Castaway Cay Sandwich - 13 Glorious Days of Disney! - COMPLETED!! - Page 14 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Great start to your birthday with breakfast at Les Halles, everything looked yummy! I've never been in September, but those short waits and low crowds are tempting me
Hey Angela! Just catching up on TRs and loving yours. It kind of gave me the itch to take another cruise! And I have to admit, reading about your surprise to the boys had me sitting at my desk with a big ole doofy grin on my face! LOVED IT! Looking forward to the rest!
__________________
Mickey's so happy to see me back, he can barely contain himself!
Great birthday breakfast! I can't believe you all had never ridden Ellen's Energy Adventure or Maelstrom. You all have accomplished a lot already.
I know! It took us 6 trips to get to them So much to do!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
Looks like a great way to spend a birthday! I love going to Les Halles for breakfast and wandering through an empty World Showcase.
It's so different when it's empty!
Quote:
Originally Posted by EddieCVS
Great photos!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
That looks like a breakfast and what a great day so far at Epcot!
It was so good!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great day at Epcot! Love the pics!
Thanks, we had such a good time!
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Looks like you are having loads of fun celebrating your birthday at Epcot!! Glad you finally got to ride Maelstrom before it closed!
I'm glad I did too! I didn't do very many birthday type things, but I had a lot of fun
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Can't think of a better way to spend your birthday! Now, I am thinking I will have to walk over to France when we stay at BC in August!
Oh yes, I hope you get to do that
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Fabulous birthday day!
September is a great time to go.
This was our last September trip, so sad to say!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
Great start to your birthday with breakfast at Les Halles, everything looked yummy! I've never been in September, but those short waits and low crowds are tempting me
It's still hot in September but with the crowds so low, it makes it worth it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
Hey Angela! Just catching up on TRs and loving yours. It kind of gave me the itch to take another cruise! And I have to admit, reading about your surprise to the boys had me sitting at my desk with a big ole doofy grin on my face! LOVED IT! Looking forward to the rest!
Hey Sharon! I'm glad you like the TR. (I have so many TRs to catch up on )
*******************
Sunday Sept 14, continued
When we got back to the room, I made lunch, then we closed the curtains and everyone took a nap in the cool darkness. (Dh might have still been watching football, I don't know - I was out!) Eventually we got up, refreshed and ready to go. The kids and I wanted to do Agent P's World Showcase Adventure, so we left out, but Dh would meet up with us later.
We got back to WS around 5:30 or so.
We went to the kiosk to get the F.O.N.E. (Field Operative Notification Equipment ) and found out that we got France, cool! That was a new one for us and it was nice to have a "smart-fone" with a larger screen instead of the little flip-phone they used to have.
Easier to read and hear
While we were in France (hee hee! never gets old) I got a text from an old buddy of mine who shares her birthday with me. I sent her a pic of me wearing my Minnie ears.
"I'm in Disney!"
The adventure was fun and we got to see some cool things. I didn't see anyone else doing the same adventure as us this time.
Not part of the adventure, but I love his bored expression
All done!
Now continuing on with our tour of France. (Much different tour this time, I think I drank my way around last time!) It reminded me of about 100 years ago when I was in my teens visiting Paris...
About this time Dh texted that he was on his way. We said we'd wait for him at the International Gateway, near UK. I took some pics while waiting. The boys "discovered" acorns...
Celebrity sighting
So pretty!
When Dh caught up with us, we decided to grab a bite to eat. After thinking about our counter-service options, we ended up agreeing to check out the American Adventure. While heading over there, I took some more shots of Japan, but now in a different light.
Getting ready for the show...
The menu had changed for the better since I'd checked out a while ago.
Max said this was the best burger he'd ever had. Okay buddy I had the "Red, White, and Blue" salad which was actually very good. ( I wasn't EVEN going to try the Maryland Crab Cakes. Too much pride at stake.)
I love the old flags displayed.
While we were eating, I'd almost forgotten to check in at Southwest for the next evening. By the time I remembered I only 15 minutes late so I got B18, which isn't really terrible. We left satisfied and ventured out for more Epcot. The temperature had cooled down some and the evening was nice. We had FPs for Mission Space so it was time to head to Future World. There was a Friendship boat waiting and we'd never used one to cross the lagoon so we hopped on.
Dh and I didn't feel like riding, so the kids used their FPs and we gave them our magic bands to use ours. While they went off gallivanting around space, we went to Club Cool. I was on my own mission: to get Dh to try the Beverly. Of course his reaction was, "Hmm. Not bad." Whomp whomp . Anyway, it was nice to get some free refreshments.
It was such a nice evening and we didn't really have a care in the world. We just sat there with the sun going down, watching folks enjoying themselves. It was kinda awesome.
The kids eventually came out - slightly dizzy, I might add, from riding the orange side The fireworks were about to start and even though we had a FP for the preferred viewing, we decided to call it an evening and head back. (Grabbing some freshly popped goodness on the way.) It had been a great birthday during a great trip. I think I was purring with contentment.
I can almost smell it!
