May 16, 2008 - Day 22: On Our Way Back Hom

We knew it was coming, we had plane tickets with our names on them, we had to go home :(

We were up at the godawful hour of 6 am, quickly threw the last of our bits and pieces in the suitcase and started lugging the copious amounts of luggage down to the lobby. We were running a few minutes late but caught up once on the freeway. Saw a lovely sunrise as we drove to the airport. Dropped off the car at Alamo and checked into Alaska fairly quickly. There's just a small counter at this airport and not much of a wait.

Had some breakfast at Chik-fil-A and popped into a few shops to kill some time. Then it was through security and off to our gate. The flight was on time fortunately but really full. It was a bumpy ride to Seattle but it did smooth out the last hour or so. My tummy was bothering me today so it wasn't the best flight ever but I kept myself occupied by watching a movie on my itouch and reading.

Arrived in Seattle a little early which was good as we didn't have a huge layover. Got to our next gate and settled in for a bit of a wait, figures this flight was almost an hour late. Arrived in Seattle before 3, collected all that luggage and headed out to our car.

The weather at home is awesome, almost as hot as Orlando. I knew we would finally have nicer weather once we got home!

Still it was sad to come home to the real world but we're already planning our return for summerof 2009!

May 15, 2008 - Day 21: Fort Wilderness, Downtown Disney, Disney Hollywood Studios

So sad, our last day here in the World, on vacation, back to the real world tomorrow, at least after we fly home.

We had a fairly busy day planned. Gary and I were up by 7 and out before 7:30 in order to get to Ft. Wilderness for Gary’s segway adventure. I left him there and went and sat down by the lake, there were tables/chairs/umbrellas. Spent some lazy time just reading and watching all the families head to the dock to catch boats over to the Magic Kingdom.

Met up with Gary at 10:30 and we went back to Boardwalk. Made sure Brynna was awake and got working on the packing. Shortly after we headed out to Downtown Disney to make an exchange on her sweatshirt and have some lunch at Earl of Sandwich.

Back to the resort after filling the rental with gas, changed, and headed poolside for a bit. The water was a tad chilly but warmed up once you immersed yourself. Nice pool, there was a coney island theme to it and a roller coaster like water slide where you came out of a clown’s mouth. Didn’t try it but Gary had a few runs. After swimming we dried off and had a couple of yummy frozen bevvies at the bar, people watched and finally went back to our room. More packing, and I thought we hadn’t unpacked much.

We then headed over to DHS by boat, such a lovely way to travel. Got there around 6 and decided to do the animation building and found the Incredibles so Gary got his picture with them and Sorcerer Mickey was also nearby so I got my picture with him. Brynna went off to have dinner with Jimmy and Ryan. Gary and I then went to the ABC Commissary for dinner, I had a cuban sandwich which was very yummy.

Off to Coaster for one last ride and then we hoofed it out of the parks to catch our boat back. Met up with Brynna in front of the Boardwalk Bakery and grabbed a dessert to go. Now we’re back in our room, the place is pretty much packed up and we’re just about ready to call it a night as we’re up at 6 am and on our way back home!

May 14, 2008 - Day 20: Universal Studios Orlando

Aaagh, I’m exhausted! It was a terribly long day and my poor feet!

We had a bit of a later start especially since I had some insomnia last night. I was up at 8:30, showered and did my bit on the computer, then I woke Gary & Brynna around 9 and we finally got out just before 10. We drove thru McDs for some breakfast and headed on out to Universal.

Seems like we parked 10 miles away, wish I’d brought my pedometer today, I’m sure it would have been a large amount of kms. We went directly to Universal Studios side. I tried to get a guest assistance pass and all they would give me was a pass to sit in an air-conditioned area while the others waited in line. Didn’t think that was going to do much for us in the way of getting onto anything so we bought their version of a fastpass, an express pass. Cost a few $$ but worth it in order to do what we wanted to do in just the one day.

First stop was ET, such a fun ride, especially when he says your name at the end. Then we bypassed the new Simpsons ride as it’s a motion simulator and my barfie family didn’t want to test it. We did 2 rounds of Men in Black instead, lots of fun. Then Jaws, Disaster and the Mummy, absolutely the best Universal ride I think. We had some pizza for lunch in there somewhere too. Then our last attraction in that park was Terminator 3D. Haven’t seen it for a while but it’s still fun to experience.

