Well, that didn't go just quite as planned ..... an Aug/Sept 17 Update 07/12

[dizneeat]

So happy that your headmistress was understanding!

Yes, both of them were so understanding. They were/are the best.

Glad you could extend the stay in your room (hopefully you had travel insurance to cover it!

Yes to travel insurance - no to covering it. Somehow they found a loophole to get out of it, but we were just grateful we were able to have a roof over our heads.

Why am I not shocked you and Tom got Krispy Kremes?!?!?!

I've never had dinner at the Wave...looks yummy!

This can easily be changed when we see you in the summer.

 

[jedijill]

You are an updating machine today! Another fun MNSSHP in the books!

Jill in CO

 

[jedijill]

Yes, both of them were so understanding. They were/are the best.



Yes to travel insurance - no to covering it. Somehow they found a loophole to get out of it, but we were just grateful we were able to have a roof over our heads.



This can easily be changed when we see you in the summer.

Grrrr on the trip insurance loophole!

Yasss!!!! We are going to need to make some plans soon!

Jill in CO

 

[Lesley Wake]

So, we gathered all our shopping bags and off we went for another visit to Publix.
But before we hit Publix we paid a visit to Krispy Kreme for a fresh hot doughnut or two.

Oooh, that would have been nice to have in the room during the hurricane! We just had random packaged goods (staying at POFQ)

ow I wanted to try one of their special desserts they offered. The little stand at Liberty Square sold the one I wanted to try, the

I got the one from Aloha Isle with the Gray Stuff. It was super yummy!

 

[dizneeat]

You are an updating machine today! Another fun MNSSHP in the books!

Jill in CO

I need to finish that baby. It's been over a year and a half and I have another TR waiting to be posted ........

Grrrr on the trip insurance loophole!

Welcome to Europe!

Yasss!!!! We are going to need to make some plans soon!

YES, definitely! Pam and JJ tried to book the Tour we are on and they closed booking - I wonder if it will get cancelled sooner or later.

Oooh, that would have been nice to have in the room during the hurricane! We just had random packaged goods (staying at POFQ)

Yes, it came in handy for a tasty breakfast. A few seconds in the microwave and they were as good as fresh. Thankfully we had had the car to do some grocery shopping before Irma arrived.

I got the one from Aloha Isle with the Gray Stuff. It was super yummy!

They were so cute - and they were really good as well. I wish they had had something like it the following year.

 

[jedijill]

I have the Phone # for the lady that called me about the tour. Wonder if there is any use in calling and see if they can book Pam and JJ directly since we are all one group...

Jill in CO

 

[jenseib]

Finally had a chance to catch up! Love all the updates!
What a fun time you have been having. I am glad you were able to get an extended stay. I have had to work on the other end while clients struggle on what to do and it is not fun. Phone lines are crazy long waits and half the time when you get through they can't do much in the way of help..or you can call 3 times and get 7 different answers.

 

[dizneeat]

Finally had a chance to catch up! Love all the updates!

That's what I do all the time ......... catching up. Glad you found the time.

I am glad you were able to get an extended stay. I have had to work on the other end while clients struggle on what to do and it is not fun. Phone lines are crazy long waits and half the time when you get through they can't do much in the way of help..or you can call 3 times and get 7 different answers.

Lines were long at the front desk, but they had every place manned and they were really working hard. It must have been horrible on your end dealing with all those clients who needed to be rebooked or extended stays. We were really lucky to be able to stay put where we were. Turned out we had a great spot, as we were really sheltered from the storm.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 18, September 08

Getting ready for the storm - part 1

We slept in a bit, had some breakfast out of the fridge and then changed into our bathing suits and off we went to Stormalong Bay.

The sun was shining and it was nice and warm and you would not have thought that a storm was approaching while we spent some time in the lazy river, the sand bottom pool and the hot tub.
After a while we would just lounge and enjoy the sun before we were heading into the pool again.
We got out of the pool shortly after 11, went back to the room to shower and get dressed and then headed over to Epcot for another Culinary demonstration.

This time done by Pam Brandon, Katie Farmand and Heather McPherson and they were going to talk about and cook some beef.

We made it to the Festival Center

about 10 minutes before the demonstration began

and quickly found some seats close to the stage. It started right on time,

but this was different from the demonstration we had seen before. The three ladies talked more about the cookbooks they had written, than the food they were going to prepare and we were bored pretty soon.

The finished product, Taco’s,

didn’t look anything like what they had cooked in the end.

Once the demonstration was over we walked through the festival store and stayed for a little more time and saw the three ladies sitting at a table for a book signing, but they were all on their own. Didn't seem like there was a lot of interest in their cookbooks.
Some time later we headed back out into the park

and then rode Mission Space.
And while we were in line we discussed if we should return our rental car a day early. If the airport was closed the next day, it would be difficult to return the car and get a ride back to the resort. So we decided to head back to the room after we had finished our mission and find out if we could return the car
earlier at one of the hotels closer to Walt Disney World.
So, once we got off the ride we walked back to our room, checked the internet and found out that there was indeed a Dollar rental station at the Wyndham on Hotel Boulevard.
And around 3pm we finally got into the car and drove to Disney Springs to ask if we could return the car the next morning.

If you have ever tried to park at that Wyndham you know that it is not easy at all.
So we asked if it was okay if Tom parked along the exit and stayed in the car while I went inside. I guess we looked pitiful as they told us that we could, but only for a short while. Well, just as long as it takes me to find the rental station and ask my questions.
So I went inside, found the counter and waited my turn, as there was a young couple who had a gazillion questions and it seems, all the time in the world. I had waited for nearly 15 minutes when they were done and it was my turn.
I asked if it would be possible to return the car the next day.
Nope, it would not – this rental station would be closed in just 15 minutes and then the next one would be at the airport and this one would close around midday the next day.
We needed to still fill the tank and the guy promised to wait if we didn’t take more than half an hour. He also told me to leave the car in the fire lane and tell the valet people that we were returning the car.

I flew outside, hopped in the car and off we went to the Hess station,

where we filled up the tank, jumped into the car again and drove back to the Wyndham, where we parked the car in the fire lane,

told the valet that we were returning it to Dollar, emptied everything out and hotfooted inside.
The rental car guy was already waiting, we returned the keys and got our bill and then we just dared to breathe a bit more freely as we were now set for the storm with a room, food, water and no more car to worry about.
We walked over to Disney Springs, checked out the Toy Barn and the Christmas Store, explored the new stores and then finally we hit Wolfgang Puck’s Express for some dinner. We placed our order, picked up our drinks, found a table and put the number on it and waited for our food. Didn’t take too long and our pizzas, a

Margherita made with Fresh Mozzarella, Plum Tomatoes and Basil and a

Pesto and Goat Cheese one, that had Roma Tomatoes, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Pesto on it, were served. They were just as yummy as we had remembered them. And you cannot eat at WPE without having some of the

Crème Brulee. When we were done, we walked around Disney Springs for a while, checking out some of the new areas that we had not seen before and around 6pm we headed over to the Bus Stop to go back to the Beach Club. While we waited for the bus, dark clouds started to roll in

and we made it on the bus just in time. We got rained on just a bit walking to the villas when we finally made it there. We got to the room, turned on the TV and found information about the parks and resorts, which were to be closed early the next day and then closed for another two.

We rested for some time, then went for a walk around the resort and ended up at Beaches and Cream for some Butter-Pecan ice-cream.

After that we returned to our room again and called it a day.

To be continued ........​

 

[franandaj]

This was the second time we ordered and they were always pretty good. They are a bit "dough heavy", so not what we are used to as Pizza, but those pizzas were yummy (and we had a lot left over).

Welcome to America, most pizzas here are very doughy.

Earthquakes, unpredictable

Which is exactly why I prefer them. You don't sit around waiting and stressing for them, they just happen and then you pick up the pieces.

horrible

The only horrible one that I went through was the Northridge Earthquake. That was bad. But every other one is just kind of a little bit of shaking or rolling and you just ride it out.

But changing a flight is not as easy. First off there is only one plane that goes into Orlando and back and to find seats was not easy and the other thing is that changing a flight costs an arm and a leg and then some.

Ugh. If nothing else you could have flown somewhere else in the US for a few days to get away!

And were stunned to find several of the shelves nearly completely empty.

We hear about this all the time on the news how all the East Coast stores are bought out with people stocking up for hurricanes.

It was a nice show, but nothing that we would need to repeat,

I feel exactly the same way.

In the end we rode four more times, before finally saying good night to the park and making our way to the exit.

Wow! That's great! Our Moonlight Magic experience wasn't quite so much fun as lines for some of the rides were still quite long. We didn't have a hurricane looming in the distance.

All I could do was call my headmistresses and let them know and when I did, they were very understanding and told us not to worry and get home when it was safe again.
One big worry off our chests.

Very good to hear this!

in the end she could find us a discounted room at the Beach Club Villas and we could even stay on in our room. No need to pack up, we could leave everything as it was, just come down on Saturday and check out and check in again.

Perfect.

