Trip Report One enormous BirthdayversaryPalooza! aka 2 Broke Guys & a dog & Irma COMPLETED

We've been using the "2 Broke Guys" moniker for so long now, we've outlasted the TV show "2 Broke Girls" on which it was based. (Canceled!)

The idea was a year+ of saving Disney Chase Visa points to see if we could go to Victoria & Albert's for our 10 year wedding anniversary completely on their dime - and keeping a running total including additions and withdrawals (for little WDW trips along the way) much like they did at the end of every episode of that TV show - like this:

$1,678.91

And that figure is actually what we have left to spend on our trip - about double what we would need for our V&A dinner! Not to mention: points paid for our 2 AP's, some of our lodging for this trip, and many mini-trips along the way. All that meandering, planning, brainstorming and trip reporting is on this thread:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...table-of-contents.909657/page-43#post-7874545

But that can take awhile. I'll give a little background in another post. Shout out to @dizfan917 for accidentally naming this thread in a post on that one, and to @Tuvalu for inspiring the "mother thread" with links to other thread(s) format.

Also to all those who have been following all this time! As those folks know, I go back and forth between posting with my phone and my laptop, and I'm more comfortable on the laptop. I'm using the phone now, whilst not asleep in Orlando, and anxious to get this first post out of the way before I do something to accidentally make it go poof! I will tag the others in a separate post.

Can't believe we're finally here!!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Me too! Gotta save the best for last


Life Cereal

Oh my goodness your photos from V&A What a treat indeed. Congratulations on 10 years

Thank you! Glad to know I'm not the only "last bite" crazy. Brian thinks it's very odd.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Tuesday: our power was still out at home. Brian's Dad was antsy. We got the call early in the morning to go help them pack and load up the car.

We did that, and they were off.

Btw, when Brian touched base with his job on Sunday, they told him to take care of his family and don't worry about rushing back. At that point, we decided to drive home overnight Tuesday night to try to avoid traffic, and he could work on Wednesday. We planned to stock up on supplies that would be harder to find at home. We knew we still didn't have power, but we couldn't mess up this job opportunity.

So...the family is gone. We're still in Kissimmee...

We still have most of our Food & Wine tickets to spend. It's a long shot but...do you think Best Friends Pet Care has any availability for day care? I can drive all the way home overnight so Brian can sleep.

Hmmm...

 

[Tiggerish]

Was this dinner worth it? Yes. No hesitation, yes.

Would I do it again?

Probably not for a long time or unless I have a lot more money LOL.

That's exactly what I felt.

I don't even remember what we were laughing about. But it got to that point where you're so silly you can barely breathe. Great moment.

Those are the best moments.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We still have most of our Food & Wine tickets to spend. It's a long shot but...do you think Best Friends Pet Care has any availability for day care? I can drive all the way home overnight so Brian can sleep.

Turned out Best Friends Pet Care did have availability on Tuesday, and WDW was reopening Tuesday morning...and we were going to be here all day, anyway...

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Could I convince Brian to go to Epcot on Tuesday?

Come on, you know I was looking for a chance all weekend, and that was not the first time I mentioned it!

Do you know how much I love that he will go along with me on my crazy?!

(I think some of you do.)

We would take Kylie to BFPC, play outside with her, go to Epcot, spend all the rest of our tix on expensive drinks, pick her up, go to bed, wake up in the middle of the night, and I would drive all the way home - preferably without traffic, and without too much trouble stopping to refuel.

Hurrayyyyyy!!!! We're going back for more!!

Irma just extended our Disney trip.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Here's the message that popped up on my phone Monday night. See how easy I am?

Like I said, they're doing a lot more interactive stuff with the phone.

We packed Kylie up, took a short drive to BFPC, and as usual, when we turned into Bonnet Creek Parkway, she knew where we were going and got all excited!

And then we rolled up on the parking lot.



BFPC had taken a beating.

That whole front awning structure was a mess. You couldn't use the front door entrance. There was a side entrance I never knew existed before, and they had a makeshift table set up just inside that doorway to pre-check you in. Then you would walk down the hall to the front counter.

The plan was, per usual, to let Brian do the check-in process while I take her out back to run around and avoid whimpering in the lobby because she wants to go outside.

Outside was closed! They said there were too many branches and debris that hadn't been cleaned up yet and it was not safe.

We understood. Kylie didn't. She was whimpering to go outside over the 15 minutes it took to check her in.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We were primarily going to Epcot, but we parked at Hollywood studios in the hopes that we would end up at Hollywood studios to visit Julie before going home.

This turned out to be the day of doing things we hadn't gotten to in the last few days. Loved it!

But it started off with a minor change in plans. WDW was open, but anything near or over water was closed. That meant boats and bridges. That meant no direct quick few minute walking route between Hollywood studios and Epcot via the boardwalk. A nice CM explained to us the path to follow to walk to Epcot. At the entrance to that path, another couple coming the other way who had just walked it from Epcot to Hollywood studios warned us, "Don't do it! It's a really long walk!"

