faline
05-22-2012, 06:51 PM
When – May 3 – 13, 2012
Who – Gene & Linda
Where – Beach Club Villas
Plan for the Day:
Animal Kingdom
Dinner at Palio at the Swan if available
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Nice and in the 70s
Orlando – Sunny and hot with a listed high in the upper 80s
Miles – 6.48 miles
Again, we do not stick with the plan for the day. We decide we’ve done all we find important at Animal Kingdom for this trip so, instead, will head back to Epcot. We walk over after breakfast in the room. We’ve not done Soarin’ yet this trip so we head there first and get a fast pass. With our fast passes secured, we head over to Living the Land which we had previously skipped over due to the length of the line. We are seated behind a family which includes a boy somewhere between 8 and 11 years old. He is seated on the far left. All through the ride, he continues to lean way out of the boat on the left, stand up and touch items as they pass. He even scoops up a handful of the sand from the greenhouse area. Several times, a woman speaks over the loudspeaker warning that everyone must remain seated and must keep hands and arms inside the boat at all times. The adults appear oblivious that these announcements are directed at their son and their family. Never once is the child admonished or asked to change his behavior by either of the adults with him. It’s a most disconcerting ride and I don’t feel I really was able to enjoy it with this distraction. Since it’s still early in the day, we suspect Spaceship:Earth will have a line. It does but, since we’ve not yet done it, we get on line. The line moves relatively quickly and we begin our ride within 15 minutes. We’ve also not been on Mission:Space so head over there. Wow! The line for both the orange and green sides is listed as 80 minutes!! We head over to get fast passes. A cast member there informs us that the ride is actually a walk on and the 80 minute listed time is a glitch in the system they are trying to fix. She is right – both sides are a walk on though we have selected the less intense side. Once we have safely landed on Mars, we take a different sort of flight – turning in our fast passes to go Soarin’.
Since we’re already in the Land, we decide we’ll eat lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I select a roasted chicken while Gene gets a ham and cheese sandwich. Once lunch is complete, we decide to cross over the park once more though I forget why. Along the way, we walk through Innoventions and find that the Disney Visa picture session will soon begin. We get on the short line though, by time it actually opens around 10 minutes later, the line behind us is quite long We have our picture taken with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and receive a coupon for our free print.
I don’t remember where we went from there – perhaps to look through Mouse Gears (where we did not purchase anything) and then headed over to the Canadian pavilion as we had not yet seen the film with Martin Short yet. After our tour of Canada, we decide to return to the Beach Club.
Gene does not want to go swimming so we relax for a bit at home. I use one of the bath bombs I purchased the other day at Downtown Disney. While soaking, I also pour a generous glass of wine – the last of the bottle we had purchased in Italy earlier in the week.
While there, I am able to secure reservations at Bistro de Paris – probably not the best choice at this point in time. As we re-enter Epcot, I realize we never went over to the camera shop to get our free print so decide we will do that after dinner. To really enjoy dinner at Bistro, one should be prepared for a leisurely meal which includes appetizers, entrée, dessert and wine. We were not ready for a large meal this evening and we were not in the mood for wine after having consumed a bottle the evening before not to mention the glass I’d had a bit earlier that afternoon. We end up ordering only entrees which were quite good. I had the seared scallops while Gene had the steak dish. Given that we did not have an appetizer and were too full for a dessert at the time, it did not take us long to finish our meal.
Gene wanted to see the performance times for Herman’s Hermits (whom we’ve seen perform before) so we head off in that direction. One show is complete and they are loading for another to begin in about 15 minutes. Given the lines of folks we see waiting to get in, it’s clear that the theater will be full to overflowing. We continue on towards the camera shop. The park is very busy this evening. It’s still 1-1/2 half hours until Illuminations and folks are already staking out spots for the show. Plus, it’s rather windy this evening which might be a problem depending on where you’re standing. Given the crowds and the wind, we decide we’ll not stay for tonight’s show.
