Opticon and the Contemporary!! About This Page:

[jenifermg0]

So, DH and I made it back from WDW after Opticon...we just made it out in time. Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc on Florida and many other parts of the eastern United States. We flew out at 3:55 pm and it was my understanding at that point that the airport was due to close at 5:00 pm.

However, the rest of our trip was lovely!!

We arrived to HOT and HUMIDITY that I had never experienced before...It was like walking into a wall...but we were at Disney World - how bad could it be!!! Upon our arrival at the Contemporary, we got off the DME and got checked in. When I saw the sheer size of our room, I was shocked and amazed!! And the king size bed was incredible, although I have informed DH that I prefer a queen size...I kept losing him on the far side of the bed!!

Day 1: We didn't do a lot the first night, just met up with DS and his friend for dinner at Whispering Canyon.

While there waiting for our table, I saw this young girl, around 8 or 9 years old. She and her family were also waiting for a table, but the girl was clinging with what amounted to a death grip to a turkey leg!! Occasionally she would take a bite and then go back to whatever she was doing. She played with the Lincoln logs, sat with her mom, picked on her younger sibling, even went to the bathroom with that turkey leg. I have wondered if she ever finished it or if she took it to bed with her like a stuffed toy!!!!

Dinner at the Canyon was good. We got into the silliness a little bit, but mostly just enjoyed being off of the airplane...flying from Alaska is a long day!

Day 2: DS and his buddy headed home to Alaska as they had already been there for a week.

DH and I headed for Epcot and the F&WF and cheddar soup. DH had been craving it since the moment he realized that we would be there for the festival. Spent our day wandering and snacking...it was great! We did have to take a short break and go back and get DH checked into the convention, but then back to Epcot we went for more yummies and Illuminations.

Day 3: DH was off to class and I had a good chunk of the day to myself. Would have been great if I hadn't goobered. I accidentally took 3 Tylenol PM...thinking I was just taking regular old Tylenol! I got on the monorail to head over to MK and realized about the time we got the GF, that I should probably go back to the room since I was pretty blurry!!! I have not separated all the blue Tylenol from the white ones...and marked them accordingly. That is not going to happen again!!

After a shortish nap, I met up with a friend from Tampa and her DH and we wandered around Disney Springs until my DH was out of class. At that point he hooked up with us and eventually we ended up at the Wave at the Contemp for dinner.

Day 4: Again DH was in class for at least the morning. He kind of balked at the 3 hour lunch they had scheduled and decided that the 3 credits from Saturday along with the 5 from Friday, he was good in that department. Now he only has 2 more to get off the internet to give him the 10 he needs for his license renewal. Going back to class after a 3 hour lunch was "cutting into serious park time!"

My Tampa friend came over again and the three of us hit DHS and AK since we were all in need of a roller coaster ride or two!! We went of the safari and it was just starting get dark and to rain and the animals were actually up and about actually doing stuff! They were the most active I have ever seen them in all our trips. When we saw the cheetah, my friend and my DH started saying "Here, kitty, kitty." The driver CM was like, "Oh, no, please don't call it...cheetahs can run 60 plus mph and I can only drive 8!!"

Remember I mentioned it had started to rain...well, it didn't stop!! We ended up DRENCHED!!! When we finally got back to the Contemp, we were all soaked and chilled (due to the air conditioning on the bus). Got my friend mostly dried off and sent her home.

Day 5: DH and I headed for DHS and MK. Spent the day just wandering and enjoying ourselves and making sure to hit the roller coasters whenever we could. It was very strange not having a kid with us!!

Day 6 and 7: Tampa friend and her DH picked us up both days for a trip to the dark side...US! Love the HULK!!!! Rode that like three times over the course of the day! Had Butterbeer. Played at being Men in Black. DH bought himself a wand - Mad-Eye Moody's...appropriate when you consider DH is an optician!!

Also on Day 7 we had to move over to the POFQ. It is so wonderful of Disney to take care of shifting the luggage! They make moving resorts sooooooo easy!!! And I have to tell you, we have found our favorite resort! LOVE the FQ! We are already planning a longer stay there that the two nights we had this trip. I love the feel of the resort and I'm thinking I will be willing to pay for the river view...it was so tranquil and pretty!!

After we checked in and decided we were hungry, we headed to Scat Cats, got some jambalaya and baked taters and hung out for the live music. The guys were great. They were taking request of all kinds and just going to town. I noticed that a lot of the requests were for songs relating to where the requester was from, so I asked for "North to Alaska." Yeah, I stumped them.

Day 8: We were off to spend our last full day at the parks. We managed to hit three parks in one day and actually do stuff in each. Never managed that before! We were getting a bit nervous, watching the weather channel and wondering if we were going to get out ahead of the storm.

Departure Day: We were still concerned, but it was looking good for getting home. We managed to squeak out on one of the last flights leaving that day before the airport closed. We are so excited to be coming back in February for a slightly longer stay and the cruise I booked last February! Hoping to stay in FQ again!!!

Also, DH discovered that Opticon 2017 will be held at WDW again and that the timing is right for him to need 10 more credits for the next license renewal, so it's looking like we will get to head that way again next September as well!!

[tcmary]

Sounds like a fantastic time, except for the Tylenol mix up! I am glad you were able to meet some friends along the way. Lucky you, sneaking out before the airport closed.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great time!

[Cam22]

Glad you had a great trip and made it out before Hurricane Matthew hit.

[Ciavobella]

I love staying at deluxes, but FQ is the one Mod I am excited to try one day. Your post confirms that
How wonderful that you have 2 trips to look forward to. Thanks for posting.

[jenifermg0]

Originally Posted by Ciavobella

I love staying at deluxes, but FQ is the one Mod I am excited to try one day. Your post confirms that
How wonderful that you have 2 trips to look forward to. Thanks for posting.

Oh yes...the FQ was WONDERFUL! I can't wait to see it when the weather is more stable. The rain was coming and going and the clouds were in and out, it was nuts!! We like to go Nov/Dec or Feb/Mar. The temps then are more to our liking...living in Alaska, when it gets much above 80, we start to melt (or thaw) and we are SOOOOO not used to the humidity!!!

I want to do more exploring of the resort (we had limited time there) and check out more of the entertainment. Also, the food court was closed for remodeling and they had a temporary one set up next to Scat Cat's so I'm excited to see what they do there. I am really leaning towards springing for a river view room again. It was so peaceful and pretty!!

We are really excited about our Feb trip (it includes a cruise!!) and going again next year for Opticon as well. We NEVER get this many trips in a year!!

[DMA]

So glad you liked POFQ! That is one of our favorite moderates as well!
I know what you mean about the king size beds! When we were at BWV last month, I kept thinking DH had gotten up in the middle of the night. Then realized he was still in bed, just waaaaay over!

[SuperDave]

Glad you had a nice trip and just under the wire for your flight before the airport shutdown!