August 2019: A Slightly Laid Back Summer Disney Trip: Day 3

Day 3: Thursday August 8, 2019

No real surprise, I woke up relatively early despite not having a park day planned. I double checked to make sure that it really only would cost me about $20 to upgrade my 2 day hopper to include water parks. It would, but the app wasn’t cooperating, so I decided to go to the food court for a mug refill, and then see what happened.

Seeing what happened turned into me realizing I was not in the mood for a water park today, despite the fact that it was already VERY warm and sunny. So...I started thinking about how to shift my plans.

Somewhere between 9:30 and 10, I made my way to the bus stop, which was a very chaotic place. A Magic Kingdom bus came along eventually, and it was an uneventful ride there, but that was not my final destination.

Security was a breeze, and pretty soon I was first in line for the boat to the Wilderness Lodge that had just arrived. But...then the boat crew got out the tape measures? Shouldn’t the measurements for those boats already exist somewhere?

Within a few minutes, the CM on the dock was loading me and a few others onto a different boat that had just docked and we were on our way to the Wilderness Lodge. It was a beautiful day, and I was VERY glad to not be on that jam packed ferry!

All too soon (only because it was a perfect day to be on a moving boat), we were docked at the Wilderness Lodge. I went in an enjoyed the main lobby for a little bit. Then it was time for lunch!

Lunch was at Geyser Point Bar and Grill. There was just something appealing about open air, lakeside dining. And the menu seemed to have a nice variety, and reasonable prices.

Once I found Geyser Point, I was seated immediately, with a great lake view. My server, Ian, appeared within minutes, with a cup of ice water. The atmosphere was great and super relaxing, the view was great, my huckleberry punch cocktail was good, my bison cheeseburger with waffle fries was amazing, and the service was great too. Ian kept my cup of ice water full, and offered me a tall go cup of ice water when he brought the bill. He also made it clear when he brought the bill that even though I had paid, I was free to stay and enjoy the place as long as I wanted. I will absolutely go back to Geyser Point. It’s a gem! 

When I left Geyser Point, I went inside the lobby of the original villas and hung out there for a bit. The air conditioning felt great, and it’s such a quiet, relaxing spot. 

Eventually, it was time to be moving along. So I headed for the boat dock where I got a private boat ride over to the Contemporary. In the time it took for me to get from the boat to the monorail platform (which, admittedly, was awhile, because holy construction walls), it started downpouring, so I was happy with my timing.

This monorail trip was plagued with long stops, and, at the TTC we were told that our train was “undergoing some maintenance” but we would be underway soon. I almost ditched the monorail right then, but it was pouring, and the TTC isn’t really where I want to be stranded in a downpour. Thankfully the monorail really did get moving soon, and I aborted my mission at the Polynesian, to give myself some time to recalculate my strategy in more effective air conditioning.

I spent some time chilling in the lobby, and then it stopped raining, and the monorails seemed to be moving in a more timely fashion, so I tried again. This worked, and soon enough I was back at the Magic Kingdom, where I ended up with a private bus ride back to Music.

Once back at Music, I went looking for the Moana cupcake that’s been in Disney blogs lately, but seems to have already been eliminated. So I got myself the Orange Dream cupcake, filled my mug, and headed back to the room. 

I was a bit surprised (and annoyed in light of recent experiences with housekeeping and “room occupied signs) to see that it was 2:30 and housekeeping still hadn’t been to my room. I put the room occupied sign up and thoroughly enjoyed my cupcake.

Then I decided to take a nap, fully expecting it to be interrupted by housekeeping. Imagine my surprise when I woke up to my alarm, and not to housekeeping. Woohoo!

About 5 or so, I headed for the bus stop. Eventually a Disney Springs bus came along. When the bus arrived at Disney Springs, it became evident that there would be a storm sooner rather than later, and I had a 6:30 reservation for dinner at The Boathouse, so I decided to check out some stores close to there. This plan worked well. I didn’t buy anything, but I did stay mostly dry. It DID rain.

About 6:20, I went and checked in at The Boathouse. After a plethora of questions (“inside or outside”, “bar or table”), and a slightly annoyed look from the hostess when I said I’d like a table inside (“but our patio is covered you know”), I was seated quickly, in the farthest back room from the entrance. Standard Disney solo dining seating experience...they don’t want us seen or heard.

