Hello all. Flat Sharon is back in business here. Wow, I've been gone so long that I've even forgotten my tall tale of woe here. So let's see if I can speed things up a bit and finish this saga.
We left off with Faith and Vik leaving England in a hurry. Mo and Mike are still back in France; Mo needed a glass of wine and Mike's polishing off that crepe. As the girls walk into the Canadian pavilian, there is a plethera of hats to choose from. Faith gets all excited and jumps the gun. She tells Vik that since it's their last country, they should change up the rules and select a hat for one another. Vik says, sure why not. Well Faith had already spotted the hat she was picking and since it was her turn to go first, this is what Vik gets:
Faith is laughing pretty good and believes she has finally one-upped Vik. However, she was in such a hurry once she saw this hat that she failed to look to the right as she entered the store. There sits the gem of all gems. Vik, who appears to be a little slower than Faith, actually turns out to be the sly one. So what was that selection for Faith:
Yes friends, this is my mighty boss. Or it's the love child of Bulwinkle and Miss Piggy. Or maybe it's both at the same time. No matter what you want to call it, you at least have to say it's ugly.
Now as soon as Faith fastens those chin straps, Vik loses control. Once again, a mad dash is necessary to discover the closest bathroom. This leaves Faith standing there in her headgear as unsuspecting shoppers enter the pavilian. She doesn't know whether to take it off or just leave it on. She opts to wear it as she browses the store waiting for Vik to return. You go girl, wear that thing with pride. I promise not to show anyone how stupid you look.
This now concludes the hat portion of their vacation. If you guys want to quit reading now, I'll understand. That's assuming any of you are still around. I'm not quite done with the report but really, where can a Flat Person go from here that isn't downhill?
By the time the guys catch up with Racoon and Bulwinkle, it's almost time for dinner. Shock alert here, Mike is hungry. Dinner is at Le Cellier. This was another place selected by Vik and Faith got the only ADR available for that week. Faith is not a fan of Le Cellier. Wait while I step back out of the way before you guys all start chucking spears at her for that blasphemy. Nope, not a fan. But when you invite other people on your vacations, you gotta give a little.
They enter Le Cellier. A moment of silence please. Because that's the only moment of silence from the time they stepped inside. First thing they hear is a CM telling a family that they have run out of high chairs.

Well, gee, I guess the place is going to be packed with kids. As they enter the dining area, they see their table. It's the first one as you enter the dining room.

So in addition to the hordes of high chair citizens, they are seated right by the entrance. Well, great, we know it's going to be quiet and relaxing.

Vik orders the cheddar cheese soup, the other 3 get salads. Vik is not impressed with the soup. I can say that because I was already stepped back from the prior spear throwing. Faith tried the pretzel bread and didn't like it. Duh, she doesn't like pretzels. That was fine, it left more for me:
For entrees, Mike and Vik got the maple bbq filet and Mo and Faith got the mushroom filet. Here I am tiptoeing through the risotto:
Mike and Vik liked their steaks alright, Faith and Mo did not. Faith actually only ate the greens and left the steak and risotto almost untouched. Nobody ordered dessert. That tells you how unhappy they were with their meals as Faith always gets dessert. Oh well. Can't win them all. Mo tells Faith to scratch this place from their rotation and further comments that he remembered it having better food. Faith says it's because he always drinks around the showcase first so this is his first time to eat there sober. He says he should have drank then.
After dinner, it's time for Faith's final surprise that she has for Vik. They leave the world and head back towards the Beach Club. As they get closer, Faith tells them they are going over to the Yacht Club marina. What has Faith done? Well I already know because she went on and on about it at work at the time she booked it. It was such a big deal because she had to get up at 4:00 am to call WDW. This is a woman who only gets to work on time at 8:00 am maybe one day a week. So her getting up at 4:00 is almost too much to believe. But she did it.
Faith had booked an Illuminations Cruise so that Vikki would have a great seat for the fireworks. Can we all say "ahhhhh" in unison? You're right, no bitterness here. And on top of that, she invited a fellow disboard member to join them for FREE. Faith must think she's the Dream Team or something.
So they get over to the Yacht Club marina a few minutes early. Faith tells Mo to go to the window and pay on the credit card while she goes around and tries to figure out which couple standing around is her guests. Faith finds them and fills them in on the secret--Vik still has no clue what is going on.
Here's Mike and Mo hanging out waiting:
Mo looks nice and relaxed but trust me, later on he talks to Faith about what this cost. She had failed to mention that part to him and it's a good thing he's already gray because when he went and paid on the card, he just about keeled over.
This very cute young woman approaches the group and introduces herself as Captain Tracy and helps them all get on board and gets their drinks and snacks out for them. The boat holds 10 people but Faith limited it to 6 so that everyone could sit in the front of the boat and have great views. Of course, I'm there but I don't count.
Captian Tracy heads towards Hollywood Studios and is asking trivia questions. Mo is getting all the answers right and Captain Tracy is very impressed. Faith couldn't stand it so she had to spill the beans and she tells Captain Tracy that Mo had just learned all of this stuff on the Keys to the Kingdom tour 2 days ago. So she switches gears and tells the group stuff about the Swan and Dolphin resorts and then tells them why Tower of Terror is painted that pinkish color.
The ride is very relaxing. The foursome also gets to know the other couple, who are from North Carolina. They are having a grand time. Soon it's time for the boat to park under the bridge between England and France. Mo then tells Vik what they are doing. She is so excited. And it was fun to listen to the people standing above them on the bridge trying to figure out how people got onto the boat under them.
The show was amazing. Faith has seen Illuminations on every trip but Vik was blown away. She cried. The view from that boat was priceless. Here's a shot that kind of shows how close they were:
After the show, Captain Tracy heads back to the Yacht Club and takes a picture of the group:
This was another Disney once in a lifetime memory.
As my gang heads back to the Beach Club to call it a night, Faith tells Mike and Vik that the next day, Friday, is a free day. It's their choice as to what everyone does. Faith goes to sleep dreaming of the over and over drops she imagines she'll be taking on Tower of Terror.
But what will they do on their last full day at WDW? How will Faith handle turning the reins over to someone else?