Trip Report 2 broke guys and the 40% off trip (deluxe!)

Yes, yes, I know we just got back. We went in the middle of December, then again for Christmas, then again in the middle of January, and now - our third month in a row…

When: Feb 2-4
Where: All-Star Music, and All-Star Music (you’ll see.)
Who:

Tony

And Brian

Wait, wait - that’s not right. Pretty close, but not right. Let’s try again.

Tony

And Brian

OK but those were reject “blooper” pics from our last TR. Here’s one where we’re overdressed:

That’ll do.

And…Mickey.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I had 40% off lunch coming up at 1:20 at Tiffins, but I had a shrimp app snack

…and enjoyed the sunshine.

Look, my old home!

I took a Rideshare to AK since it was so far. It drizzled on the way, stopped before we arrived.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

With a little time before lunch, a little otter entertainment!

This little guy was very vocal, and started rolling around on his back. Hungry? I don’t know, he wouldn’t answer me.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Tiffins!

My server was Brian, the same Brian who served Brian and me on Monday.

I started with the appetizer we almost ordered that night, but didn’t: dumpling with ahi tuna.

Absolutely delicious.

For the main, I was undecided. Other Brian said the pork duo was his favorite thing on the menu. Pork? Yes, please.

Why was I hesitant? I don’t love being bothered with bones, fat, etc. Too much work.

The verdict? The pulled pork atop the corn cake atop the tamale on the right was fantastic. It would make a nice app.

The chop? It was fine, but - bone and fat, not enough sauce, too much chewing. Had to wash it down with my Chakalaka wine. Not bad, wouldn’t order again.

I texted Julie to find out when her shift ended. 3:30! I finished lunch about 2, and texted her this:

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Again, in a hurry, Rideshare to HS.

I love my sunshine !

I entered Tune-In triumphantly, had one drink, and it rained enough that the night crew were late, and Julie hung out until 4.

My Cali Grill res was at 5:05. Time for the refreshed Little Mermaid? I went over to the line and was quickly told I’d be in the showing after next, based on my place in line.

That was all I needed to know, and I appreciated the heads up!

One more Rideshare back to the Contemporary, with enough time to spare to do a full 25 minutes on the massage chair.

But first, I had to retrieve a bag from Bell services because I was not dressed appropriately for CG in that sleeveless tee! I threw another tee over it. The bell hop (is that still what we call them?) said, somewhat surprised, “Yeah, man - that works!”



And up to the Grill, where someone - probably not me - spent $300 on one item.

 

[Swissmiss]

Currently eating at POFQ. It started pouring. We couldn’t even unpack the truck.
Nice view for our room! View attachment 871218

I should be waking up to that exact view (hopefully minus the rain) in exactly 3 weeks

 

[cgersic]

Good heavens! You got so much done in these last posts that I had to make notes for my response They are: Tigger pic , blue shirt kids -twice!, OK Corral made me laugh cuz it was spot on (my dad is a major western buff), Tiana ride photo also made me laugh out loud, the hotness is real comment and photo almost made me spit out my coffee cuz I went straight to your arm first, last photo of MK from your room

The weather looks like perfect Florida weather (I can't believe I'm still sitting outside at night in the middle of July!), the otter pics are sweeeeeet, I've never been in Tiffins and now I have to go just due to your pics of the decor, and lastly, you need to see if you can get Disney to start a rideshare that you can pay for rides with Disney Visa points!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Good heavens! You got so much done in these last posts that I had to make notes for my response They are: Tigger pic , blue shirt kids -twice!, OK Corral made me laugh cuz it was spot on (my dad is a major western buff), Tiana ride photo also made me laugh out loud, the hotness is real comment and photo almost made me spit out my coffee cuz I went straight to your arm first, last photo of MK from your room

The weather looks like perfect Florida weather (I can't believe I'm still sitting outside at night in the middle of July!), the otter pics are sweeeeeet, I've never been in Tiffins and now I have to go just due to your pics of the decor, and lastly, you need to see if you can get Disney to start a rideshare that you can pay for rides with Disney Visa points!

You get me!

Note: Tiffins has several rooms, each with different (but all fascinating) decor.

We talked about the rideshare issue before Brian went home. I’ll talk about what went right and wrong in my end summary.

