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So! I am really trying to branch out my TR titles these days!! I cannot tell you what a wonderful trip Muffin and I had!! The weather was near perfect!! Old Key West is lovely!!! We did EVERYTHING!!! We loved the F&WF!!! We loved Christmas!!! We loved the Party for The Senses!!! It was even better than last year!!! We loved the Rosen Centre!!! We loved Portofino Bay!!! We loved the Macy's Day Parade!!! With those highlights, I will start from the beginning...………….
November 7th
We got up at 6:00 AM this morning and packed up our last minute items after showering and feeding Lilly. Here is our standard sad Lilly picture:
She always looks so sad and mopey when we go anywhere!
By the time we were ready to head to the airport, it was around 8:15 AM. Katie was up, dressed and ready to take us to PHL.
And here is our standard 'Don't take my picture' Katie picture :
We loaded up our luggage and were off!!
We got to the airport and through security without a hitch although neither one of us had TSA precheck this time. : We boarded our flight on time.
Some airport photos:
Our chariot
Then! We sat on the runway for an hour!! Muffin thinks it was due to construction at PHL. Whatever the reason it was pretty annoying.
The best thing about our flight were these:
Plane Crackers
However, since so much extra time is built in to flights these days, we actually arrived at MCO right on time. I must say that the flight was smooth and easy all the way as well.
We hopped on the Orlando Airport Train and the first thing we saw on the way to the baggage claim area was an alligator!! He was happily swimming away as we passed high above him.
Thankfully, we snagged a luggage cart:
For the first time in a long time, we rented a car. Muffin got nervous about some things he read about getting around at OKW and got a great deal from Hertz. Nissan Quest. We had no trouble getting our rental and were on our way by 2:30 PM.
It was a gorgeous afternoon!!
On the way to OKW, we received a text that our room was ready and we would be in building 30, room 3010 on Old Turtle Bay Drive. We pulled out our map of the resort to see how to find it .
We stopped at a Publix and picked up some snacks and water and a nice bottle of wine before heading to OKW. Then we finally got to this:
More
There is just something truly magical about reaching that sign!! We easily followed the directions to OKW and before we knew it we had arrived!!
The guard at the front of the resort was so friendly and after showing our credentials, he directed us to our home for the week, which we found easily. We started our inside drive to find our room and were immediately impressed with this lovely resort!!
Our room was in a corner and we really liked the location. Here are a few photos of the room:
We intended to drive around the grounds after unpacking and get the lay of the land but after checking out the pool, we decided we were starving and headed to Epcot!
Coming Up: Our first taste of the F&WF!!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 11-28-2018 at 07:38 AM..
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Great start! Waiting on the plane for an hour to take off is a pain!! Those airplane crackers are super cute though! It looks like it's an absolutely gorgeous day! Isn't OKW great? We stayed there last December and I'd love to stay there again to have more time to take advantage of the resort!
Looks like you two are off to a good start. Surprised you didn't try getting to OKW by going past DS though. I found it faster when we went by car to Ft W and passed it.
On Sky and Katie are giving you two some Bronx cheers for leaving Lily behind. They are ready to leave today for their next big Adventure.
Great start! Waiting on the plane for an hour to take off is a pain!! Those airplane crackers are super cute though! It looks like it's an absolutely gorgeous day! Isn't OKW great? We stayed there last December and I'd love to stay there again to have more time to take advantage of the resort!
A plane delay is never a great way to start out for sure! There were so many planes on the runway, I honestly couldn't count them all! I can't believe we arrived on time! Those crackers were just Ritz but we thought they were adorable!! The weather was incredible and I cannot tell you how much we loved OKW!!! We loved the pools and the walk to Olivia's!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great start! I think the decor and layout of OKW is so serene.
It is and we are strongly considering staying there again next October!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeL
Looks like you two are off to a good start. Surprised you didn't try getting to OKW by going past DS though. I found it faster when we went by car to Ft W and passed it.
