faline
05-16-2012, 12:33 PM
When – May 3 – 13, 2012
Who – Gene & Linda
Where – Beach Club Villas
Plan for the Day:
Magic Kingdom
If reservations are available, try out Il Mulino
Date: Friday, May 4, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Cool and Cloud Covered with a high of 58 – but who cares? I’m not there!
Orlando – Sunny with a fair amount of cloud cover. Expected high of 86 with a humidity level of 46% - still not bad for this time of year
Miles – 6.28
In my last post, I forgot to mention that, on our way from the bus stop to our room, we saw two very large turtles sunning themselves on a fountain head that was not in operation.
Back to where I left off - We change into our bathing suits and head downstairs to the quiet pool. The water is warm and the pool is not overly crowded. The water is so warm, that the air feels cold as we exit the pool – plus it has not been humid here which has been a real plus.
After our pool excursion, we head back to the room, shower and change for dinner. There’s still a little while until our 7:40 p.m. reservation at Yachtsmen. We wander through the shop in the Beach Club – nothing says “Buy me!” so we continue on. It’s such a pleasant evening that we head to the pool bar and order drinks there. The bartender is amazed that we’ve been able to get same day reservations for Yatchsmen’s. We sit at a table close to the walkway. From there, we have an excellent view of the Boardwalk area. One of the lifeguards, who happens to be walking by, offers to take our picture together and he does.
When we finish our drinks, it’s just about time for our reservation so we head around the pool and enter the Yacht Club. We’re told they’re running 15-20 minutes behind reservation time in seating folks. It’s after 8 p.m. before we’re seated. Thomas is our server. When asked about previous visits, we mention having dined there in December and having had Barry as our server. Thomas says he hasn’t seen Barry in quite a long while and says Barry is a seasonal server.
We begin our meal with the cheese plate – interesting but not overly impressive. I ordered the filet mignon which is excellent. Gene has the New York Strip steak which is also excellent. We had ordered carmelized onions as well and fortunately, Thomas told us the order was large enough to share. In fact, it would have been enough for four to share! We did not do the onions justice – I didn’t even finish the potatoes on my plate. While I might have liked a coffee or dessert, it’s rather late by time we finish and I don’t feel like adding anything into my tummy.
It’s still a gorgeous night out with a brilliant, almost full moon. We decide we’ll take the long way home and walk around the hoop and through the Boardwalk area. As we are crossing the bridge between the Yacht Club and Boardwalk, Gene is playing with this Google Sky Map ap. A group of people are coming by and the man comments that the ap is exactly what he’s been trying to describe to his girlfriend. Gene and group talk about the ap, stars and planets for a bit and we all move forward towards Boardwalk. They are heading to Jellyrolls where we part ways but not before they recommend that we go sometime and tell us it’s lots of fun.
We continue around the loop, along the way, we stop into a few of the shops including Wyland’s. There’s a sign out front indicating that Wyland, himself, will be on site on Saturday the 5th. No purchases are made and it is not long before we are back in our room.
Once there, we again spend an hour or so relaxing on our balcony and watching the late evening swimmers below.
When the pool is empty, a duck immediately enters the pool and clearly is enjoying having the entire pool all to herself. She paddles from end to end – from side to side – occasionally stopping on the steps or hopping up on the pool edge before continuing her explorations of every corner and space in the pool. At one point, a gentleman enters the pool and it appears she grudgingly shares the space with him, even swimming alongside him as he makes his way from one end to the other. He does not long linger in the water and Ms. Duck appears quite happy to once again have “her” pool all to herself. She again speeds from end to end, side to side, and around every corner. It was pretty amusing to watch but the hour was late and there’s more park to explore in the morning!
Plan for the Day:
Epcot
Lunch at Kringla Bakeri Os Kafe (Norway)
Dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel (if available)
Date: Saturday, May 5, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Still cool and Cloud Covered with a high of 57 – but, again, who cares? I’m not there!
Orlando – Sunny and hot with a high of 90 degrees today. While the humidity is still listed as only 39%, it certainly feels much more humid today.
Miles – Haven’t finished the day yet so am not sure
We’re heading back to Epcot today. Before we leave home, we breakfast in and breakfast is a repeat of the former morning. We arrive at the International Gateway just as Epcot is opening. We walk towards the front and wander through Innoventions – just because we hardly ever enter either building any more. A Segway training session is taking place. We’re walking by as a storm show (I forget the official name) is about to begin. It’s pretty cool. First they do a 3-d presentation of a tornado coming through and then the audience has a chance to improve the structures and plantings to better withstand such an event. Both Gene & I got 8 correct answers out of 8 questions. We find Nemo, walk right into a presentation of Crush that is just about to start, watch the Circle of Life, and skip Living with the Land which has an outrageous line. Surprisingly, there’s also a line for Figment though wait time is less than 5 minutes. We walk right into Captain EO and, from the applause, it’s clear that there’s a group of Michael Jackson fans in attendance.
