Trip Report A Magical Spoxy Honeymoon (November 10-21, 2014 - Completed)

Introduction: Hello! My name is Christine (28) and along with my husband Kyle (28), we both celebrated our Honeymoon at Walt Disney World from November 10 - November 21, 2014.

Day One: November 10, 2014

We left for Florida at 6:30 AM after packing the day beforehand and eating dinner at PF Changs with my father. We flew Southwest and flight was pretty uneventful. We arrived at the airport and grabbed our luggage, which actually arrived on time for this trip. I packed WAY too much for this trip, like 2 jackets and 5 pairs of different but very cute shoes too much. There we were, two Texans with our cowboy boots about to embark on a wonderful week and a half at Disney.

It was either Disney or Europe, but as the wedding was pretty costly, we decided to save Europe for our one year anniversary. We took our bags (we both had large rolling bag and a large duffel) and walked over to the car rental terminal(which seemed like it was half way across Florida). Since we booked online, we were able to skip the counter and head straight out to the garage to pick out a car, which to me was pretty nifty. After some discussion(we could have even have chosen a minivan at the same price as an economy car, but as it was just the two of us we didn’t need that much car), Kyle picked a cherry red Ford Fiesta hatchback (he would have a slight love affair with this car for the rest of the trip) and we were on our way.

We drove into Disney and the first thing I noticed was primary colors on the welcome sign. We had arrived at the most magical place on earth! We were able to get free dining for our trip, but as a consequence we ended up in a Pirate Room at Caribbean Beach. Even though we had credits to be activated, we decided to first go to downtown Disney before checking in. We parked by Disney Quest and walked all the way across Downtown Disney to Earl of Sandwich, which was ridiculously crowded. I know people say that it only takes about twenty minutes to get through a long line there, but we weren’t really feeling like waiting that long for a sandwich. Slightly dishearten, we walked back across the land of Downtown Disney to Wolfgang Puck’s Grand Cafe while taking in our surroundings. Downtown Disney is very much under renovation to become Disney Springs, but being the children of planners we loved looking at the renderings of the proposed buildings. I cannot wait to come back when it is all finished.

At the Grand Café, we decided to eat a full meal as the offerings at the express side were not doing it for me that day (come to find out they do have good offerings, just wasn’t in the mood for them). The décor in the restaurant was reminiscent of the early 1990s and brought back strong feelings of nostalgia for us. There was a strong use of primary colors, especially yellow and red which fueled my 1990s nostalgia extravaganza.

I ordered the bacon cheeseburger with fries and Kyle had the BBQ chicken pizza.

Both were excellent, especially after a long day of travel. After lunch we headed to the Caribbean Beach Resort to check into our room before heading to EPCOT.

We checked in at the Customs House, which was pretty neat. It had fans rotating in the ceiling and a very tropical feel. The gentleman who checked us in was very friendly. I believe he was from Norway. He gave us our happily ever after pins and we were off in our Ford Fiesta chariot to see our room.

 

[Spoxy]

Day Nine: Winter Comes to Florida

This is trip log day nine, I think. Whatever, days don’t matter in the most magical place on Earth! We started the day under the weather, which was an unpleasant surprise. All the weather changes, combined with lots of different public places with small type children who are known disease factories (I know this because I use to teach swim lessons, no amount of chlorine will ever kill some of those bugs) finally got to us. This did not stop us from running full steam ahead into the day, which had turned significantly colder in the wake of the front that brought yesterday’s rainstorm.

We decided to go to Magic Kingdom again today. I love this park! We skipped breakfast again because we just refuse to learn, but we did get coffee and discovered today that there is actually cream for coffee, not just the mini creamers next to the coffee stand. So, if you get coffee at CBR, there is cream - you just have to look for it. It’s probably the same as the coffee mate stuff, but alas. We then boarded our red chariot and headed to TTA. It was a murky day, and of course, cold.

We took the ferry again to get to MK. I think the ferry is my personal favorite way to get to the park. There is something special about boarding a boat to get to a theme park. We wanted to get there early enough to see the opening ceremony from outside the park. Sadly we missed the beginning going through security. We are 0 for 3 on getting to see the MK opening ceremony.

We walked into the Kingdom and went straight for the Starbucks, which used to be the Main Street bakery. Now, I am all for Starbucks in the parks. I like the logos together (because I was raised by corporations) but I cannot believe they took out Main Street bakery to put in a Starbucks. I was really looking forward to sampling their pastries, and Starbucks just really does not belong on Main Street.

