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

[Wood Nymph]

Did they include any treats in the price of the MNSSHP tickets - other than what you get from the Trick or Treat line?

I love your Photopass pictures. I've always wanted to get some of the more popular ones but agree with you that the wait times took up too much of the limited party time.

After those two buses left we waited some more, and about three minutes later another BW bus arrived, and there was no one in line so we hopped on! Such a good decision, if we had joined the YC/BC line when we arrived we would have had to wait for probably about 2 buses and would have gotten back so much later!

That was very unlucky to get such a long line for YC/BC. It was a party night rather than a regular night, so who would have thought the line would have been so long. It is nice that the BW bus worked out.

The worst bus wait we ever had was when we were staying at POR and we had to wait for the fourth bus at DHS park close. That turned me off from staying until park close when staying at any resort with a bus only return.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Haunted Mansion kept stopping during our ride a couple weeks ago too. Needs some maintenance, I think. Glad you had such a fun time at the party!! The pictures are great! I wonder if they'll stick with Boo Bash or return to the full Boo to You experience. Best parade and fireworks -- I'm hoping it comes back but not holding my breath.

 

[VAtink]

Did they include any treats in the price of the MNSSHP tickets - other than what you get from the Trick or Treat line?

They did! You could get Mickey bars, the ice cream sandwich, and I think another frozen treat. You could also get popcorn and soda and water. I think we ended up getting 3 of 4 buckets of popcorn that night, it was great!

I love your Photopass pictures. I've always wanted to get some of the more popular ones but agree with you that the wait times took up too much of the limited party time.

Thanks! We do love them, but yeah, the waits for them were such a huge time suck.

That was very unlucky to get such a long line for YC/BC. It was a party night rather than a regular night, so who would have thought the line would have been so long. It is nice that the BW bus worked out.

Yeah, it was crazy. It seemed like half the people at the party were staying at the YC/BC!

The worst bus wait we ever had was when we were staying at POR and we had to wait for the fourth bus at DHS park close. That turned me off from staying until park close when staying at any resort with a bus only return.

Yikes, that sucks! We generally hate staying to close for the same reason. This is actually why we tried to hang out on Main Street for a while after the party ended to let the bus lines die down. Apparently we didn't wait long enough!

 

[VAtink]

Haunted Mansion kept stopping during our ride a couple weeks ago too. Needs some maintenance, I think. Glad you had such a fun time at the party!! The pictures are great! I wonder if they'll stick with Boo Bash or return to the full Boo to You experience. Best parade and fireworks -- I'm hoping it comes back but not holding my breath.

Oh no way, from some of the reports I've read on here, it sounds like a lot of the rides need some maintenance these days. Kinda crazy! Hopefully all that gets sorted out soon.

The party was a lot of fun, I only wish it were a few hours longer since there was just sooooo much to to. I do hope they bring back the regular parties this year. While Boo Bash was fun, we felt we had to do two just to try to get things done, and we never felt we had to do that before with the regular parties. I do miss the parade, and the fireworks (although the pre-2019 fireworks), but especially the parade. It is my favorite!

 

[VAtink]

Day 7, Part 1: Cabana Time!

Finally, a day of rest!

This year we were smart with our plans and booked rest days after late nights. So much better than previous trips where we had super early mornings booked the day after DAH!

We ended up heading down to the pool a bit before 9:50, and were shocked to see a line to get in. In past Septembers the pool opened at 9, but it wasn’t opening until 10 this year, so we got into the end of the line and waited.

A minute or so after getting in line a CM came through to scan everyone’s magicbands and give out the wrist bands. While she got to us I mentioned that we had cabana reservations, and she was great and told us that when they opened she would personally escort us back to them since we would be getting different wrist bands back there. Sure enough, once they opened, she came back to fetch us and walk us over to the cabanas. She was really awesome and we ended up chatting with her for a bit. She even saw us swimming later in the day and came over to check in and make sure we were enjoying the cabana. Love CMs like this!

We were once again in cabana 4, our favorite.



