Trip Report 2 broke guys and the XMAS TTFN trip!

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 tried to subtly sneak a reach around Santa selfie before we left.

Epic fail - on two counts - the pic itself, and I was spotted by a CM - who promptly came over and offered to do it right. We had some fun with it.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Rudolph (a personal favorite) was leading the boat.

And now Brian was posing.

Star Wars tree on the way out.

And now it was time to check-in.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I am missing Kylie hard(er) on this trip. I think I know it’s our last park trip where she is still our “primary pet focus.” Yes, we’ll be back in 3 weeks for resorts, but then that’s it for awhile, and odds are we’ll have a new pup the next time we come back with an AP - who will have a new Mickey - although B has indicated he may not be quite ready yet, even after two years.

I’ve run out of pics you all haven’t seen, so:

Yeah…choked up moment.

 

[93boomer]

I am missing Kylie hard(er) on this trip. I think I know it’s our last park trip where she is still our “primary pet focus.” Yes, we’ll be back in 3 weeks for resorts, but then that’s it for awhile, and odds are we’ll have a new pup the next time we come back with an AP - who will have a new Mickey - although B has indicated he may not be quite ready yet, even after two years.

I’ve run out of pics you all haven’t seen, so:

View attachment 895142

Yeah…choked up moment.

hugs!!
I teared up yesterday thinking of my first granddoggie. It’s been since Jan. It takes awhile to get through it. It’s hard!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

hugs!!
I teared up yesterday thinking of my first granddoggie. It’s been since Jan. It takes awhile to get through it. It’s hard!

I hear ya!

 

[erstwo]

View attachment 895076

Well, this would not be the place to go when renting a car at Fort Lauderdale airport. Despite being on Priceline, it’s a total scam. No, I’m not exaggerating. I looked at their FB reviews after the fact, and they have less than a 20% positive rating.

Long story short (ha!)

I booked a listing with unlimited miles. They said that was anywhere else but Florida, where there is a 500 mile limit. (It’s about 435ish miles round trip without driving once at WDW.) (How convenient that we’re in Florida!)

Annoying, but OK.

Then: “Would you like to pay in advance $65 to cover your tolls, or would you like to pay a fine at every toll?” Huh?

I said I have my own SunPass (EZ Pass.) They said theirs was built in, so mine wouldn’t work. Pay $65 in advance (way more than the tolls would be) or pay a fine at each toll.

Arrrgh. Angry at this point, but fine. Still $120 round trip for 5 days.

Scammer: “Do you have insurance?” Yes. “Which one?” Progressive. “What is your account number?”

Tony: “I don’t frickin know.”

Frantically searches phone, miraculously finds number.

Scammer: Great. That will be $250.”

Huh?

Scammer: “We require 3 insurances. You gave us one. You have to pay for the others.”

What?!!!

I said this was a scam, and I left. I haven’t called Priceline yet, but I’m sure I’ll get my $60 back.

Ubered back to my new store. Uber driver: used to own 5 record stores in Miami! He came in to see my new one, and we may do some business. That was worth an inconvenient and unpleasant hour.

Now how would we get to WDW?

This sounds like renting a car in Italy.
‘Signora, did you want the car you booked? You should have been here two hours before your flight arrived.
We weren’t open then? - and you were still on the plane? Not my problem.
It’s 8:55 and you said you’d be here at 9:30. GianCarlo has already taken your car home for the day. We thought you don’t want it. Even though it is 9 am……and he started work at 8……’ ‘Insurance? Do not worry. We will send you a fine in the mail.‘

 

[Tony the Tigger]

On our only morning in this hotel, we went down relatively early for the free/included breakfast. We grabbed scrambled eggs, pork sausage, blah blah, I was a little bummed to see no pancakes. As Brian went to get a table, something caught my eye in the far corner - a waffle maker. Did I really want to put myself through that?

As I got closer, something tipped that to a “heck yeah.” And I poured my cup of batter.