Once at the camera shop, we need to stand on line about 15 minutes before we can pick our print from the 3 shots that were taken that afternoon. We have Goofy’s, Mickey’s and Minnie’s signatures added. The print is printed for us and we are on our way. We trek back to the International Gateway. Since I had not picked up a package from a purchase I had made a couple of days ago, we head over to the store. That only takes a couple of minutes and we are soon back in our room.
I pull out the largest of the bags and do some packing. I’m able to organize some other things but will leave the remainder of the packing until morning. After all, I want to spend some time enjoying our balcony one last evening. We do this and eat the cholocolate mousse we had purchased for dessert the evening before but had not eaten.
Plan for the Day:
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at the Grand Floridian Café
Fly home
Date: Sunday, May 13, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Sunny with highs in the 70s
Orlando – In the 80s but with clouds moving in and possibly rain later this evening
Miles – 3.83 by time we are on board our plane for the trip home
It has pretty much been our tradition to spend whatever park time we have on our last day at the Magic Kingdom ending with lunch at the Grand Floridian Café. On this day, we throw tradition aside and decide, instead, to return to Epcot. Since it’s Mother’s Day, I suspect the Magic Kingdom will be mobbed. Also, I don’t want to feel rushed with getting transportation back to our resort. If we go to Epcot, we can walk back when we’re ready and not deal with the busses. Still, it feels strange to not have the opportunity to see the Castle one last time before we leave.
The first order of the day is to finish our packing. Once this is completed, we drag the two large bags down to the airline checkin desk. This only takes a few minutes. We return to our room, make one more check to make sure nothing was left behind. We then take our carryon bags to bell services and ask that they be stored until we are ready to leave later in the day. I had not checked my e-mail so did not see my checkout documents so we stop at the desk. Also, we wanted to cash a travelers check so we’d have cash on hand for needed tips etc as we make our way home.
Our next stop is the quick service restaurant. We each have egg and cheese croissant omelettes – Gene adds the ham to his. We also order small coffees. The woman at the register wishes me a Happy Mother’s day and then asks if I am a mother. After we pay, we ask about the coffee cups. She says she forgot to charge us for the coffee – tells us it’s not a problem – hands us the cups – and again wishes a Happy Mother’s Day – so we got free coffees with our breakfast!
I’m able to secure reservations at Coral Reef so we will go there for lunch.
We head into Epcot. We’ve pretty much covered everything here so we’ll repeat a few things this day. We start by visiting Nemo and then spend a bit of time watching the manatees. We take a much more pleasant ride on Living with the Land. We have not visited with Ellen this trip so take in Ellen’s Energy Adventure. (I found myself napping through most of energy educational pieces but I have already seen this show numerous times.) There is a line again today for Spaceship:Earth but it is smaller than the line we stood in the day before so we repeat this. When we exit, it is time for our reservation at Coral Reef so we head there.
We check in and are seated within a few minutes. In all the times, I’ve eaten here, we’ve never ever been seated next to the tank and never even on the first level by the tank. Did you think I was going to tell you this time was different? If so, you’d be wrong – no difference. We are seated on the top level – farthest from the tank. A window seat may not have been that exciting on this trip. Except for a shark or two circling around, there were very few fish in sight during our entire meal. I think I saw a ray swim by once. The only other fish that ventured to this area of the tank were smaller but not very great in abundance. At the beginning of the meal, I had thought about ordering cream brulee for dessert since I had not had one and do like them very much. But – by time I finished my meal, I was far too full to also have dessert. Oh well! Next trip! Gene had the salmon and I had the pork. Both were very good.
By time we exited the restaurant, it was pretty cloudy out. Weather reports had indicated that moisture was going to move in later today from the gulf. Guess this is the leading edge. We head into Mexcio and ride the Gran Fiesta Tour. I think this was the first ride we did this trip. It might be fitting that it be the last as well.