It cuts up the ambiance and makes it hard to get around. We stepped inside, realized it was Starbucks now, but decided to wait to in the line that now spanned to the front of the building in hopes of getting an egg sandwich. We waited for about 40 minutes (with all the rides running at like 5 to 10 minute waits L not our best decision making skills there) and made it to the front of the line.

The woman taking orders was rude and barking at both guests and her coworkers, and we saw that the egg sandwich did not look edible and ended up with just some flavored coffee and walked out slightly dazed and very disappointed. We walked around looking for food, of which we found none.

Then, after consulting the map, we headed to Gaston’s Tavern for a cinnamon roll. We waited in line for while all the time I was scouting tables inside the restaurant. Luck was on my side that moment because two people got up and I was able to snag their table while Kyle got our roll. We ate our food happily and warmed up a bit. After eating, I saw some people who looked like they needed our seats more than us and I got up told them we were leaving we cleaned up the table and left.

Our good deed brought good karma because outside was a family taking pictures. I offered to take a picture of the whole family (which is one of my all time favorite things to do because I love taking people’s pictures and knowing that I got shot that they may have up in the homes someday, which makes my day, plus I get to check out other people’s cameras without having the pesky people at Best Buy bug me).

They were happy with their picture (I purposefully take a few and try to be as flattering to everyone in the shot. It’s really not that hard), and they offered to take a picture of us. The pictures turned out awesome! Some of the best of the trip! With our stomachs more full (let’s face it, when you are walking that much, and there are yummy smells and food everywhere, you are never that full) we headed to the Little Mermaid ride.

I believe the day we were there was the anniversary of the movie coming out, so of course we had to ride…twice. Kyle was a good sport and I really like that ride. We then went on SDMT again. I really like that ride. I wish it were longer and a little more intense like Thunder Mountain, but still a great ride. One random thought though, I do not understand why they got rid of the Snow White dark ride, I feel that as the first full length animated movie, it’s okay to have two attractions devoted to it. Plus, all these parks need more rides.

We went on Big Thunder Mountain and walked on. I think Splash was either too cold or closed. We hit Monster's Inc Laugh Floor for the first time, which was fun. I remember going to Space too.

 

[Spoxy]

We also watched Carousel of Progress, which is now one of my favorite attractions! I love, love, love that show and the moving theater, so cool! Kyle liked it too, but fell asleep at some point. It truly is a Big Bright Beautiful tomorrow. I loved the fact that this is a ride that Walt actually worked on and that is was part of the 1964 World’s Fair. I loved how the 1940s scene was built by people who actually lived in that time, unlike many shows that just guess at what things looked like. And the today scene, while a little out dated, made me nostalgic. This ride is so important to this park, and I hope it is always around in one form or another.

We then rode the people mover for the first time this trip. What a great ride, I wish we would have gone on it earlier. It was a great break and I loved going through Space Mountain and seeing the prototype of EPCOT!

After this we decided to skip over to EPCOT for lunch.

We had reservations the last day for Rose and Crown but that really did not fit our schedule so we dropped those and I was really craving Chefs de France, so we were able to pick up reservations there. In retrospect, we probably should have branched out and tried Biergarten. Kyle had been talking about all week, but when I asked him if he was sure, he told me he wanted Chefs (another next time thing, I am really racking those up).

We were trying to conserve our table credits at this point, so we got one entrée on the plan and paid for one out of pocket. We ordered exact same thing. The lobster bisque, gratin de macaroni and profiteroles. All were very, very tasty.

Our waiter was sweet and was telling us all about how he was going to celebrate his 21st with his friends at the beach, which was funny because in France the drinking age is 18, but as he was here he couldn’t start drinking until 21. When I studied abroad, I remember the opposite. Everyone was turning 21, but it wasn’t a big deal because we all could drink anyway J. There was a slight problem with our check as we were charged two credits for lunch. We had to have them ring it again with one table service credit and one out of pocket and the poor guy was so embarrassed (we were saving our credits for our last night at Narcoosees!).

 

[Spoxy]

From there, we headed to Japan. I wanted to get a piece of pearl jewelry I had seen earlier in the week and that means only one thing: the Pick a Pearl place. Oh my…

Now, I love kitschy things, but I like to be the observer of kitsch, not the participant. I saw a thing on the pearls and thought the idea was neat and I would have a souvenir that did not scream Disney, but still had the magic. We had done some window shopping in Japan earlier in the week and I found a setting I really liked. It had cherry blossoms and a single place for a pearl. So, I wanted that necklace, it was our honeymoon and I was going to have a lasting memory, darn it. Only one problem, you have to go through the whole show to get the pearl… YAY!

