MASSIVE trip report - 12! days!

[iuki]

Just spoke with my daughter. She said that last night's MNSSHP had the parade at 11 pm and also had the fireworks. At least those who toughed it out did get what they paid for.

 

[Song of the South]

Friday- Day 10

We woke up and began the arduous process of packing up. We had to decide which groceries to toss, which to leave for BLT housekeeping, and which to take on to Yacht Club with us. I had to repack into the small suitcase so DH could take home the Enclosetron (our OL which Southwest kindly transports for free and so we stow it at our home) and the big suitcase. We picked up the rooms, tossed the towels in the bathtub and stripped the beds. We were out by 11:05am. We were aiming for 11 but the last walk through took a few minutes.

We went over to some Hilton subbrand--cannot recall now--over at Downtown Disney to add DH to the rental car so he (poor guy!) could drive himself back to the airport. Then we went over to Yacht Club and checked in. Our room was ready (this is BFF and the 2 girls now) and in far, far, far away land. When I checked in I asked for a room close to Beach Club and was told, "No, your room is assigned." I think there may have been some language barrier going on. After seeing just how long a walk it was I went back to the front desk and asked a different check-in person if it would be possible to get something closer to the lobby, an elevator, or Beach Club. That we would give up the day bed to be closer. He was able to find us something closer on the 2nd floor (it also had a daybed!).

We went and put our name in at Beaches N Cream and I waited while BFF and DH moved our luggage. They got back just as I was ordering, having been seated within about 15-20 minutes. Mmmmm...Beaches N Cream has the best grilled cheese. I was thankful to have my 2nd one of the trip. I also tried a vanilla milk shake which was good. I asked specifically for vanilla syrup along with the milk and vanilla ice cream and it did not disappoint. By the time lunch was over the girls were ready for naps so we headed back to the room. DH hung around and put DD down to sleep and then left for the airport.

The girls napped and then we decided, despite the intermittent showers, to head over to Epcot for a little bit of F&W festival and to get some supper. We wound up bypassing most of the kiosks due to long lines but on a whim checked with Via Napoli and they could seat us immediately despiter our lack of ADR. It was just okay. BFF had eaten here earlier in their stay and kept raving about how wonderful it was. They had the Quattro Formagi. We got the pepperoni to try something different. It was, frankly, disappointing and pricey. Also, the caprese was among the most expensive I have had while being the smallest and least interesting--no pepper (we did ask for salt and pepper which we used to season it), balsalmic vinegar, only one basil leaf. In the end, I was glad to have tried it, I might go back if someone else wanted to but I think it is off my list. Oh, the blood orange and strawberry aqua frescas though were wonderful!!!

After dinner we continued our counter-clockwise tour of the showcase. We procured the cheese fondue from the cheese kiosk and didn't like it--too runny (too much wine or kirsch?) and missing the nutmeg and garlic we enjoy in a traditional cheese fondue. I tried to buy some carmel corn in Germany but the line appeared to be about 25 people deep so I declined. BFF suggested a stop in the Norway Bakery. I had never been in there before so I agreed. We tried the Lefse (I think it would have been good warm but cold it was just sort of strange) and the School Bread. OH. MY. The School Bread was amazing! Simply amazing. I love boston cream but this was better! Amazing.

BFF got a strawberry/lime margarita from the Mexico kiosk. It started raining harder. I tried the Ice Imperial Moet along with the dark chocolate mousse. I like Nectar Moet better but was glad to try a new (to me) kind. The chocolate mousse was really great although I didn't read the description (blame it on the rain! Yeah! Yeah!) closely and was surprised by the chile peppers. We left the showcases through IG and headed over to Storm-along-Bay to swim.

It was almost time for fireworks and BFF's DD doesn't really like them yet so we thought swimming would be a good distraction while we appreciated their colorful glory. Unfortunately, the kiddie slide closed just as we arrived. We enjoyed the cool dip in the kiddie pool for awhile and then decided to head over to Storm-along proper. We discovered it was closed. Sigh. So, we decided to head to the Yacht Club quiet pool. It was HOT. Like 85 degrees warm. Gross. The girls enjoyed the few minutes we spent swimming there.

We headed back to our room and tried to make a plan for Saturday. Fatigue won out though and we decided to play it by ear.

OH! What happened to DH? He spent a looooonnnnnggggg time at the airport. He arrived early (cause isn't MCO security the longest Disney line in a lot of ways?!?!) and I received a text that his flight had been delayed an hour. After several more texts his 6pm flight wound up leaving at 9:40pm. Poor guy. He missed Epcot and swimming and got to see the inside of an airport instead.
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iuki- Your DH is a brave soul to stand in that line! It looked crazy and unsafe. As my DH pointed out though Disney had no reason to make it smooth and efficient. I'm glad that there was a parade for those who made it to 11. Having tried to see the 10:30pm parade the Friday before and having it be a colossal failure (cause every bit of advice is to stay and see the 2nd parade!) there is no way I could have lasted until then. DD? Sure! She's up for anything. Pregnant mama? Only in my dreams! I bet there were lots of prime spots available though with the droves of people streaming out.

