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

[dizneeat]

It is good to hear that there was some silver lining to the clouds and the downtime gave you time to heal.

Looking back at it, it was a godsend to be able to stay in ..... and have an extra week of school holidays.

Good to know that Disney took care of their guests during the emergency. I agree that it would be a good place to weather the storm. I have often thought if I was a local I would check in there if a hurricane threatened, lol.

They took excellent care of their guests and worked hard to get them all settled in in the first place. Funnily enough we said the same thing as you mentioned. If I were to live in the area I would ride out the storm in one of their hotels and stay safe.

Thanks for the update! It almost seems cozy to be at Disney during a hurricane. And well done with all your preparations, it sounds like you had everything you needed.

For me, having that lingering cold it was very good to have the time to stay in. And they take very good care of their guests. We got daily updates on what would be happening and never lost power, so were quite well entertained watching TV.
And knowing what to expect, we had stocked up on all essentials.

Glad you were all safe! If there's any place I'd like to ride out a hurricane it would be Disney. Even sitting in the resort, eating, doing laundry and watching the Disney blue screen sounds really nice and relaxing!

We felt very safe and knowing that it was okay with my work helped us a lot.
The resort never lost power, so it was just like "a rainy (call it super rainy and stormy) day(s) where we just could not get out to the parks. Being sick it was a great excuse to just stay in bed and watch TV while snacking.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 22, September 12

Ready to play again - part 1

We got up by 8.30, got showered, prepared breakfast and enjoyed it while watching TV and discussing how to spend the day.
We decided on going to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the morning.
We left our room at quarter past ten and walked over to the Friendships, but we soon learned that they were not running yet, so we headed out to the Yacht Club bus stop.

A Studios’ bus was just sitting there and we hurried to get on and soon after we were gone. It is a pretty short ride from the Yacht Club to the Studios and soon we were getting off and going through bag check and the turnstiles. We had been able to make a few fastpasses, but still had time, so we strolled up towards the Chinese Theatre, popping in and out of the shops. We were only halfway up when we heard music behind us and saw that the Stormtroopers marched along Hollywood Boulevard.
Needless to say that we had to stop and watch.

Once we moved on we came across some remnants of storm preparations

before we arrived at The Tower of Terror.

There was a bit of a standby line, but the fastpass line was empty and we walked right into the hotel.

t was so much good fun to visit our favourite “broken” elevator, that we got right into the standby line again, once we had gotten off.

And when we got off this time and walked down Sunset Boulevard we realized that crowds had gotten bigger, but nothing like they had been before the storm.

Again, we ducked into some of the shops to have a look at more merchandise before we finally walked over to our second fastpass of the day, Toy Storia Mania.
To be honest, we would not have needed one, as the stand by line was very short too and so since we were in no hurry after our first ride, we walked through the stand by line too and rode Toy Story Mania for a second time.

Needless to say, that Tom won both times, I suck at those kinds of games.
The Muppets were our third fastpass, so we slowly strolled over

and after entering Tom checked if the key was still under the mat before we entered the pre-show.

When we got there the pre-show was just coming to an end and we walked right into the theatre. And since there were so few of us, the cast member, instead of telling everyone to go to the end of the row, encouraged people to stop wherever and take a seat.
We had not seen this movie for a long time and even though it is an older one, it was still good fun. By then we started getting a little hungry and since we were already there we took a chance and asked at Mama Melrose if they could seat us. And oh wonder, it was no problem and it was only a 5 minute wait until we were taken to our table.

t felt so nice to finally eat at a restaurant again, after a few days of in room picnics.

We ordered our food and drinks and were served some

nice warm rolls and

olive oil over some dried herbs. The rolls were yummy and we both munched away. And after just a short wait our main courses were served.
We had both longed for something not too fancy and had decided on two pasta dishes, the

Wood-grilled Chicken and Penne Pasta with house-made four-cheese sauce garnished with Pecorino romano cheese and parsley and the

Shrimp Campanelle, sauteed shrimp and Campanelle pasta tossed in a four-cheese sauce with cauliflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions and we were pretty pleased with our choices and finally enjoying a cooked meal again.
We opted against dessert and settled our bill and then headed out into the sunshine and right into the next shop where our favourite hat model tried on a few new hats. And then off we went over to StarTours, which we had been able to grab a fourth fastpass for. We still had a little time to kill, so there was time to look around and take a few fun photos.

