What is This Wet Stuff Falling on Us? September 2021 Food and Wine TR! (RL Update 10/2!!)

[Wood Nymph]

We were completely shocked when we got there to see the crowds, the lines to get in stretched halfway back to the BC! Ugh. Stupid Skyliner has totally ruined the IG.

I hate the long lines at IG now. We had a really long line when we park hopped at 2pm.

It must have taken a lot longer to visit Epcot then you thought it would take.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Hurrah for forty days! International Gateway at opening is no bueno -- largely b/c they don't open all the lanes. But generally throughout the afternoon it's not as bad as I feared. I do still speedwalk when I see boats coming. I'm also going to miss the rotunda as an indoor, air-conditioned area to enjoy some snacks and rest -- though it felt a bit "wrong" to be eating/drinking in that environment. Will also miss Restaurant Marrakesh as a rest stop. And World ShowPlace. At least there is still Odyssey and Canada.

 

[VAtink]

I hate the long lines at IG now. We had a really long line when we park hopped at 2pm.

It must have taken a lot longer to visit Epcot then you thought it would take.

Yes! The IG used to be so nice at opening, I miss those days. I wish they had the skyliner go to the front of the park instead, especially since they are set up to handle the larger crowd up there!

I am so happy the skyliner is down for maintenance the week I'm there in January, that will be nice to have the IG back to it's old self for a few days!

 

[VAtink]

Hurrah for forty days! International Gateway at opening is no bueno -- largely b/c they don't open all the lanes. But generally throughout the afternoon it's not as bad as I feared. I do still speedwalk when I see boats coming. I'm also going to miss the rotunda as an indoor, air-conditioned area to enjoy some snacks and rest -- though it felt a bit "wrong" to be eating/drinking in that environment. Will also miss Restaurant Marrakesh as a rest stop. And World ShowPlace. At least there is still Odyssey and Canada.

32 days now! This trip is coming up so ridiculously fast, which I really can't complain about!

Yup, really not a fan of the IG at opening these days. I wish they would have more lanes open, and even add some more if possible, I've never had to wait in a 30 minute line ever before to get into any other park before this, so it seems they really need to fix IG somehow to keep the entry smoother and wait shorter. I'm becoming cynical, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't want to pay the money to extend the skyliner to the entrance that could handle the crowds, so just cheaped out and dumped everyone at the IG without a single care for the guests experience entering there.

The rotunda bistro was so awesome last year! You are right though, it did feel a bit wrong to be eating in there, even felt wrong to talk in there, we usually ate in silence!

We totally missed restaurant Marrakesh last year, isn't that the lounge for that health insurance this year? I may be making this up, but I thought you could get passes for free for that this year... (I have no idea where this thought came from!)

It's funny, when I see there are no booths set up in world showplace, my immediate thought/hope is that it means that special events are coming back! So far, I've been wrong. I'm getting good at being wrong

 

[VAtink]

Quick RL Update!

Happy almost weekend everyone! I cannot believe we are less than 30 days out from our trip now, this is coming up so fast!

This morning mom did the pre-registration for DAS for the trip. This is the first time we’re using it, but after having to leave a few lines last trip since everything was still standby at that point, we figured we might as well try it for this one. The registration was easy (thankfully, my mom was really worried about that) but it did take over an hour and half to do. Good thing school hasn’t started for the year yet so my mom had the time!

I’m curious to see how this works and if we’ll make much use of it. We’re usually rope drop people so the lines are typically not bad at that time, but it could be helpful in the evenings when we return to the park after a mid-day break. We did do the pre-booked rides, but there wasn’t a whole lot of availability so some days we only booked one. Not a big deal though, we have genie+ so I'm guessing we'll probably use that a whole lot more.

In other news, our Magicband+’s finally shipped! Like many others, we ordered the day they were released and have just been waiting for the past month to see something other than “in progress” on MDE. So what an awesome surprise to sign into MDE and see they finally shipped!