 

[Song of the South]

Saturday- Day 11

We were up and around on the search for breakfast around 9am. We stopped by Captain's Grille but were told an hour wait by the same guy who was in charge of our super horrendous wait over at Kouzzina the previous Saturday. He said they didn't have enough servers. He remembered us too which was a bit awkward. We decided to keep on walking. Cape May could seat us in 45 minutes or so but pregnant lady here could not wait that long. (We did not expect to get into Cape May without an ADR. We were on our way to the the Beach Club Marketplace and decided to stop just to see.) On to BCM...it was terrible.

Overall, it was the worst counterservice meal we had. It wasn't really a surprise because when we ate lunch there in May it wasn't very good either. I was dismayed to see the rude CM check out person from May was working in the same position. In May half way through our transaction this particular CM said, "My shift's over," and turned and walked away leaving me standing there wondering what I was supposed to do. Some of my things were in a bag and I was still holding some things. The CM who walked over to replace her apologized and said the reason we were having the issues we were having prior to the CM walking away is that she is deaf. Well, that might explain why she was essentially ignoring everything I was saying/asking but it sure doesn't excuse the walking away midtransaction. I don't think it is a CM position someone who is unwilling to communicate (I have worked with a variety of people with hearing loss I am by no means saying that a deaf CM cannot provide good communication and customer service!) and who walks away from customers should have. I digress. This particular morning she just ignored my questions/statements but I got checked out. DD and I split a croissant, some potato casserole which needed to be cooked longer, a biscuit, some bacon, and she had some grapes and the bread pudding thing.

After breakfast we changed into our swimming gear and hit the pool! DD and BFF's DD went down the kiddie waterslide probably 20 times squealing and "wheeeeeeeeing" every time with glee. It was awesome. We swam a good two hours or so and then headed to Beaches N Cream for lunch. Again! Wheeeeeee! DD and I shared the kid's meal hot dog with chili and the grilled cheese and tomato soup- I ate her chili dog and she devoured my soup. Oh! But we started with the strawberry shortcake which is probably the best dessert I have had there so far. It was perfect and divine. Delicious! We were very pleased with lunch here again. So now there are 2 things on the menu I think are good--chili dog and grilled cheese.

We retired to the room for naps and trying to figure out what to do about dinner. I had no luck finding us a dinner ADR for today but did find one at *O'Hana!!!* for tomorrow. Yahoo! The problem with finding a "last" minute ADR with napping children is I had no idea if we could be somewhere by 6, 6:30pm, 7pm but I knew 8pm or later was way too late. Finally, after much hemming and hawing we decided to go try Maya Grill. There were ADRs for every 15 minutes but when we tried to commit the internet went down (I haven't said much/anything about the internet situation so far in the trip because it hasn't been an issue at all. At Yacht Club from Saturday night on we had continuing issues with connectivity.) but we decided we were 10 minutes away so we would just head over there.

Wrong! Second no ADR meal fail of the day! We were told that yes, until just a few minutes prior they had lots of availability but a large wedding party had just been seated and they couldn't seat us for at least 45 minutes. We stopped at Pepper Market but saw no feasible way to carry babies and trays of food. We tried using my GPS to find another mexican resaurant but Disney must be on to that plan because things like "Raglan Road" and "Earl of Sandwich" came up...pretty sure neither establishment has Mexican food. As a last ditch try before we committed to Taco Bell (and we should have!!!) was to stop at the Concierge desk and inquire is he had any recommendations for nearby Mexican restaurants. Unfortunately, either he did not know (maybe he is one of those souls who doesn't like Mexican food or who works so much he doesn't have a chance to explore) or could not say a nearby place. Instead, he spoke with the hotel manager who went to speak with the restaurant manager. After a minute or so she came back and said we would be seated in 15 minutes. Very strange. Although we were leary we walked back to MG and waited about 8 minutes and were seated.

We liked the decor of the restaurant. The non-alcoholic "Miami Vice" (half strawberry, half pina colada) drink I had was great. That is pretty much the end of our likes. The cheese dip was among the worst I have had...I love cheese dip so I've had quite a bit. This was I think a flour roux base which just never bodes well. The guacamole was different, interesting, but not good. I couldn't tell what the chunks were--maybe cucumber, maybe yucca, maybe ??? BFF ordered the taco platter and did like the chicken taco with the orange and radish. She said it was "fresh" tasting. The others 3 flavors she had no comment on but left all but a bite or two on her plate. I had the chimichanga plate. The fried shell was pretty good. I liked the beef one better than the chicken. Neither of our DDs would eat what we shared with them. That is strange because we eat out Mexican food at home quite a bit and both girls devour it. Just as we were waiting for the check or to order dessert I got sick for the second time that day. Hard to say if it was the food or a rambunctious baby. The total on our meal was over $90 for 2 non-alcoholic drinks, 2 appetizers, and 2 entrees. It was one of the most expensive meals of the trip and the most disappointing. It also took a long time! We didn't get back until almost 10pm and left at 6:45pm.

On the way back to the room we stopped so BFF could buy diapers. It was funny! Outside the drugstore were CMs in their world showcase uniforms (Germany, France were represented heavily) waiting. I was a little puzzled until I realized that their was a liquor store next door and these CMs must be underage. Seeing a young man dressed in leiderhosen smoking waiting on his friends was pretty amusing to me.

Back at the room the girls played and we went to bed. But not before we made a better plan for tomorrow's eatting! We decided that whoever woke first would immediately make us a reservation for breakfast somewhere. We already had O'hana for dinner so we were set.