They have changed things a bit since last time we had a cabana in 2019, they no longer have the bottles of sunblock and the fridge wasn’t stocked with beverages or the fruit plate this time around. Those were still available, we just had to request them now. So we requested a bunch of water since we knew we’d go through a lot, and the attendant brought over a full case for us and completely filled up the fridge. Score!

Once we got settled in, it was time for some swimming! We headed to the lazy river since it was pretty empty at that point and that part gets super crowded as the day goes on. I grabbed one of the new floats and did a few laps. I absolutely love the new floats, they are so comfy!





We ended up hanging out in the pool for a while until it started getting crowded, then made our way back to the cabana for some rest. When we got back, the CM brought over our fruit plate, which we devoured, it was so good



We were surprised to see that one of the cabanas in front of us had 9 people using it, I could have sworn it was limited to 6, but apparently I was wrong! They were actually a bit of an obnoxious group, there were five what looked like college aged kids in that group, and they were roughhousing in the shallow kids area for hours so people with small kids were giving them a wide berth and kept shooting daggers at them with their eyes. The group was completely oblivious though and didn’t stop or move out of the kids area.

Oh well, didn’t impact us, I just felt bad for all the parents with small kids trying to enjoy the area who couldn’t due to this group, especially since that same group had booked that same cabana abutting the kids area at least 3 days that week (that we saw).

The morning flew by, and soon it was time to order lunch. I got the chicken sandwich and mom got the caesar salad. I also ordered a mai tai to enjoy with the food and mom got the magarita. The sandwich was good, pretty basic, but was fine for a low key lunch. The mai tai was delicious.









Soon after lunch the CM brought our desserts over, and my goodness these were soooooo good!



At some point I also ended up ordering a margarita, which was also good, not quite as good as the mai tai, but still good.

We spent some more time in the pool and more time resting and before long it was time for dinner. It’s amazing how quickly a day at the cabana goes!

We both ended up ordering burgers for dinner, and I tried ordering a Sam Adams, but they were all out, so got a blue moon instead.

I thought I took pictures, but once again it looks like my phone ate them. Oh well, just imagine a basic burger and some beer.

It was a good dinner, and a good way to end the day at the cabana. We ended up staying to 7 on the dot, before heading back to the room to take quick showers and get ready for our evening out.

Next up: It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…..SpaceX?​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I absolutely love the new floats, they are so comfy!

I love the new floats, too. The are very convenient when chatting with other "floaters".

We were surprised to see that one of the cabanas in front of us had 9 people using it, I could have sworn it was limited to 6, but apparently I was wrong!

Inconsiderate people like that do seem to be oblivious to the people who try to give them evil stares. The CM's are very nonconfrontational so there would have been no way that they would have said something.
Were they related to the rude bus family who would hold up the park bus for ten minutes while they waited for the ecv person?

Soon after lunch the CM brought our desserts over, and my goodness these were soooooo good!

Those look really good.

 

[VAtink]

Quick RL update!

So once again I am rescheduling my free trip. I am having some serious trouble getting the dates for this sorted out! I was going to go in the middle of May so I could go to Flower and Garden again, but once again life has gotten in the way. I unexpectedly ended up in the hospital two weeks ago, and the bills have started to roll in and have me rethinking spending any fun money for a while now! Even though it's a "free" trip, I still have to pay for the park tickets and food and souvenirs (and have you seen the F&G merch? It is so stinking cute, I want it all!). So not totally free, and after booking packages for so many years I didn't realize how expensive park tickets actually are so that was a shock when I finally looked it up!

Anyways, so it looks like May is out, whomp whomp. But now I'm back to looking into a FARTS trip for next year. It seems 2022 is set on ruining my trip plans, so maybe I'll have better luck in 2023! Plus I really want to check out FARTS, and bonus, I will have my pick of resorts unlike for May. So not too bad, and it gives me time to build up more vacation time so I could even take a longer vacation!