Then we headed to the store and got enough bread, spreads and ham and, pickles, salads, fruit and other yummy items to hold us over until the storm would be gone.

Oh good. They stocked back up!

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We walked through most of the line, only slowed down the last part of the line and soon were on the ride.

I can't imagine such an easy ride on 7DMT, the line is always so long every time we've gone there!

 

[wdwnut61]

When we woke up and turned on the TV there was a lot of talk about the hurricane.

They evacuated downtown St Augustine since it's below sea level. Thankfully we were able to get our DD on a flight home and get her a ride to Jacksonville right before they closed the bridges and airport. The sad part was the price gouging by the airlines

All the shopping done we returned to Beach Club

Smart to stock up

There was another ride we were dying to ride, so we walked over to Expedition Everest.

EE in the dark is Amazing!

we were now able to witness it while having dinner.

Perfect

we realized that they were handing out Mickey Bars.

YUM

Flight of Passage was only 10 minutes

Wow glad you got to ride without a long wait

All I could do was call my headmistresses and let them know and when I did, they were very understanding and told us not to worry and get home when it was safe again.

How wonderful I'm sure you were relieved.

we were just happy that we would have a good roof over our heads when the storm hit.

I'm glad you didn't have to change rooms

And a little while later we arrived at the Wave for our pre party dinner.

We've only eaten dinner once at the Wave but enjoyed our meal.

we went to the one ride that we knew we could get on right away, the Peoplemover.

Most relaxing ride

we just dared to breathe a bit more freely as we were now set for the storm with a room, food, water and no more car to worry about.

I'm glad they car rental place was willing to work with you.

 

[disgeek009]

Finally caught up!

The Highway in the Sky dining tour looked delicious. What an interesting concept.

And your hurricane preparations were a good idea. I can't wait to hear about the actual storm!

 

[jenseib]

OOOOOH Cliffhanger!
I am kind of excited to read about staying throughout the storm.

 

[jedijill]

Caught up again! That was nice of the car rental guy to wait for you...one less thing to worry about! I do love WPE...great food and good prices for Disney.

Jill in CO

 

[mickeystoontown]

Anxiously waiting to read what happened next!

 

[Lesley Wake]

The finished product, Taco’s,

didn’t look anything like what they had cooked in the end.

Yeah, that doesn't look at all the same!

Once the demonstration was over we walked through the festival store and stayed for a little more time and saw the three ladies sitting at a table for a book signing, but they were all on their own. Didn't seem like there was a lot of interest in their cookbooks.

I always feel a bit awkward for people in that circumstance! Like, should I just ignore them, go up and talk to them even though I don't plan on getting a book, or what?

While we waited for the bus, dark clouds started to roll in

and we made it on the bus just in time. We got rained on just a bit walking to the villas when we finally made it there.

Haha, funny enough I know exactly where we would be at the same time - walking our way around the WS approaching Le Cellier! I think that was the only real rain we got that afternoon at Epcot (it was our first park day, and my first EVER visit to a WDW park!)

 

[franandaj]

OK all caught up now. I'm glad you were able to return the rental car a day early and get everything squared away. I really like WPE, but have only eaten there twice. The time we had breakfast there it was inspired by you two! We really enjoyed the breakfast pizza and the breakfast calzone.

Maybe when we have a longer trip there we can go back. Nice having Beaches and Cream right there, although you may see on my TR that Fran has a weakness for Ample Creamery.....

 

[dizneeat]

I will be back with replies later this weekend. It's been a bit of a challenging time here, but we hope things are looking up again. I need to use the time I have at hand today to post a little update.

Sorry for the long absense again!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, September 09

The calm before the storm - part 1

We slept in a bit, then I walked down to the Beach Club Marketplace and got the same two kid’s breakfasts again.
They were more than enough for us and since the pool was closed we headed into Epcot at around 9.30am.

Crowds were low today, so we headed for the rides until the food booths would open.
We walked right onto the Figment ride and then on Living with the Land. It took us about 10 minutes to get on Soarin’.
We had so much fun enjoying the rides, so we marched over to Spaceship Earth and took a ride, then on to Mission Space.
We were walking towards Test Track when we saw that it was closed.

It was past the time the food booths were opening and we were ready to hit the Food and Wine Festival Booths.
So we walked over to the World Showcase for some food samplings.

The skies were pretty grey and we were hoping it would not start to rain, so we headed for the first possible booth, which was the Mexico one. We ordered the

Tequila Chipotle Shrimp, served on a Black Bean Huarache garnished with Red and Green Cabbage, Queso Fresco and Crema Mexicana and the

Cajeta Mousse served with Cajeta Sauce and White Chocolate Flakes,
found a spot where we could enjoy our goodies and tucked in.
And while we were still eating it began to rain.