But soon it was time to take our place in line and enjoy a ride on a Star-speeder.

Mission accomplished we checked the wait times for Tower of Terror and found them short enough to head over for one more ride before we would leave.

When we passed Echo Lake we were surprised to see it drained.

Guess another storm related measure.
And a few minutes later we were in line for Tower of Terror again

and were soon seated to ride the elevator again.
By now we were ready to leave and head back to the resort.
Since there were still no boats running we walked over to the bus stop and took a bus back to our resort.

We rested for quite a while and only in the early evening hours did we venture out and over to Epcot for a few snack bites again.

To be continued ........​

 

[jedijill]

I bet you were happy to be able to get out of the room! I'm sad your meal wasn't good.

Not too much storm damage from the looks of things.

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

I bet you were happy to be able to get out of the room

You are VERY right, we were happy to get out and about again. And the parks were not crowded, so it was really good fun on top of it.

Not too much storm damage from the looks of things.

There was "some" damage that we could see, an overturned tree here and there, some paneling from the hotels, some roofing missing, but nothing all too big. AND they are pretty quick to clear it all up. I remember that after Hurricane Charley went through, they were VERY quick in removing everything that was damaged and even the downed trees were cut and put up in a pile to resemble a hidden Mickey. But when we drove outside of WDW property it looked like a war zone.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 22, September 12

Ready to play again - part 2

We rested for quite a while and only in the early evening hours did we venture out and over to Epcot for a few snack bites again.

We entered through the International Gateway and walked towards France and over to Japan where we sampled the

Wasabi Shumai Steamed Pork Dumplings, which were nice but nothing we had the need to give a second go. We strolled further on to the Hops and Barley booth, where we got ordered the

Smoked Beef Brisket and Pimento Cheese served on Griddled Garlic Toast and the

Freshly Baked Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Icing and Tom got himself a

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale from Block and Hans. I tried the Brisket and it was good, but the rest went to Tom, while I enjoyed the Carrot Cake, which was warm and moist and in the end Tom went and got another one of the

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ales, as we sat and enjoyed the evening. Epcot had Extra Magic Hours from nine to eleven that day and when we left the American Pavilion it was already quarter past eight.
We strolled further on and stopped at the Spain booth, where we ordered the

Traditional Spanish Paella with Shrimp, Mussels, Chicken and Crispy Chorizo. To be honest, after having eaten Paella in Spain this was nowhere near the real thing, very dry Saffron rice with a few pieces of seafood thrown on top, so a once and done.
We walked on further towards Future World and went past the Craft Beers and now that there was no more driving involved I talked Tom into trying the

Western Florida Flight, which were the JDub’s Passion Wheat, the Central 28 Trekker Bier Farmhouse Ale and the Cigar City Guayabera Citra Pale Ale. We sat on bar stools while he enjoyed his beers and chatted for quite some time.

It was way past 9pm when we finally left and walked over to The Land, where we first walked right onto Soarin’

and later onto Living With the Land.

And since we were already in the area we went to search for Nemo and walked right onto a clam mobile.

We spent a little time at the aquariums that are at the exit of the ride,

before walking to the park’s icon to ride Spaceship Earth.

It was quarter past 10 when we got off and we still had enough time to fit in one more ride, so we headed over to Mission Space, picked up our orange cards and walked all through the line until we were divided into teams.
We were the only ones in our capsule, so we decided to work all the different assignments and it was pretty fun to be a bit more busy than usual.

Once we got off, we knew that we still had the walk over to the International Gateway and back to our resort, so instead of riding another ride, which would have easily been possible, we leisurely strolled towards World Showcase, over to the International Gateway and over the bridge back to our room, where we fell in our beds, tired and happy.

To be continued ........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 23, September 13

A leisurely day with a late night - part 1

Again, we got up around 8, prepared an in room breakfast and then put on our bathing suits and went down to Stormalong Bay as they had reopened. It was very relaxing as the pool was not as overcrowded as it usually is and we got to drift around the lazy river for a while, then would go to the other pool and swim a bit or hit the hot tub and then changed to another area again.
Around noon the pool had gotten a bit more crowded and we decided that we had had enough for the day and would leave.