It was stinking hot so we walked over to Islands of Adventure and started in Seussland. There we did the overhead train thingy, can’t remember it’s name but it’s never worked before when we’ve been here so it was fun to try it. Got a few good pictures being above the “land”. From there Brynna and I rode Ice, one of the Duelling Dragon coasters. It made me a little off balance and I kept my eyes closed for about ¾ of it! From there we went on Jurassic Park, always fun to get wet on, and we did, especially Brynna. We still managed to dry off fairly quickly although it was after 5. Quickly headed to the comic book area of the park, where we did Spiderman which wasn’t as much fun as it stopped several times and the show went dark. Oh well. Then we did the Hulk, not sure why, maybe cause it was the last ride of the day but I did it and kept my eyes open at least ¾ of the time. This one made me a little barfy but I managed to walk it off after a bit.

Since we were totally exhausted we decided to head to the mall! Dumb I know, but we had to exchange Brynna’s speakers at Apple. That done, we quickly went to Target to pick up sturdier luggage for our extras, my flimsy extra bag just wasn’t cutting it.

From there it was to the Olive Garden, I had a couple of $25 gc so we put them to good use and had a very good meal, as always.

We’re now back in the room and trying to pack some stuff away. Tomorrow is an early day, Gary has his segway experience booked at Ford Wilderness.

May 13, 2008 - Day 19: Boardwalk Villas & Downtown Disney

Definitely a much different day than we’ve had in the past 10 days or so.

Gary and I were up around 9ish so we grabbed our pastries from last night, some cheesestrings and headed out to the Boardwalk. I plonked Gary and the stuff down at a nice table overlooking the water and near the speakers playing 30s music and went over to the Boardwalk Bakery, I needed a serious coffee fix. They had lattes at the bakery so I got a double and hot chocolate for Gary. Then we had a lovely breakfast just watching the world go by. After we read until the sun hit us and we moved to another spot in the shade. Did that until 11 or so then woke up Brynna.

Didn’t do much else today but relax at the resort, read and walk around a bit. A change of pace for sure.

We did, however, meet up with Matt for dinner. We wanted to take him out to thank him for the use of his discount and for helping out Brynna when she’s here. We went to Rainforest Cafe (as I had gift cards) and had a really good meal. Again, he’s a very entertaining young man so the conversation was lively. I had Pastalaya which was a spicy cajun type jambalya only served with linguine instead of rice. For dessert we all shared a Volcano, man that’s a lot of brownie and ice cream!

Matt had to leave us after dinner so we said our goodbyes and quickly picked up an ornament in the Christmas store and then motored over to AMC Theatres to see yet another movie, this time What Happens In Vegas. It was very funny, very good, liked it better than Made of Honor. We got back to the room around midnight and pretty much crashed. Universal tomorrow!

May 12, 2008 - Day 18: Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, Epcot

Woo, lots happening today. Well, we didn’t get a really early start to the day but we were up and packed and out of our room by 10ish. We went straight to Boardwalk, love it! Checked in but of course we didn’t get our room assignment yet so we left our baggage with bell services and headed off to Animal Kingdom. There we went straight to Flametree BBQ cause we were really hungry. We all had the beef sandwiches with beans and key lime pie. We dined at our favourite spot overlooking the water and Everest.

From there we went on Safari, long line so it was nice to have the pass. Even then we waited about 15 minutes but it was a nice journey. We saw lots of animals, even had a giraffe leading our vehicle, he just kept ambling down the road! The lions were sleeping though, as kitty cats tend to do mid-day in the heat. After, we went to Expedition Everest as Gary hadn’t ridden it yet. It was fun as usual and fortunately he didn’t get very nauseous, just a little (it goes backwards in the dark for a bit). It was hot and crowded so we abandoned the park at that point.

Off to DD, where we had a little bit of exchanging to do at World of Disney, then over to Goofy’s Candy Kitchen to use up 10 snack credits. Gary and Brynna got lots of fudge, I got rice krispie Mickey ears. We headed back to Boardwalk where we got our room, 5073, 5th floor, with a view of the front driveway, lobby area. Would have loved a water/pool view but those would have cost us more points (we “rented” points from a Disney Vacation Club member). Our room is quite lovely. There’s a queen-sized bed, sofabed, balcony with 2 chairs, separate toilet/sink areas, and a small kitchenette area with sink, fridge, cupboards and microwave. It’s all very light and airy, much different than Pop.

We hung around our room until 6 then walked over to Epcot for dinner. The Boardwalk is really neat with restaurants, ESPN Club, Spoodles, Flying Fish and some shops. Didn’t take long to walk over and we just poked in and out of shops until our reservation time at Tutto Italia. There we had a lovely dinner, the dining room is very nice. I had the canneloni as did Brynna and Gary had steak. For dessert Brynna and I both the profiteroles (cream puffs filled with vanilla gelato) smothered in warm chocolate sauce, sooooo good. Gary had some sort of gelato & fruit thingy ($14!!).

After dinner we found a bench, coincidentally near where Davy Jones was performing. I left Gary and Brynna there and hoofed it to Paris, to use the last of our snacks on pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast & lunch. Got back there, listened to the end of his performance then we watched Illuminations which I haven’t seen since 1999. It was still a wonderful fireworks show, left me with warm fuzzies.

We walked back to our resort, slowly, enjoying the night breeze and the entertainment on Boardwalk (sidewalk performers). Back to our room where we watched some TV and drifted off to sleep.

May 11, 2008 - Day 17: Epcot

Happy Mother’s Day to me and all you moms, and Happy Birthday to my mom.

Today we took it a little easier. I let the sleepyheads stay in bed until 11 am and then Brynna had a paper to finish to today so she worked on that while I packed up some more. Then we headed out to Downtown Disney around 1 pm and went to Wolfgang Puck’s Express for lunch. Best value for our counter service meal, it came to $53. I had rigatoni with chicken alfredo and caesar salad followed by creme brule. Gary had a bbq chicken pocket sandwich and Brynna had the 4 cheese macaroni, both had frozen yogurt for dessert. We enjoyed our meal so much, we decided we might go back tomorrow.

We popped into a few shops, and Goofy’s Candy Kitchen to see where we could spend our accumulated snack credits. There was much to choose from so we’ll go back there tomorrow as well.

Then we headed over to Caribbean Beach Resort, Brynna’s still on the hunt for a specific sweatshirt. It wasn’t there but we did pick up a few little things and looked around the resort. We’re definitely coming back here next time, we did stay here 9 years ago and loved it then too.

So off to Epcot next. We headed down to World Showcase since we hadn’t really been there yet, firstly to the new O Canada circlevision movie. It was really good, a definite improvement over the very old one they had before. Martin Short narrated it and was very funny.

From there we meandered around the lagoon until we found the American Theatre and a huge line in the sun for......Davy Jones! Yes, I jumped in line too and waited patiently in the sun (altho it was totally windy today so that helped). We got seated after about 20 minutes and waited for another 45 minutes, but at least we were partially shaded. It was a very good show, Davy’s still a cutie, even though he’s in his 60s! He sounds just the same and did a nice selection of some past hits and a few I hadn’t heard. He even came crashing, literally, through the audience just a few feet away from us so I was trying to video on my camera and I had Brynna trying to get a few shots. The show was only 40 min. long but worth it. It was also very packed too, and when we were leaving the next show lineup was already in place and very long too. He’s performing 3 shows nightly for 5 nights.

We headed over to Germany after, and strolled though the shops while we waited until our reservation time of 6:55. We were eating at the Biergarten tonight, and it was quite fun. You’re placed at a table with another family, in a biergarten type atmosphere, like you’re outside in front of a stage. Then the oompahpah band performed which was fun. The food was definitely a change from what we’d been eating and very good too. We had schnitzel, sausages, sauerkraut, hot potato salad, red cabbage, rouladen, pretzel rolls and then for dessert bavarian cheesecake (to die for), black forest cake and strudel. The family we sat with was from S. Carolina, very nice to talk to.

We decided to get the heck out of there before Illuminations as Brynna had to finish her paper and email it off. We’re going to finally see Illuminations tomorrow night after dinner. So we got back to the resort just after 9 and I watched a movie on TV and Gary read. To bed around midnight.

May 10, 2008 - Day 16: Shopping & Magic Kingdom

My aching feet, legs, etc. Twas a long day to be on them and I should have had my pedometer on today. By the way, I’ve worn it a few times and I clock between 5 – 8 km a day walking around here, sometimes even more cause I forget to put it on.

We were up and at em by 11 am, and at Downtown Disney by 11:30. We had lunch at Earl of Sandwich, they have such good food there. I had the Frenchy, dijon, ham & brie, excellent choice, washed down with Earl Gray Lemonade. We popped into a few stores just to look and then dropped Gary off at Virgin Records as he planned to look around there then hop on a bus back to the resort.

Brynna and I took off to find Marianne, a store we really liked in San Juan. It was designed for the larger latino ladies, lol. I think size small up to 3X. Anyhow I picked up a blouse for work and Brynna found a really cute sundress for $16.