Who – Gene & Linda
Where – Beach Club Villas
Plan for the Day:
Animal Kingdom
Dinner at Palio at the Swan if available
Date: Saturday, May 12, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Nice and in the 70s
Orlando – Sunny and hot with a listed high in the upper 80s
Miles – 6.48 miles
Again, we do not stick with the plan for the day. We decide we’ve done all we find important at Animal Kingdom for this trip so, instead, will head back to Epcot. We walk over after breakfast in the room. We’ve not done Soarin’ yet this trip so we head there first and get a fast pass. With our fast passes secured, we head over to Living the Land which we had previously skipped over due to the length of the line. We are seated behind a family which includes a boy somewhere between 8 and 11 years old. He is seated on the far left. All through the ride, he continues to lean way out of the boat on the left, stand up and touch items as they pass. He even scoops up a handful of the sand from the greenhouse area. Several times, a woman speaks over the loudspeaker warning that everyone must remain seated and must keep hands and arms inside the boat at all times. The adults appear oblivious that these announcements are directed at their son and their family. Never once is the child admonished or asked to change his behavior by either of the adults with him. It’s a most disconcerting ride and I don’t feel I really was able to enjoy it with this distraction. Since it’s still early in the day, we suspect Spaceship:Earth will have a line. It does but, since we’ve not yet done it, we get on line. The line moves relatively quickly and we begin our ride within 15 minutes. We’ve also not been on Mission:Space so head over there. Wow! The line for both the orange and green sides is listed as 80 minutes!! We head over to get fast passes. A cast member there informs us that the ride is actually a walk on and the 80 minute listed time is a glitch in the system they are trying to fix. She is right – both sides are a walk on though we have selected the less intense side. Once we have safely landed on Mars, we take a different sort of flight – turning in our fast passes to go Soarin’.
Since we’re already in the Land, we decide we’ll eat lunch at Sunshine Seasons. I select a roasted chicken while Gene gets a ham and cheese sandwich. Once lunch is complete, we decide to cross over the park once more though I forget why. Along the way, we walk through Innoventions and find that the Disney Visa picture session will soon begin. We get on the short line though, by time it actually opens around 10 minutes later, the line behind us is quite long We have our picture taken with Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and receive a coupon for our free print.
I don’t remember where we went from there – perhaps to look through Mouse Gears (where we did not purchase anything) and then headed over to the Canadian pavilion as we had not yet seen the film with Martin Short yet. After our tour of Canada, we decide to return to the Beach Club.
Gene does not want to go swimming so we relax for a bit at home. I use one of the bath bombs I purchased the other day at Downtown Disney. While soaking, I also pour a generous glass of wine – the last of the bottle we had purchased in Italy earlier in the week.
While there, I am able to secure reservations at Bistro de Paris – probably not the best choice at this point in time. As we re-enter Epcot, I realize we never went over to the camera shop to get our free print so decide we will do that after dinner. To really enjoy dinner at Bistro, one should be prepared for a leisurely meal which includes appetizers, entrée, dessert and wine. We were not ready for a large meal this evening and we were not in the mood for wine after having consumed a bottle the evening before not to mention the glass I’d had a bit earlier that afternoon. We end up ordering only entrees which were quite good. I had the seared scallops while Gene had the steak dish. Given that we did not have an appetizer and were too full for a dessert at the time, it did not take us long to finish our meal.
Gene wanted to see the performance times for Herman’s Hermits (whom we’ve seen perform before) so we head off in that direction. One show is complete and they are loading for another to begin in about 15 minutes. Given the lines of folks we see waiting to get in, it’s clear that the theater will be full to overflowing. We continue on towards the camera shop. The park is very busy this evening. It’s still 1-1/2 half hours until Illuminations and folks are already staking out spots for the show. Plus, it’s rather windy this evening which might be a problem depending on where you’re standing. Given the crowds and the wind, we decide we’ll not stay for tonight’s show.