Naturally, we did it.

It was a long-ish walk, but we were kept occupied seeing things we don't normally see, or from a different perspective than we usually see them. And we saw damage, and crews cleaning up.

That last pic I just thought was pretty.

There was also something I couldn't get a picture of – it was something in the water that was moving in an odd way. First I thought it was a duck, then I thought it might be a snake.

After a little research, I'm going with this:

or at least some version of it. It was like a skinny-necked duck that would keep it's body submerged, with only it's neck bopping to and fro above the water. Then it would dive down and stay down a bit, and pop up a significant distance away. We enjoyed watching this guy.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Finally, we made it to the international gateway, where we were waved through by Mickey-voice guy. This is a CM we had run into once before. He's very friendly. He has a very high voice like if someone was imitating Mickey Mouse - but we realized at our first meeting that it was his real voice, and were careful with our reactions to not hurt his feelings. In truth, it's a great, fun welcome!

As you know, that entrance put us close to France, and we wasted no time tearing off two tickets and getting two alcoholified slushies.

Then we wasted plenty of time trying to take a selfie with them. We have not gotten better at this.

Take one: Tony wasn't ready or smiling.

Take two: off with his head!

The BATB topiaries were completely gone.

Do you think I overuse the ? I really enjoy that one.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

One more try with bad editing!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

It was a beautiful day, and we decided to explore Morocco. It's a pavilion we typically pass by. I had listened to a podcast before our trip that made mention of all the things back there and how beautiful the Morocco Pavilion was. Also, we have a good friend who is engaged to a guy in Morocco, so we took extra pics and texted them to him in real time. I'm still waiting for a translation on the first one.

Still not good at selfies. But...a horse!

More pics in the next post.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I don't know about those men's accessories. They won't fit in my cargo pants.

We joked with our friend Sean that the red outfit with the lampshade hat might be his wedding garb.

In all seriousness, although Sean has been to visit in Morocco, they are having a tough time with things.

Our country is not exactly receptive to bringing folks from Morocco over right now. They can't get married over there, so he can't get here by marriage. In fact, they are hostile to gay people over there, so they are trying to find a way to file as "engaged" with the US but keep that secret from Morocco, or the guy could be in real danger in Morocco.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Did I mention how much I love that we were standing there at Epcot that day?!

There was a lot of happy going around.

The parks weren't packed, but weren't dead. Clearly a lot of fast passes were not canceled even though the people who made them weren't here. So you'd have a big attraction with no fast passes available, but a relatively short wait. (that made me want to do Pandora again, but it would be too much running around to get to AK.)

We continued on. Ah, Italy. And we continued with the frozen drinks.

These trees look like they've been a bit Irma'd.

Yeah, great selfie with that straw aiming for my nose. I think we need to take a class.

We sat by those boats and enjoyed our Italian margaritas.

Nearby was another booth that had Coke slushies. I went over to it while Brian sat, but they didn't have a Diet Coke version.

I know, I know, the margaritas probably had at least as much sugar.

 

[krisri18]

We went on the Jungle Cruise, and our tour guide pointed out all kinds of little things you wouldn't be able to get on the regular tour. I asked about the rhino, and he said it was getting fixed.
.

We did KTTK on our recent trip and I asked the same thing (I got a sarcastic response until we were off stage), our tour guide was great!

 

[Songbird76]

View attachment 231422 View attachment 231423

(Explanation to follow.)

So am I understanding it correctly that you have absolutely no choice in what you order...it's a set menu and what they have is what you get?

 

[Minthorne]

So am I understanding it correctly that you have absolutely no choice in what you order...it's a set menu and what they have is what you get?

I thought they call you ahead of time to go over your preferences and tastes. At least for $235 I hope they do!

 

[Songbird76]

View attachment 232082 View attachment 232083 View attachment 232084 View attachment 232085

I don't know about those men's accessories. They won't fit in my cargo pants.

We joked with our friend Sean that the red outfit with the lampshade hat might be his wedding garb.

In all seriousness, although Sean has been to visit in Morocco, they are having a tough time with things.

Our country is not exactly receptive to bringing folks from Morocco over right now. They can't get married over there, so he can't get here by marriage. In fact, they are hostile to gay people over there, so they are trying to find a way to file as "engaged" with the US but keep that secret from Morocco, or the guy could be in real danger in Morocco.

Could they get married in a different country? I don't know how that would play out, but the Netherlands has a large Moroccan population, gay marriage is legal. I hope they can work things out!!

 

[Songbird76]

I thought they call you ahead of time to go over your preferences and tastes. At least for $235 I hope they do!

