29 Forever PP Day 2

Day 2 started with a quick drive over to Olivia's at Old Key West. I have never been to that resort but it is very quaint and looked like they had a replica green from TPC sawgrass off to the left as you pull in. Olivia's was very quiet in the morning just a few couples and a family or two. I had the crab cake eggs Benedict which was really good but you obviously have to be a fan of both to enjoy it. It was comparatively priced to other nice breakfast restaurants and had a few good options I would have tried including an omelette or two that looked quiet appetizing. Service was friendly but you obviously get continually reminded "hey gratuity is not included in DDP you know.

We headed off to the Studios to find that the Big Goofy Blue Hat is down with a returned focus on the Chinese theater. We herded through the cattle to Toy Story Mania and one of our carnival pull blaster thingamagigs did not work. We notified the CM and they just screamed 2nd complaint don't load and didn't offer us a chance to ride again. The park is really in a state of transition. If you don't like shows than it is really hard to dedicate even a 3/4 day there morning to dinner time. The redone great movie ride did not have many changes beyond narration, one mans dream was still open, and with lack of attractions standbys were very long even for a Monday in October. The Muppet Vision Theater was full first time I saw that in awhile.

We had lunch at Hollywood Brown Derby. It had its ups and downs food wise for a so called signature. I had the crab cake appetizer which was different and fried and very doughy with not much crab at all. She had the lobster bisque which was excellent as I'll take her word for it. For entrees I had the burger, it had avocado fried egg and prosciutto. It was exquisite except the bun was a little dry as I expect it sat in the window for too long. She had the Grouper with a lobster tail. It wasn't quite the level of V and A obviously but delicious none the less. They had a trio of desserts which was nothing to write home about, not a place for it. I went and got a Carrot Cake Cookie at Writers Shop which was amazing and everything it is cracked up to be. The service at HBD was awful by the way don't want to rant, but our server was horrid and other tables around us complained as well. We did not as they seemed to have gotten the message.

We finished a few more things throughout the park and went back for a quick workout at the fitness center and nap before dinner a bit later at Yachtsmens. We walked around the boardwalk there was a convention at YandB and it was quite hectic. Yachtsman was excellent. Quick note they do not substitute sides for apps there I had my heart set on the truffle Mac and cheese but settled for a Caesar even though the Caesar was more $ than the Mac so made little sense to me. It was decent. She had the ravioli it was very filling for an app as it was 4 ravioli sand there was quite a bit of cheese. The steaks, both 12 oz NY strip were excellent and I've had some good steak around the country at least. They are cooked and aged well and let the taste of the meat speak for itself. The peppercorn sauce can be a bit overbearing so be careful not to get too much on each bite. Dessert was the YM Sundae a trio of gelato. The strawberry and chocolate was awesome, vanilla not so much.

We walked over to catch the end of food and wine but they were out of a few of the wines at that point and watched illuminations to culminate the day. It is good but you wonder when they are finally going to change it up a bit.

I think things will be a bit chaotic for a while at the Studios park. I hope the new offerings will be worthwhile.

Sorry for your meal at Hollywood Brown Derby - that's always been a favorite of mine though I'm sure the staff here are affected by all else that is happening in this park.

Very surprised the CM didn't let you re-ride Toy Story Mania. That's happened to us a few times and we've always been able to re-ride.

Yeah was surprised at the no re-ride but not offended enough to go out of our way to cause a ruckus. The HBD, we may have caught someone on their off day, but from the looks of it the manager may have reassessed that particular employee.

We love the Yachtsman! We're going there for my Dads birthday this year! Just so happens were all together on Disney for it!

Thanks so much for taking the time out of your vacation to share with us! It helps us live vicariously through you! :mickey: