Day 4: Sunday 11/13/16
Departure day. We were up reasonably early to finish packing. It became very clear before I even got out of bed that my foot had not appreciated the 50,000 steps I’d done in the previous two days (combined), and it would not be fitting into the Keens I’d worn for the flight down. I had to find room for those in my suitcase and stick to flip flops for the day.
Once packing was done, we dropped off our luggage with bell services in the lobby and headed for the bus stop. We had a breakfast reservation at Captain’s Grille.
The wait for a bus to MGM was about 15 minutes, and then it was a quick trip from there. We had time, so I dragged Nick over to the Christmas tree for some pictures. He had begun to grasp the size of Disney Christmas trees when I pointed out the top of the Magic Kingdom one visible over the train station the night before, but it wasn’t until we were up close and personal that he really grasped the scale of these trees.
From here, we decided to walk to the Yacht Club because hey, we are already limping, so whatever. Truth is, we had plenty of time, and we both really hate those friendship boats. They’re loud, hot, and it was clear that even though we’d be traveling away from the park, we’d still be dealing with a crowded boat. So...we walked.
We got to the Yacht Club about 20 minutes early for our ADR. We were told they were running slightly behind, so we’d probably be seated close to our ADR time (9:35). Ok, whatever. We found a place to sit and relaxed.
To make a very long story very short, we were seated about 10:20. Despite running behind, they’d continued seating walk ins, and they were spending an eternity looking for people who checked in and then disappeared. So after over an hour, we were seated...absolutely starving, and really surprised. We’ve had breakfast here a few times, because it’s such a hidden gem. We’ve never had to wait more than a couple of minutes to be seated, even without an ADR. It WAS clear, however, that they were super busy, and quite frankly, I think it was busier than they ever really see it and they weren’t equipped for that, because it’s so rarely busy.
Thankfully, the server appeared quickly, and we were at the buffet within minutes of being seated. The food, as always, was excellent, and the server, although stretched thin, did a great job. I’m sure we will return, although, hopefully, at a less busy time next time.
When we finished eating, I dragged Nick over to the Beach Club to see if they’d started creating the gingerbread carousel yet. They hadn’t, so we headed for the bus stop, where we had a VERY short wait for a bus to Downtown Disney...err...Disney Springs.
I had been to Disney Springs twice in February, during my week in retirementville, so I’d experienced the new parking garage (love it), and seen the construction. But most of the new stuff had opened after I was there, so there would be a lot new to me, including the new bus drop off area.
Nick was thoroughly confused when we got off the bus and nothing looked familiar. I knew which general direction we needed to go, so we headed for the Marketplace, passing an over the top tree along the way.
First stop was the design a t-shirt store, because Nick was apparently feeling inspired by all of the creative shirts we’d seen in Epcot the day before, and was feeling a bit left out by Disney’s lack of “real man” sizes. However, this store does not let you actually really be creative, so it was a quick visit.
Next up? The Christmas store. I found a POFQ ornament to add to my Christmas tree that’s quickly becoming a vacation tree.
From here we went to check on the hours of the Christmas Tree Trail. It had opened roughly 2 days earlier, so it really hadn’t been made clear yet. Turns out it would open at noon, which was just a few minutes away. Woohoo! More Christmas decorations. I believe Nick rolled his eyes.
While we waited we went into Once Upon a Toy to see if there was anything Star Wars that Nick could bring home to a co-worker.
Once Nick had sufficiently toured the Star Wars section of the store, we went back outside to check out the Christmas trees, including the one right before the start of the trail, outside Earl of Sandwich.
The Christmas Tree Trail was a GREAT addition to Disney Springs, and a really neat way to use the old bus stop area.
From here we really just wandered in and out of stores, at the pace of SLOW. The crowds were huge here too, my foot was still bothering me, and as an added bonus, I just plain wasn’t feeling well. The idea of trying one of the new restaurants went out the window.
After poking around for awhile, I hit a wall, so we found our way to the boat dock, and took the boat over to Riverside. I’d love to say that the boat ride was peaceful and enjoyable. But, there was a kid on board that was a perfect ad for birth control. And the ladies behind me agreed. At least the view from the boat was nice?
When we got to Riverside, the first stop was the food court. Nick got a chicken sandwich for himself. I had breadsticks (a Disney bargain by the way). We decided right away that we liked this food court a LOT better than the food courts at the values.