Then we were off to find the Florida Mall. Gary’s Navigator came in handy and had us there in no time. I think we were at this mall for at least 3 hours. No wonder my feet were so sore. I did, however, find benches from time to time. I found a top for me, and an evening bag and an over the shoulder bag (good for holidaying). Brynna picked up some books, 3 tops and a portable ipod speaker system that we actually have to exchange as it doesn’t zip properly. Back to the mall, ugh.

We headed back after 5 and made it through traffic just about 5:40. We changed and got some stuff ready to pack up later then left for the Polynesian Resort. We were meeting Brynna’s friend Joey there and hoping to get in as a party of 4 since we only had ressies for 3. Didn’t seem to be a problem, we just had to wait about 20 minutes to get in. We had an awesome table this time, view out of the windows towards the Magic Kingdom and good viewing of the hula lessons/coconut racing they did with the kids.

Joey is a really nice young man, very polite and quite interesting to talk to. He’s in school as well as working p/t at WDW and Starbucks. Dinner was great yet again. The menu had changed a little though. We started out with a Pineapple Bread, Salad w/Honey-Lime Dressing, Wings, Potstickers, Broccoli & Snow Peas, Lo Mein Noodles and of course all the skewers of meat they come around with. The steak was excellent tonight, especially dipped in the peanut sauce. This was all followed with Bread Pudding, Ice Cream and Bananas Foster Sauce. Such a good restaurant, we go every trip and enjoy it each time. It was Joey’s first time and he seemed to enjoy it as well.

We finished just before 9 and all headed via monorail over to MK. The parade was just starting so we dashed over to Tomorrowland and did Buzz Lightyear (Gary got the highest score you can get 999,999) and then we did Space Mountain. From there it was almost fireworks time so we had to zigzag through crowds to get over to the Haunted Mansion which was “dead” quiet since everyone was watching the fireworks. After that we did Big Thunder Mt. Railway which is quite nice at night and then we did Jungle Cruise, it’s shutting down tomorrow for refurb. It was 11 and the park was closing so we just got into the Main St. Emporium when the next Spectromagic parade started so we were stuck in the store until it was done. I picked up a few little things and got to use Joey’s discount this time. We parted ways at the Polynesian parking lot and ended up at Pop after midnight. Darn hard finding a parking spot too. I decided to pack up Brynna’s suitcase so did that, read and finally off to bed at 1:30 am.

May 9, 2008 - Day 15: Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios

Wow, these days are all starting to blur together! I was up by 9:30 am today (gosh I never sleep this much at home) and fiddled around on the computer for a bit, had a shower, then woke up the family. We were out of the room by 11 am today and headed off to Epcot. Brynna hadn’t really done anything there yet so we went to the Land and had lunch at Sunshine Seasons. They have some of the best counter service food here. We all had turkey and muenster cheese sandwiches and Gary and I shared a key lime pie and fruit tart for dessert. Today Epcot was filled with elementary school kids on field trips, there were several different uniforms to be seen, lots and lots of kids. We were lucky to get a table.

After eating we went on Soaring and then over to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Haven’t seen that since 1999 so it was almost new again. Then over to Mousegear to look around at more stuff to buy and then we rode Test Track. By this time we had had enough so exited the park and went back to Pop.

Didn’t have too long to “rest” this time but I managed to get on computer for a bit and also packed up one of the suitcases. We only have 3 more nights at Pop and I wanted to get a head start.

We then drove over to DHS for our dinner ressies at 5:30 pm. We were able to take a nice slow walk through the park as we were a little early. We dined at Mama Melrose’s, a first for Gary and I. Very nice Italian themed cozy restaurant. This was actually a Fantasmic package, we had tickets to bypass the lines and get good seating for the show. Because it was a package we also got an appetizer each with our meal. I had Tomatoes & Mozzarella and had some of Brynna’s Artisan Breads & Spreads. Gary had calamari, all to himself! Then Gary and I had the Charred Butcher Steak, topped with Gorgonzola Butter with Red Pepper Polenta & Asparagus (yummo) and Brynna had Chicken Parmesan. Gary had Ricotta Cheesecake, I had Tiramisu and Brynna had a Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake. Very good meal and very nicely presented.

We left the restaurant and Brynna finally managed to contact Jimmy & Ryan so they decided to go play mini-golf together. Gary doesn’t like Fantasmic much so we ditched the show and went to ride Tower of Terror. By that time hoardes of 8th grade kids were entering the park, it was their grad jam and they had the park to themselves from 9 – 1 am. They just kept coming in by droves, so we decided to get the heck out of there. We were back in our room by 8:30 pm. I decided to colour my hair (really needed it) so did that, Brynna came back around then so she and Gary went off to swim. Watched some tv and read and then lights out around midnight.