On Sky and Katie are giving you two some Bronx cheers for leaving Lily behind. They are ready to leave today for their next big Adventure.
Oh my goodness, I am too late to say goodbye but I hope you have a wonderful trip!! We missed Lilly for sure but we brought her back a nice Christmas bandana!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
I'm so glad you had a such a good time and it looks like a wonderful start with a great room!
It was an amazing trip, Cheryl!! The room was adorable and right in the middle of the resort!!
P.S. I promise to try and catch up with everyone's TR's, but I am having trouble figuring out Facebook posting so I wanted to get as much of the TR posted here as I could before going away again!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 11-28-2018 at 07:32 AM..
When we got there, the usual awful security line was waiting for us:
It took longer to get through bag check then it did to get here! I don't know why, but this is the worst park for security checks! Anyway! We stopped for a few PP pictures.
Then we headed to Spaceship Earth but it was broken! So we next went to guest services to renew our TIW card which will get us through the next three trips!!
Believe it or not, Epcot was really not that crowded today.
We had a FP+ for Test Track, but the single rider line looked even faster, so we hopped in that. The only bad thing was that we didn't get to design our car.
It was another awesome ride and then we headed off to Space on the Orange team!
With our safe landing on Mars, we made a few postcards to send back to the kids. I love those campy things!!
We still had yet to eat and by now the plane crackers were a distant memory so we made our way to the Festival Center.
Our first stop was at Shimmering Sips for a Tropical mimosa for me and it was delicious!!
Then Muffin went to the wine station to get a glass of Riesling while I checked out the Dooney and Bourke handbags this year, which were lovely but I really, really don't need another purse right now. Next we went to check out the chocolate sculptures and they are magnificent!!
My favorite!!
They were true works of art and the detailing that went into them was incredible!!
We still had not eaten at this point so we headed over to Next Eats.
We first stopped at Coastal Kitchen where we split Seared Scallops and a Pinot Gris:
This was delicious and paired perfectly with the Pinot Gris!! Also, this was just a beautiful area to walk through at night!
Next we went to the Chocolate Studio and got the Nitro chocolate almond truffle for me. Again, this was another huge hit and it was fun to watch it being made!!
We made our way over to World Showcase and stopped at Ireland for the Guiness Bailey's shake which is definitely not something I would have tried if I hadn't read stellar reviews and I am so glad I did!! It was to die for!!!
Then we stopped for some PP pictures:
We next headed to Japan for the Steamed Chicken Teriyaki Bao Bun which we split. I know I sound like a broken record and maybe it's because we were hungry but this was amazing!! Muffin also got a Sake here.
Next we went to Germany where we got one of those humongous pretzels that was the first thing we tasted that was just meh. Muffin got a Riesling and I got a Shoffenhoffer Grapefruit beer here. We only ate a tiny bit of the pretzel and chucked the rest. We then sat on a bench to finish our drinks and enjoy the pleasant evening.
Muffin would kill me if he knew I posted this:
When we were done, we made our way to Mexico and the Grand Fiesta Tour!
Our final food stop for the night was at Hawaii!! I love this booth and this year did not disappoint!! Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of our Kahlua Pork Slider and Pineapple Sparkling wine so you will have to trust me that it was delicious!!
We had eaten and walked and stayed awake to capacity today and decided to call it a night after this. We checked on SE one more time on the way out and it was fixed with very little wait so we hopped aboard and sent our Postcards from the future before leaving Epcot tonight.
By now it was 9:30 and we honestly thought about just turning around and staying for Illuminations but we were just too tired tonight. We knew we’d be back tomorrow so we headed out to catch the tram to our rental car.
When we got home, we were so exhausted we fell right into bed. I checked my postcard from the future but instead of us, it was just generic which was fine because Muffin closed his eyes on ours and it looked like I killed him. Our postcard from space was fine!
We truly could not have had a better start to our trip and we both fell asleep exhausted but extremely happy!!