When we passed Beaches and Cream out of curiosity I asked if there was any possibility for an open table in about an hour and low and behold they told us that they had quite a few. We left our phone number, warning them that it was an overseas number, but the girl was sure it would work and they would send us a text in about an hour when our table would be ready, which left us with enough time to head back to our room and take showers before heading to Beaches and Cream.
Soon after we were back in our room and after the shower, when I had just finished drying my hair we indeed got the text and hurried over to Beaches and Cream.
And within a few minutes we were seated and had ordered our lunch.

We were sipping our Diet Cokes and soon after we were served our food. We had both grown hungry in the pool, so Tom had ordered the

Beaches Patty Melt, Angus beef burger with sauteed onions, swiss, garlic-peppercorn dressing on rye bread while I was looking forward to the

Tuna Salad Sandwich, served on a croissant with lettuce and tomato. Both were served with Beaches and Creams yummy thick cut fries, and we were happily munching away. Once we had both finished our sandwiches, we shared a

No Way Jose, a Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge delight featuring Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Morsels, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry on top. Tom doesn’t usually favour desserts, so him offering to help eating this dessert was a true surprise and very welcome.

We were really full when we left the restaurant and decided to take a walk around Crescent Lake.
t was a picture perfect day and so we strolled along the walkway,

discovering some of the damage the storm had done to the grounds and buildings.

Didn’t take long and we had made it to the bridge to cross over to the Boardwalk.

When we walked by the DVC showrooms we came across one of their reps and he was surprised to hear that we already were members and asked if we had seen the Boardwalk rooms.

To be continued ........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 23, September 13

A leisurely day with a late night - part 2

When we walked by the DVC showrooms we came across one of their reps and he was surprised to hear that we already were members and asked if we had seen the Boardwalk rooms.

And since we had not, we were invited to take a look

and stayed rather long as we had struck up a conversation with the two reps about DVC and the differences in cast members at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Disneyland Paris. It was surprising to hear that one of the reps had been training cast members at Disneyland Paris, but even he had found that it was hard to find the enthusiasm that US cast members have, in the French ones.

It was way past 3pm when we finally left the showrooms and strolled further on along the Boardwalk. We stopped into the store and then walked on to the Boardwalk Bakery. A friend’s daughter was celebrating her 16th birthday later that year and I wanted to ask if we could pre-order a cake right there and then. But after a lot of back and forth we found out that it just would not work without some follow up phone calls and we just forgot about the idea. And after that we walked back to our room,

rested for a while and then started packing up our stuff, as we had only one more full day left.
At around half past six we got on a bus over to the Magic Kingdom, which had Extra Magic Hours that night from nine to eleven. We had just missed a bus, but another one was there within 15 minutes and we enjoyed the ride over. Once we had arrived we walked over to the park, scanned our Magic Bands and off we went.
People were leaving while we walked up Main Street and since we had not had dinner yet, we walked over to Pinocchio’s Village House for a

Margherita Flatbread, Shredded Mozzarella, fresh Tomatoes, Mozzarella Pearls and Balsamic Glace, a helping of

Caesar Salad and some

Garlic Breadsticks served with their

House Marinara Sauce.
We sat for some time until they started to clear out the place and we knew we should make a move on.
There were still quite a lot of guests in the park, so we headed back to the Peoplemover to have a ride where we could sit and enjoy.
Once we got off we walked past Buzz Lightyear’s Spaceranger Spin and it was only a 10 minute wait so we got in line and helped defeat Zurg again.

We strolled past the Dessert Party and crossed Main Street where quite the guests were already waiting for the fireworks, but we did not want to do so. We walked over to the Jungle Cruise, got in line and were soon seated with a few other guests and started our cruise.
The skipper was as fun as they always are and all too soon the cruise was over and we had to get off again.
Pirates was down when we went by and we were going over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to check out the wait times and we were amazed to see that the line was not too long, so we hopped in and while we got on the ride the fireworks started and it made for a great experience with the fireworks going off overhead.

And since there were so few people in line, we turned around and got in line for a second ride. The trains were practically empty when we rode and when we got back to the stations, they told the few people on the train to stay in the seats if no one wanted to get in.

