Trip Report 2 Broke Guys - on a boat! 😃

Been debating when to post this. Some of you are already aware of our upcoming trip. (First cruise ever!) What came in the mail today inspired me to get started on this pre-TR:

My very first passport.

Note there is only one. Currently we are joking that I’m going alone because Brian’s got rejected. I’m sure his will arrive Monday.

When: September 5 to 9, 2022. Translation:

Who are going: Tony & Brian

Who is left out: Kylie, our nearly 14 year old German Shepherd Chow-Chow rescue.

Although she’s having a bath on the back patio right now, the pic of her is from a recent drive to the Florida Keys. We pretty much bring her on all trips now, including WDW. As she has aged, she doesn’t take being left alone as well, even with a trusted sitter. Even for one night.

So although we are very concerned about her, we’re trying to arrange multiple people visiting the house more often than just the sitter would, and offering the sitter extra money for more quality time. (Guilt money, for sure.)

And that will likely be the biggest out of pocket expense for this trip (except maybe the passports) because, true to form, we are doing this 4 night Bahamas cruise out of Miami (including all drinks, fancy meals, liquor tastings and souvenirs) entirely on Chase Disney Visa Rewards Points.

 

[93boomer]

And please tell B I need that cake recipe!!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I have…a tale…to tell…

 

[Tony the Tigger]

OK, first let’s back up to the innocence of Wilderness Lodge dinner night, so I can dump a few pics from the Mercantile.

And there we go. A Tigger plate I thought was cute but knew I’d never use - and my husband posing with a totem pole that he may have thought was a meet & greet after drinking that Whiskey Breeze.

The next morning was the big park day! Epcot had early arrival for resort guests at 8am, so we loaded Kylie into the car at the crack of 11 per usual and headed off to Best Friends Pet Care.

It was a very short drive, just a few minutes. It amazes me to this day that she gets excited in the car when we get within a few blocks of the place.

Check-in was uncharacteristically quick. As always, I took her out back to the dog park while B handled the front desk stuff. She walked right through the waiting room with me without reacting to the other dogs barking at her. My good girl.

There were no other dogs in the dog park. She had her run of the place.

Alas, for the first time, she did not run. She walked with tail wagging…

She sniffed and explored…

She listened. (I this^ pic.)

But she did not run. That was our thing. We’d run around the place together, and get her good and tired out for the afternoon. She’d chase me, I’d chase her. (Sigh.) She’s getting up there in age now.

Oh, well. I didn’t feel much like running myself, either.

Brian joined us and she met him at the gate.

But that means it’s time to go.

The worst part is when they take her down the long hallway.

But we knew we would visit later!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Epcot was another short drive and easy check-in, with no need to stop at Will Call for the first time. We were in the park by 11:44, ahead of (the revised) schedule.

I don’t take a lot of pics, but wanted to memorialize “the 51.” I wish I remembered to put my mask in my pocket, but here I am, outside the geodesic dome…

And inside!

That’s when I learned my husband was a vampire.

His face did not photograph!

On our way to World Showcase, we passed through the new Creations store. Loved the vibe. Saw several things I’d buy or consider buying, but it was too early to have to carry stuff around all day - even this rainbow 1971 shirt (the year we were both born.)

I took that pic from across the room. Was she posing - or calling security in her ear?

Did she need deodorant or is that a shadow? I never got close enough to tell.

(I know, I’m terrible.)

Anyway, the plan - brilliant and foolproof, of course - was to walk to world showcase and Food & Wine ourselves all the way to France. Then we’d exit the park from that point, hop to Hollywood Studios at 2 to see Julie, come back to Epcot when she was done at 4, and resume visiting the other half of the world. Of course, we’d visit our new favorite store on the way out to pick up those items.

Ah, best laid plans…

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The first F&W booth we saw was Hawaii. That’s typically a must-do for the pulled pork. I think we can all agree I had plenty, if not too much pulled pork the night before.

So our first stop was Australia. (We walked to the right.) We chose the shrimp with peppers & onions and the wine flight.

I had never heard of viognier wine, but it was my favorite of three very nice wines.

Food
Wine

 

[Tony the Tigger]

There were no lines at any of the food booths. Since we had found a nice shaded table and picked up an event guide in Australia, a quick perusal led me to ask B to walk over to Refreshment Port (which basically functioned as Canada part deux, IMO) and pick up a poutine and a mango martini. (Oops, no pics.)

The very chilled cocktail was refreshing, and the fries pretty filling. We knew we’d need to be more selective going forward, and used the guide to rule certain countries in or out. The next possibility was the short rib in France.