From there, we walk over to Norway. We each have roast beef sandwiches. Gene has a chocolate chip cookie and I have mousse cake. This is the first time we’ve ever been here. The dining pavilion is truly a hidden gem – shady, cool, and pleasant even on this hot day.
Because we’ve entered through the International Gateway since we’ve arrived, we’ve not yet seen the Fantasia Topiary at the main entrance so we head there next. Along the way, we stop at a dining podium out in front of the Mexican pavilion. No luck with a reservation for La Hacienda but, what was I thinking?? After all, it’s Cinco de Mayo!!
Continuing towards the main entrance, we find the Topiary Peacock near Spaceship Earth (My goodness – look at that long, long line for Spaceship Earth!!). Also, before we get to the front, and since we’re passing by, we enter Guest Relations and are able to secure a reservation for this evening at Il Mulino – one day later than originally planned but that works for us.
The Fantasia themed topiaries at the front are wonderful! Sorcerer Mickey is terrific as are the ostriches, hippos and other topiaries featured here. Next we’re off to find the Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald Daisy topiaries located near the old Wonders of Life Pavilion. We then enter the pavilion itself which is being used at the Festival Center. We wander around and stop briefly at a presentation about plants. We wander through “For the Birds” and find a couple of helpful ideas for our deck feeders. After a trek through the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden – look at the all white garden – isn’t that beautiful?! – and Bambi’s Butterfly House, we head off to China and watch the movie there. We look at wine in Germany and examine a few beer mugs/glasses before moving on. We do take pictures of the Snow White and seven dwarves topiaries which, this year, is located along the lagoon. In Italy, we check out the new wine cellar – looks pretty cool and decide to purchase a bottle of wine (but not in the wine cellar – in the wine shop). Here, we also find the Lady and the Tramp topiaries.
We’re now pretty hot and decide to head back to our room. Besides that, the sandals I’m wearing this day are bothering my toes. I put moleskin on the right toe this morning and that side is doing well but the left toe is not happy. I’ve put on two different pieces of moleskin but neither has “stuck” as it should have and keeps slipping to a new area leaving the sensitive area to continue to rub. In fact, as we near our resort, I remove the sandals entirely and complete the walk bare footed.
We’ve been relaxing at home for the last hour or so. Gene is watching a car race. I think I’ll take a soak in the tub before changing for dinner.
To be continued…….
Who – Gene & Linda
Where – Beach Club Villas
Plan for the Day:
Magic Kingdom
If reservations are available, try out Il Mulino
Date: Friday, May 4, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Cool and Cloud Covered with a high of 58 – but who cares? I’m not there!
Orlando – Sunny with a fair amount of cloud cover. Expected high of 86 with a humidity level of 46% - still not bad for this time of year
Miles – 6.28
In my last post, I forgot to mention that, on our way from the bus stop to our room, we saw two very large turtles sunning themselves on a fountain head that was not in operation.
Back to where I left off - We change into our bathing suits and head downstairs to the quiet pool. The water is warm and the pool is not overly crowded. The water is so warm, that the air feels cold as we exit the pool – plus it has not been humid here which has been a real plus.
After our pool excursion, we head back to the room, shower and change for dinner. There’s still a little while until our 7:40 p.m. reservation at Yachtsmen. We wander through the shop in the Beach Club – nothing says “Buy me!” so we continue on. It’s such a pleasant evening that we head to the pool bar and order drinks there. The bartender is amazed that we’ve been able to get same day reservations for Yatchsmen’s. We sit at a table close to the walkway. From there, we have an excellent view of the Boardwalk area. One of the lifeguards, who happens to be walking by, offers to take our picture together and he does.
When we finish our drinks, it’s just about time for our reservation so we head around the pool and enter the Yacht Club. We’re told they’re running 15-20 minutes behind reservation time in seating folks. It’s after 8 p.m. before we’re seated. Thomas is our server. When asked about previous visits, we mention having dined there in December and having had Barry as our server. Thomas says he hasn’t seen Barry in quite a long while and says Barry is a seasonal server.
We begin our meal with the cheese plate – interesting but not overly impressive. I ordered the filet mignon which is excellent. Gene has the New York Strip steak which is also excellent. We had ordered carmelized onions as well and fortunately, Thomas told us the order was large enough to share. In fact, it would have been enough for four to share! We did not do the onions justice – I didn’t even finish the potatoes on my plate. While I might have liked a coffee or dessert, it’s rather late by time we finish and I don’t feel like adding anything into my tummy.