That was exactly my thought...for that price, I would be REALLY disappointed as I don't like fish and I don't like cheese, and I don't like wine. There wasn't much on that menu that I would have eaten. The duck, the beef, and the desserts...it totally would not be worth it to me.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

So am I understanding it correctly that you have absolutely no choice in what you order...it's a set menu and what they have is what you get?

I thought they call you ahead of time to go over your preferences and tastes. At least for $235 I hope they do!

That was exactly my thought...for that price, I would be REALLY disappointed as I don't like fish and I don't like cheese, and I don't like wine. There wasn't much on that menu that I would have eaten. The duck, the beef, and the desserts...it totally would not be worth it to me.

The wine pairings were optional (and cost extra.) You can just get the meal, save $300, and order a couple of drinks.

We've found wine pairings can be an event unto themselves when done properly, knowledgeably, and with intention. We learned that from Craig at the Flying Fish 6 years ago. With proper pairings, it's almost like you have two meals: you don't just drink the wine between bites, you take a sip mid-chew, and it enhances the flavor of the dish. I love that when it works!

Re: the menu: yes, the menu they present to you at seating is the chef's menu. As the servers mentioned at the beginning, the only choices you need to make are whether or not to go with each upgrade.

They do communicate with you beforehand over the phone, and my main concern was that Brian get a diabetic-friendly dessert that was not berries in a bowl with whipped cream. They really came through on this - you couldn't tell from the pics which dessert had the added sugar and which didn't. I appreciated that so much. When someone has diabetes from childhood, they grow up with this "I can't have what everybody else has" thing. I have spent the last 12 years trying to show Brian he can; and if he can't, I won't, in front of him. (At a restaurant, ill sometimes say, "He's diabetic, and I'm diabetic sympathetic.") The truth is, I gave up processed sugars before we met, which made things a lot easier for us as a couple.

Thankfully the SF industry has vastly improved since the 80's.

They were conscious of that throughout the meal. He didn't get a honeycomb on his cheese plate, for example. (Darn, I would have enjoyed two lol.)

I think, other than that, I told them we were pretty adventurous and liked to try new things. I think that's really their target audience: someone who is willing to go with the chef and be taken on a journey.

It's ok if I didn't like a dish or a course. That's why I'm there, for a culinary adventure. That's exactly what it felt like.

I'm sure if you told them you can't stand mushrooms, they would customize your menu. In fact, one of the couples next to us at the Mexico lunch said they sat in the main dining room at V&A and the gentleman said his menu was very customized. (He was gluten-free.)

But to me, the whole purpose of going was continuing my "education" as begun at Flying Fish six years ago! We both loved it, and are looking for more such events locally.

Oakland Park, where we live, is fostering a "culinary district" blocks from our home, hopefully to include a culinary school. I may take some classes because I do not have good instincts for cooking.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We did KTTK on our recent trip and I asked the same thing (I got a sarcastic response until we were off stage), our tour guide was great!

Ours was, too! He seemed very open to answering questions as long as we were off stage.

Could they get married in a different country? I don't know how that would play out, but the Netherlands has a large Moroccan population, gay marriage is legal. I hope they can work things out!!

You know, I thought I suggested something similar and got shot down, but I will make that specific suggestion!

ETA: Actually I remember now. They would still have to apply for him to move here when they got back to Morocco. To the US, a marriage and engagement are similarly situated. To Morocco, the marriage puts him more at risk.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I still had one F&W ticket left. So far, we definitely saved money with them - I guess about $10-$12, and ordered drinks we wouldn't have paid $10 cash for.

Know what else I had? The gift card B gave me for my bday and then wouldn't let me spend because he paid for everything lol. (Never did get that Tigger shirt. Oh, well. The moment has passed.) I found that card in my money clip thingy, and that came in handy that day!

We arrived at our latest crush, Mexico. Let's go to (H)ilda's Tequila bar!

Yes!!!

But first, let's go on Three Caballeros. We've barely done any rides.

After the mini-Small World boat ride, we went to the Tequila bar, and it was pretty crowded. We stood at the bar. They were pouring a lot of margaritas and patron shots. I talked with the bartender and told him we had done the tequila lunch last week. His posture changed a bit, and we discussed a nice "sipping tequila." He recommended Ocho brand Anejo in a glass. It was $21 (that's what gift cards are for) and it was fabulous.

Brian ordered some pineapple thing again.

It was good, too!

We stood and enjoyed those slowly. The bartender came back and gave us some more pointers and info, like at the lunch. He "knew his audience" and was great. His name was Jose. Great guy. I need to email Hilda about him.

While standing there, Brian got a call from his new job. Uh-oh(?) I hoped he wasn't too buzzed. It was loud in there, so he stepped out to take the call.

They said they were not ready for him on Wednesday. Come in Thursday.







Oh, you know where my mind went.

No, we did not come back on Wednesday.

But, we had a weight lifted for tonight! We could stay til the end, get a good night's sleep, check traffic, and drive home on Wednesday afternoon!

Yeah, baby!