Steps today: 22,189
The weather was 82 degrees and sunny
The whole day was wonderful except for the plane delay!!
Coming Up: Exploring OKW and more Epcot!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 11-28-2018 at 11:11 AM..
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Love the idea that you ate your dinner by stopping at a variety of the Kiosks and sampling from them. We have plans to something very similar between Christmas and NYD on two days. Paying Lilly off with a BANDANA ! The Savage Sisters would never go for that.
FYI we don't leave for another 2 weeks. Just hoping the weather cooperates for me to finish the packing.
Love the idea that you ate your dinner by stopping at a variety of the Kiosks and sampling from them. We have plans to something very similar between Christmas and NYD on two days. Paying Lilly off with a BANDANA ! The Savage Sisters would never go for that.
FYI we don't leave for another 2 weeks. Just hoping the weather cooperates for me to finish the packing.
Then I am glad I have not missed you!! Many, many that your weather is good!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 11-28-2018 at 02:29 PM..
I woke up at 5:00 AM this morning. I tried to back to sleep for about 15 minutes and then decided to just get up and go find the jogging path! . I got dressed as quietly as I could and headed outside.
I really think the grounds at OKW are beautiful, even in the dark. I found the path after a little bit of wandering and jogged both ways on it which I think was about 2.5 miles total. When I got back , Muffin was just waking up.
After getting ready for our day today, we walked over to Olivia’s for breakfast. We absolutely loved this walk!! The grounds at OKW are just so lovely!!
Our little street corner
As you can see from these photos, it was just another gorgeous morning!!
Oh my gosh! Olivia's was a new place for us and it was delicious!! Our server was Brenda and she was delightful! Those breakfast potatoes!! And the place itself is just adorable!! We have been to Key West and this really does put you in mind of it!! Our total with our TIW discount was 33.61 and we left a nice tip for Brenda.
My breakfast
Muffin's breakfast
Then I went to Conch Flats general store and bought an Old Key West t-shirt, a Mickey headband, an adorable Mickey and Minnie Christmas pin and a refillable Christmas mug. With my DVC discount, these items came with the low, low price tag of 76.44!
We went back to the room to drop off my purchases then headed out to Epcot.
Next Up: Spending the entire day at Epcot, Part 1!!
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Last edited by Tara O'Hara; 11-28-2018 at 12:51 PM..
What a awesome afternoon/evening at Epcot! All your F&W tastes looked yummy! Especially since I am sitting here eating a peanut butter toast for lunch!
We loved Olivia’s for breakfast! I’m glad you enjoyed it as well! Can’t wait to hear about your Epcot day!
Your F&WF eats all look and sound as amazing as you describe them! Those seared scallops!! I love the Christmas themed refillable mugs this year... they are so cute!!
I hear you about the security lines at Epcot, that's why we always prefer to use the International Gateway entrance if we can. I just hope that doesn't get too congested when the Skyliner opens.
Great eats from around Epcot and I love all your purchases.
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I cannot tell you what a wonderful trip Muffin and I had!! The weather was near perfect!! Old Key West is lovely!!! We did EVERYTHING!!! We loved the F&WF!!! We loved Christmas!!! We loved the Party for The Senses!!! It was even better than last year!!! We loved the Rosen Centre!!! We loved Portofino Bay!!! We loved the Macy's Day Parade!!! With those highlights, I will start from the beginning...………….
: We boarded our flight on time. 
Muffin thinks it was due to construction at PHL. 
Whatever the reason it was pretty annoying.
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PassPorter Guide Author
I can't believe we arrived on time! Those crackers were just Ritz but we thought they were adorable!! The weather was incredible and I cannot tell you how much we loved OKW!!! 
So we next went to guest services to renew our TIW card which will get us through the next three trips!! 
Next we went to check out the chocolate sculptures and they are magnificent!! 
Also, this was just a beautiful area to walk through at night!
Our postcard from space was fine!
that your weather is good!!
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