DAY 2 – Saturday 9/21/19

Who:  Sue (60), DVC Member

            SB (62), husband

            Tiana (50’s), friend

            Jonell (early 60’s), Tiana’s husband

Plan:   Epcot/Food & Wine, Resort, Epcot/Starship

Actual:  Last night just after 11 I could hear other guests coming back – standing around talking & laughing loudly.  Then I heard toilets flushing.  Is this the All Stars or is this one of the deluxe villa resorts?  Thankfully it didn’t continue for long.  I guess I slept, but it felt like I was awake (trying to stay warm) a lot.  We set the air at 69 but when it would kick on, I could feel it blowing on my face.  Tonight I’ll bump it up a couple degrees and should be fine. 

I got up just before 5 and after making my cappuccino got online to relax and watch some local news on tv.  It’s nice having the villa instead of a studio!  SB was up just after me and commented on the noisy people last night.  He was still tired, so he went back to the dark room to sleep a little longer.  I took my shower around 7, and by then he was up again.

His blood sugar was low this morning (73), and he wasn’t hungry.  The metformin medicine messes his stomach up, which is part of the problem – that one may have to be abandoned for good.  For breakfast I made my usual egg and slice of bacon.  SB didn’t want any of that, or his sausage, but agreed to hard boiled eggs so I boiled a couple of those.  After he took his shower & dressed, he started eating one of the eggs, but barely ate half.  Clearly he’s not feeling well – but he probably needs something in his stomach.

By 8:15 Tiana & Jonell were at Epcot, on their way to Guest Services to get his annual pass.  That only took a couple minutes, and then they were on their way to find Old Key West.  SB still wasn’t feeling well, but was determined to hang in there.  I offered to go get something from the store, but he didn’t want anything.  The others arrived around 9, and they were impressed with the villa.  I showed Tiana around, while Jonell hung out with SB.  Luckily Tiana had a piece of candy in her bag, and once SB ate that he felt much better.  His blood sugar was just too low before. 

We headed to the bus stop, and the Epcot bus arrived within 3 minutes.  Since we’re the last stop inside the resort, we left right out for Epcot, arriving quickly.  Bag check wasn’t too bad, and entry went pretty quickly as well.  We were in our fastpass window for Spaceship Earth, so we stopped there first.  We really didn’t even need the fastpass at that point, but we had no reason to not use it. 

The attraction slowed several times and came to a complete stop at least twice.  It was getting annoying – but given the huge number of people using scooters these days it’s sadly not surprising.  Once we finished there it was time for Living with the Land, so we walked over there.  Once again we had no wait at all with the fastpass – we walked right onto the boat.  It was a nice ride through the greenhouses, and once we got back outside it was time to head to World Showcase. 

The Food & Wine kiosks along the way were already open, and without any lines.  We did stop at the Wine & Cheese studio, where SB and Tiana each got the scallops.  They both liked them – same as in past years.  We continued to Canada and there was no wait at Canada either.  I secured a table in the shade and the other 3 each got the filet mignon with mushrooms.  Jonell got his without mushrooms, and SB shared a few bites of his steak with me.  We all loved it – the flavor was great and it was so tender.  

Next we walked towards Mexico, stopping in the shop to pick up our passholder Chef Minnie magnets before continuing on to the margarita stand.  I was shocked to find no line, and it was open even though it wasn’t 11am!  I stood in the shade while they got in line, and SB bought all 3 margaritas to thank them for the ride home tonight.  SB got frozen strawberry, Tiana had the stacked 3 flavors, and Jonell had traditional with salt. 

We got held up in Norway, where we stepped off into the shade to wait about 10 minutes for the rest of the park to open.  At 11 we joined the crowd, and stopped in India.  Tiana & I each got the korma chicken, while the guys sat on a shady bunch.  The chicken was good – the guys each tried a bite and while they didn’t think it was outstanding they said it was good.  Tiana had never had it before, but she says she typically likes anything that I like and she did like this.

After eating we continued walking again, not stopping until we got to America.  I got a shady picnic table while the others went to Hops & Barley (no line) to each get a New Brunswick brisket slider.  They all really liked these, and I ate a few bites of SB’s since he was getting full.  By now it was getting warmer, and we were ready for a break.  Tiana wanted to get a 2019 festival shirt so we stopped at the merchandise location before Morocco and she got a cute black sleeveless shirt with a sequined glass of wine on the front.  While she paid for the shirt SB got me a chocolate baklava.  Tiana and Jonell had never heard of baklava, so I explained what it was.  I cut a piece off for Tiana and she loved it. 

We walked into Future World and stopped at MouseGear to buy the 2020 monthly calendar, then went to the fastpass kiosk to see if we could get Jonell added to our Frozen fastpass later.  No cast members were there, so we had no luck since fastpasses for Frozen were gone for the day (of course).  We headed to the exit and had a 10-15 minute wait for the bus back to the resort.  A guy in a scooter had to be boarded, and then we had the long ride through all the stops inside the resort (including waiting for the guy with the scooter to get unloaded).  It’s a long ride – another reason to avoid this resort (or plan to use the car). 