So once we had finished our food we fled into the Mexico Pavillion. Once there, the Cava de Tequila came to mind as a place to sit out the downpour and even though we were not overly hopeful they would have an open table, they did and we were seated immediately.
I was still taking meds for my cough, so I did not want to order a Margarita and stuck with Diet Coke, but Tom tried the

Minty Pineapple one. And we really longed for our favourite snack,

the Trio, which included

Tortilla Chips, Salsa,

Guacamole and a yummy warm cheese dip, so we ordered that too. We sat there for quite some time, munching on our snack and sipping our drinks until we could not push out our departure any more and we paid our bill and walked over to the Three Caballeros ride. Again, it was a walk on.

When we got off we saw people coming in without rain ponchos, so we dared to go outside again and really, it had stopped raining and even the sun was peeking out. So we continued our walk around the world, but by now we were both too full to pick up any more Food and Wine items, so we just strolled along and enjoyed the walk.

When we walked through the German Pavilion I nearly fell over backwards, when I checked the price of a Milka Chocolate bar. They usually go for around 1 Euro here, but I only buy them when they are on offer for 65ct or lower, so to see a price of 5.95$ was a bit of a shock.

While we walked on we discovered several items already wrapped in clingfilm, like all the light fixtures along the way.

Disney was preparing for the storm.

We made another pit-stop at the France Pavilion, to look around and check out the merchandise.
When we walked through the food halls Tom urged me to get an

Éclair, my favourite sweet when we go to France (the real one, not the Epcot one).
I gave in and got one, but while it was nice, it did not compare to the real thing they sell in France.
But it gave us some time to sit and relax while I slowly ate my dessert.

And when I was done we walked the short walk to the International Gateway

and over the bridge and back to the Beach Club Villas.
It was very interesting to see all the hustle and bustle to remove tables and chairs

and to secure bins and other objects along the way.

Back in our well stocked room

we turned on the TV and watched the news to learn about how far the storm had come already and suddenly we realized that the pictures we could see, were of Key West, and of the exact place we stayed at during our last visit to Key West, the Southernmost at the Beach resort.

The pictures on TV showed the exact view we had had.
It was heartbreaking to see how the waters were rising and finally reached the hotel.
We watched for quite a while, Tom enjoyed a drink from the many varieties he had got and we both had some tortilla chips and salsa and some of the salads we had bought.

Around 6pm we decided to return to Epcot for a while again.

To be continued ........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 19, September 09

The calm before the storm - part 2

Around 6pm we decided to return to Epcot for a while again.
It was stunning to see the pool area so bare and empty,

signs, booths wrapped and tied down.

The wind had picked up a lot,

but it was still warm and while there were grey clouds, it was not raining.

No line to get into the park

and soon we were walking around World Showcase and I was finally able to pick up something that I had always wanted to try, but never got around to,

the Cronut. So we sat on a bench and I enjoyed my sweet treat while we thought about the fact that by now we should have been at the airport, getting ready to board a plane home.
Instead we were here, enjoying the park, despite the looming storm.
We were walking on, but not very far, as Tom wanted to try the

Chocolate Picante: Dark Chocolate Mousse with Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder and Raspberry Dust at the Flavours from Fire booth.

They had already removed the registers and you could pay at the counter as far as we could see from the people in front of us. But when we placed our order and I wanted to hand the cast member my gift card, she just shook her head and smiled, while handing us the cup and said, that this treat was on Mickey.
What a surprise and a pleasant one too.
We thanked the cast member and Mickey, took our treat and headed to a stone ledge, where we tried it. It didn’t taste much of anything spicy, but it was good. We then walked over to the Land

to try to get on Soarin’ and low and behold it was more or less a walk on, even with our request of being seated on the middle glider.

We strolled over to MouseGear and looked through the shop when we realized that Test Track was up and running. A minute later we were over there and got into the regular line, which stated only a 5 minute wait. It took just a little longer with creating our own vehicle,

but soon enough we were able to board our car and off we went. After the ride we decided to get going and get back to our resort.
But we had to stop ever so often to look at some more of the secured things along the way.

When we got back to our room we found a letter that told us that we had to take our balcony furniture inside, but we had done that already, and that for the next two days at least house-keeping would not be done and that until further notice we should stay in our room/building.

Okay, we were prepared for that.

We watched a little more TV, seeing reports from Key West and Miami, before we went to sleep.

To be continued ........​