Feelin’ Groovy: A Cam and Luke TR Completed 7/31 - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I'm so glad my brain cells finally kicked in. I've been faithfully checking your PTR waiting for the TR to begin. I knew it should have started by now and was getting worried that your cold had really gotten you down. Then, this morning, the brain said, "hey, Dummy, she's probably started a new thread!" Duh! So now I'm here and feeling groovy right along with you. I do love that song!
Sorry, I usually put a link in the PTR to the TR, and I forgot to do that. I've told Luke over and over that this crazy cold and persistent cough have my brain in a fog. I'm being re-reading each update two or three times to make sure I've not blundered. I am feeling quite a bit better and I'm pretty sure I'm no longer contagious, but this cough has got to go.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
A nice start to your trip, except for the windshield! Glad that you made great time to the Hampton Inn and were able to enjoy a nice relaxing dinner for Mother's Day, after being on the road all day! Just a few more hours of driving and you'll be in the bubble! I am especially, looking forward to you photos and take on Disney Springs and hearing about your experience at Morimoto as I'll be trying it in October!
Just as a sneak preview, we got to be at Disney Springs on May 15 when the Town Center opened. Lots of photos! And on Morimoto Asia -- you will NOT be disappointed. But I'll not get to the details on that until our last day at the parks.
My Fitbit alarm went off at 6:00 AM for the second morning in a row. That is an hour and half earlier than I usually rise, so if it weren’t for the Disney excitement I was feeling, I think I’d have rolled over and snoozed a little longer. Instead feeling mildly groovy, I immediately climbed out of bed, letting Luke rest a little bit longer while I had first dibs on the shower. Once in the bathroom, I remembered something very important I needed to do. I went back for my phone in order to access the MDE app. In no time at all, I had a 6:00 PM reservation for Skipper Canteen. I got exactly the time we wanted even though we had to wait for same day reservations. The morning was going well and it was only 6:05 AM.
Both of us were ready shortly after 7:00 AM with everything packed except toothbrushes and medicine. Time now to head down to the continental breakfast area at the Hampton. We both chose to eat light. Luke helped me make a waffle with chocolate chips, and then he chose some eggs and potatoes for himself. Eat light doesn’t take long, so we were soon ready to head back to the room. We both refilled our orange juice cups on our way out to take our medicines with back in the room. The last suitcases were closed after we took our meds and brushed our teeth. Everything was hauled to the car where Luke thought it might be wise to take a few photos of the crack in the windshield before we hit the road again. This is easier said than done as the crack was visible to the eye, but not to the camera lens. A few photos later we were leaving the parking lot.
We had noticed the night before that the Sam’s Club nearby had the lowest price at $1.99 for members. I had our member card with us, so Luke filled up with 12.54 gallons at a total cost of $25.07.
I took over the driving from here, but almost turned into a drive instead of the I-75 on ramp. Oops! But it was just a few minutes after 8:00 AM. Only a few minutes later at 8:16 AM, we crossed the state line into the Sunshine State. Another hour later, I needed a restroom break, so we stopped at Alachua, Florida, at a McDonald’s. We had both commented while I was driving that we felt very drowsy this morning, so we also purchased cokes, hoping the caffeine would perk us up. Now we were groovy to go!
The stop in Alachua began a series of stops. Luke took over the driving from here. Thank goodness! In fact, we took more breaks in this three hour trek than we had the whole day before when we were on the road for 10 hours. A few days before the trip, I had begun having some gastro-intestinal issues (to be tactful) that were still going on. In hopes of countering the issue without using any laxatives while we traveled, I had chosen broccoli for part of last night’s dinner as the little green tree veggies usually help, though they work much more slowly. At least, the veggies usually takes a while to work. By 10:00 this morning, I was in need of the restroom for round two. Ocala was nearby so we stopped at a Cracker Barrel. Yes, another restroom break came not long afterwards at 10:50. By now we were on the toll road, and had to wait for a service plaza, which finally arrived at Okahumpka where I must say I made a mad dash to a huge restroom where not a single door would stay shut on its own. The doors even bore handwritten warnings stating that the doors didn’t lock or the toilets weren’t working. Doesn’t seem that much money is being spent on service plaza upkeep in Florida. Ultimately, I guess it was a wise choice to eat the broccoli, but thankfully, I was totally groovy from this point on. Finally, at 11:37, we arrived safely at Animal Kingdom – Kidani Village. HOME! Luke pulled into the garage and found a parking spot on the first level toward the far left near the elevator.
I had received a text, actually a couple of texts, earlier letting me know our room was not ready. But Luke was concerned that we might need something to put in the windshield as proof that we were staying there, so we took the elevator up to level two to check at concierge. The CM confirmed that our room was not ready, but that our car was just fine where we had parked it. We were now free to explore a park.
We made the short walk to the bus stops, finding the televisions that post bus arrival times and noting that the next Magic Kingdom bus was to arrive at 12:02.