Back in the villa we all settled into the living room and turned the Gator football game on.  I’m the only one who could care less, so I sat on the chair/ottoman off to the side.  I fixed a plate of crackers, sliced cheeses, salami and meat sticks.  Tiana & I had some wine, and the guys had Michelob Ultra.  We had lots of laughs talking during the game, and I was able to get the trip report updated (although slowly, since I was distracted, lol). 

When the game ended we hung out a little bit longer.  SB, Jonell and I spent time sitting on the porch, and Jonell really liked the water and golf view.  He said he could just sit out there for vacation!  Soon we decided to head back to Epcot, but rather than doing the front entrance we’d be “visiting” a friend staying at Boardwalk Villas.  That’ll let Jonell see another area he’s never seen, and possibly let us ride the boat.  We left just before 4, and drove over to Boardwalk. 

The cars were backed up getting in, which means almost everyone in line was not staying there.  We were directed to the self-parking lot on the left, and we took it.  The lot on the right looked pretty full, so no point trying it.  We had to park pretty far back, and then made the hike up to the lobby.  We brought Jonell inside so he could see it, then we went down to the boardwalk and waited for the boat to arrive from Yacht Club. 

As expected, it was very crowded.  We found one seat for Tiana, and the rest of us stood.  A person in a wheelchair needed to board, and families had 2 strollers (wide open, with kids in them) in the spaced designated (with a sign) for scooters & wheelchairs.  Personally I think the cast member should have told them to take the kids out and fold the strollers up, but he didn’t do that.  The parents didn’t take the initiative and suggest it themselves, either. 

Because we took the very crowded boat, that meant at bag check and entry there were longer than usual lines.  It did go pretty quickly, though.  Since we were hitting our window for our Frozen fastpass we turned left and walked through United Kingdom.  The park was significantly busier than it had been earlier, and the lines at the food booths were pretty ridiculous.  But, they’d get even worse before we left!  We walked over to Norway and I told the fastpass cast member that there were 4 of us but only 3 had fastpasses.  She very nicely let us all enter.  At the second checkpoint we were questioned but she let us through when I explained.  The standby wait was 70 minutes, but we were on in less than 5.

We shared the front row, which was a bit tight for the 4 of us!  Jonell and SB were on the outsides and noticed the sides were wet.  Sure enough, going down the little hill resulted in a big splash all over SB and a smaller one on Jonell.  Tiana & I got a little spray on our legs but that’s it.  It’s a cute ride, but not something I need to do every trip, and certainly not one I’d do standby for.  That said, I think I have a fastpass for it on my arrival day next trip, lol! 

It was still early (before 5) but we decided we’d better head to America to check out the seating situation for the 6:30 Starship concert.  Tiana wanted ice cream, so we stopped at the Refreshment Outpost by Africa and she got a cone of chocolate & vanilla swirl.  She ate it as we continued walking to America.  As expected, the theater was filling up fast!

We found seats in the middle of a row not too far back in the 2^nd section near the center of the stage.  Almost everyone was holding a seat for someone, so between that and the many trees in the theater it was challenging to find space that would accommodate our party.  By now it was almost 5:30, so we had an hour to wait.  I’d brought my kindle, so I started playing a word puzzle game.  I was seated between Tiana & SB and they both started watching and making suggesting.  Jonell watched another college football game on his phone. 

Finally it was time for the concert, and I was pleased to see that the first show tonight was not a carbon copy of the first show (or second) last night.  It’s good that they switch things up a bit – I guess when you have so many great songs you have to do that!  It was a great show, and the crowd loved it.  Tiana contemplated staying for another, but I knew that would mean 30 minutes standing in line, and 15 minutes sitting waiting in the theater. 

After the concert we headed to the exit, and it was an absolute zoo.  I think we generally don’t go to Epcot on Saturday nights during Food & Wine, and tonight we were reminded why that is.  As far ahead as you could see, the walkway was completely packed with thousands of head bobbing their way slowly forward.  It was gridlock.  Lines at any food booths (festival or otherwise) were horrendous.  I’d hoped to get the fondue at France, but there’s no way I was going to wait in that line – and then I’d have no place to eat it anyway.  So that can wait for tomorrow or next trip.

We finally made it to the International Gateway and decided to walk back to Boardwalk instead of joining the line for the boat.  If we’re going to stand, we might as well walk.  I’d planned to do another loop around World Showcase after they left, but it was so crowded I abandoned that plan and left with them.  We said our goodbyes at the cars, and I drove back to Old Key West.

I took a walk over to the Hospitality House area to see what was going on and what they had at Goods to Go, but didn’t end up buying anything.  Instead, once I got back to the villa I brought a little more cheese & crackers and the laptop out to the table on the porch.  There was a nice breeze, so it was comfortable out there – shocking for September!  Around 9 I went back inside.

Today ended up being a really fun day, and the 4 of us toured well together.  Food & Wine was delightful this morning, and we got a lot done.  Sitting around the villa while they watched the game was also a lot of fun – more fun than I expected.  Starship of course was fabulous – the only negative for the day was the crazy crowds at Epcot tonight. 

Tomorrow is a relaxing solo day – I plan to spend time at the pool, then zip over for my Slinky Dog fastpass before returning for a final night of Food & Wine and Starship.

Sue