Still hesitant about Guardians, the one thing I really wanted to try for the first time was Ratatouille. It’s one of my favorite modern Disney films.

I hadn’t had time to thoroughly explore the Genie thing. Paying to use only 3 lightning lanes, if I have that right, seemed iffy, but I was willing to do it if it made sense.

It didn’t. We didn’t have time to come back at x:00, but when we arrived in France, we noticed the queue, and the standby wait was only 35 minutes. That seemed reasonable, and it’s usually less time - hence my post from inside the queue yesterday. We’d be on by 1:35, and on our way to the International Gateway right on schedule.

Of course, once we got in line, announcements were made apologizing that the estimate was incorrect and the wait time would be longer than posted.

How long did we actually wait?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

How long did we actually wait?

37 minutes!

So yes, technically it was a longer wait than predicted - by 2 minutes. I’ll take it!

I loved the ride, and so did Brian. I’ll make two comparisons: the queue is designed very similarly to Frozen. I wondered if the same imagineers worked on it. The mechanics and experience are somewhat similar to Runaway Railway (which we also enjoy very much!)

I consider both to represent the evolution of the classic Disney dark ride with modern technology. These are two new faves, for sure, even without animatronics.

Thrilled that this went our way (had there been an hour wait we would have had to pass) we skipped the short rib and took the friendship boat to HS. Everything was going according to plan!

That was when the aforementioned birthday singing happened upon entering Tune-In. Julie (bartender extraordinaire) started it, and all the random patrons joined in. It was fun.

Turned out another woman at the bar had a birthday the next day (today!) so Julie made a fuss again and brought us each a cupcake.

Looking for any excuse to increase our tab, I ordered 4 shots, for us and the other bday couple. I asked for chocolate cake shots, but they were out of Frangelico. So I went with my old standby as a bartender, the Green Iguana. It’s equal parts Midori, tequila, and sour. It comes out a pretty bright green and is kind of sweet but with a little kick from the tequila.

Then another woman came in, and her bday was the same as mine! At that point I declared only birthday people and their parties allowed at the bar.

I did not order more shots, but had a nice chat with new bday chick.

 

[Tiggerish]

The first F&W booth we saw was Hawaii. That’s typically a must-do for the pulled pork. I think we can all agree I had plenty, if not too much pulled pork the night before.

So our first stop was Australia. (We walked to the right.) We chose the shrimp with peppers & onions and the wine flight.

View attachment 663851View attachment 663850View attachment 663852
I had never heard of viognier wine, but it was my favorite of three very nice wines.

Food
Wine

That Viognier is one of my favorite Australian wines. Glad to hear you liked it.

That 1971 rainbow shirt is perfect! Hope you were able to pick up a matching pair.

That is not a shadow. Sorry, I'm terrible too.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

That Viognier is one of my favorite Australian wines. Glad to hear you liked it.

It paired really well with the dish as well. Filed under “learn something new every day.”

This pic is a teaser. I did not take this pic, but it’s on my phone. Will explain later.

 

[erstwo]

New life goal: have an entire WDW lounge sing me Happy Birthday on my birthday!
Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your day!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And while I’m veering sideways:

Have a great day!!
View attachment 663677

Thanks!

Happy Birthday

if we get any more candles on the cake and we might have to do this...

Max

That's awesome!! Happy Birthday!!

Thanks!

Happy Birthday!

Thanks!

Happy birthday!

Thanks!

Omg

@Tony the Tigger , from all of your pals here --

Muppets Birthday Song - Search Videos

www.bing.com

Happy Birthday!

Thanks!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Thanks!

Happy Birthday!!

Just wanted to thank each and every one of you for your kindness. These made my day and added to the total Disneyfying of my bday! Apologies if I missed anyone.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

When Julie's shift was over, we settled up and headed out. Remember, the plan was to go back to Epcot the way we came, and finish the rest of World Showcase (albeit at an accelerated pace.) I wouldn't mind visiting Three Caballeros, either!

So we walk to the Friendship boat launch, and just like when we picked it up at Epcot, the boat was coming in just as we were arriving. Perfect timing. It pulled up, folks disembarked, and then some woman was waving her hands and saying the boats were going out of service "because of weather." What weather? It was hot and sunny. OK, we can do the Skyliner to CBR and then to Epcot, and just ask to be in our own separate car. The waving woman continued: "The Skyliner is shutting down as well." Hmm...

We thought we would have no choice but to take the bus or walk. B didn't want to walk. Neither of us wanted to bus. Aha! Lyft. Ten bucks and a few minutes later, we were back at Epcot.