Now it’s almost time to get the packing list together and find all the random odds and ends that I never use in my everyday life but always seem to need while on vacation. It’s getting so close, yay!

Also, currently working on the next update for this TR, so it should be posted soon!​

 

[Wood Nymph]

This morning mom did the pre-registration for DAS for the trip.

I don't know very much about DAS but it does sound like Disney has created a very different system for it than in the past.

 

[VAtink]

I don't know very much about DAS but it does sound like Disney has created a very different system for it than in the past.

This will be our first time using it, so not sure how it used to be, but it does seem like a pretty easy system to use. It will be interesting to see how much we use it since we have G+ as well.

 

[VAtink]

Day 10, Part 2: A Rainy Day at the Cabana​

After our adventures in Epcot, we made our way back to the pool and settled into our cabana for a bit. I ordered the I think the storm chaser and mom ordered an angry orchard and a fat tire so she could make a sort of snakebite. The beer/cider came in the 16 oz cans, so mom was able to make 3 snakebites!







We swam some more and relaxed a lot in the cabana. Mom watched some tv, and I caught up on my trip notes. Eventually I ordered a Mai Tai, which was delicious again.

Later in the afternoon we turned on some college football and enjoyed watching some games. I got myself a fat tire to enjoy while watching the games. I wish they had Sam Adams, but they were still out and had no idea when a new shipment would be in.


Random picture of our view from the cabana

It was a really great day in the cabana, until around 4:00 when the clouds started to roll in and, whomp whomp, the pool was closed for storms. The CM working the cabana asked us if there was a time we wouldn’t want to be called to come back at, but I told him since it was our last day we wanted to squeeze out every bit of fun, so if they didn’t open again until after 6, we still wanted to come back for a bit more cabana fun.

Well, jokes on me, they didn’t open the cabana again until 6:30!

The CM was great though and texted like he said he would. So we headed down to enjoy the last 30 minutes of cabana time and finish watching the UF game we had been watching in the room.

When we arrived at the cabana, the CMs were cleaning up the other three, and we ended up chatting with them a bit. Turns out they were huge UF fans, so we told them they were more than welcome to come watch the end of the game with us in our cabana.

Initially they declined, but when they finished cleaning the other cabana’s and ours was the last one left (still like 15 minutes before closing time so we weren’t being rude or anything!), they did end up joining us to watch the end of the game. The great thing is, since they were so into the game and wanted to watch, they let us stay until about 7:20 when the game ended! (the cabanas close at 7). They also gave us a bunch of snacks to take back to the room with us once it was over. Very kind of them, and they were a lot of fun to hang out with for a bit!

It was finally time to head back up to the room and finish packing. Once done with our packing we settled in to watch the PSU-Auburn game, and PSU won even though the SEC refs were total jokes and made PSU punt on a third down!

Anyways, after the game we enjoyed the last of the wine and limoncello before calling it a night. We had an early sad morning coming up.

Next up: Until Next Time Disney!​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

What a fun afternoon in the cabana -- despite rain and lack of Sam Adams. I'd love to reserve one some time. It just looks so relaxing. Great point in an earlier reply about the skyliner closure in January being a unique opportunity to enjoy the International Gateway in its proper form. I may have to book a trip!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Initially they declined, but when they finished cleaning the other cabana’s and ours was the last one left (still like 15 minutes before closing time so we weren’t being rude or anything!), they did end up joining us to watch the end of the game. The great thing is, since they were so into the game and wanted to watch, they let us stay until about 7:20 when the game ended! (the cabanas close at 7). They also gave us a bunch of snacks to take back to the room with us once it was over. Very kind of them, and they were a lot of fun to hang out with for a bit!

What a fun way to end your trip. The cabanas look really comfortable, too.

 

[VAtink]

What a fun afternoon in the cabana -- despite rain and lack of Sam Adams. I'd love to reserve one some time. It just looks so relaxing. Great point in an earlier reply about the skyliner closure in January being a unique opportunity to enjoy the International Gateway in its proper form. I may have to book a trip!

