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

[VAtink]

I’m pretty sure we will do uber once DME ends. It seems that it would be the quickest option.

Yeah, I think we will too, it was so fast this time, don't think I can go back to a shared bus!

The cheese crawl looks so tasty!! I love cheese sooo…. Lol.

Haha, me too! The cheese crawl was so good, I'm so happy we did it this year!

Your mom looks like she’s having a great time already.

She was having such a blast, definitely was making up for the missed trip from last year!

 

[Princessclab]

Love reading your report!
I was there the same week, I arrived on Monday the 6th.
Also very surprised at the above average crowd level.
Can't wait to hear more.

 

[VAtink]

Love reading your report!
I was there the same week, I arrived on Monday the 6th.
Also very surprised at the above average crowd level.
Can't wait to hear more.

Thanks, and !!

Oh no way! Was it just me or was it hotter than normal September hot that week? We were melting!

The crowds were definitely a bit of a surprise, but the wait times weren't bad compared to previous years. I'm wondering if they were just running the rides at higher capacity than they have in past Septembers?

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 4: Wait, What is This Wet Stuff Falling On Us – Day 1

After getting back to the room we spent some time unpacking all of our bags and getting settled into the room.

Around 4:30 we were surprisingly getting hungry again so decided to head out to dinner.

Our plan this day was to get pizza and margaritas on the Boardwalk and eat at the tables outside over there. We were probably a little too excited for this, but it was something new and we were excited to hang out on the boardwalk and people watch!

So we headed out, and were just to the BC when the sky opened up. NOOOOO!!!

What was this? It NEVER rains on us in September! We have had the most amazing luck with weather for years, we had forgotten how to deal with rain! (my theory is when my incoming flight is delayed we get great weather, if I’m on time, the weather turns bad )

We ended up running back to the YC and then hung out in the lobby while I looked for other options for dinner. I tried doing a mobile order for Ale and Compass, but something was going on with the system, while it showed there was available arrival times, every time I clicked on one it was no longer available, but when I started over the same time was showing as available again. I tried getting a mobile order time for about 5 minutes before giving up. Definitely not patient enough for Disney IT issues!

In the end we decided to just go pick up some food from the store at the YC. I had a great sandwich from there back in April, and I ended up just getting the same one again (the turkey one). My mom got the chicken salad.

We brought the food back up to our room and ate it out on our balcony and opened the bottle of Lemberger wine to enjoy with it.

It was nice eating out there, very quiet and we were protected from the rain. So, while we didn’t get the dinner we planned, it was an excellent substitute.


The amazing bottle of wine!


My dinner, doesn't look like much but this is a delicious sandwich!

While eating out there, our next door neighbor came out on her balcony for about 5 minutes and spent the entire time just yelling (I guess on the phone?). We were super nervous about how loud she would be at night, but *spoiler alert* we never heard a peep from her again!

After I finished half of the sandwich I was done, so while my mom finished her salad I spent some time looking at wait times in the app and they had dropped a LOT from earlier in the day in Epcot, so once the rain slowed down we decided to head out to Epcot once again for some rides!

Also, side note, so we usually go to Disney the last week of September, and were excited this year to go earlier and hopefully avoid the crowds leading up to the 50th. Well, jokes on us, the wait times have been lower this week than when we were there!

I suspect them opening up sales of APs again the day before our trip really impacted the crowds that week, we spoke to someone who had been there the week prior as well and they said that there was a noticeable difference in increase in crowds from that previous week. Oh well, hopefully next year we have better timing with our trip!

Next Up: Ride Time!​

 

[Princessclab]

Thanks, and !!

Oh no way! Was it just me or was it hotter than normal September hot that week? We were melting!

The crowds were definitely a bit of a surprise, but the wait times weren't bad compared to previous years. I'm wondering if they were just running the rides at higher capacity than they have in past Septembers?

Thanks!
I usually go that week in Sept so it is always hot, did not go in 2020 though.
Loved the wait times on the rides, practically non-exsistent!
As you know, TS Mindy came through that week so there was alot more rain and humidity which made it hotter, IMHO.
Still had lots of fun.
Following.....