The place when we went other times was pretty tame, but due to the weather it was pretty crazy in there. I decided what the hay, we are here, it is here and we have nowhere to be so I guess I will get my pearl necklace. In case anyone is wondering (because we had no idea and ended up in several different places trying to figure out how to even purchase my necklace), you have to buy the pearl first at the register on the right side of the display (I think it was $17 tax included), then you get a number and wait until it is called.

Your number is called and you have to fight the crowd to get to the front, where you pick your pearl (they will NOT pick for you - trust me I tried because I really just wanted the necklace and then realized it meant the death of a creature which I know I know I eat meat but I don’t pick the cow or see it first). Then, they do a whole thing with counting down in Japanese, which is great for kids but for 28 year old shy me was torture. Then they shuck it, measure it and tell you what a great find you have.

The people in line with me were interesting. There was a family of a boy and girl. The girl really wanted a pearl and the boy wanted the experience so they let both have pearl. She ended up with the smallest pearl, 6mm (like me, not a great picker of pearls) and he ended up with a 9mm pearl. The poor girl looked so sad and her brother so triumphant. There was also a woman who picked one with two pearls and was going to make earrings out of them. I think they were honeymooning too.

So, it gets to be my turn, and thankfully the lady could sense I did not want the whole show and really just wanted a pearl to complete my necklace. She asked me which one and I said I didn’t care. She said I had to pick as she is not lucky today (probably a liability because I could see someone complaining if they don’t get them a big pearl), so I picked one, and I got the smallest pearl available. Perhaps this is why I never do these things. I have terrible luck when it comes to things of chance, always have and always will. It ended up working though, because the pearl fit perfectly in the setting and it is very pretty.

So, after getting your pearl, you have to take it back to the register and pick out your setting, which of course are nice but expensive. They will then set it for you by the end of the day. I felt really bad for these castmembers. By the time we got back to the shop later that night, the woman who had picked the pearl with me looked so tired and could barely speak. They have to switch stations, as the pearl picking part is so labor intensive and loud. Plus they had a huge crowd the entire time they were working, and they had to be on the entire time. That has to be a hard job.

We were both feeling terrible at this point, so we decided to go to America to get some good old fashioned Twinings tea and some not good old fashioned coffee. We just sat there for a while rehydrating, and it was the best tea of my life.

This was when we saw the thing that would drive me crazy the rest of the trip. On our receipt they had a thing that said present this receipt at the big stores in Disney (they listed them out) and you will receive 20% off of your entire purchase before noon. Well, I still had a lot of shopping to do. More on this late, but lesson to the wise, make sure you hold onto those…. We decided to hop from EPCOT and come back later. We headed to DHS next, where we had a few evening Fastpasses.

We decided to take the boat even though it is well within walking distance. But I was tired and trying to conserve my walking energy for the park.

Tonight they were doing the Osborne Family Lights, which is not to be missed. Kyle and I got to the park and we headed into the museum part to warm up. It was at this point that Kyle realized we missed our fastpass for Midway Mania by fifteen minutes, which he had made specially so that we would get to ride it on this trip. He was very disappointed that he lost track of time. We did enjoy the museum, though.

 

[Spoxy]

After more time in the museum, we walked around the Osborne Lights. If you ever get the chance, it is totally worth it. The area is such a cool location for the lights and the music is amazing. We took some pictures with the photopass and watched the light show.

It was very crowded, so we decided to get some more food… I know, I know but we had several counter service credits left and I am not leaving those suckers. It really comes back to haunt me in the end.

We wanted to try Pizza Planet but it was closed at 6pm. So bummed, again, we walked around a little bit and found another eatery open I think it was the Backlot Express. There wasn’t a line and we were greeted by one of the most friendly CMs ever. She was so sweet! We ordered the bacon cheeseburgers with horseradish sauce (I’m a fan, Kyle is not) and fries. And, we got the best bonus cupcake ever… It was some sort of pumpkin spice cupcake with cream cheese icing and to top it off, a white chocolate Mickey pumpkin… I was in heaven, except the fact I was already full and this put me over the edge.

