty lame. We got a small cookie and half a can of Coke poured into a cup.

Wow. Really?
So... basically what everyone else got? Or did the rest of the passengers get nothing at all?

The people at both places seemed like they were losing patience and couldn't be bothered with us

I guess... Florida. They must get millions of customers every year. Must lead to burnout.

Well someone looks pretty happy.

Always such a happy/wonderful sight!

 

[zanzibar138]

But... that's what makes them so good!

Really! I'm gonna guess you didn't do the Mickey waffles that everyone raves about, then.

I did say one of the best brekkies... it's pretty hard to beat Mickey waffles!

Never go to a hockey game hungry.
What the heck is that? No mustard? No onions? Nothing???????

We did want the full experience, so hot dogs were pretty much a must-do anyway, although it may have been part of the experience we were willing to miss if we'd realised just how expensive they would be!

I like plain food I ordered my hot dog with no onion and did not visit the condiments bar.

That would be me with cricket.

That is also me with cricket

That's Vegas. Other venues don't do that. In Vegas, you need to get the non-hockey fans in the building. Here... not necessary.

Oh, that makes sense then. Friends who have attended baseball or basketball games over there have also commented on all the 'extras' so we just assumed that's how it was for all sports.

You look warm... and pretty happy.

It was still early lol!

There's 82 games in a season. Way too many to have any kind of a celebration other than usually a perfunctory nod to the winning goalie. Celebrations get a bit more involved during the playoffs. But even then, only later on when the championship is decided.

Wow that's a lot of games! I googled it - there are 23 games in an AFL season.

From one expensive frying pan into the almost equally expensive fire!

In any size?

There's no restrictions on liquids for domestic flights in Australia.

Sad. Newly married and already something has come between you.

So... basically what everyone else got? Or did the rest of the passengers get nothing at all?

People who paid a basic fare got nothing.

Well someone looks pretty happy.

That was before we hit traffic lol!

 

[zanzibar138]

Chapter 5: In which DH meets a mouse

5.1. A magic first night at the Magic Kingdom​

I'll pick up from our arrival at the Poly. I hadn't bothered with online check-in so we waited at the front desk. I had submitted a room request (with a sneaky mention of our honeymoon) for a third floor room, preferably on the west end of the building (I knew we would get Moorea as we had booked a lake view studio). We were assigned room 3038, literally the furthest room from the lobby at the east end of the Moorea building lol! It sure was a hike, but I was thrilled to have a third floor room, and to have an end room with only one neighbour. I was a little surprised that there was no acknowledgement of our honeymoon (might have been nice to be given buttons or even a congratulatory card or message of some description), but otherwise it was everything I'd hoped for.











It was around 7:30pm by the time we were settled in our room and planning our next move, which was a little later than I'd hoped. We had tickets for the AH party at MK that night, so we had a few options - hang out in the room to watch the fireworks, and then head to MK from the TTC; head to the lobby to get something to eat and watch the fireworks from there, then catch the monorail to MK; or just head straight over to MK and try to catch the fireworks in the park. We of course went with the third option

By the time we got organised to go, it was looking less and less likely that we would get there in time for the fireworks, but we thought we'd probably have a decent view from the lake anyway, so we went ahead with the plan. There was a handy staircase at the end of the building and from there just a short walk to the TTC. We went through security with no issues, pleased that we had a chance to trial all this when it was quiet rather than during the chaos of the morning rush. Pretty much everyone in the area headed to the monorail, only a few of us headed towards the ferry.



We waited for a few minutes, then one of the CMs there told us there was some sort of delay with the ferry, so everyone else that was left turned around and headed to the monorail after all. We weren't in any hurry so we chose to wait it out for the ferry. It was probably only a 10 minute wait, and we had the entire ferry to ourselves. Literally, there was not one other guest on it!



As we were leaving the dock, the fireworks started. It was cool to be getting closer and closer as we were watching.



Only trouble was, it was only a short ferry ride, and a long fireworks show! We arrived well before the show finished and had to get off the ferry. We lingered at the turnstiles for a while.



After a few minutes, we decided to head in and watch the rest of the show from inside the park. We found the line for AH ticket holders and got our wrist bands on the way through, then watched some more of the show from near the train station.



We thought the show was finishing, so we headed to the right and down the little side path that runs parallel to Main Street, hoping to avoid the worst of the crowds. Only to find that the show wasn't finished yet! So we hung there for a few more minutes to see the end of it.

Once the show finished, we carried on down the pathway, only to find that if we'd walked a few more metres, we would have been able to see the castle for the last few minutes of the show Luckily we would have plenty more opportunities to see the fireworks over the castle.

Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

Once the fireworks finished, we were keen to just find an out of the way spot to have something to eat and drink while we waited out the mad rush. Following the path we were on took us through Tomorrowland Terrace and into the middle of Tomorrowland. The first place we came across was the Lunching Pad. There was nothing super appealing about it, but we couldn't really be bothered battling the crowds and I wasn't familiar enough with the park to know where anything was. In hindsight, it probably would have been worth keeping going to Starlight Cafe. Nonetheless, we grabbed a couple of hot dogs and some drinks and sat comfortably while the park emptied out a bit. Not really an issue, but when we read that the hot dogs came with 'chips', we were expecting fries, and were slightly taken aback to be handed packets of crisps before we realised our error lol!



When we'd finished with dinner, we thought we'd explore Tomorrowland while we were there. There was a short wait for the People Mover, so that became our official first ride at WDW! It was a good one to get a bit of an overview of the land.



Next we tried the Carrousel of Progress. I didn't know quite what to expect, and was surprised that it was the theatre that moved instead of the stage! Ben took the opportunity for a short nap lol!



Buzz had a short wait too, so we hit that next. Ben's a bit of a gamer so I thought he'd enjoy this one, but despite kicking my butt, he thought it was a bit 'meh'.



Look at that concentration!



By that time, it was just about closing time for MK. We decided to head to Pirates first and then make our way back. By the time we got to Pirates, I think the party had officially started, and it was a walk on. The whole of Adventureland and Frontierland was pretty empty, with Pirates being the only ride available in that part of the park. I took the opportunity to get some empty park photos.





Next we did Haunted Mansion, which was also a walk on. When we were done with HM, it was about half an hour to the special fireworks show, so we headed to the hub via the Tangled bathrooms.



We picked up some drinks and Mickey bars on the way through, and found a nice spot on the curb to sit and eat them in front of the castle.

We still had time to kill before the show started, so we decided to get some Photopass photos while we were in the area. They also show how empty the hub still was about 15 minutes before the start of the fireworks show.





Continued in next post...

 

[zanzibar138]

With about 5 minutes to go until show time, we settled into a spot on the little rise in front of the castle, and waited for the show to start. For those who are familiar with the different MK fireworks shows, the special show for the AH party was actually Enchanted, not HEA. I would have loved to see Wishes!

We had the most incredible view, with plenty of space around us and no jostling during the show. I got so many great photos, it's pretty hard to narrow it down for the sake of this post! I would go to another AH party just for this experience











I'd thought after the fireworks we might ride Peter Pan, but it seemed that many others had the same idea, and the wait time jumped up to 25 minutes. I know, still pretty good, but I didn't deem it the best use of our time. Instead, we jumped onto IASW (which was a walk on), hoping there would be a shorter wait for Peter Pan afterwards.



Unfortunately the wait time had only dropped to 20 minutes, but we figured that was as good as we would get, so jumped in line. I was hoping it might be shorter than what was posted, but it was pretty accurate.

After Peter Pan we headed for Seven Dwarves, which by that time also had a 20 minute wait. We grabbed more drinks on the way through and thought we'd try the Mickey ice-cream sandwiches. Maybe not the best idea before getting on a rollercoaster I was ok since it was just a little rollercoaster, but Ben wasn't feeling the best by the end of it. He was going to sit down for a few minutes, but I convinced him to try Winnie the Pooh since we were literally walking past and it was a walk on. In his state, he could have done without the bouncing along with Tigger part, but was otherwise feeling ok afterwards.



We were quickly running out of time! The wait for Tron was down to 30 minutes, but I just wanted to make sure I was in line before closing. We still had about half an hour, so we started to make a bee line for Tron. Along the way, we got distracted by Dumbo, which was also a walk on.



When we finally got to Tron, I left Ben at the bottom of the walkway with the bags, and headed up just with my phone. It felt like a much shorter wait than 30 minutes, and I was in the loading area before I knew it. It was just as much fun as I remembered!



It definitely had been a far shorter wait time than posted, because when I got off the ride, we still had nearly 10 minutes left until closing. I power-walked back to the start of the line and just made it in time for a second ride! That wait was even shorter, and I probably could have gone for 1 more ride if I'd pushed it, but I was pretty happy with 2 in a row, and instead just enjoyed an empty Tomorrowland as I made my way back to Ben.



Unfortunately Ben hadn't been able to find any more drink carts in the immediate area while I was riding Tron, and everything had shut down by the time we were leaving (including the bathrooms apparently!). We made our way out to the exit and joined the crowds heading to the ferry back across to the TTC. We were wondering if everyone would fit, but those ferries are massive and can take a LOT of people!

After a short walk back from the TTC, we were back up at our room and very ready to turn in for the night!

 

[MPD]

We had the most incredible view, with plenty of space around us and no jostling during the show. I got so many great photos, it's pretty hard to narrow it down for the sake of this post! I would go to another AH party just for this experience

I agree completely with this! We are doing the AH event in May and this is one of the main reasons - I LOVE watching the fireworks with about 100 people instead of thousands! I'm really enjoying your whole report but had to comment on this bit

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Wow your fireworks pictures came out great!