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Also, side note, so we usually go to Disney the last week of September, and were excited this year to go earlier and hopefully avoid the crowds leading up to the 50th. Well, jokes on us, the wait times have been lower this week than when we were there!

I usually go the last week of September as well, since it is my daughters fall break week from school. Wanting to avoid the huge 50th crowds, we went to Universal instead. I wish I had of known that people were only coming to Disney for the 50th merch and to take pictures of themselves being there!

 

[DVCjj]

We literally got back Saturday night and during our time there (9/25-10/2) we didn't have ONE DROP of rain. After a major amount of trips same time, same resort (BWV), we were totally shocked with the weather.
I'm sorry you had rain for the first time. I know it can get annoying to drag poncho & umbrellas around Been there, done that.

Love your trip report very much. Definitely will try the YC turkey & Brie sandwich and several of your F&W items on our May trip. I know there was something I wanted to ask you but my old brain can't remember.
Have a fantastic remainder of your trip.

 

[VAtink]

Thanks!
I usually go that week in Sept so it is always hot, did not go in 2020 though.
Loved the wait times on the rides, practically non-exsistent!
As you know, TS Mindy came through that week so there was alot more rain and humidity which made it hotter, IMHO.
Still had lots of fun.
Following.....

Ah yes! I forgot about TS Mindy, that makes sense with the weather we had. Hot, humid and rain. Lots of rain. Oh well, guess we finally experienced a "typical" September in FL, we've been spoiled over the past 6 years!

 

[VAtink]

I usually go the last week of September as well, since it is my daughters fall break week from school. Wanting to avoid the huge 50th crowds, we went to Universal instead. I wish I had of known that people were only coming to Disney for the 50th merch and to take pictures of themselves being there!

Haha, seriously! I hope you had a great trip to Universal!

 

[VAtink]

We literally got back Saturday night and during our time there (9/25-10/2) we didn't have ONE DROP of rain. After a major amount of trips same time, same resort (BWV), we were totally shocked with the weather.
I'm sorry you had rain for the first time. I know it can get annoying to drag poncho & umbrellas around Been there, done that.

That is awesome! I'm jealous It's funny, after the first two rain free trips we figured there was no way we'd get another one, so we've been carrying around our ponchos and umbrellas for years for nothing. Nice to finally have to use them I guess!

Love your trip report very much. Definitely will try the YC turkey & Brie sandwich and several of your F&W items on our May trip. I know there was something I wanted to ask you but my old brain can't remember.
Have a fantastic remainder of your trip.

Thank you! That sandwich is really good, even though it looks pretty plain. It also comes with these chips that are kind of addictive. I would seriously buy the sandwich just to get the chips!

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 5: Ride Time!

After dinner we headed over to Epcot. Before heading in I wanted to copy my mom’s earlier pictures with the 50th banner.



When we got into Epcot it was still pretty busy, but not horribly so especially for a Friday evening. Think the rain helped with that!

We made our way up to the front of the park and into the Land. It was packed in there, but fortunately it was only crowded with people trying to get out of the rain, the wait times for Soarin’ and LWTL were super low. Soarin’ was posted as 10 minutes and LWTL was 5 (really walk-on)!

We decided to ride Soarin’ first. It was a pretty short wait, ended up being 12 minutes so just a hair more than the posted wait. I couldn’t help but to marvel at how much quicker the line moved than it did in April, and how little the wait was compared to then too!

We did get stuck next to this group of 20-somethings here who did not want to wear masks. The CM had to tell them 4 times before the ride even started to put their masks back on. I feel like that’s excessive, there should be a three strike limit, after that those people get kicked out. Wishful thinking, I know!

Even worse, I got stuck next to them on the ride, and they all talked/laughed loudly throughout the entire ride, not even paying attention to what was going on! Seriously, why were they even on the ride??

Besides the obnoxious talkative neighbors on the ride, Soarin’ was great!

Next up we headed to LWTL! I always seem to have awkward timing with this ride and arrive right when a crowd does, and it happened once again. Our boat was completely full, but the boats ahead of us and behind us only had one or two parties on them. No idea how my timing with this ride is always so bad! The good news is we didn’t have to wait, we just had to ride with other people. Yuck.