The coke was also the best we had during our stay, it was just the right amount of fizzy to syrup. I really lamented having to throw it away on our way to hit our last Fastpass for TOT, but my hands were freezing L. The high temperature this day was 48 degrees and it was a bit miserable. We got one of the last rides on ToT that night and then park was shutting down so it was time to go.

We took the boat back to EPCOT, and made it back to Japan to pick up my pearl setting with like nine minutes to spare before they closed at nine. Then we took the monorail back to MK to pick up the car to go back to CBR.

We got back to the hotel room, and something terrible happened. I ate SOOOO much that day my stomach could not handle it and it literally ejected the entire contents of my stomach. I was so sad and afraid I had food poisoning from that beautiful cupcake, but I didn’t. I literally ate myself sick, something I have never done before. So I ended that day, not happy but it was worth it. Totally.

Next Up: One last full day at Disney

 

[mrdrift]

I would have to say this was a very busy day at multiple parks. I enjoyed the pictures showing the details from each park. All of the food looked really delicious and is making me hungry. Sorry to hear you ate yourself sick . Following along.

 

[CheersBigEars]

Do you have a picture of your new necklace?
I am loving your trip report. Sorry you were sick but does sound like you over did it that day.

 

[Beastly74]

I hope you felt better the next day. There are so many yummy places to eat at Disney - it is easy to go overboard. I gained 6lbs on my 2 week trip last year even though we walked 20,000+ steps almost every day.

Following along .

 

[Spoxy]

I would have to say this was a very busy day at multiple parks. I enjoyed the pictures showing the details from each park. All of the food looked really delicious and is making me hungry. Sorry to hear you ate yourself sick . Following along.

We definitely pushed through to get the most out of the day, even though it was cold and we were sick. When we think back, we think about the fun we had instead of how sick we were.

Do you have a picture of your new necklace?
I am loving your trip report. Sorry you were sick but does sound like you over did it that day.

Here's a photo of the necklace. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is very pretty! They had lots of different settings and cages, but I'm happy with the one I picked.

I hope you felt better the next day. There are so many yummy places to eat at Disney - it is easy to go overboard. I gained 6lbs on my 2 week trip last year even though we walked 20,000+ steps almost every day.

Following along .

I felt much better the next day. Once I got rid of the badness, I certainly didn't slow down! I'm planning to add up all of the steps we took for a grand total at the end of the trip report. I can't wait to calculate how many miles we walked.

 

[Spoxy]

Day Ten: One Last Full Day at Disney

Today was our last full day at Disney World and to make it worse, it was also our last day at the parks. We started the day a little slowly, as we were really feeling the effects of whatever aliment we had picked up and from walking as much as we had in the past week and a half. I can honestly say that I think even with my overindulging all week, I probably dropped about 4 to 5 pounds during our time at Disney. I like to call it the Disney Diet and I hope to be back on the band wagon with it soon!

We started the day with coffee and cheese danish (cannot overstate how much I love the cheese danish. I’m a northern girl who loves some good pastries and it really isn’t a thing in Texas, so I will always be excited to get good cheese danish). We headed back to our favorite park, which now that I am writing this down, I have realized that we really did not explore our horizons with the parks. Oh well, I guess we will have to hit them next time, hint hint Kyle.

We arrived at EPCOT and parked the car near the front entrance and walked on in. The Christmas decorations were in full force by this time and we saw some great Mickey, Minnie and (my favorite) Pluto topiaries in front of SSE. We were able to get a full range of pictures in front of each. We had a FastPass for Test Track, so we finally did the entire Test Track experience for the first time this trip. It was fun building our car, but I am not sure if the car ever showed up again. I think it may have been operator error. I got a great selfie of us as we rode in our car and of course a great picture of us from the ride camera of me fumbling with my camera. Oopsies...

I decided to use that coupon we had received the day before for some stuff at Mouse Gears so we went that way. On the way, I discovered that while every other coupon I had received from throughout the year was still present, the one I wanted was gone! I was so disappointed! We looked everywhere for it and ended getting into a minor argument because we were tired. We decided to just buy the merchandise I wanted anyway and never did find that darn receipt. SO ANGRY! I finally convinced Kyle to let me buy him a tee shirt and sweatshirt (he hates spending money with a passion beyond all passions), and I bought some more Christmas and home décor because who doesn’t want a little magic in their everyday life. From Mouse Gears, we headed to World Showcase.