After that, however, The Boathouse was an absolute win. My server was friendly, efficient, and appropriately attentive. The food was amazing. And my coconut mojito was the best mojito I’ve ever had. Why did I eat at The Boathouse, a dining plan “signature” on a budget trip? Well, because there are actually several meals on their menu that are reasonably priced, and that were appealing. That night, I went with the filet sliders, which just might be the best dining bargain in all of Disney. $14 for 2 filet sliders (fantastic steaks) and fries. From the honey bread, to my entree, to my beverage, to the service (after I got to my table), I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I will definitely eat here again.

As much as I wanted to try one of the desserts at The Boathouse, I knew it’d be way too much food. So, after dinner, I went over to Sprinkles for the other limited/seasonal cupcake that I wanted to try this week. I got the sangria cupcake to go, and headed back to the hotel.

Once back at the hotel, I called it a relatively early night, once I had enjoyed that cupcake. The lesson this week seems to be that the seasonal/limited cupcakes are the way to go at Sprinkles! It had been a surprisingly relaxed, enjoyable day at Disney, filled with food from places I hadn’t tried before. And I was ready for another park day in the morning!

August 2019: A Slightly Laid Back Summer Disney Trip: Day 2, Part 2

Day 2, Part 2:

It was time to go to Epcot. I made my way to the express monorail, which happened to arrive at the platform when I did. It was a quick trip over to the TTC, and the monorail arrived just as an Epcot monorail did, so I hopped over to that platform, and found a seat...on a not really air conditioned monorail yellow. And yes, I did have flashbacks to some of the posts I’ve seen recently about this particular monorail. Couldn’t actually tell from looking at it that people had to kick out the windows, so that’s good.

Thankfully, it was an uneventful trip over to Epcot. When I arrived, I was on a mission! Today was my only opportunity to see the Voices of Liberty, and there were only a couple of sets left for today.

I headed for World Showcase, trying to absorb as much air conditioning as I could. Whose idea was it anyway to have such a wide open park in Florida?! As I emerged from one of the World Showcase entrance stores, I could see a boat to the other side of World Showcase actively loading. I RARELY use these boats, because I’m a little bit obsessed with seeing what ridiculous step count I can manage in a day, but today seemed like a great day to take the boat across the lagoon.

The ride across the lagoon was short, and positioned me perfectly to go see the Voices of Liberty. I still had a bit of time, so I browsed the store in America for a bit, and then headed inside. That cold floor was pure magic, and the Voices set was incredible, as always. I couldn’t help but wonder, though, if someone in the audience had mistaken Disney for Wal Mart with the outfit they were wearing.

When the set ended, thunder was starting. I made a quick trip to the restrooms that are right in the American pavilion. Thankfully, these have a large entrance area, because the monsoons started while I was there. There was plenty of space, though, to wait out that part of the storm right where I was.

As the rain lightened a bit, I put on my poncho, and worked my way towards other parts of World Showcase. As I got out into the park more, I could hear announcements from the theater in America that the theater was to be evacuated due to the severity of the front moving through. Uh oh?

Yeah, the monsoon started again as I closed in on Japan. I took cover outside of one of the stores, regretting the fact that my flip flops have fabric straps. I really should carry spare flip flops with me in the summer!

This is not my first rodeo with a summer trip to Disney. I’ve certainly seen some wild thunderstorms in both Disney and Colorado. This one was easily in the top 3 for wildest thunderstorm I’ve seen. I was really impressed with the kids (and their parents) around me. They outwardly tolerated the thunder and lightning better than I ever could have imagined. And one custodial cast member whose name I wish I had gotten to send in a compliment, casually kept things a little lighter, as he drummed on his large garbage barrel during the brunt of the storm. 

When the rain finally lightened, and the radar showed a slightly longer stretch of improved weather, I ventured back out into the park. It quickly became apparent that Disney might need to work on their drainage, because that storm had created World Showcase Lagoon Part 2!

Thankfully there was a pathway around that (although plenty of kids and adults of all ages were loving the puddle jumping photo opportunities!) and I was on my way, stopping in France to see if I could find the apron mom mentioned wishing she had bought. Unfortunately, France had about 30 different aprons for sale, and they were in a heavily perfumed store, so I decided to find something else for mom’s birthday gift instead!

I continued walking and browsing around World Showcase, until I reached China, where it was apparent that the sky was about to open up again. So...dinner time!