Once at the camera shop, we need to stand on line about 15 minutes before we can pick our print from the 3 shots that were taken that afternoon. We have Goofy’s, Mickey’s and Minnie’s signatures added. The print is printed for us and we are on our way. We trek back to the International Gateway. Since I had not picked up a package from a purchase I had made a couple of days ago, we head over to the store. That only takes a couple of minutes and we are soon back in our room.
I pull out the largest of the bags and do some packing. I’m able to organize some other things but will leave the remainder of the packing until morning. After all, I want to spend some time enjoying our balcony one last evening. We do this and eat the cholocolate mousse we had purchased for dessert the evening before but had not eaten.
Plan for the Day:
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at the Grand Floridian Café
Fly home
Date: Sunday, May 13, 2012
Weather:
Boston – Sunny with highs in the 70s
Orlando – In the 80s but with clouds moving in and possibly rain later this evening
Miles – 3.83 by time we are on board our plane for the trip home
It has pretty much been our tradition to spend whatever park time we have on our last day at the Magic Kingdom ending with lunch at the Grand Floridian Café. On this day, we throw tradition aside and decide, instead, to return to Epcot. Since it’s Mother’s Day, I suspect the Magic Kingdom will be mobbed. Also, I don’t want to feel rushed with getting transportation back to our resort. If we go to Epcot, we can walk back when we’re ready and not deal with the busses. Still, it feels strange to not have the opportunity to see the Castle one last time before we leave.
The first order of the day is to finish our packing. Once this is completed, we drag the two large bags down to the airline checkin desk. This only takes a few minutes. We return to our room, make one more check to make sure nothing was left behind. We then take our carryon bags to bell services and ask that they be stored until we are ready to leave later in the day. I had not checked my e-mail so did not see my checkout documents so we stop at the desk. Also, we wanted to cash a travelers check so we’d have cash on hand for needed tips etc as we make our way home.
Our next stop is the quick service restaurant. We each have egg and cheese croissant omelettes – Gene adds the ham to his. We also order small coffees. The woman at the register wishes me a Happy Mother’s day and then asks if I am a mother. After we pay, we ask about the coffee cups. She says she forgot to charge us for the coffee – tells us it’s not a problem – hands us the cups – and again wishes a Happy Mother’s Day – so we got free coffees with our breakfast!
I’m able to secure reservations at Coral Reef so we will go there for lunch.
We head into Epcot. We’ve pretty much covered everything here so we’ll repeat a few things this day. We start by visiting Nemo and then spend a bit of time watching the manatees. We take a much more pleasant ride on Living with the Land. We have not visited with Ellen this trip so take in Ellen’s Energy Adventure. (I found myself napping through most of energy educational pieces but I have already seen this show numerous times.) There is a line again today for Spaceship:Earth but it is smaller than the line we stood in the day before so we repeat this. When we exit, it is time for our reservation at Coral Reef so we head there.
We check in and are seated within a few minutes. In all the times, I’ve eaten here, we’ve never ever been seated next to the tank and never even on the first level by the tank. Did you think I was going to tell you this time was different? If so, you’d be wrong – no difference. We are seated on the top level – farthest from the tank. A window seat may not have been that exciting on this trip. Except for a shark or two circling around, there were very few fish in sight during our entire meal. I think I saw a ray swim by once. The only other fish that ventured to this area of the tank were smaller but not very great in abundance. At the beginning of the meal, I had thought about ordering cream brulee for dessert since I had not had one and do like them very much. But – by time I finished my meal, I was far too full to also have dessert. Oh well! Next trip! Gene had the salmon and I had the pork. Both were very good.
By time we exited the restaurant, it was pretty cloudy out. Weather reports had indicated that moisture was going to move in later today from the gulf. Guess this is the leading edge. We head into Mexcio and ride the Gran Fiesta Tour. I think this was the first ride we did this trip. It might be fitting that it be the last as well.