On our way, I saw one of the funniest things I saw at the parks. There were two ladies with a Chihuahua dressed as Tinkerbell. They were apparently CMs from Disneyland who had taken a cruise (I would assume with their dog) and were playing in the park until their flight. They took several pictures with their dog and we saw them several times throughout the day. It was still cold and that poor California dog was shivering in her Tinkerbell costume.

The huge Christmas trees were up and were spectacular. It has huge ornaments representing the Showcase.

We walked on through and stopped at the Tangerine Café. The last time we were at EPCOT a year beforehand, we had eaten there and loved it. We walked in and were some of the first people there. The person taking orders was super nice but then we noticed the problem with the place in the winter, its open air! So cold! Kyle got the combo plate of chicken and lamb and I just got the chicken. The lamb was excellent but the chicken was stringy and gristly and had an off flavor. The baklava made up for the main though! So tasty! For some reason, I didn't get a picture.

We left Tangerine Cafe and what did we do, we went straight for more food because we were going to hit our favorites. Kyle got a pretzel and I went for the caramel corn and the short bread caramel bar in Germany. Here is where the cool caramel corn story comes in, and this is why if you are celebrating anything, those pins are important. I go in to get a small bag of caramel corn and the bar. The guy behind the counter saw our pins and asked us when we got married, and I told him just a week ago. He was such a romantic that he gave us a large bag of caramel corn for the price of the small bag, but it doesn’t end there. He then gave us a small bag on the house because that is what we originally came in for! It was the nicest thing anyone has done for me (see my caramel corn problem from one of the other days). I was so happy!

 

[Spoxy]

My other favorite thing we did at Disney was to get our silhouettes done. I saw the stands for them everywhere and I really wanted one. So, today was the day! While we were waiting, there was a nice gentleman and his son also getting their silhouettes. The father told us that this was a son and dad trip and he had a silhouette from when he was his son’s age at Disney. So now they will have two to put up in the house. I thought that was a cute thought. I hope to someday get our kids silhouettes to go along side ours.

The person who was doing the silhouettes was amazing! She really captured us and it was fun to watch her just cut the paper without making mistakes or using a pencil. She was from France and super sweet. After we got our silhouette with the frame (for 20 bucks it’s a good souvenir), we decided to get some more PhotoPass pictures. We had one of the friendliest PhotoPass photographers ever. He really got creative and took some pictures of us with the silhouette. The father and son happened upon us and decided to also get the same picture. They are some of my favorites from the trip.

After we walked around World Showcase for a while, we decided to hop the boat again to Hollywood Studio for one last cupcake (yes, we are that serious about cake, it’s why we work). We had a nice trip over and it is fun to take the voyage by boat.

We headed to Starring Rolls where I got the red velvet cupcake and Kyle again got the Butterfinger cupcake. Let me say… the red velvet cupcake might be one of the best things on God’s green earth! It was creamy but still had texture with just a little hint of salty and crunch from the toffee. I don’t know who came up with this cupcake, but he/she is a genius of the highest order!

We went on TOT again and finally mastered the cool picture. It was an amusing group of people on the ride with us this time. They seemed to be college aged foreign exchange students. They were hilarious and really into the ride. We also rode stand by on Rockin Rollercoaster. Here is a place (being on the other side for this ride of course) were I had a problem with the FastPass system. We had been waiting forever in line and when we got to the point that the FastPass people were joining, they let them through without having to even wait a minute to let a standby person through.

 

[Spoxy]

So, FastPass just walked up and went on in and we had to wait for all of them to go before we could proceed. I have been on both sides of fence now and somehow making a FastPass person wait two minutes to let people who had been waiting 30 minutes at that point (and also allowing the standby line to move just a little bit) does not seem like a bad trade off to me. RnRC was fun after the line issue, though the beginning sequence had gotten old by this point. But hey, we were at DHS so no complaining. There was a kid in line who was pretty funny because his mother was telling him all about how if anyone asks at school, he has been sick the entire week. He asked if that was ok, and she told him yeah because which would he rather be at Disney or school. Disney won.

We decided to head back to EPCOT to pick up a few more rides and to ride the Land once before we left.

 

[Spoxy]

It was about this time that I realized that Kyle was not going to surprise with a cake from Disney. A little backstory… Our wedding was a disaster and one of the disappointments was that the cake (which the venue made us purchase through them if we didn’t want to pay a five dollars a slice cutting fee) not only tasted terrible (butter cream that was all butter and not even sweet), but was “thrown away”. Half our cake disappeared and was devoured by the staff, so I never really got to try it. I heard people singing Happy Birthday right after our cakes disappeared. Once again, should have done Disney).

Disney, being awesome, has a service that you can have a cake delivered to the restaurants to celebrate any number of occasions. You can pick the theme and colors and type of cake. I told Kyle that I really a cake since the cake I had been dreaming about for years turned into a disaster. Well, after we were so disappointed in the whipped topping cupcakes we received from Boardwalk bakery, Kyle figured that I no longer wanted a cake. I, on the other hand, thought he was trying to be romantic and surprise with one. I even dreamed that he was on the phone early one morning putting the order in. Fast-forward to today and we were debating whether to cancel our reservations at Narcoossees (so glad we didn’t) and stay in the parks (because I was starting to feel the pinch of not having enough time. I still think I would have stayed a few more days since we came back on the Thursday and didn’t go back to work until that Monday), when I say well what about the cake? He looked blankly at me for a minute and says I never ordered a cake and I thought we discussed this.

We did not like the cakes at Boardwalk Bakery and he thought that they are the only ones who deliver to the Grand Floridian. Minor upset moment ensued in front of the Land and into the Living with the Land ride (the nice attendant gave us a front row seat in front of the boat… we did not sit close to each other). So, moral of the story, because I researched this for his future reference when we got home (yes, he owes me the best Disney cake ever when we go back), Disney has several different bakeries that serve cakes to most of the signature restaurants, and you can specify if you want buttercream icing. So, if you wish to order a cake, I think you need to do it within a certain time frame, and they are customizable, Kyle.

Anyway, we hit the Land and Living with the Land.

We got some more pictures after this and we had another rude set of people decide to cut in line and proceed to take a ton of pictures from the PhotoPass person with their cell phones. I do not mind if you want a few different people in different pictures or if you want them to take a picture with your camera, but if you did not buy the PhotoPass you should be limited to one picture per turn per group. Sorry, not sorry. They were totally rude as well.

It was at this time that we realized that we were running late to our reservation and would not have time to change for dinner. So, I had to scruff it to dinner and we ended up being ½ hour late to our reservation. The hostess was very nice and worked us in, and luckily the place was not very crowded that night. We were seated by the bar. Narcoossees was one of the best meals I ever had in my life! It started with warm sourdough bread with salty butter. Then, I decided on the lobster and filet (which by the way, if you are on the dining plan and want to get the best bang for your buck, this is one of the most expensive single entrées I have found at 75 bucks a plate). The lobster was perfectly cooked and the drawn butter was divine! The only other lobster I have had that was that good was at Morton’s Steakhouse.

The filet was perfectly cooked and had a great crust. The whipped potatoes were great and I think there was broccolini or something of that green nature. Overall, along with Yachtsman, this was one of the best meals of my life. Desert was good, but I chose poorly. I had the apple tart and I felt there was something off about it. Kyle, who ordered something chocolately, thought it was fine however.

 

[Spoxy]

Our waiter was a very nice gentleman and took very good care of us, especially since the table behind us had ordered over $1,000 in food and drinks. He saw it was our honeymoon and gave us complimentary champagne. It was a very sweet gesture. The Wishes fireworks were going off so I ran outside to get some pictures, which did not turn out at all.

After dinner we headed back to our pirate ships one last time and packed up.

Up Next: One last day at Universal and Back to Texas

 

[mrdrift]

Sorry you didn't get your cake that you wanted so badly. I would say that was a fantastic day at the parks and to top it off dinner was a really special evening. Following along.

 

[Spoxy]

Sorry you didn't get your cake that you wanted so badly. I would say that was a fantastic day at the parks and to top it off dinner was a really special evening. Following along.

I definitely look forward to ordering a cake on our next visit. It will make up for missing this one.

We did have a great day at the Parks and it was very hard to walk out of Epcot that night knowing that we wouldn't be back for a while. We weren't ready to leave at all.

Dinner was great. Narcoosees is a must do for a special occasion. I don't know if it is an every trip kind of place, but definitely worth hitting. The dining plan paid off for us on that one as we had a $300 meal for the price of the tip.

 

[Stpdfw]

Wow. Just tuned in today. Awesome TR. I like that you're giving so many details and really speaking your mind. From, a fellow north Texan

 

[Spoxy]

Wow. Just tuned in today. Awesome TR. I like that you're giving so many details and really speaking your mind. From, a fellow north Texan

Thank you! Always great to hear from a fellow Texan.

 

[Spoxy]

Day Eleven: One Last Day and Universal and Back to Texas

Today was the last day of Spoxy’s Magical Honeymoon. I was pretty bummed and would have added more time had we thought of it before booking. There was some reason we were leaving on a Thursday, but I could not tell you what it was. We had one more day pass to Universal and no more days at Disney, so we decided to grab breakfast and head to Universal.

We decided to spend our remaining three quick service dining credits (yes, three… we will do better spending quick services next time) at Art of Animation, which by now had become our favorite resort. Perhaps we should have branched out and tried the Polynesian or one of the many other wonderful resort food courts or restaurants, but we really liked AoA. We both decided on the bounty platter and got a pastry with fruit and a smoothie for the final quick service meal. Not at all the best use of a quick service but at least we didn’t waste it. Too bad you can't easily get gelato on a quick service credit!

The bounty platter was good, but did lack seasoning. This was nothing that a little salt n’ pepa (anyone, anyone?) didn’t fix. They have a good assortment of condiments at the food courts, so there is really no reason to have bland food. As someone who eats with people with the palate of not even a 3 year old (most 3 years are more adventuresome than this person), we know the value of having our own condiments. I can see why Disney errs on the side of bland for some foods because there really are people who do not like seasoning in the slightest and it is easier to put your own seasoning on then to take it off.

It was beautiful sunny day and I got a few more pictures around the resort. When we have children, I am so staying here. Finally, it was time to leave the magic until next time. So we once again got in our red chariot and went to Universal.

We arrived in the parking lot and were waiting our turn when the van behind us honked at us then proceeded to cut us off and cut in line to get into the garage. They were completely unsafe and rude and almost hit the attendant. As we were pulling in we ended up right next to them. I was so frustrated that I opened my car door a little too quickly and I just don’t know what happened. I think our red chariot took its own revenge. I felt really bad because it wasn’t the rental car’s fault that it was being driven by a maniac, but still they knew what they were doing. Luckily for us, we never saw the occupants of car again. Anyway...

We decided that because we were low on time we would only really do Universal Studios even though we had tickets for both USO and IOA. We decided to take our time and went on the Mummy first. Then, we went back to Diagon Alley and rode the new ride a final time.

 

[Spoxy]

 

[Spoxy]

We headed over to The Simpsons and MiB , all the while I thinking I miss Disney. Harry Potter world was still pretty cool, but I loved the feeling you get from Disney. Finally at around 2 pm, we decided to head to airport so that we were not late for our flight.

At the airport, I decided to take one last gander through the Disney shop. It was there that I found the Aerial cookie. Okay, time once again for some background. People talked about these cookies that they bought with snack credits and could be brought home to give away or consume as you wallow in self pity of the post Disney trip. Here’s the funny though, each cookie though they were all the same price was different size depending on character you got! Kyle spent the week trying to figure this out and figure out which character was the best value for the money.

It turns out that Ariel was the most ounces per cookie. She was 25% more cookie than some of the other contenders. I could not even begin to tell you why. So, I bought one last souvenir of the trip: an Ariel cookie for Kyle because she was the best bang for the buck. Sidenote: I forgot Ariel was in my bag when we got home and Spot, (the SP of Spoxy) our greyhound, did his little truffle pig trick and rooted it out and ate part of it. Kyle was pretty disappointed. I think Spot got 25% of the cookie. So while Kyle found the biggest cookie, he did not get to enjoy the biggest cookie. Don’t get me wrong, we still ate the remaining 75%, so the joke’s on you Spot. Spot did share with Roxy though (the OXY of Spoxy).

We went through security easy breezy and took the tram to the gate and grabbed some Sbarro. I know it’s not the best, but we don’t have it in Austin, so I will get it when I can. It’s a piece of my childhood. While we waited for our flight, I read about ghosts at Disneyworld as I kept getting a weird feeling on one of the Space Mountain tracks and wanted to see if anyone else had gotten that feeling. Nope, just me. But there does seem to be a lot of ghosts if you believe in that sort of thing. Personally, I don’t know if there is or is not, but if I were a ghost, that’s where I would spend eternity.

And that ends our trip report for our Magical Honeymoon. I hope you enjoyed it as much I enjoyed writing it! Over the entire trip, we walked about 142 miles. Wow!