This was the temperature at the time. As I'm posting this, it's 19 blustery degrees outside...
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Very nice evening to finish this day! People watching and absorbing the atmosphere at twilight would be awesome. I love the night time palm tree photo.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I didn't know they got new phones for the Agent P adventure, that's great! Looks much easier to read! Sitting, relaxing and people watching are some of my favorite things to do at Epcot. Great way to spend the evening of your birthday!
Oh wow, that was a nice temperature for the evening - mind you, that probably meant the day would've been far too hot for me!
It wasn't that humid so it was tolerable
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
More wonderful times in Epcot. The sky looked beautiful just before sunset!
It was a great day and a beautiful sunset to end the day!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
What a great night at Epcot! Love the pictures!
Thanks! It was a nice note to end on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessSharon
What a great way to spend your birthday! People watching at Epcot is one of my favorite pastimes!
I've never been really a people watcher, but I'm learning!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Very nice evening to finish this day! People watching and absorbing the atmosphere at twilight would be awesome. I love the night time palm tree photo.
Thank you! We were all in such a good mood and it was a pretty evening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMB733
Sounds like more great fun at Epcot!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
Soaking it in at Disney is the best! So happy you had such a great birthday!
Thanks! It wasn't spectacular, just a very nice day at Epcot
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Sounds like a great second half of the day! Incredible way to spend your birthday!
It was very cool!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKnott17
I didn't know they got new phones for the Agent P adventure, that's great! Looks much easier to read! Sitting, relaxing and people watching are some of my favorite things to do at Epcot. Great way to spend the evening of your birthday!
They're pretty neat. Definitely easier to see and hear
**********
Sept 15, Monday, last day (13 days!)
After a good night's sleep, we got up to finish packing and getting ready to go. Our flight was at 6:15pm and our Magical Express pick up wasn't until 3:45pm, so we had plenty of time to finish up and go to Downtown Disney. We were out of food, so we walked over to the Bakery to get some breakfast.
Big ol' cinnamon roll - yummy!
"Breakfast Sandwich with Fruit" (bacon, egg, and cheese) Pretty tasty and the fruit was fresh.
I have no idea what Dh and Titus ate ... After we finished stuffing things into our carry-ons, we grabbed everything and headed to the RAC to check our bags in.
I love details in the carpet
Looking down onto the 4th floor
Some lobby pics:
very cool...
Once we finished dropping our things off at bell services, we went to do a little shopping. It was hot that day, but we were prepared with Titus' bamboo hat and we weren't in any hurry. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, except for a 2014 magnet (which actually proved to be harder to find than you'd think!).
We stopped in World of Disney first. I don't know why I'd never noticed these guys before - their movement was surprising!
I had to get one of my favorite genie. His passing was still painful at the time and I had just little trouble taking this photo. Miss you Robin...
I wanted to visit the co-op next. I don't have a picture of the Hipster Mickey postcard I got, along with my Small World magnet - my favorite finds of the trip. I did take a photo of my cute little co-op bag - No "Disney" anywhere!
Never too big for Legos...
Around noon, we refreshed ourselves with yummy sandwiches from the Earl. By then, I still hadn't found my magnet. I had been looking pretty hard, but finally I had to ask a CM who directed me to the kitchen store where I found a surprisingly small amount. Has anyone else noticed that the year magnets are shrinking? I have them all on my fridge and 2014 is the smallest Maybe it was because it was September and the larger ones had sold already? Anyhoo, it was now time to start heading back to Boardwalk and we went to catch the bus back. We collected all of our things and went out to wait for the Magical Express bus.
I tried to get a clear shot of the entrance, but oh well
You need one more shot of these kooky chairs. It's tilted too, so they look even more creepy.
"Oh neat!"
Almost time to go...
The ME bus came on time, but we weren't really sad this time. We had a good long vacation and now it was time to go home. The trip to MCO was uneventful, and I took my usual nap during the "goodbye" video
On time...
We had dinner at our usual places: Me at Au Bon Pain, and them at Sbarro. We were in boarding group B, so there was no hurry. We finally made it onto the plane and actually left the gate on time, but the plane stopped while we were rolling... The captain got on and said something about "a caution light" and that they would have to go back to the gate to check it out. We went back to the gate and had to sit while they fixed things. I was okay with that, better safe than sorry, and all that . We finally left the gate (again) at 7:49pm and settled in for the flight home.