Thank you for all the nice comments!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I always seem to have some kind of issue with the California Grill reservation. There is nowhere to select that you’d like to sit at the bar. Yet, cast members often seemed to reference that. Every trip, somebody says something about me selecting a table instead of the bar. I didn’t understand.

Apparently, what I’ve learned is to not check in on the app. Just go to the desk where you check in and tell them you’d prefer to sit at the bar. Otherwise, upstairs has to change the reservation from table to bar so the table becomes available.

(I’m second-guessing myself as I type this, maybe you’re not supposed to make a reservation at all? I find that risky.)

Anyway, Ray was at the bar. I ordered my wontons, briefly scanned the wall for Blanton’s bourbon and didn’t see any, but didn’t expect to see any, because they never have it. Knowing I wouldn’t love it, I ordered the “little whistle” bourbon drink with basil because I couldn’t think of anything else. It’s meh. The maple old-fashioned is meh.

A guy came in and sat next to me and a few ladies next to him (all together) and he was asking Ray the prices of different bourbon pours. One of them was $300. I thought to myself, that will never happen.

I sipped my drink, waiting for my wontons, and two other ladies on the right side of me started talking about how great the wontons are. I agreed.

Mine arrived first.

Soooooo gooooood.

 

[Tuvalu]

I’ve read you don’t need a reservation to sit at the bar. Just walk up to the check in desk on the second floor.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I hear the guy next to me say, cautiously, “You know what, I’m gonna do it.” And he said something to Ray.

I asked him, “Did you just order a $300 pour?”

He said yes. I said God bless him, and fist bumped. I said I enjoy bourbon, but the highest I go is Blanton’s, but they never have it.

Then he pointed out to me, next to the Jack Daniel’s on the wall - a bottle with a horsey on top. They did have it! I finished my pig swill and ordered a glass, neat.

This is the $300 pour, called Pappy’s, but technically Pappy Van Winkle. He’s a big bourbon enthusiast, and said it’s very hard to find. He thoroughly enjoyed it, no regrets.

And this is my horsey top stuff. $27 and I was just as buzzed as he was lol.

But seriously, good for him! I’m sure it was smooth and fabulous.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I’ve read you don’t need a reservation to sit at the bar. Just walk up to the check in desk on the second floor.

That’s probably correct, but again, feels risky! That bar fills up quickly and stays full. If I have some kind of reservation, it’s going to be harder to turn me away. Maybe not. But that’s why I keep booking 5 PM, to be first.

I don’t like maybe lol.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

By now, this joint is jumping.

I ordered the same lamb dish I ordered last time, which had me over the moon last time. Didn’t even look at the menu.

For the life of me, I cannot explain why, but it didn’t hit the same this time. It was fine. It looked the same. I don’t know. All good.

I know I was buzzed because I ordered whatever this was.

“My bill was too darn high.“ This was not thrifty. Bad Tony!

Hey, you only live once, and I’m already in my 50s. Gotta enjoy life while you can.

I can go on arguing with myself, but you’ll probably all appreciate it if I move on to the next post.

By now, it was raining.

Still had a little time before I had to go to the airport.

 

[rshell68]

I’ve read you don’t need a reservation to sit at the bar. Just walk up to the check in desk on the second floor.

That's what we did for our first visit.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

One more chair massage! Just a short one this time, no pics.

I got into the elevator, intending to go to bag check. For the first time, I read the sign in the elevator.

What I didn’t bother to mention the other night, because I thought it was boring and didn’t ultimately lead to anything, was after coral reef dinner, and Brian wanting to go to bed early, I was a little restless. I thought I might go to LA Fitness.

I would have to take a Lyft or Uber, I’m sure it would cost something like $15-$20 each way. I googled if the Contemporary had a gym, and the quick answer I saw was no. In fact, what I read explicitly said you would have to go to the Grand Floridian, but that gym is only available to Grand Floridian guests.

So I went to bed fat.

Well, if you look at the sign above, it appears there is a fitness center on the third floor! I find this out as I’m getting ready to leave lol.

I stopped on the third floor to check it out. Sometimes hotel gyms are just treadmills. Sometimes they have a few little hand weights and are rinky dinky.

This was pretty cool!

Lots of equipment. I wasn’t really dressed for it, but I did a few sets of a few things. Made me feel better.