It was nearly that time now, but the time changed at least twice with the bus arriving at 12:10. By 12:28 our bus dropped us off at the Magic Kingdom after an 18-minute bus ride. Our first task was to pick up our new annual passes since we had not renewed them last October due to our Disneyland trip. We had purchased them back in February in order to make FastPass+ selections, but all we had was a voucher card. This did take a little time, especially as some folks were so engrossed in their cell phones that they couldn’t be bother to move to the window when it was their turn. Really, the world is so much bigger than that tiny little screen. Very UN-groovy! I found myself over the course of the trip, wanting to borrow from Tennessee to say, “Get the CELL off your phone and walk.” But eventually, it was our turn and our brand new Gold Annual Passes were in our grubby little hands. An odd side story, while we were still at the back of the line, a lady came up saying she had a one day ticket to give away free. She spoke first to Luke who told her we didn’t need it as we’d already purchased annual passes and were just here to pick them up. Another lady said she would take it, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t going to work because as the first lady walked away she hollered over her shoulder that she’d only used it for a couple of hours in the park. I think she was trying to pass on the magic, but was a bit misguided.
I took just a few photos as we waited in line.
Luke bringing up the rear of the line temporarily.
We breezed through bag check and ticket scanning as it wasn’t overly busy at this time in the afternoon. Once through the tunnel, the next stop believe it or not, are you ready for it? The bathrooms! Count yourself groovy if you guessed right! I’d used the one near the lobby at Kidani, but Luke hadn’t. We chose the restrooms near Tomorrowland Terrace as we had a mission nearby to complete. You may remember that Luke’s mom gave us some Disney gift cards prior to the trip. We planned to use these to purchase the same day ressie for the Wishes Dessert Party. This really is a super easy process as they have a booth set up by the entrance where they sign you up, swipe your credit card or Magic Band, and then give you a band to wear. Since we hadn’t had any lunch yet, we decided that should be next. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, so Luke gave me two choices: Casey’s hot dogs or ice cream from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. Uhm, let me think about this – hot dogs or ice cream? Well, it’s Disney and ice cream sounded like the perfect lunch, so we headed inside The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. The line was just long enough to allow us time to decide on what we’d get. My lunch would be The "Plaza" Ice Cream Sundae made up of hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry served in a freshly made waffle bowl with two hand-scoops of chocolate ice cream. Luke remembered the Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich he has had here before that has two freshly made chocolate-chip cookies served with, in his case, hand-scooped chocolate ice cream. Both are huge as you will see in the photos below. We wandered back outside and soon found a shady table in area of tables across from The Plaza restaurant. Delicious!
For these alone, I'm ready to head back down to WDW.
Tummies satisfied we needed to get the traditional Main Street/Castle photo. We’d actually looked on our way in, but every PhotoPass photographer seemed to have a line four to six families deep. Now we had our choice of two who were just finishing up with a family.
Afterwards, we headed to Uptown Jewelers, one of my absolute favorite shops in all of Disney World. I immediately saw the new Plum’s Up Vera Bradley Disney line. I was thinking that something from this pattern could be my Mother’s Day present. By the time I finished looking everything over, I was pretty certain I wanted the crossbody Mailbag and a matching wallet. But I didn’t want to carry it around the rest of the day nor did I want to send it to the resort as I knew I wanted to carry it the rest of the trip. So I didn’t purchase it yet. Instead we moved over to the Pandora portion of the store where in no time, I had bought my birthday present: a new Pandora bangle bracelet, the DVC 25th anniversary charm, and a new Tinker Bell charm. Somewhere in California unbeknownst to me, my other dangling Tinker Bell charm bought on our cruise had broken and fallen away. Tinker Bell reminds me of Stefanie so I really missed having this little reminder on my bracelet. I actually think the new Tinker Bell is even cuter than the old one. These purchases did not require me to carry much of anything as the CM changed over my charms from the old bracelet and added the two new ones in. She bagged up the boxes, but those would easily fit in the bag I was carrying. I also finally remember to purchase the little flower tool that assists in opening the clasp on Pandora bracelets. So happy to have that little cool tool as the bracelets come off so easily now and don’t mess up my manicure! By the way, my birthday isn’t until July, but Luke pampers me by letting me get something earlier when we are at Disney World.
The Tink is at one end and she is standing in a star studded heart. The DVC is a Mickey Head with a blue globe superimposed on it.
This is the Daisy tool.
NEXT: Are they ever going to ride anything or are they too groovy for that stuff?
Nice purchases! I had been eyeing that bag myself. Sorry about the frequent trips to the bathroom. Those are never fun. That one rest stop really sounds far from groovy. Shopping and ice cream sounds like a perfect start!
I am now the proud owner of a Pandora bangle bracelet. It comes from DH buying me a charm for Christmas, thinking I already had a bracelet I was going to just return the charm but by the time I got back to the store it would have had to been an exchange, and there was nothing that caught my eye.