Well, there was a couple in our row, but when they heard the announcement, they changed to a car in front of us and we were able to ride a second time. By the time this ride was over, the fireworks were over as well and the rows were filled with new riders.
After we got off we walked over to Pirates and got in line.

We got to sit in the last row, which was nice.
It was close to 10pm when we got off the ride and we walked through the walkway over to Liberty Square and took a ride in the Haunted Mansion. Peter Pan had the usual longer line, so we skipped it and so we did It’s A Small World.
The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was done, but the Winnie the Pooh ride was a walk on, so we hopped on that.
But we were getting tired by now and we still had the bus ride back to the resort ahead of us, so we slowly walked towards the exit and over to the bus stop.
A bus must have left just before we arrived as we were the first in line for the next bus. But while we waited the line behind us filled up and there were even two people on ECVs waiting. When the bus finally arrived, it took a while to load the ECVs and then the families loaded, but there were still empty seats when we were allowed to get on. The bus driver filled the bus up well and off we went.
About 20 minutes later we had made it to the Beach Club and were getting off.

We were back at our resort, a little after Extra Magic Hours would have ended, but we might not have had such an easy ride back had we stayed to the end. We watched some TV while already in bed, but soon were tired and turned off the light.

To be continued ........​

 

[jedijill]

Your meal at Beaches and Cream looks divine! I do love a No Way Jose! The carrot cake at Epcot is fabulous too. You guys got a lot of rides done...the parks must have been empty!

Jill in CO

 

[disgeek009]

Shrimp Campanelle, sauteed shrimp and Campanelle pasta tossed in a four-cheese sauce with cauliflower, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach and sweet onions and we were pretty pleased with our choices and finally enjoying a cooked meal again.

I had this when we went in January and it was delicious! Loved it!

Wasabi Shumai Steamed Pork Dumplings, which were nice but nothing we had the need to give a second go.

I'm sure it tasted fine, but this doesn't look appetizing at all.

Freshly Baked Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Icing

THIS, on the other hand...

No Way Jose, a Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge delight featuring Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Morsels, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry on top. Tom doesn’t usually favour desserts, so him offering to help eating this dessert was a true surprise and very welcome.

Lucky that you got a table at Beaches and Cream! I always wanted to try the restaurant too.

It was surprising to hear that one of the reps had been training cast members at Disneyland Paris, but even he had found that it was hard to find the enthusiasm that US cast members have, in the French ones.

Very interesting!

By the time this ride was over, the fireworks were over as well and the rows were filled with new riders.

Ah, so the trick is to ride during the fireworks. Noted!

 

[dizneeat]

Your meal at Beaches and Cream looks divine!

It was. We just love that little place.

I do love a No Way Jose! The carrot cake at Epcot is fabulous too.

It was very yummy! Tom doesn't usually help me with sweets, so I was REALLY lucky he helped finishing off this treat.
Yes, that carrot cake was SO good in 2017. I had several of them. Tried it again in 2018 and it was very dry.

You guys got a lot of rides done...the parks must have been empty!

It was wonderful, as everything was kind of a walk on. We are not used to those kinds of crowds and we really enjoyed the freedom. Best reward for riding out the storm at Disney.

Lucky that you got a table at Beaches and Cream! I always wanted to try the restaurant too.

It is such an awesome little ice-cream shop. The food is really good, nothing fancy, but it hits the spot after a few hours in the pool or exploring the parks. You really need to try and get a reservation there.

Ah, so the trick is to ride during the fireworks. Noted!

We have done it a few times. Lines at rides are short and you get to see part of the fireworks anyway.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 24, September 14

A "new" resort to explore - part 1

Our vacation was drawing to a close.
We only had one more full day to enjoy and after having some in room breakfast we headed out to the bus around 10am.
We had just missed one, but not too long after another one pulled in.
Unbelievably but we were the only ones getting on at the Beach Club and had the bus to ourselves

and off we went to the Magic Kingdom. If the bus is that empty, the ride is a joy and soon we arrived at the toll station and were on our way to the bus stop. And around 10.45 we found ourselves going towards the bag check and finally through the turnstiles.

We were in no hurry and took our sweet time to stroll through the shops and then finally head to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
We had been able to grab a few fastpasses and when I tried to modify them the Mine Train one had popped up. Needless to say I had to grab it.