After eating and unwinding a bit, we started wandering a bit to check out the resort. Nick had already decided this was a reasonable substitute for French Quarter, but I wanted to see just how spread out it is..in other words...how it would be for a solo stay.
Nick’s hip really started bugging him (SHOES), so he found a bench and parked himself. I kept wandering. My foot was still bugging me, but I knew I’d be sitting for awhile on the plane that evening, and that the pain was less noticeable if I kept moving. And I really wanted to check out the resort.
I pretty much wandered all over. I like the layout of this resort a lot. This is one “big” resort that didn’t feel big. I’d have no qualms about staying here solo.
After wandering, we went back over to the main building, and, after checking that out some more, we hopped on a boat back to French Quarter.
We still had over an hour before our bus pick up, so we got our luggage and found a place to park ourselves to charge our phones and just chill. At some point, Nick went into the gift store to get a thank you for his mom for watching the dogs. Apparently while he was in there, he picked up a Mickey pancake mold. 3 days later, on my actual birthday, he surprised me by getting up early and fixing me Mickey pancakes for breakfast before I left for work.
Eventually, it was time for me to change into long pants for the trip home. Somehow this ended up with a 20 minute chat with the custodial CM that was cleaning the restroom. She was truly what we’ve come to expect from Disney cast members.
A little before 6 pm we headed outside to wait for the no-fun bus. I’m positive that neither one of us were ready to leave. Even with the crowds and the injuries, it had been a really fun weekend.
The bus showed up right on time. We stopped at both Saratoga Springs and Old Key West, and then we were on our way. Sort of. Traffic to get to the highway was INSANE.
I think we finally made it to MCO after 7. Thankfully the security line was non-existent (they were actually only using one side of the checkpoint because of it), and within minutes of arriving we were gateside. So we had plenty of time to have some pizza for a late dinner, and relax at the gate.
Somehow, despite an 8:45 pm flight on a Sunday, we’d both ended up with B boarding positions. We ended up doing the gateside upgrade to get on the plane first. Nick really wanted to sit in the emergency row for his hip. So that’s exactly what we did.
Despite having gotten a notification from TripIt earlier in the day about a massive delay, our flight ended up being right on time. And because the Pats were kicking off right at departure time, everyone boarded quickly so that they could get in their seats and get their devices connected to watch the game. I must say, it was amazing watching all of these New Englanders come together to position computers, tablets, etc so that others could watch the game too.
I had the middle seat and the guy on the aisle was chatty, drunk, and reeked of cigarette smoke. Thankfully, he shut up once the plane was airborne (early, because everyone was in such a hurry to board and watch the Pats), and I fell asleep and slept for most of the flight.
It ended up being another 2 ½ hour flight to Manchester, which was certainly a win. We were off the plane by 11:30, and after a quick ride on the shuttle, we were scraping frost off the car, and headed home.
Final thoughts:
I want to find a way to go to Food and Wine every year! So much fun!
My foot was too swollen to fit into my work shoes the next morning. Can I recommend NOT sitting on your foot the week before a Disney trip? That being said, it was worth it! And the foot is pretty much better now, so all is good.
Facebook has its plusses and minuses, but the fact that we were able to stay in touch with our cruise dinnermates, find out that they would be in Disney at the same time as us, and meet up with them because of it is a HUGE plus. I still can’t believe that Disney did such a good job matching us up, and loved having the chance to catch up with them.
We really couldn’t have asked for better weather. I don’t know if upper 70s/low 80s and no humidity is the norm for November, but wow was it awesome!
Loved MVMCP!
I had always wondered why people would go moderate, when the values are available. I get it now. Loved French Quarter and loved walking around Riverside.
I’m looking forward to exploring the new stuff in Disney Springs more next month...hopefully with a cooperative foot and digestive system this time…
The crowds this trip were insane. However, the people were better behaved than I have EVER seen. People were friendly to each other, engaging in pleasant conversations, and helping each other out. Nick normally freaks out in crowds, thanks to having worked security in Boston, and even he did ok. It was usually me hitting the wall with crowds. So soon after that wonderful election, the fact that people were being so pleasant (and I heard exactly one election conversation the whole weekend), was even more welcome.
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