Do you have photos of the DVC charm? Sound like something I would like.
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Nice purchases! I had been eyeing that bag myself. Sorry about the frequent trips to the bathroom. Those are never fun. That one rest stop really sounds far from groovy. Shopping and ice cream sounds like a perfect start!
That rest stop was ridiculously bad. If I hadn't been in absolute need, I'd have never used it. I have know idea who or what caused all that damage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by purplegal
Glad your stomach issues settled down. Sounds like some nice purchases.
I was glad everything G/I wise settled down just in the nick of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HollyH
Looks like a great lunch to me!
I am now the proud owner of a Pandora bangle bracelet. It comes from DH buying me a charm for Christmas, thinking I already had a bracelet I was going to just return the charm but by the time I got back to the store it would have had to been an exchange, and there was nothing that caught my eye.
Do you have photos of the DVC charm? Sound like something I would like.
Sorry, I have now posted the photos of the charms in the update. I kept thinking there weren't enough photos. Just scroll back up.
Ice cream for lunch----I could handle that!!!!! Glad you finally made it and only at mid-day . MK would have been my choice as well. I know you are happy that the GI distress seems to be over. YAH
Glad you arrived at Kidani at a good time and can't believe so early at 11:37! I guess the drive isn't that long from that part of Georgia...Valdosta.
Good on your part with an overnight stay and short drive for morning arrival! You're up and running in the MK already and I am looking forward to those TV screens for the bus schedules as they were not there on my last WDW trip in April 2014! Makes things easier with planning but depends on their accuracy!
A nice ice cream lunch, but have never been there, but must try. Been to Casey's several times and may have been my choice as I like something more filling for lunch to hold me over until dinner!
So glad you enjoyed Morimoto's and looking forward to the photos and review, even though I have to wait until you last day (jump ahead if you wish! ) So cool that you got to experience the Town Center opening on May 15th as I thought you "May" be there for it. So much new and to do there now and can't wait to experience all of this for myself.
Looking forward to Rick Bayless' Frontera Fresco as it just opened for ADRs (Open Table only now). Will make my adr once you can do through the Disney site as I love Mexican cuisine as I know you and Luke do.! My guess is this will be a priority ADR for the two of you in the Fall!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 05-29-2016 at 10:28 PM..
Signing in. I too was looking at your PTR for the start of your TR. Glad I found it so early in the report! Sounds good so far. Love those walking trails. We are lucky enough to have some beautiful trails to walk on also. I am also looking forward especially to your Morimotos review as we have ADRs in Oct. Hope that cough goes away very soon!
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So now I'm here and feeling groovy right along with you. I do love that song!
I am feeling quite a bit better and I'm pretty sure I'm no longer contagious, but this cough has got to go. 
Glad that you made great time to the Hampton Inn and were able to enjoy a nice relaxing dinner for Mother's Day, after being on the road all day! 
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Thank
Pixie Dust
Yes, another restroom break came not long afterwards at 10:50. By now we were on the toll road, and had to wait for a service plaza, which finally arrived at Okahumpka where I must say I made a mad dash to a huge restroom where not a single door would stay shut on its own. 
The doors even bore handwritten warnings stating that the doors didn’t lock or the toilets weren’t working. Doesn’t seem that much money is being spent on service plaza upkeep in Florida. Ultimately, I guess it was a wise choice to eat the broccoli, but thankfully, I was totally groovy from this point on. Finally, at 11:37, we arrived safely at Animal Kingdom – Kidani Village. HOME! 
Since we hadn’t had any lunch yet, we decided that should be next. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, so Luke gave me two choices: Casey’s hot dogs or ice cream from the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. Uhm, let me think about this – hot dogs or ice cream? Well, it’s Disney and ice cream sounded like the perfect lunch, so we headed inside The Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. The line was just long enough to allow us time to decide on what we’d get. My lunch would be The "Plaza" Ice Cream Sundae made up of hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry served in a freshly made waffle bowl with two hand-scoops of chocolate ice cream. Luke remembered the Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich he has had here before that has two freshly made chocolate-chip cookies served with, in his case, hand-scooped chocolate ice cream. Both are huge as you will see in the photos below. We wandered back outside and soon found a shady table in area of tables across from The Plaza restaurant. Delicious! 
Tinker Bell reminds me of Stefanie so I really missed having this little reminder on my bracelet. I actually think the new Tinker Bell is even cuter than the old one. These purchases did not require me to carry much of anything as the CM changed over my charms from the old bracelet and added the two new ones in. She bagged up the boxes, but those would easily fit in the bag I was carrying. I also finally remember to purchase the little flower tool that assists in opening the clasp on Pandora bracelets. So happy to have that little cool tool as the bracelets come off so easily now and don’t mess up my manicure! 
Makes things easier with planning but depends on their accuracy! 
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