So, we scanned our bands and walked in and soon found ourselves on the ride, which was fun as always. When we got off we were right inside the window for our Haunted Mansion fastpass and so we just strolled over, had a look into Momento Mori and then got in line.
Again, it did not take long and we were seated in one of the doom buggies and on our way to visit the 999 happy haunts.
When we got off we had some time to spare and decided that it was time for some food.
I had read about the Nachos at Pecos Bill and since Tom likes them a lot we were heading there to try them.
So we got in line for a cashier, all the lines were several people deep, but we were in no hurry. After some time it was our turn and we placed our order, lined up to pick up our food

and a few minutes later we hit the Fixin’s Bar to “enhance” the

Beef Nachos, Tortilla Chips topped with seasoned ground beef and lettuce, with some, or most of what the Fixin’s Bar had to offer. And off we went to find a table, which we did in one of the rooms to the back of the restaurant.
We shared the Nachos, which were really good and had the

Churros with Chocolate Dipping sauce for dessert.
Once we had enjoyed our lunch we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to use the last of our fastpasses. Again it was a fun ride in the last row of the train and once we got off we thought about getting another fastpass, but there was not much that really interested us, so we just walked towards the Pirates of the Caribbean and since the standby wait time was only 10 minutes we got in line and soon found ourselves on a boat going to visit Captain Jack.
When we got off we decided that it was time to slowly stroll towards the exit, as we had one more thing we wanted to check off our to do list.
So we slowly walked towards the exit, inspected some more of the storm damage,

then stopped at the Main Street bakery for a little

Starbucks Frappuchino yumminess and then left the park.
When we had stopped in at the Boardwalk DVC place a few days earlier they had talked about the new Copper Creek Villas and told us that today we could go to Wilderness Lodge and join a walk through of the new villas. And this is where we were headed.
We went to the boat landing and waited for the next boat to Wilderness Lodge. It didn’t take long and one came in and we were able to start our journey over to the Wilderness Lodge.

We had no idea where the tour was going to start, so we asked at the Concierge Desk as the DVC desk was unmanned. They could not help and told us to come back a little later as there was to be someone at the DVC desk in about 20 minutes.
No problem.
We decided to head down to Roaring Forks and maybe pick up a cupcake or something, but unfortunately there was nothing that tickled our fancy, so we decided on just getting a

Diet Coke and sit and chat.
Drinks finished we walked back to the DVC desk to now find it manned and we asked about the tour. The CM told us that he was not the one guiding the tour, but his colleague Alan would and he would be there in about 30 minutes. We could come back then, or he could explain the ins and outs of the DVC, but since we are already members we didn’t need that and just decided to walk around the grounds, with the first stop being the shops.
We took our sweet time there, then wandered outside and walked around the grounds.
We returned about five minutes early and saw Alan talking to another guest. Not wanting to be nosey we stayed close, but did not go up the the desk. And so did another family a little while later. Once the lady Alan had talked to was leaving we all approached the desk, Alan turned his attention to the other family and we stepped back again.
Well, turns out good old Alan wasn’t in any hurry and joked and talked to the family, then told the waiting people that he would be back shortly and he disappeared for about a quarter of an hour.
By that time we had been around for nearly two hours and I was getting a bit ticked off, well maybe more than a bit.
When he finally returned his only question was if there were any DVC members, which there were just the two of us and this ended his interaction with us.
A few minutes later he told us all to follow him and we first looked at a Studio,

then headed into a one bedroom. Both looked really great and everyone was in awe with the new addition to DVC. I took a few, well a bit more than a few, photos of the room, only to get a few not so amused looks from Alan. Guess what, Alan, you did not interact with us earlier, I could not care less now.

And while we still were looking at the one bedroom, another DVC rep came in with a couple who were obviously going to buy in and Alan shooed all of us out of there.
We then used a back exit to head over to the Cabins,

which are breathtaking.
More photo taking was in store while Alan was just going through his spiel.

To be continued ........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 24, September 14

A "new" resort to explore - part 2

More photo taking was in store while Alan was just going through his spiel.

These cabins are really big and beautifully done, really a great place to stay with a family.
We stayed there for about 10 minutes, looking into every room and opening drawers and wardrobes before we were escorted outside again

and Alan said his goodbyes and left us all standing outside the Lodge.

We debated on what to do as it was now late afternoon and we had no intention of taking the boat to the Magic Kingdom and then taking a bus to the Beach Club.
Our hearts were set on another first, a Minnie Van.
Tom had downloaded the app and we had been told that they needed to activate it at the resorts. So to the front desk we went, where we were told that we could not use a Minnie Van, as we were not staying at Lodge.
Having done my homework, I knew that was not correct and we pushed it a bit and the CM went to get someone else.
Now, that person knew that we could use it, but still she had no idea on how it worked.
Cue in CM number three.
They all had to put their heads together to find the few clicks to activate the app and we were good to go and book our ride.

The app said, that the van would be there in eight minutes and eight minutes it was.

We hopped into the back and off we went and all too soon we arrived at the Beach Club. Really a fun experience, which might be a little more expensive than a taxi (we don’t use any other rides as they are not common in Austria), but a lot more fun.
Back at the resort we freshened up and rested for a while, gave a thought to maybe head into Epcot for more Food and Wine samples, but in the end it came down to being tired, having to do some packing and not wanting to walk around any more.
So we checked if there were any opening at restaurants around Cresent Lake and we found out that the Captain’s Grille had moved to Ariel’s and they were happy to serve us.
So we got ready and headed downstairs and over to Ariel’s, where we signed in and were immediately taken to a table.

To be continued ........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 24, September 14

A "new" resort to explore - part 3

So we got ready and headed downstairs and over to Ariel’s, where we signed in and were immediately taken to a table.

We were surprised to see only a few people in the restaurant,

but soon forgot about it, when the server introduced himself and pointed out a few of the offerings that were not on the menu.
It was our last evening, so we decided to celebrate a bit and Tom got a beer, which had been recommended by the server, the

Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale, while I decided that I needed to “sweeten” the farewell dinner with a

Captain’s Mai Tai, Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, Amaretto, and Tropical Juices topped with a float of Myers’s Original Dark Rum and a Diet Coke. And while we waited for our starters to arrive, we munched on the

bread service we had received and the

butter sprinkled with sea salt. A short while later our first course was served. Tom had ordered the

New England Clam Chowder, Creamy Chowder with Clams, Potatoes, and Vegetables and small crackers to sprinkle on top. Now, my choice had been an offering that was a special of the day,

House-made Gnocci with a rich tomato sauce and some fried basil leaves.
hey were both really good and we gobbled them down in now time.
Tom had ordered the other special of the day,

Juicy Prime Rib with Scalloped Potatoes, Horseradish Sauce and a Vinaigrette dressed Salad, while I had ordered another starter, the

Lump Crab Cakes, Fire-roasted Corn Succotash and Lemon Emulsion.
And I was glad I did, as my choice was on the smaller side, while Tom’s portion was huge and both were really tasty. We were too full for dessert and just returned to our room to pack up the rest of our stuff and repack our Owner’s Locker.
When we had wanted to repack the locker a few days ago I had discovered that the bottom of the locker had cracks in it. I had then gotten in touch with Owner’s Locker and since it had been in the midst of the hurricane they promised to send a new locker, which had been delivered just the day before.

We also sent text messages back and forth with our friend Michelle, who had come down with a stomach bug during the hurricane, but wanted to see us one more time before we left and as she felt a lot better we were all in for it.
So we all agreed that we would have breakfast together the next day and Michelle had made a reservation at Trattoria al Forno.
With plans made, we finished packing, so we could put our stuff into storage the next day, but it took quite a bit of packing and repacking until everything was where it was supposed to be.
Once we were done we opened a few more drinks and sat and watched TV and chatted about what we had experienced those last few weeks before we finally went to bed.

To be continued ........​

 

[jedijill]

I can't believe the attitude of the DVC guide. I wouldn't give him a sale even if I was thinking of adding on!

Your dinner looked amazing!

And I need to travel with you more....I would be happy to share sweet treats with you!

Jill in CO

 

[dizneeat]

I can't believe the attitude of the DVC guide. I wouldn't give him a sale even if I was thinking of adding on!

He was something else! And his attitude once he realized we just wanted to "see" and were not interested in buying more. Talk about being ignored.

Your dinner looked amazing!

It was such an awesome surprise. We had been to Captain's Grill before and knew that it was a place we liked, but the setting at Ariel's was great and the food really good!