In preparing for this trip, I had made it a point to look into food items that were considered sides or appetizers that could be considered (by me) a meal. I’m not the world’s largest eater to begin with, and then in FL summer heat, I eat even less. Plus...budget. I quickly discovered that one (of the many) of the World Showcase quick service places that I had never been to sells an order of pot stickers that is small and cheap. So that was my food agenda for this evening.

Lotus Blossom Cafe was pretty chaotic, because it is small and a lot of people were camped out there trying to avoid the rain. It sounded like they had even sold out of some food items. Thankfully, they still had potstickers, and, with some effort, I was able to find a table to eat them at. They were good, albeit, not as warm as they could have been. 

About the same time I finished eating, the rain slowed enough to not require the poncho that I had no desire to put back on. Could someone invent ventilated ponchos please?! I headed for Mexico, because I wasn’t entirely ready to trust the weather yet, and I knew there was plenty to do there.

Mexico, as it turns out, is the Epcot spot to ride out storms. First off, the ride isn’t popular, so there is never a huge wait. Plus there’s the margarita bar (that someday I WILL get to). And then there’s plenty of browsing to do. Plus, there was a mariachi band playing. Only downside was that the aromas from San Angel were making me hungry, even though I’ve never seen anything listed on that menu that sounds even remotely appetizing.

I rode the Mexican boat ride, still thoroughly confused by it, and then decided to check on the weather situation. The sun was re-emerging, so I was ready to find dessert. I headed deeper into World Showcase, over to the Refreshment Port (between Norway and China) for the No Worries Panna Cotta. This was a couple different tropical fruit flavors, with a chocolate cookie crumble at the bottom. No Worries, I finished it all. It was delicious!

Dessert enjoyed, it was time to spend a bit of time in Future World. Since there was still a little time left before my Soarin fastpass, I rode Living with the Land, which was a walk on. Then it was time for Soarin, where I found that I really didn’t need a fastpass. The standby wait was posted at just 25 minutes.

Soarin flight completed, I spent a bit of time in Mouse Gear, where I successfully birthday shopped for mom, and then worked my way back to World Showcase. It was time to check out the Blueberry Grass Band, Epcot’s latest attempt at entertainment for the Canada stage. I enjoyed their performance. They’re no Off Kilter, but they were pretty good. And, while I thought I hadn’t seen them before, my facebook memories the next day proved otherwise. Apparently they performed here at the same time last year. 

Once the music ended, it was time to scope out a spot for Illuminations. I worked my way around World Showcase Lagoon, making a quick stop back in America for a water bottle to bring home to Nick, and then found a spot for Illuminations in Italy. The time passed relatively quickly. It was a pretty night, and the people around me were chatty. 

I was very grateful that the weather cooperated. It can be such a crapshoot in the summer, and I desperately wanted to see Illuminations at least one more time. It all worked out! I’m really pretty bummed to see this show ending. For me, it is the only Epcot night show I’ve known, and it is part of so many memories with family, friends, and a friend (Nick) that became family. Now I just hope they do a good job with the replacement...

Once Illuminations was over, I SLOWLY made my way out of the park. My flip flops were STILL wet, and I knew blisters were forming. And I really was in no rush. My next park day wasn’t until Friday. So I took it easy, took some pictures, and worked my way back to the buses.

I was a bit surprised, when I arrived at the bus stop, to find that Disney has decided the best way to mark the various All Star queues in the evening is with laminated construction paper signs…

A bus came along rather quickly. Forget the soup nazi, I had the bus nazi immediately behind me in line, so somehow, we managed to get the entire line stuffed onto that bus. A teenager near me who was standing was concerned she would fall over. There was going to be no falling on that bus that evening; it was stuffed too fully for physics to allow that. I had never noticed how far the All Stars are from Epcot, but I did notice that night.

Eventually the bus made it back to Music, and I extracted myself from the sardine can and made my way back to the room, where I quickly showered and got ready for bed. It had been a busy (and great!) day and I was TIRED!

August 2019: A Slightly Laid Back Summer Disney Trip: Day 2, Part 1

Day 2: Wednesday 8/7/19

I crashed early and hard Tuesday night. But, I didn’t necessarily stay asleep. Sometime in the middle of the night I woke up to a weird red glow. There were no alarms sounding, so I was pretty sure it wasn’t a fire, but I still went to the window to investigate. Seems this red light was coming from the light up Broadway sign across the way. All I could think, as I tried (and clearly failed) to keep said light out of my room, was that, while I know Disney tries for authenticity, I wonder how many jokes are made at this resort on a weekly basis about Disney creating a red light district. 