I really thought I took pictures on the ride, but it appears my camera ate them, or perhaps it was user error…
So sorry about the lack of pictures in this post, I usually try to have a bunch to break up the text, but I failed this time around.

Once off LWTL my mom was really starting to feel her early wake-up (I think she was up at like 3AM!), so we decided to head out of the park. By that time the park had become absolutely packed, the rain had stopped and the crowds had arrived! But once again, it was a Friday night during F&W, so not at all surprising!

We made our way out and back to the YC. While walking past the pool my mom decided she really wanted to go swimming since the pool was empty, so we went and got changed and headed back down to the pool.

It was gloriously empty when we arrive around 7:20. We spent a lot of time floating around the lazy river and just hanging out enjoying the sand bottom (love the way that feels on tired feet after a long day!).

Around 7:45 people started streaming in, and by 8:00 almost all the lounge chairs where we were had been occupied. It was busier this evening than we saw it mid-day during the week, which was shocking since it was surface of the sun hot that week!

Since it was no longer very relaxing down there (didn't really feel like listening to a large group of teenagers scream at each other from across the pool) we decided to head up to the room to shower and enjoy some more wine while watching Scotty’s Lockdown Livestream! Scotty is one of the performers at Jellyrolls and he’s been doing online shows 3 times a week for about 18 months now. They are a lot of fun! Sadly last Friday night was his last one, but happily it’s because Jellyrolls is opening up again! Yay!!

The livestream ended just after 10, and we decided to call it a night since we had an early-ish morning the next day!

Next Up: How Do You Not Know Who Josh D’Amaro Is???​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We did get stuck next to this group of 20-somethings here who did not want to wear masks. The CM had to tell them 4 times before the ride even started to put their masks back on. I feel like that’s excessive, there should be a three strike limit, after that those people get kicked out. Wishful thinking, I know!

I am with you! Even 2 times seems like too much.

It was gloriously empty when we arrive around 7:20. We spent a lot of time floating around the lazy river and just hanging out enjoying the sand bottom (love the way that feels on tired feet after a long day!)

At least you got some time with no one there.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

The turkey and brie sandwich in the market is definitely a hidden gem!! I often pick an extra one up to take home with me! Sorry about the heat and rain but it otherwise sounds like a fun EPCOT day. I cannot wait until the international CMs can return but walking around World Showcase is still one of my favorite ways to pass the time.

 

[VAtink]

I am with you! Even 2 times seems like too much.

Yes! Totally agree.

At least you got some time with no one there.

It was really nice to have time down there with it being practically empty. The lazy river is so much nicer when you're not bumping into to strangers!

 

[VAtink]

The turkey and brie sandwich in the market is definitely a hidden gem!! I often pick an extra one up to take home with me! Sorry about the heat and rain but it otherwise sounds like a fun EPCOT day. I cannot wait until the international CMs can return but walking around World Showcase is still one of my favorite ways to pass the time.

It is definitely a hidden gem, so glad I discovered it back in April. That's a great idea to take one home with you!

Yeah, the weather wasn't the greatest, but we were way overdue for a rainy trip!

It will be so awesome when the international CMs come back, hopefully soon! WS really just isn't the same without them.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thankfully a Jetblue employee saw my struggles and came over to let me know I didn’t need to do that, I only needed to pull off the backing on one end. It felt so wrong to do it that way, Disney has me very well trained!

We haven't checked a bag since Disney stopped the luggage service. I can never figure out how to do the airline luggage tags, either.

I am also pretty certain I saw Bernie Sanders while I was waiting. The seat I picked was next to the shoe shine station, and while waiting I swear I heard his voice and look over to see what I believe was him getting his shoes shined! It was hard to tell with the mask, but I’m like 98% sure it was him.

I bet it WAS Bernie Sanders. I totally believe that he would be getting a shoe shine at an airport. Most people don't wear shoes that need shining but I bet he does.

So I picked up the bottles of water and the powerade (why can I never find Gatorade in FL??? Seem like FL would be THE place to find it…), but none of the stores carried sunblock so didn’t get that.

Gatorade is a Pepsi product and Coca-Cola seems to have an exclusive contract with the airport. I prefer Gatorade to Powerade, which tastes salty to me.