Then I got my bags, got my ride, got a little rain at the airport, but no big deal, and got home before 12:30 AM.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

What went right:

Obviously, that room upgrade was tremendous.

We emphasized our secondary anniversary more than we typically do. That was actually nice. Maybe in 3 years we’ll go back to Disneyland to commemorate 20 years since getting our paper marriage in California (which we followed up with our one and only visit to Disneyland.)

The day before the trip, when I found out what the weather was supposed to be like, I looked into my options of canceling, which would not have been a good move financially. Sticking with the plan was the right move! We had no less of a time than on any other trip. As always, Florida weather predictions are iffy at best. The most rain we had was in the last two hours before I went to the airport. The trip was a total success in that regard.

We got our steps in!

40% off meals

Almost everything else! Totally good trip, great time.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

What went wrong:

The magic is gone. That card thingy is upside down.

That’s it! That’s the only thing Disney did wrong. I should make a post about it.

But seriously, other than a couple of items out of a couple of meals that were slightly off, everything was great.

What we did wrong:

I think, after the last trip, I mentioned here that we would do less Park hopping, because it was rarely worth it. It ate up a lot of time, sometimes money, and left us not completing much, not relaxing much.

We ended up accidentally doing the same exact thing – because we were chasing the 40% off meals.

I planned the details of the whole trip at the last minute around the 40% off meals. With limited venues, that left us all over the place.

Also, I think only the entrées are included. I knew drinks were not included, but we definitely did not save money by eating at those 40% off meals. We added an appetizer or we added a drink, and each bill was about the same as it always is.

It also forced us to run around, and again, others could do this differently, but we chose to use ride shares more often, and that is a fairly significant expense.

My mistake of rebooking Ale and compass at the wrong time. It was a menu we didn’t like versus the lunch menu we do like, and it was not discounted, and pulled us out of Epcot for no good reason.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

What we’ll do better:

aka: Putting all of this together to learn for our August/September birthday trip:

If there are 40% off dinners, use them if they fit into our regular plan.

Stick to our usual routine of one park in the morning, take a break, a different park at night.

In so doing, try to limit visiting Julie to our actual Hollywood Studios days.

Force myself to reread this right before that trip!

Ask @Tuvalu more specific questions about staying at Wilderness Lodge for our first time. Especially about the ins and outs of transportation, etc. We take short trips! The learning curve over the first day or two, by the time we “get it,“ it’s time to go home.

Put a little more thought into whether to drive, fly, or choo-choo.

Get my abs popping for the pool pics! (Don’t get your hopes up! We’ll be in New Orleans for almost a week at the end of this month!)

And then, if there are no spontaneous trips beforehand:

I’m entering my mid-50’s - let’s goooooooo!!!

 

[RememberWhen]

Can’t wait to hear about the next one! (Ps you should definitely leave a poor review. I can’t believe the card thing in your super awesome room was upside down. Unacceptable!)

 

[Swissmiss]

I always enjoy your TRs. Thanks for sharing.

 

[93boomer]

One more chair massage! Just a short one this time, no pics.

I got into the elevator, intending to go to bag check. For the first time, I read the sign in the elevator.

View attachment 871400

What I didn’t bother to mention the other night, because I thought it was boring and didn’t ultimately lead to anything, was after coral reef dinner, and Brian wanting to go to bed early, I was a little restless. I thought I might go to LA Fitness.

I would have to take a Lyft or Uber, I’m sure it would cost something like $15-$20 each way. I googled if the Contemporary had a gym, and the quick answer I saw was no. In fact, what I read explicitly said you would have to go to the Grand Floridian, but that gym is only available to Grand Floridian guests.

So I went to bed fat.

Well, if you look at the sign above, it appears there is a fitness center on the third floor! I find this out as I’m getting ready to leave lol.

I stopped on the third floor to check it out. Sometimes hotel gyms are just treadmills. Sometimes they have a few little hand weights and are rinky dinky.

This was pretty cool!

View attachment 871401

Lots of equipment. I wasn’t really dressed for it, but I did a few sets of a few things. Made me feel better.

Then I got my bags, got my ride, got a little rain at the airport, but no big deal, and got home before 12:30 AM.

That is a pretty good gym setup for a hotel! Usually you have a few bikes and a treadmill.
Don’t worry—I feel fat this week too