faline
05-22-2010, 09:01 PM
Friday, May 14, 2010
Plan for the Day:
Disney Studios
Lunch at the Fountain at the Dolphin
Dinner at Narcoosee’s
How the Day Really Went:
While the beds at Coronado Springs suit us much better, there is really too much light in the room for me to be able to sleep well. The beds here are dressed with quilts and another piece of fabric that I can only describe as a table runner. Gene figured out he could take that runner and put it up over the top of the drapes (as there is a space between the top of the drapes and the window) to block out the light coming in there. That made the room darker and we both slept much better.
We got up around 7:30. Last evening, we bought cake at the bakery to have for breakfast this morning. We made coffee. Gene pulled out the cake – oops! We don’t have any forks with which to eat the cake! The cake goes back in the fridge. We drink the coffee while we watch the news. The shuttle is scheduled to launch at 2:20 today. I didn’t know that! We’ll have to keep that in mind and hope we can get a glimpse!
Out to the bus stop we go. After a short wait, we board a bus for Hollywood Studios. This is the only park we have not yet visited on this trip. Once inside the gate, we head to Tower of Terror. It says 13 minutes is the wait time. Goody! Must be a walk-on so we go round the corner. Oops! That line must be more than a walk-on! Let’s get a fast pass instead. Our fast pass will allow us to return at 10. I believe this will be the last day Rock n Roller Coaster will be open before it goes down for refurb. Oops! Guess it went down early as it’s closed – no wonder Tower of Terror built such a long line so quickly.
We head over to the Writer’s Shop. Along the way, we pass by the folks who are auditioning contestants for American Idol. They invite us to try out. Obviously, these folks have never heard me sing. I’d be a far better contestant for the Gong Show (Anyone remember that?) than I am for this so we decline!
At the Writer’s Shop, I get a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and Gene has a muffin. We sit at the counter and watch folks walk by while we eat. We have a nice conversation with the cast member here who tries to convince us to dine at Morrocco. Tunmies satisfied, we walk over to Toy Story Mania. The stand-by line is listed as 40 minutes. It’s already time for our Tower of Terror fast passes so we’re able to pick up fast passes for Toy Story Mania and decide to join the line. Yes, it really is 40 minutes. When we get on line Mr. Potato Head is not operational but, apparently, they are able to get him going again about 5 minutes before we reach him. We have a fun ride and both of us score over 100,000 which, for me, is quite good!
Time for our trip on Tower of Terror. The stand-by line is now listed at 40 minutes but we are able to walk right on with our fast passes. We visit the Magic of Disney Animation. I might consider a pic with Sorcerer Mickey but the line is scary long! It’s close to noon so we pop into the Tune In Lounge and find seats at the bar. Gene has a turkey sandwich and I have a fish sandwich.
After lunch, we’re a couple of minutes late, but are able to see the Beauty and the Beast show. They’ve tweaked this a little bit since we were here last! The Great Movie Ride is literally a walk on. We don’t see any of the clips in the pre-show and are loaded on a tram immediately! We still have fast passes to Toy Story Mania so head there. My score is better than this morning but not by much.
I thought about going to the American Idol experience which we’ve never done but decide we’ll go home and swim instead. As we are leaving the park, I glance at my watch. It’s about 2:10. Then I remember! The shuttle is scheduled to launch at 2:20 today!
We exit the park. We see a group of 15 – 20 folks standing off on the left in the grass. Never saw anyone hang out there before. Of course! They’re waiting for the shuttle! Right on time, we see the shuttle go up on the far horizon! From this distance, it looks like a big firecracker going up. Wow! I can actually hear it! It’s faint but I can hear it which surprises me as I would have thought we were far too distant to hear! Way cool!
A bus pulls away from our stop just as we begin to head that way after watching the shuttle so we need to wait close to 20 minutes before another comes along. Once back in our room, we change into our suits and head down to the pool. Hmmm! There are towel return bins here but no towels. One woman says she had a note in her room saying we should use room towels for this pool. If we do that, we won’t have enough towels for showers after the pool and in the morning. The main pool is about a 5 minute walk away. We head over there and gather up towels but decide to return to the quiet pool instead of staying here.
We go for a relatively quick dip and head back to our room for showers and to dress for dinner. Around 5, we head back out to the bus stop and only wait about 5 minutes or so before a bus for the Magic Kingdom appears. We take that and, from there, board a boat to the Grand Floridian. We walk to the main building. The band is playing. We love the band! We head up to Mizner’s for a pre-dinner drink and to listen to the band.
After drinks, we head downstairs. Gene and I take the opportunity to dance to the song the band is playing. Very nice! We then walk over to Narcoosee’s for our 7 p.m. reservation. We’re seated immediately. Our server is from Morrocco. He’s very nice. He’s been here since 1999 and has not been home for the last 5 years though is planning a trip home soon.
We start our meal with a cheese appetizer. Very yummy! Gene has the filet and I have halibut. Delicous! I end my meal with decaf coffee.
We don’t think we’ll have enough time to get over to the Magic Kingdom before the fireworks so decide to watch them from the dock. While waiting, we have a nice conversation with a couple from Miami. They’re camping in Fort Wilderness in an Airstream. The fireworks are beautiful as always!
To get back home, we take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and then head to the Coronado Springs bus stop. One family is there and said the bus was so packed they opted to wait for the next one. We wait about 10 minutes for a bus. When we pull away, our bus is not full which surprised me! We get off at El Centro so we can get some forks! From there, we walk home.