And I need to travel with you more....I would be happy to share sweet treats with you!

 

[disgeek009]

The DVC units look so nice! Bummer that the guide was so rude. At least you could take pictures without feeling guilty.

It sounds like you had a nice relaxing last day. That's a good way to wrap up a vacation.

 

[dizneeat]

The DVC units look so nice!

They are really beautiful and the theming is great.

Bummer that the guide was so rude. At least you could take pictures without feeling guilty.

He was so not Disneylike. But at least I just ignored him as well while taking pics.

It sounds like you had a nice relaxing last day. That's a good way to wrap up a vacation.

It was such a nice and leisurely last day. And I felt much better thanks to an extra vacation week.

 

[dizneeat]

Day 25, September 15

Time to leave - part 1

We got up around half past seven to find a text from our friend Michelle who had had to cancel our breakfast ADR as she felt worse again that morning and wasn’t able to see us.
So we decided to take it slow and when we finally got up we had breakfast made up from a few leftovers in our fridge, then got ready and around half past nine we called down to bell services to store our luggage.
It took about 20 minutes until someone came to pick up our luggage and shortly after 10am we were ready to leave.
Then we were free to enjoy the time left until we had to return to the airport. So we walked over to the International Gateway and returned to Epcot to play and sample food one more time.
Once we were inside the park we walked over to Living with the land, as we had a Fastpass for it.
We would not have needed it as this early in the morning there was literally no wait at all. Soon we were off the ride again and it was now past 11am and the food booths were open.

First one we stopped at was the Hawaii one. Didn’t take long and we were handed the

Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour DOLE Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise, which we shared and which was really good, but we did not have time to stay for much longer as we wanted to fit in one more culinary demonstration and had to head over to the Festival Center.
They were still selling tickets,

but now we still had about half an hour to kill until they would let us choose a seat.
So we strolled through the Ghirardelli exhibit

and got a sample to taste and then we moved over to the Festival Center, looked at the merchandise and finally settled at the Intermissions Cafe for a Diet Coke and a

Key Lime Pie. The pie was really good and quite a lot and as soon as I had polished it off we needed to go over to the Festival Stage for the presentation. Tickets checked we were free to find a seat and soon after the presentation started.

There was the same host as always

and she introduced the chef, who had to fill in for some other who had some other engagement.

And then we were in for a great presentation.

The chef prepared some white fish (which I think I remember was halibut) on top of a cauliflower puree and topped with a caper butter sauce.

We were served small samples and boy was that a tasty dish.

We really enjoyed it.
Once the presentation had ended we walked over to Test Track, for our Fast Pass. We were halfway through the line, when the ride broke down and we waited for a while until we were informed that they did not know how long they ride would be down.
People were starting to leave and so were we and when we left we were handed a paper fastpass

which we wanted to use for Mission Space, but we thought we would rather keep it as there was no line at all.

And so we very quickly were able to complete our mission to Mars.

Since there was no wait, we got right in line again and went for another spin.

But unfortunately time was flying by though and we were running a little late, so when we saw a FriendShip docking we headed right over and took a ride across the lake instead of marching all around.

To be continued ........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 25, September 15

Time to leave - part 2

But unfortunately time was flying by though and we were running a little late, so when we saw a FriendShip docking we headed right over and took a ride across the lake

instead of marching all around.
When we got to the American Pavilion we decided to have one last treat before heading back to the Beach Club. Tom got in line to get himself a

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, while I went to get us some food. I had ordered, paid and picked up the food, and Tom had not even moved in line.
So I found us a table and waited, and waited and waited some more. Finally he arrived with his drink and told me that they had run out of plastic cups and it had taken all that time to get some new ones.
But now it was time to enjoy the last of our Food and Wine goodies, the

New England Lobster Roll and I had one more order of the

Freshly Baked Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Icing, which I had had some days before and it had been so good.
This helping of the super yummy moist cake with the warm gooey icing did not disappoint.
The perfect ending to our vacation.