It’s still a gorgeous night out with a brilliant, almost full moon. We decide we’ll take the long way home and walk around the hoop and through the Boardwalk area. As we are crossing the bridge between the Yacht Club and Boardwalk, Gene is playing with this Google Sky Map ap. A group of people are coming by and the man comments that the ap is exactly what he’s been trying to describe to his girlfriend. Gene and group talk about the ap, stars and planets for a bit and we all move forward towards Boardwalk. They are heading to Jellyrolls where we part ways but not before they recommend that we go sometime and tell us it’s lots of fun.
We continue around the loop, along the way, we stop into a few of the shops including Wyland’s. There’s a sign out front indicating that Wyland, himself, will be on site on Saturday the 5th. No purchases are made and it is not long before we are back in our room.
Once there, we again spend an hour or so relaxing on our balcony and watching the late evening swimmers below.
When the pool is empty, a duck immediately enters the pool and clearly is enjoying having the entire pool all to herself. She paddles from end to end – from side to side – occasionally stopping on the steps or hopping up on the pool edge before continuing her explorations of every corner and space in the pool. At one point, a gentleman enters the pool and it appears she grudgingly shares the space with him, even swimming alongside him as he makes his way from one end to the other. He does not long linger in the water and Ms. Duck appears quite happy to once again have “her” pool all to herself. She again speeds from end to end, side to side, and around every corner. It was pretty amusing to watch but the hour was late and there’s more park to explore in the morning!
Plan for the Day:
Epcot
Lunch at Kringla Bakeri Os Kafe (Norway)
Dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel (if available)
Date: Saturday, May 5, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Still cool and Cloud Covered with a high of 57 – but, again, who cares? I’m not there!
Orlando – Sunny and hot with a high of 90 degrees today. While the humidity is still listed as only 39%, it certainly feels much more humid today.
Miles – Haven’t finished the day yet so am not sure
We’re heading back to Epcot today. Before we leave home, we breakfast in and breakfast is a repeat of the former morning. We arrive at the International Gateway just as Epcot is opening. We walk towards the front and wander through Innoventions – just because we hardly ever enter either building any more. A Segway training session is taking place. We’re walking by as a storm show (I forget the official name) is about to begin. It’s pretty cool. First they do a 3-d presentation of a tornado coming through and then the audience has a chance to improve the structures and plantings to better withstand such an event. Both Gene & I got 8 correct answers out of 8 questions. We find Nemo, walk right into a presentation of Crush that is just about to start, watch the Circle of Life, and skip Living with the Land which has an outrageous line. Surprisingly, there’s also a line for Figment though wait time is less than 5 minutes. We walk right into Captain EO and, from the applause, it’s clear that there’s a group of Michael Jackson fans in attendance.
From there, we walk over to Norway. We each have roast beef sandwiches. Gene has a chocolate chip cookie and I have mousse cake. This is the first time we’ve ever been here. The dining pavilion is truly a hidden gem – shady, cool, and pleasant even on this hot day.
Because we’ve entered through the International Gateway since we’ve arrived, we’ve not yet seen the Fantasia Topiary at the main entrance so we head there next. Along the way, we stop at a dining podium out in front of the Mexican pavilion. No luck with a reservation for La Hacienda but, what was I thinking?? After all, it’s Cinco de Mayo!!
Continuing towards the main entrance, we find the Topiary Peacock near Spaceship Earth (My goodness – look at that long, long line for Spaceship Earth!!). Also, before we get to the front, and since we’re passing by, we enter Guest Relations and are able to secure a reservation for this evening at Il Mulino – one day later than originally planned but that works for us.
The Fantasia themed topiaries at the front are wonderful! Sorcerer Mickey is terrific as are the ostriches, hippos and other topiaries featured here. Next we’re off to find the Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald Daisy topiaries located near the old Wonders of Life Pavilion. We then enter the pavilion itself which is being used at the Festival Center. We wander around and stop briefly at a presentation about plants. We wander through “For the Birds” and find a couple of helpful ideas for our deck feeders. After a trek through the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden – look at the all white garden – isn’t that beautiful?! – and Bambi’s Butterfly House, we head off to China and watch the movie there. We look at wine in Germany and examine a few beer mugs/glasses before moving on. We do take pictures of the Snow White and seven dwarves topiaries which, this year, is located along the lagoon. In Italy, we check out the new wine cellar – looks pretty cool and decide to purchase a bottle of wine (but not in the wine cellar – in the wine shop). Here, we also find the Lady and the Tramp topiaries.
We’re now pretty hot and decide to head back to our room. Besides that, the sandals I’m wearing this day are bothering my toes. I put moleskin on the right toe this morning and that side is doing well but the left toe is not happy. I’ve put on two different pieces of moleskin but neither has “stuck” as it should have and keeps slipping to a new area leaving the sensitive area to continue to rub. In fact, as we near our resort, I remove the sandals entirely and complete the walk bare footed.
We’ve been relaxing at home for the last hour or so. Gene is watching a car race. I think I’ll take a soak in the tub before changing for dinner.
To be continued…….