This has been a wonderful day!
Plan for the Day:
Disney Studios
Lunch at the Fountain at the Dolphin
Dinner at Narcoosee’s
How the Day Really Went:
While the beds at Coronado Springs suit us much better, there is really too much light in the room for me to be able to sleep well. The beds here are dressed with quilts and another piece of fabric that I can only describe as a table runner. Gene figured out he could take that runner and put it up over the top of the drapes (as there is a space between the top of the drapes and the window) to block out the light coming in there. That made the room darker and we both slept much better.
We got up around 7:30. Last evening, we bought cake at the bakery to have for breakfast this morning. We made coffee. Gene pulled out the cake – oops! We don’t have any forks with which to eat the cake! The cake goes back in the fridge. We drink the coffee while we watch the news. The shuttle is scheduled to launch at 2:20 today. I didn’t know that! We’ll have to keep that in mind and hope we can get a glimpse!
Out to the bus stop we go. After a short wait, we board a bus for Hollywood Studios. This is the only park we have not yet visited on this trip. Once inside the gate, we head to Tower of Terror. It says 13 minutes is the wait time. Goody! Must be a walk-on so we go round the corner. Oops! That line must be more than a walk-on! Let’s get a fast pass instead. Our fast pass will allow us to return at 10. I believe this will be the last day Rock n Roller Coaster will be open before it goes down for refurb. Oops! Guess it went down early as it’s closed – no wonder Tower of Terror built such a long line so quickly.
We head over to the Writer’s Shop. Along the way, we pass by the folks who are auditioning contestants for American Idol. They invite us to try out. Obviously, these folks have never heard me sing. I’d be a far better contestant for the Gong Show (Anyone remember that?) than I am for this so we decline!
At the Writer’s Shop, I get a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie and Gene has a muffin. We sit at the counter and watch folks walk by while we eat. We have a nice conversation with the cast member here who tries to convince us to dine at Morrocco. Tunmies satisfied, we walk over to Toy Story Mania. The stand-by line is listed as 40 minutes. It’s already time for our Tower of Terror fast passes so we’re able to pick up fast passes for Toy Story Mania and decide to join the line. Yes, it really is 40 minutes. When we get on line Mr. Potato Head is not operational but, apparently, they are able to get him going again about 5 minutes before we reach him. We have a fun ride and both of us score over 100,000 which, for me, is quite good!
Time for our trip on Tower of Terror. The stand-by line is now listed at 40 minutes but we are able to walk right on with our fast passes. We visit the Magic of Disney Animation. I might consider a pic with Sorcerer Mickey but the line is scary long! It’s close to noon so we pop into the Tune In Lounge and find seats at the bar. Gene has a turkey sandwich and I have a fish sandwich.
After lunch, we’re a couple of minutes late, but are able to see the Beauty and the Beast show. They’ve tweaked this a little bit since we were here last! The Great Movie Ride is literally a walk on. We don’t see any of the clips in the pre-show and are loaded on a tram immediately! We still have fast passes to Toy Story Mania so head there. My score is better than this morning but not by much.
I thought about going to the American Idol experience which we’ve never done but decide we’ll go home and swim instead. As we are leaving the park, I glance at my watch. It’s about 2:10. Then I remember! The shuttle is scheduled to launch at 2:20 today!
We exit the park. We see a group of 15 – 20 folks standing off on the left in the grass. Never saw anyone hang out there before. Of course! They’re waiting for the shuttle! Right on time, we see the shuttle go up on the far horizon! From this distance, it looks like a big firecracker going up. Wow! I can actually hear it! It’s faint but I can hear it which surprises me as I would have thought we were far too distant to hear! Way cool!
A bus pulls away from our stop just as we begin to head that way after watching the shuttle so we need to wait close to 20 minutes before another comes along. Once back in our room, we change into our suits and head down to the pool. Hmmm! There are towel return bins here but no towels. One woman says she had a note in her room saying we should use room towels for this pool. If we do that, we won’t have enough towels for showers after the pool and in the morning. The main pool is about a 5 minute walk away. We head over there and gather up towels but decide to return to the quiet pool instead of staying here.
We go for a relatively quick dip and head back to our room for showers and to dress for dinner. Around 5, we head back out to the bus stop and only wait about 5 minutes or so before a bus for the Magic Kingdom appears. We take that and, from there, board a boat to the Grand Floridian. We walk to the main building. The band is playing. We love the band! We head up to Mizner’s for a pre-dinner drink and to listen to the band.
After drinks, we head downstairs. Gene and I take the opportunity to dance to the song the band is playing. Very nice! We then walk over to Narcoosee’s for our 7 p.m. reservation. We’re seated immediately. Our server is from Morrocco. He’s very nice. He’s been here since 1999 and has not been home for the last 5 years though is planning a trip home soon.
We start our meal with a cheese appetizer. Very yummy! Gene has the filet and I have halibut. Delicous! I end my meal with decaf coffee.
We don’t think we’ll have enough time to get over to the Magic Kingdom before the fireworks so decide to watch them from the dock. While waiting, we have a nice conversation with a couple from Miami. They’re camping in Fort Wilderness in an Airstream. The fireworks are beautiful as always!
To get back home, we take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom and then head to the Coronado Springs bus stop. One family is there and said the bus was so packed they opted to wait for the next one. We wait about 10 minutes for a bus. When we pull away, our bus is not full which surprised me! We get off at El Centro so we can get some forks! From there, we walk home.
This has been a wonderful day!