The room we were assigned wasn’t ready, but they did offer us a different room that was. I was thinking we’d decline since I had spent all those hours on the phone to put in a request for the one we were assigned, but my mom decided she wanted to be in the room ASAP so told them that yes, we would take the earlier one.

We had that happen the last time we stayed at the YC. I had requested a gazebo view room and when I went to the front desk they said it wasn't ready yet but they could find me one that was ready. Although I was happy to be able to dump our stuff in the room overlooking the quiet pool, I did wish we had the gazebo view room.

Also, side note, so we usually go to Disney the last week of September, and were excited this year to go earlier and hopefully avoid the crowds leading up to the 50th. Well, jokes on us, the wait times have been lower this week than when we were there!

We were at WDW the last week of September, 9/26-9/30, and we had great weather - no rain and relatively low humidity for four days of our trip. But we knew that it was unusual for September in Florida. We also had surprisingly low crowds considering it was the week before the 50th. September has very unpredictable weather and you never know what it will be like ahead of time.

 

[VAtink]

Day 3, Part 1: How Do You Not Know Who Josh D’Amaro Is???

We were up nice and early this morning, I think at 5:45. (soooo early for vacation!)

So one thing I totally failed on before this trip was verifying the times the first bus usually arrives, I don’t know how I forgot to do this, but I assumed it would be similar to April where the first bus was roughly an hour and a half before the posted opening time for MK, especially since they were back to the old opening procedure of opening Main Street at 8ish. So getting down to the bus stop for a MK bus before 7:30 made total sense in my mind.

Well, I was wrong in my assumption. We got down to the bus stop at 7:23, and we waited. Then waited some more.

While we waited about 6-7 AK buses came, and only about half left with guests on them.

Finally, at 7:46 a MK bus pulled up! Ok, so not a horrible wait, we’ve had worse, but still waiting is never fun when you’re on your way to see the castle for the first time that trip!

We actually made great time, and were pulling into MK just a hair before 8. Since it was before 8 (I swear it was 7:59:59) the bus attendant made our bus pull to the side and wait. This was a bit annoying since the busses that pulled in right after us were allowed to go to their stops and unload.

We were allowed to finally move to our bus stop at 8:01, and once the doors opened my mom and I hopped off and quickly made our way to security.

The nice thing about the other busses allowed to go first is there was no line by the time we got to security so we breezed right through.

We got in the short line for the tapstiles, and after about a 5 minute wait we were through!

Now as a super planner, I totally failed at planning this morning. We got into the MK, and I didn’t really have any plans on what we should do before the rides opened!

Of course our first stop was a PP photographer in front of the train station!



We then headed under the train station and into the park.


(click for video)
Ahhh, that first view down Main Street, it’s spectacular.

We next popped into the Emporium to browse, but for the first time in my life I wasn’t really in the mood to shop, but I did make a mental note that the store was completely empty at that time in the morning so when we came back later in the week we could do some early morning shopping and not deal with the crowds.

After our quick stroll through the Emporium we did what we love, got photopass pictures!




Look how empty it is! I wish we got this picture when we came back later in the week to compare, our second morning at MK felt packed compared to this day!



As we got into line for a photographer towards the top of Main Street I notice that there is a film crew off to the left in one of the grassy areas. So I’m checking it out when all of a sudden I realize, OMG, IT’S JOSH D’AMARO!!!!!!

So being a totally normal, non-Disney addict, I shout “O-M-G, It’s JOSH!!!!!!” at which point he looks over and waves.

Now I’ve met a few celebs in my life, I even went to school with Chris Evans (but he wasn’t exactly famous back then so I guess it doesn’t count). There was one time at Logan I was sitting there minding my business when suddenly I was surrounded by people with cameras and I was SO confused as to why these random people were taking pictures of me. Turns out the guy who sat next to me was one of the main characters on Desperate Housewives. (and yes, this was YEARS ago) I’ve even met a bunch of Olympians, even have held a few Olympic gold medals, but never had a reaction like I did this day. Seriously, I’ve never totally fangirled before, but I 100% did for Josh.