Haha, it was, even without my drink of choice! We love the cabanas, the first year we got one we were on the fence, but figured since it was only a half day (miss when you could book half days) we might as well check it out. We ended up loving it, it was the fastest four hours ever! If only the work day would go by that fast

Yes, I'm so excited for January to get the IG back to it's good old emptier self! It'll be interesting to compare that trip to our upcoming one, I'm guessing I'll be able to sleep in a bit more on Epcot days in January than I will in three weeks!

 

[VAtink]

What a fun way to end your trip. The cabanas look really comfortable, too.

It was a great way to end the trip, so relaxing so we weren't completely exhausted at the end of the vacation. The cabanas are so comfy, so many great seats, and the shade is great. Can't wait to spend a day in one again soon!

 

[DVCjj]

That's so funny how we all remember different things! Granted we went to Epcot every single day of our trip back then so saw the parade a bunch, and loved it so much we bought the CD with it's music (and the Illuminations music), which we listened to all the time and I even still listen to these days.

I did not remember the Tapestry Parade until this post you made about the music. NOW I remember how much I loved it. Thanks!

 

[VAtink]

I did not remember the Tapestry Parade until this post you made about the music. NOW I remember how much I loved it. Thanks!

Wasn't it so great? The music is amazing, we like it so much we listened to it on repeat for almost the entire drive from DC to Boston one year!

 

[snoopy two]

We called it the wayla wayla parade and I still miss it!

 

[VAtink]

We called it the wayla wayla parade and I still miss it!

Haha, I love the name! I really miss it too, wish they would bring it, or an updated version of it, back!

 

[VAtink]

I can't believe in just over two weeks I'll be back at Disney! This trip is coming up so fast!

As usual, now that the trip is coming up fast, things are getting a bit crazy around here. Besides the whole packing/trying to find stuff for the trip/work issues, I also just found out yesterday that I'm sick. Got an inner ear infection, yuck.

I'm glad I found out now though, I have a pretty hard time with flying when it comes to my ears, the pressure when landing can cause some extreme pain, and I've actually completely lost my hearing a few times during the landing. Fortunately I only lost the hearing for a few days, but it really makes me overly cautious about my health and any congestion when I know I'll be flying soon! So glad I got medicine and hopefully this is all cleared out before the flight! I'll still of course use the earplanes, I'm not sure if they actually help, but I haven't lost my hearing since I started using them, so fingers crossed they work again!

I spent a lot of this past weekend getting things pulled together for the trip and trying on clothes and packing the stuff I won't need between now and the trip. Does anyone else try on everything before their trip? My mom thinks I'm crazy since it's just my day to day clothes, but I like to make sure everything fits just in case!

I'm still debating on my halloween costumes for this year. I'm pretty sure for one of the parties I'll be a wilderness explorer again, I really liked that costume, but I haven't decided for the second party. Although I'm leaning towards a Dalmatian again since last year I forgot the ears, which was kind of the most important part of the outfit! That reminds me, I need to pack all the ears I want to bring...

Anyways, I'm in the process of writing the last chapter of this trip report, so the goal is to get it posted before I head out on my next trip so I can start fresh with a whole new trip report when I get home! Seriously, I love writing trip reports, it's so much fun to relive the vacation. So stay tuned for the update, and if I get that posted earlier enough I'll probably post some fun things we have planned for this upcoming trip! ​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I think it is better to get sick now, then at Disney.

Sometimes I will try on clothes before packing, but mostly only when the weather in Florida is very different when the weather at home.

 

[VAtink]

I think it is better to get sick now, then at Disney.

Sometimes I will try on clothes before packing, but mostly only when the weather in Florida is very different when the weather at home.

Yup, so true! Gladly I'm feeling a lot better now so it's time to focus on packing getting ready for our trip, wahoo!

 

[Paulaparm]

Glad you're feeling better!