But we were at the Epcot parking lot, not over at the International Gateway where we left off. We would have to walk all the way out there and then all the way back. We did the math re: evening plans, and decided to cut Epcot short and just drive back to the resort. I mean, we did Ratatouille (!!) we did a little food and wine, we made it to see Julie and back - basically everything was going right and we were having a great time. (JINX!)

We quickly arrived back at the cabin (sans Kylie) and decided to walk about a "block" over to jump in the pool since it was so hot and we were feeling those shots, apparently lol. There is no adults-only pool at this resort. And this pool was full of children. With big water guns in the pool. I'm 51. I'd say, "Get awf my lawn," but they weren't on my lawn. They were tolerable, if loud. They were having fun, good for them. We hung out for a little bit, heard some thunder rumbling, and then walked back to the room. It started pouring shortly thereafter. (Oh, there's "the weather" mentioned by the friendship boat lady.)

That brings us to the post where I said I didn't know what would happen because Brian was sleeping, I might be as well, and I wasn't setting an alarm for dinner, so I didn't know what would happen with Skipper Canteen.

I'll give everyone some time to "ketchup" (I can say that because I'm not at Whispering Canyon) and fill you in on the reason for the Madonna post later. (In real time, Brian is driving us home right now, and I need to get a little work done.)

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I had said more than once how we were having a great time, making boats, short lines, "everything's going my way." And it was!

And I jinxed it.

Now, according to Brian, he never did fall asleep after the pool. (??) I did, on the couch. If that's true, we've traded roles. It's almost always the opposite. I cannot confirm whether or not Brian fell asleep, he was in the bed. But I'm pretty sure he did for a little while. Anyway, next thing I know, he's telling me he has already showered (so I know I was asleep because I was not aware of that) and it was something like 7:15PM.

I very much wanted to visit Kylie. She had been at BFPC since 11AM. We were supposed to be staying out until 12 or 1AM. We always visit her if we're going to leave her there that long. But - we had an 8:30 ADR for Skipper Canteen in the most magical but difficult place to get to quickly (thanks to the TTC.) I know there is a boat from the campgrounds. It was at the complete other end from where our cabin was. I didn't know the details - how often it comes, could we leave our car there (doubted it based on other areas.)

I debated whether to bother showering - B reminded me we had been in the pool. OK. LOL. He said, "You can shower in 10 minutes."

Challenge accepted.

I was cleaned up, dressed, and ready to go in 11 minutes. I gotta see my puppy.

The place was so close, and it was on the way. I got there 3 minutes faster than GPS suggested LOL. They brought her out quickly and I took her out back. They told Brian she had barely eaten (so I'm really glad we went.) We had a packet of stuff to sprinkle on her food that should do the trick. There were a lot of big and much younger (read: more energetic) dogs outside in the park area, so she and I kept to the outer walking trail. It was a nice visit, fairly brief, but packed a punch. Love that pup.

Back on the road to MK. It was going to be a close call either way. I started debating trying to call and either move the time back or just let them know we were coming, and wondered if it would be 4 hours on hold. We arrived at the parking lot, and bam - the tram was right there. Our streak continued!

And then our streak abruptly ended. I believe it was around 8:20(?) we approached the ferry dock. We saw a bunch of people walking away from the dock, like they had just disembarked. (This is not our first time at the rodeo lol.) We started to hurry, but it was looking like yet another case of perfect timing.

We arrived at the boarding area slightly bewildered. The ferry was still there. What were they doing? The rope was closed off. Did they not let anyone on yet? No, that's impossible. We waved. They ignored us. It looked 90% empty. The ramp went up. Oh, no.

OK, do we make a quick pivot to the monorail? B really wanted to avoid the monorail on this trip, and we had so far. Traditionally, if I "just miss the boat" I go to the monorail. But, we reasoned, there's always another one fairly quickly, right? We watched our Ferry (that abandoned us) fairly quickly dock on the other side. Often there's another one right behind it, but not this time. We waited. Nothing happened. Tick, tick, tick. Other groups of people were leaving and going to the monorail. We were committed at this point, and hung in there. I called the dining line, and they said they would notify the restaurant that we were still coming. The app wouldn't let us check in because we were too far away.

Just then I noticed some movement on the other side of the lagoon. It looked like something was coming back. Was it the ferry?

It was. We had waited at least 20 minutes, no exaggeration. I don't know if that's normal now or ? There were only a few of us boarding at this point. It seemed to take forever, but it arrived. We boarded, and planted ourselves at the front so we could disembark quickly. Tick, tick, tick...