There were two girls waiting in line for pictures ahead of us, and they too had noticed Josh, and were fangirling even more than I was (amazing this was even possible)!

So after I yelled about Josh, the girls in front of us started chatting with us a bit, and my mom asks “Who is Josh.” You would have thought my mom asked those girls who Walt Disney was, they were incredulous, “how do you NOT know who Josh is? He IS Disney!” HAAAA!!!!!!

A minute later Josh started to make his way over towards us and I totally thought girls in front of us would actually faint!

He ended up chatting with those girls as they were getting their pictures and even got in a photopass picture with them! He continued to chat with them for a bit after getting the picture.

Now I was trying to play it cool and not be overly excited that Josh was like 5ft in front of me, but I guess in trying to keep it cool, I could not stop staring at him.

So I think my “trying to play it cool face” looks more like a RBF, and after a minute Josh looks right at me and goes “oh, I’m so sorry for holding you up!” and me being the totally smooth confident person I am reply with something along the lines of “oh, oh, no, no, oh, no, um, it’s ok!”

I desperately wanted to ask him for a picture, but I was seriously tongue tied and frankly incapable of putting together a cohesive sentence. So I just continued to stare.

Finally he walked away as did the lucky girls who actually got a picture with him. So jealous, and so annoyed since he only even noticed us all when I yelled “OMG It’s JOSH!!!!”

Oh well, we finally got our pictures.





NEXT Up: Um, There’s Still 40 Minutes Til the Park Opens…What Do You Want to Do?​

 

[VAtink]

We haven't checked a bag since Disney stopped the luggage service. I can never figure out how to do the airline luggage tags, either.

Haha, glad I'm not the only one! I really do miss the bag service, it was so nice not having to deal with the bags at the airport. I know it's wishful thinking, but I hope they bring the bag transfer back at some point!

I bet it WAS Bernie Sanders. I totally believe that he would be getting a shoe shine at an airport. Most people don't wear shoes that need shining but I bet he does.

It probably was!

Gatorade is a Pepsi product and Coca-Cola seems to have an exclusive contract with the airport. I prefer Gatorade to Powerade, which tastes salty to me.

Ohhh, good to know! I prefer Gatorade as well.

We had that happen the last time we stayed at the YC. I had requested a gazebo view room and when I went to the front desk they said it wasn't ready yet but they could find me one that was ready. Although I was happy to be able to dump our stuff in the room overlooking the quiet pool, I did wish we had the gazebo view room.

Yeah, it was nice to be able to drop our stuff off, but I really wish we waited for our originally assigned room. I told my mom next time we wait!

We were at WDW the last week of September, 9/26-9/30, and we had great weather - no rain and relatively low humidity for four days of our trip. But we knew that it was unusual for September in Florida. We also had surprisingly low crowds considering it was the week before the 50th. September has very unpredictable weather and you never know what it will be like ahead of time.

Nice! I'm jealous! The rain I can deal with (somewhat), but I would love if it were less humid overall. My poor hair can't handle it!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Look how empty it is! I wish we got this picture when we came back later in the week to compare, our second morning at MK felt packed compared to this day!

This is a great picture. But where were you when you took it? It looks like you are at an elevation somewhere.

OMG, IT’S JOSH D’AMARO!!!!!!

I wouldn't have recognized him. I wouldn't have bothered him, either, unless, of course, he made the first move.
The closest we came to "famous" people at WDW was when we were taking the Keys to the Kingdom tour on the same day that they were filming an episode of The Middle. We saw three of the main characters walking around backstage near their trailers. Patricia Heaton ignored our group but Neil Flynn and Charlie McDermott were friendly and waved at us.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Finally, at 7:46 a MK bus pulled up! Ok, so not a horrible wait, we’ve had worse, but still waiting is never fun when you’re on your way to see the castle for the first time that trip!

The first time back would feel like an eternity for sure!!!!

I shout “O-M-G, It’s JOSH!!!!!!” at which point he looks over and waves.

Hilarious

I desperately wanted to ask him for a picture, but I was seriously tongue tied and frankly incapable of putting together a cohesive sentence. So I just continued to stare.

I am sorry you out on a picture. I am not very good with celebrities either.