They came out perfect! And very yummy. I even let Brian have one, and said, “See, I made breakfast for your birthday.”

Up next (but probably not right away) Epcot day.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Odyssey after odyssey. IJS.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Well, that was a long pause!

 

[93boomer]

Well, that was a long pause!

I’ve been wondering where you had gone!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Monday morning, before we left the room, I tried once more to secure a Disney or Marriott room at a reasonable price, but they were all $200+ (couldn’t understand why.)

So…I called the timeshare people to see if I could add an extra night to my 3 night package. They obliged, for $133 including taxes.

With a clear head, we checked out of hotel #1 and got to stop #1 by 10:30.

Despite the foreboding look of that cloud cover, it was a beautiful, warm, and at least half sunny day. (It can go either way and get quite cold this time of year.)

We saw a relatively short wait time (20 or 25 minutes) for Ratatouille. We wanted to see the new 2D version (much better for B, being blind in one eye.)

Hey, let’s do something we rarely do, and cut across the lagoon!

…or not.

We walked halfway around the world…

Birds were bird-ing.

Sights were being seen.

And at 11:03, we arrived here.

The wait was now 35 minutes - about average.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Ratatouille seemed to both gain something and lose something with the visual switch.

It gained clarity - you could see more detail, and appreciate that kind of thing.

For me, it lost some of that frenetic energy - that feeling of being part of the confusion - specifically unable to focus on those things mentioned above, because you’re a rat being chased (and that’s how you maybe should feel?)

So, it’s a net loss for me, but I still enjoy the ride and will continue to prioritize it.

While in line, I analyzed the rest of the week, things we wanted to do, things we might need to pay for, etc.

I booked this first.

And got some ideas for another night.

There’s that boat.

And there’s another bird.

This guy was in the water a half-second after that pic was snapped.

We took it back over near Italy (technically Germany) just in time for the Italian Christmas story.

Loved it.

 

[Zipadeelady]

The birds were birding

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The birds were birding

“That’s how the kids talk these days.”

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We stopped at the Italy booth for a bite of sausage & peppers (traditional NYE dish) and a sangria - which I did not realize would be frozen.

Both delish. We enjoyed them at a table and watched the hypnotic trains.

There was a bit of a breeze, but it was nice.

And then - is that kid pointing at the train, or…

 

[Tony the Tigger]

As I was about to chide Brian for not having a hold on his napkin, now gliding across the table, he grabbed it just in time.

It was MY napkin that continued on - into the train village!

Mortified, I watched as the wind pulled the 2-ply napkin apart - and now there were 2 napkins right in front of me (as I am guiltily eating) inside the train village.

I said to Brian: “I’ve just ruined this experience for every tourist this afternoon, until they (WDW) notice!”

Just then, the wind shifted, and it seemed like the ghost of Walt blew both pieces of the napkin close enough that I could casually reach over into the Christmas village (without looking like I was trying to steal the little people or something) and fish each piece out, one after the other. The village was saved!

But it seemed the whole experience drove some of the townspeople to drink.

What exactly had been going on here?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Then there was whackadoodle Christmas in Germany.

…if “whackadoodle” is German for “cuckoo guy playing with puppets and making all the high pitched voices, who is fun but kind of out there.”

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We couldn’t pass up our Caballeros. We missed them last time.

Hey, look - there’s Santa Goofy!

We have a stuffed, talking Santa Goofy at home that I bought Brian years ago. He gets put on display every year. (We haven’t brought down boxes yet!)

 

[Tony the Tigger]

…so after about 40 minutes in Glittering Grove

and a dog that didn’t really seem like a service dog(?)

We met Santa Goofy.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Two Goofs.

We tried to find a Santa Goofy ornament.

No, not Chip and Dale this time.

No, not very expensive not-an-ornament Stitch.

Hmm…$50 for a multi pack just to get Goofy.

I passed for now. Time to check into our hotel for the rest of the week.