And then, tap, tap, tap...the rain began.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And it poured. Hard. Seemed to slow down for a moment, but not much. It could end really quickly down here, but it didn't. It got harder.

We got off the ferry, walked the gangplank to the first area of cover, and grabbed our ponchos out of our pockets. (We almost didn't bring them! I remembered at the last minute leaving the cabin, and had to argue, "but it rained just a little while ago, and has been for days." Glad we brought them. OK. We can do this. Straight up Main Street and to the left.

The ponchos were somewhat short, and short-sleeved. (Dollar tree stuff.) Just as we got to the Main Street sidewalk, bam - the parade was starting. Wall to wall people in the covered areas, no place to walk. Stores were roping off connections so you couldn't get through. We were forced to run in the uncovered areas, through puddles and getting poked with umbrellas, through stubbornly immovable crowds, rarely able to get a moment's reprieve. The strength of the rain did not let up. It felt like this scene out of Pirates:

My poncho landed just about halfway down my shorts. The bottom half of my shorts were completely soaked through, not to mention squishy sneakers and socks. It was worse for poor Brian, he's almost half a foot taller than I.

We arrived at Skipper Canteen. What we must have looked like. Exasperated, I said to the CM, "We had an 8:30 reservation." He looked at me with surprise and said, "We closed at 9." (It was 9:05.) He saw my involuntary, silent, defeated "head to the sky" reaction. Don't know if this had anything to do with it, but if I had to put money on it, he "played for our team." He said, "I don't know exactly how or where, but I'm going to get you in, fam."

And...scene.

 

[erstwo]

And it poured. Hard. Seemed to slow down for a moment, but not much. It could end really quickly down here, but it didn't. It got harder.

We got off the ferry, walked the gangplank to the first area of cover, and grabbed our ponchos out of our pockets. (We almost didn't bring them! I remembered at the last minute leaving the cabin, and had to argue, "but it rained just a little while ago, and has been for days." Glad we brought them. OK. We can do this. Straight up Main Street and to the left.

The ponchos were somewhat short, and short-sleeved. (Dollar tree stuff.) Just as we got to the Main Street sidewalk, bam - the parade was starting. Wall to wall people in the covered areas, no place to walk. Stores were roping off connections so you couldn't get through. We were forced to run in the uncovered areas, through puddles and getting poked with umbrellas, through stubbornly immovable crowds, rarely able to get a moment's reprieve. The strength of the rain did not let up. It felt like this scene out of Pirates:

View attachment 663995

My poncho landed just about halfway down my shorts. The bottom half of my shorts were completely soaked through, not to mention squishy sneakers and socks. It was worse for poor Brian, he's almost half a foot taller than I.

We arrived at Skipper Canteen. What we must have looked like. Exasperated, I said to the CM, "We had an 8:30 reservation." He looked at me with surprise and said, "We closed at 9." (It was 9:05.) He saw my involuntary, silent, defeated "head to the sky" reaction. Don't know if this had anything to do with it, but if I had to put money on it, he "played for our team." He said, "I don't know exactly how or where, but I'm going to get you in, fam."

And...scene.

I don’t know whether to like this ending or love this ending, but either way, I’m here for it!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I don’t know whether to like this ending or love this ending, but either way, I’m here for it!

I just kept thinking, "If we hadn't missed that ferry." That cost us 30 minutes. We wouldn't have had to walk past the parade. We would have been in the restaurant by the time it started raining. That one thing set off a chain of events LOL.

Hint: it was all worth it.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Intermission: the mystery of the pictures…

Here’s another one:

I did not take this picture.

It’s nice. It’s on my phone.

When we finally got on that ferry, there were maybe 10 other people with us. Five or six were a family of Canadians. (Is that a gaggle? A flock? A pride of Canadians?) Anyhoo, I didn’t care, I was trying to call about our reservation. While doing that, something popped up on my phone and I had to clear it with a yes or no, I couldn’t just ignore it. And it was blocking me from my task! So I accepted whatever it was and moved on.

When I later noticed a bunch of extra pics on my phone, I asked Brian if he had sent me pics. He had not. I looked at the pics and realized…

There were the Canadians in the last picture!



What I had accepted on my phone was an air drop (a feature I had only used once before, last Halloween, when I handed my phone to a Millennial to do it for me lol.)

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Canadian photo dump:

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Canadian photo dump: fin.

They’re nicer than mine, eh?

 

[Ellen Ripley]

your pics are better and