pretty cool
We made it back to Baltimore without any problems, and as always, experienced the jarring sensation of being back to reality. While we collected the bags, Dh went to get our poor car that had been sitting out for 3 weeks - she's a spoiled garage car. We made it back home around mid-night and hit the sack - Max had a group class at 10am the next day (Tuesday) , and it was good to be home
Final thoughts:
Without question this had been our best trip to Disney. There were so many things that made it special - if just getting to go wasn't special enough. I really think it was probably the length of time that made this so great - 13 days is a long time to do anything! We were able to really do something on this vacation that he hadn't before: nothing. There were times where I found myself just sitting and being. My favorite time was when I dozed off on deck 4 of the Dream, lulled by a delicious breeze and open water. Another was when Dh and I were just fooling around with our phone cameras while waiting for the kids to come off of Mission Space. It's kind of crazy to be happy about going all the way to Florida and do nothing, right? Owning DVC and being able to go down to Disney World, and even go on a cruise, affords us the opportunity to enjoy ourselves without trying so hard and we are grateful for that. Don't get me wrong! I still plan like crazy, but for me personally, if (when) things go sideways, I can take it a little easier because I know there's other stuff to do or maybe there's next time... Well sometimes there's a next time - #maelstrom and now #exoticdrivingexperience (which we had put on the maybe list for next time, now it's closing.) Oh, and #sorcerershat. When I wrote that it would be our last time at Downtown Disney, it was because the next time we go, it'll be "Disney Springs."
Using the PassPorter's "Magic Memory" pocket page as inspiration, I'll try to list some standouts of this trip:
Getting to go on a nice long trip during September was pretty awesome by itself. The weather was still hot and humid, but more tolerable than in summer. We have one more year that we can do this with the boys and I'm so thankful.
Our most magical day: Our Youth Education Service day. Getting to experience the Magic Kingdom that morning was amazing. We had the place to ourselves and our little group got to ride some attractions all by ourselves - several times! The kids learned some pretty cool Disney physics and the adults even learned some things The discount on the park tickets really made it a good value too.
Our most magical moment: Surprising the kids with an extra 4 days in Disney World. Epic
Our most memorable place: the port excursion to Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. My photos don't do it justice - the place is absolutely gorgeous! We got a wonderful tour of the aquariums and pretty much had the place to ourselves.
Our most memorable activity: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! This was a first for all of us and it was totally worth the price.
What would you do again? Staying at an Epcot resort was very nice. Being able to walk or take a quick boat ride to the park or back home is outstanding.
What would you never do again? Well "never" is a strong word, but I have to say that I was disappointed with the counter service offerings at Boardwalk. For this trip we weren't eating at a lot of table service restaurants. If we would've had the QS Dining plan, I would've been mad. The bakery is good, but the menu is limited. The pizza window had pretty good pizza, but I wish there was more. Having to walk over to Hurricane Hanna's at the Beach Club wasn't terrible, but it was a hassle. The Boardwalk to Go kiosk has a little more on the menu, but is just fast food and doesn't charge to your room. It might have been an option, but there was no shaded place to sit and eat.
As far as the Boardwalk Villas themselves, they were ok. Very clean and spacious, but not my style. Dh seemed to like it better than me for some reason. Muscles and Bustles was very nice, better than the average hotel fitness room (I actually went on the treadmill at Disney - "What?!" you say.) Customer service was outstanding. Overall, I think I would like it better if I was there maybe for a convention or with some friends.
Most memorable thing we forgot to do: The interactive games at the Magic Kingdom - darn! We were looking forward to the Sorcerer's game and the Pirates game, but completely forgot about them.
I'm not sure if I'm going to solely rely on just my iPhone for a camera again. It worked out well and I enjoyed not having to lug my giant Nikon camera/bag around. The photos were pretty good overall, except when you blow them up on a monitor screen, you can see the difference. It's very cool to immediately post to social media though.
Well that's about it. Thanks so much for coming along with me for another ride. It's embarrassing how many TRs I'm behind on or haven't even started yet. I'll be studying for another certification and I really love reading about awesome trips as relief from my brains frying Our next trip will be a 10 day cruise to Hawaii in September on the Disney Wonder. I've done ridiculously little planning for that trip! I'm waiting for next week to be able to book at the 7 month mark for Aulani. I don't know when we'll be getting back to Disney World. We'd planned on bringing some family members on the next trip, but I think those plans are falling through as we speak...
So glad this turned out to be such a magical vacation for you guys! You're right - staying for longer really is a bonus. Usually we only spend some of our time in Disney before heading off somewhere else in the States, but on this trip, we're in Orlando for most of the time (albeit visiting other parks) and on the Dream the rest of the time, which I'm really looking forward to.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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Pixie Dust
And I have to admit, reading about your surprise to the boys had me sitting at my desk with a big ole doofy grin on my face! 
LOVED IT! Looking forward to the rest!
I can't believe you all had never ridden Ellen's Energy Adventure or Maelstrom. 
So much to do!
Love the pics! 
Hey Sharon! I'm glad you like the TR. (I have so many TRs to catch up on 
. Anyway, it was nice to get some free refreshments.
PassPorter Guide Author
People watching at Epcot is one of my favorite pastimes!
... After we finished stuffing things into our carry-ons, we grabbed everything and headed to the RAC to check our bags in.
We went back to the gate and had to sit while they fixed things. I was okay with that, better safe than sorry, and all that 
, and it was good to be home 
This was a first for all of us and it was totally worth the price.
- "What?!" you say.) Customer service was outstanding. Overall, I think I would like it better if I was there maybe for a convention or with some friends. 
I don't know when we'll be getting back to Disney World. We'd planned on bringing some family members on the next trip, but I think those plans are falling through as we speak...
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