Alright, that's about it for the update, other than that life has been pretty boring lately. Keep an eye out for the next TR update, it's a pretty cool one! (at least I think so )​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I unexpectedly ended up in the hospital two weeks ago,

I hope you are feeling better now. It is hard when life gets in the way of the fun stuff we want to do.

 

[footballmouse]

Love Stormalong Bay. We hung out near the sand bottom part of the pool since my youngest enjoyed playing in the sand along the pool's edge.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Oh dear. Hospital stays are never fun ... or cheap. Sorry to hear that and hope you are feeling better. On the bright side, I think you will LOVE the Arts festival!!

 

[VAtink]

I hope you are feeling better now. It is hard when life gets in the way of the fun stuff we want to do.

I am, thanks! Yeah, it's a bummer, but at least the trip doesn't expire so I can use it next year instead. Also kinda love the idea of taking a little longer vacation.

 

[VAtink]

Love Stormalong Bay. We hung out near the sand bottom part of the pool since my youngest enjoyed playing in the sand along the pool's edge.

Isn't it fantastic? Such an amazing pool, we also love it!

 

[VAtink]

Oh dear. Hospital stays are never fun ... or cheap. Sorry to hear that and hope you are feeling better. On the bright side, I think you will LOVE the Arts festival!!

So true! I am feeling a lot better, thanks! I really can't wait to try the arts fest. I already planned on taking a short trip next winter to check it out, so it worked out just to move the trip. The food at that fest looks so good, I cannot wait to check it out!

 

[VAtink]

I have been really bad at updating this TR lately, sorry to everyone following along! I do have a good excuse though, I’ve been working on my passion project for the last few months, a cooking website, and it finally went live last week!

But no worries, I’m finally back with an update!

Day 7, Part 2: It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s….SpaceX?

We last left off wrapping up our day at the Cabana. We quickly showered after getting back to the room and threw on some park clothes, and were out the door by 7:30 to head over to Epcot!

Once again Epcot wasn’t horribly crowded, well passed France at least (stupid Remy previews). We were still surprisingly hungry, so strolled through the countries looking at food booth menus for something that piqued our interest.

We finally settled on the Rotunda Bistro where we both got the Wild Mushroom and Truffle Tart, and I also got the brut rose to go with it.

After ordering we made our way inside to pick up the food and grab a table. It was pretty empty in there, I think when we arrived we were the only ones, and the AC in there was glorious!

As for the food, it was amazing!



This tart ended up being one of my favorite items from the fest this year!

Once done eating I spent some time looking at the jazz displays they had in there. They had Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, which I found to be so cool. I absolutely love Louis, and they had a bunch of displays about him, so I loved going through it all.







After going through the displays we made our way out to move on to the next booth. As we were getting back on the main walkway I noticed this orange glowing thing in the sky that looked like it was heading towards us.

Now, I think due to my past life in anti-terrorism design, my first thought was “oh crap, it’s a weapon”.

Then I thought, maybe it’s a meteor?

Eventually I just stopped walking and pointed it out to my mom. Other people around us stopped too, and finally someone near us knew what it was….the Space-X launch! It was their first all-civilian launch!

I of course got a video of it, it was so incredibly cool to see, and I was amazed to see that everyone had stopped in their tracks to watch for like 5 minutes. STEM for the win!

While watching we ended up chatting with the couple next to us, and they were from the space coast so this was a normal thing for them, but they did convince us we need to take a trip over there to see a launch in person some day!







After while it finally faded into the night sky, and us, and everyone else, continued on their way.

Our next stop was Italy where we decided to taste some wine. I sadly didn’t write down which ones we got, but I do remember they were good! We took them out to a table in front of the store to enjoy and take in the atmosphere a bit.



Once we finished our wine, we made it over to China where we decided to check out the store. My mom ended up picking up some more tea (she LOVES tea), and I got some new chopsticks since my dog though my old pair was a stick and chewed them up.

It was about 8:45 when we wrapped up in China, and we were shocked at how empty Epcot was considering the fireworks were starting in just 15 minutes. There was absolutely no one around! We could have had our pick of any great viewing spot along the lagoon. It was wild.

Even the bridge between the UK and France had no one on it waiting for the show. I have never seen Epcot so dead at night right before the fireworks. So you would think we would stay and enjoy the show right? Haha, nope! We were tired so headed out. On the way we swung by the store at the IG to load more money on the gift card, then made our way out.

The fireworks started right as we exited, and we realized there was actually a really great view of them from the bench just outside the IG, so we sat there for a few minutes watching before slowly making our way home for the night.

Next up: A Slow Day at Animal Kingdom!​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

What a lovely evening in EPCOT! I enjoyed that mushroom tart as well as the sparkling rose too. And I really appreciated the various indoor air-conditioned spots. The rocket launches are cool. I live over on the Space Coast now too and it's been so frequent lately that we've lost track of the schedule -- every time the house rattles it's like "oh, must be another launch today." Congrats on your cooking website. If you open to sharing, I'd love to check it out!

 

[VAtink]

What a lovely evening in EPCOT! I enjoyed that mushroom tart as well as the sparkling rose too. And I really appreciated the various indoor air-conditioned spots. The rocket launches are cool. I live over on the Space Coast now too and it's been so frequent lately that we've lost track of the schedule -- every time the house rattles it's like "oh, must be another launch today." Congrats on your cooking website. If you open to sharing, I'd love to check it out!

It was such a nice evening in Epcot. I love those evenings that are super laid back and we just wander around eating. Also love love love the air conditioned locations they have now, it's such a nice treat to get out of the heat for a bit!

That's crazy about the number of launches, I had no idea they were so frequent! I would like to go see one at some point though, it must be pretty cool to see in person.

So the website is dishesbydeb.com, I'm hoping to add some Disney recipes on there at some point. Actually working on the avocado margarita this weekend! (So far not so good, why is this margarita recipe so hard to replicate??)

 

[Wood Nymph]

Eventually I just stopped walking and pointed it out to my mom. Other people around us stopped too, and finally someone near us knew what it was….the Space-X launch! It was their first all-civilian launch!

I of course got a video of it, it was so incredibly cool to see, and I was amazed to see that everyone had stopped in their tracks to watch for like 5 minutes. STEM for the win!

You were really lucky to see this. We were at the BC/YC when there was a scheduled launch. We sat on the beach waiting for it and then it was delayed for hours. Many of them seem to be delayed for days.

Even the bridge between the UK and France had no one on it waiting for the show. I have never seen Epcot so dead at night right before the fireworks.

Epcot was mostly empty when we watched fireworks a few weeks ago, but I have never seen the bridge empty!

The fireworks started right as we exited, and we realized there was actually a really great view of them from the bench just outside the IG, so we sat there for a few minutes watching before slowly making our way home for the night.

That sounds perfect.

 

[Paulaparm]

Just got all caught up! Sorry you landed in the hospital, hope all is well now.
A longer trip in 23 sounds great
We were in Cocoa Beach last year and saw a launch, very cool!!

 

[VAtink]

You were really lucky to see this. We were at the BC/YC when there was a scheduled launch. We sat on the beach waiting for it and then it was delayed for hours. Many of them seem to be delayed for days.

Oh wow, yeah we got very lucky! It was so cool to see!

Epcot was mostly empty when we watched fireworks a few weeks ago, but I have never seen the bridge empty!

It was crazy how empty Epcot was, there were times walking through WS we didn't see a single other person. We felt like we had the park to ourselves!

That sounds perfect.

It was so nice! We could hear the music, see the fireworks, and have a nice comfortable seat!

 

[VAtink]

Just got all caught up! Sorry you landed in the hospital, hope all is well now.

Thanks! Yeah, doing much better now.

A longer trip in 23 sounds great

It really does, and it will be nice to check out a new festival.

We were in Cocoa Beach last year and saw a launch, very cool!!

I really want to go see one, from far away it was amazing, I can't imagine what it's like up close!