I did eventually get back to sleep, but was awake for the day by 6. I slowly got ready for the day, ate a breakfast bar in the room, and was at the Hollywood Studios bus stop by 8. A bus came along within 15 minutes, and the bus ride was uneventful. When the bus arrived at Hollywood Studios, I was pretty amazed by the new bus area. I didn’t think it was possible, but I think it might be even larger than the bus depot at Disney Springs.

Bag check was easy, and the tapstyles were already open, so it was a quick entrance into the park. I was able to find a spot sort of in the shade, and actually reasonably close to the front of the mob. I spent the wait chatting with a couple from the Netherlands and a family from NY, all of whom kept telling me I need to write a Disney blog. If only I had time…

The CMs dropped the rope at exactly 9 am. I assume this is because they had the early morning magic event in Toy Story Land this morning. The family from NY stayed right with me until Toy Story Land, where the mother took the youngest kiddo to other rides, and the father, 14 year old daughter, and middle child joined me in line for Slinky Dog. We passed the wait continuing to chat. The line looked horrific, but we were on the ride within half an hour of reaching the queue. I rode with the 14 year old in the very first row. We all enjoyed the ride.

Once off Slinky Dog, I headed for the park exit, hoping I would beat the rain to the shelter of the bus stop. It was too early in the day to have to carry a wet poncho around! Thankfully, I did, in fact (barely) beat the rain to the bus stop.

A bus to the Magic Kingdom came along pretty quickly. The ride was uneventful, and the weather improved throughout the bus ride.

I think I got to the Magic Kingdom about 10:30ish. 

I was hungry, but it was a little early for lunch, so I decided to find an attraction with a short wait. After a look at the app, I decided Little Mermaid was the direction to go. Of course, the walkway around the castle that I had intended to use (to the left) was closed, and I didn’t realize it until I was almost there, so I ended up walking to Little Mermaid via Liberty Square. Working on that appetite!

After going under the sea, it was definitely time for lunch. Sticking with the idea of trying places I haven’t eaten at before, I hiked over to Pecos Bill’s. It was early enough in the day that the lines were nice and short.

I had the “veggie and rice bowl” with chicken. This actually was rice, black beans, some zucchini and summer squash, and chicken, so it’s not really what I consider a veggie bowl, but that’s exactly why I ordered it. And I loaded cheese on it at the fixins bar. It was delicious. Not really sure why I haven’t eaten here before. 

After lunch, I walked through Fantasyland, and ended up over in Tomorrowland. It was time to put my feet up on the Peoplemover! The line was long, but moving. I took a few pictures while on the ride. 

Once I returned to ground level, I decided it was time for some air conditioning. So I joined the surprisingly long line for Carousel of Progress. Thankfully, it was only about a 5 minute wait. And the theater was FULL.

After my trip through time, it was time for a water refill. I had read that there was a brand new water bottle filler in Cosmic Ray’s, so I headed there, via Mickey’s Star Traders. Why? Well, I had to take a picture of how completely ridiculous the new Disney leggings are for Nick. 

The water bottle filler is on the Tomorrowland side of Cosmic Rays, between Bay 1 and Bay 2. Disney needs a lot more of these, but I know they’ll be slow in adding them, since they’ll cut into Disney’s bottom line.

Once I’d filled up my water bottle, it was time for a sugary, cold treat. Sleepy Hollow seemed like the place for this. I got myself a churro ice cream sandwich. Fortunately, I had read a tip to use a fork and knife for this. Definitely a good tip! I found a place to sit over by the Mary Poppins and Tiana meet and greets, behind the Christmas store. This was actually an amazingly quiet, relaxed area to take a break...and in this case, enjoy a wicked tasty treat. The churro ice cream sandwich was definitely a challenge to eat, but the reward was worth the effort. Delicious!

After eating as much of my dessert as I could, and cleaning up the mess that was left behind, it was time for some shopping. Or, really, some browsing. I spent some time in the Christmas store, and in the stores on Main Street, but didn’t find any must haves, thankfully. While in the stores on Main Street, Michele texted that she and Xander were eating at Casey’s, so I found them and we chatted while they ate. Once they finished eating, they headed deeper into the park, and I headed for the exit, via the stores on the other side of Main Street. Have to be an equal opportunity air conditioning stealer, I mean, store browser, right?