But by then we had to hurry as for the first time we were to use Disney transportation back to the airport. We had signed up for Magical/Tragic Express and after picking up our luggage we were waiting for the bus to arrive.
It seemed to be pretty early, leaving four hours before departure, but there was nothing we could do. So when the bus arrived we watched the driver load our luggage, then found a seat and off we went. We picked up some more people at the Caribbean Beach Resort

and some from Old Key West before we headed to the airport. It was a short drive there and soon I found myself with our luggage sitting outside the airport, while Tom was going in search of a luggage cart.
He returned with one just a few minutes later, we loaded up and off we went to find the Lufthansa counter to check in.
There was quite the line and it took us a bit until we were able to send off our luggage. Once that was done we headed for the restrooms to get changed into travel clothes and once that was done, knowing that the airplane food would not be very good, we went to find something to eat.

We walked around the cafeteria area and there were few things that really drew us in, and the ones that were had a pretty long line, so we went with the devil we knew, McDonalds.
The line was short, we knew what to expect and soon we were at a table stuffing our faces.

We sat and chatted for a good while until we finally headed to the Security Check and got in line.
Somehow we had been granted TSA Pre and we were through in a flash.
It was a sad ride on the fake monorail and then we hiked to our gate. We found seats and waited, checked our mail and waited some more and finally we were able to board. Now, while Premium Economy guests enter with the rest of Economy travellers, at MCO they are allowed to enter the plane with first and business class travellers, so there was no rush and within a few minutes we were seated, seatbelts fastened and watched the rest of the economy passengers finding their way to their seats.

There were quite a few empty seats on Premium Economy and it did not take long and the flight attendant let everyone know that for a small fee (€ 400) one could move up to Premium Economy. I don’t think there were any takers.
Once the doors were closed we were served some

welcome juice and soon enough the plane was pushing back and we were on our way home.

Once we had reached cruising altitude, we were served more drinks. Tom had a

beer and I had opted for some Coke and we got a cracker mix to nibble on. We had decided to wait for dinner and give it a try.
So after about an hour and a half we were served our dinner trays,

which consisted of a small

Caesar Salad, some cheese, crackers and baguette and a main course that was dubbed

beef curry and vegetable rice. We had the salad, which was okay, tried the curry and it was really not good, we had some of the crackers and cheese and I tried the Tiramisu that had been the dessert, but as funny as this sounds it tasted stale and didn’t have much flavour.
So we just both took two sleeping aid pills, waited for the trays to be removed and then closed the blinds and our eyes and went to sleep.

To be continued ........​

 

[dizneeat]

Day 26, September 16

Last leg of the trip - part 1

We were woken up by the flight attendants rattling the carts, while preparing for breakfast.
Neither Tom nor I are huge fans of the breakfast, but since we were awake, we thought we might try. A little time later we were handed hot towels to refresh ourselves and it did not take long and breakfast was served. We both were handed a tray

and asked for a cold drink to go with it. I chose orange juice, Tom just had water. Breakfast consisted of a fruit cup, which was nice. I gave Tom all my melon, which I don’t like, he put all his pineapple in my cup as he does not like that. We tried the omelet,

which tasted like cardboard and one bite was more than enough. We had a few of the potatoes, but they were rather tasteless. Tom and I then tried the roll, which was soft, spread them with the cold butter and put some jam on top. It was edible but not great, but eating passed some time and we were only an hour away from Frankfurt.

Once we had landed we followed the signs and it walked us right to passport control and then through another security check. On the way to the gate we walked past a bakery and got a sandwich for Tom and a chocolate croissant for myself.
We sat at one of the tables near our gate, got a Coke from a vending machine and had our “second” breakfast.

And as soon as we were done it was time to board the bus to our plane which again was parked at the furthest away spot from the airport.
We climbed on board, were handed a Toblerone Bar, found our seats, climbed in, buckled up and closed our eyes.
We were still so tired and the sleeping aid had not worn off all the way. I remember us rolling out and taking off, then I must have fallen asleep and we slept through them serving drinks. We only woke up when we were close to our home airport

and we landed shortly after.
Our home airport is very small and we quickly retrieved our luggage, walked out to the parking lot and loaded everything into our car. It did not take long and we were on our way home.

And that concludes our Hurricane Irma extended Walt Disney World vacation in 2017.


Thank you for sticking with me for such a long time and if you enjoyed this TR, I would love to see you over at my other TR for 2018 (only 4 days done so far, as this baby needed attention still )

Here is the link to my new TR with details (coming up shortly) of our planned trip for 2019!

It's kind of fun to do the impossible - 32 days of fun and friends​