Cast from L to R: Lauren, me (Glenn), my boyfriend (Michael), and Kirk. At this point, Michael and I are in between newbie & veteran status while the other 2 are almost all newbie, so we took the lead on showing them around.
Day 1: Wednesday, October 26, 2011
On our last trip, we took an early 7am flight which means, getting up at 4am, spending arrival day in the parks, and ready to pass out by dinner time. So this time, we bumped it back a few hours. Left BWI airport at 9:20am and arrived at MCO at 11:35. Kirk & Lauren had to figure out their route to the Downtown Disney Hilton and Mike & I were off to DME at the Boardwalk.
We immediately boarded a DME bus motorcoach and were on our way. Upon arrival, we were quickly greeted by Martha who was extremely helpful and took care of us right away. She told us to have a seat on the couch in the Boardwalk lobby and gathered our packet of information. Within minutes we were headed to our room (Villas #2052). Our room overlooked the Luna Park Pool.
I turned on the TV to say “hi” to Stacy, but then around 1 pm, we headed on a 15-minute stroll over to Hollywood Studios. Lauren & Kirk were still getting settled, so we toured without them. Right away the park seemed busier than I had anticipated, but the wait times didn’t really reflect that. We walked on Tower of Terror immediately.
We needed a quick bite and thanks to some fan sites out there, we were both excited to check out the “gourmet” hot dogs at Fairfax Fare. Mike opted for the Truffle Mac & Cheese dog, while I went for the BBQ Pork & Cole Slaw dog. However, we had a little Cast Member issue during this. The CM seemed bored while resting on the counter, didn’t greet us at all, mixed up our drink order, and almost began to argue with me over the drink. After resolving the issue, we took our dogs and “pigged” out. They were amazing!
We were still waiting for Lauren & Kirk to arrive, so we wandered over to Animation Courtyard and watched the “Magic of Animation” movie (first time for us to see this) and then proceeded to get pictures with Winnie the Pooh and determine which characters we are most like.
Then it was time for an afternoon cocktail, so we went on over to High Octane Refreshments while we still waited for our friends. Once they said they were finally on their way, we headed toward the main entrance to meet time.
After meeting up, we stopped for a group picture and made it to the 4pm Beauty & the Beast show. Then it was off to our first Star Tours adventure with no wait – and I was the Rebel Spy!! Woohoo! Somehow I was looking down in my picture…oh well. We encountered the Stormtroopers, traveled to Hoth, received a transmission from Yoda, and finally ended up in Naboo (oh silly Jar Jar). Then it was quickly over to the 5pm show of the American Idol Experience.
Then it was off to Epcot. We had just missed a Friendship boat, but there was a bus waiting to take us to the main entrance of Epcot, so we took that. After a quick ride on SSE, we grabbed some F&W Festival Passports and made our way to France for a Grand Marnier slush….yummmmmm. No one in the group could make a decision on any other kiosks until we stopped there.
We continued our way around picking up some snacks in Morocco (kefta pocket) and Japan (pork kakuni) before discovering the Singapore Sling at the Singapore kiosk. Kirk named it the best value in Epcot, because it’s $7.25 and almost all alcohol. Boyz II Men were about to start their final performance at the Eat to the Beat Concert Series so we grabbed Linda Bean’s Lobster Roll & a pumpkin mousse with Craisins and a beer (Hops & Barley) and stood in the back of the America Pavilion to just relax and enjoy the music. The Kefta pocket was okay; however, the Pork Kakuni from Japan was very delicious. The Lobster roll and pumpkin mousse were also both very good -- nice size portions to just let you try a little and keep going for something else.
After the show, we continued to walk around World Showcase, had some beef filet (South Africa), went for a spin on Maelstrom, and stopped for some potstickers, barbecue chicken stick (a very delicious choice) and a Happy Lychee (China) before watching Illuminations. Then it was time for the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico (even the Happy Lychee couldn’t help that one).
By this point, Lauren & Kirk (and almost everyone else in the park) went to their hotel, but Mike & I stayed. It’s amazing how quickly World Showcase went from being incredibly crowded to almost empty. We tried the tacos from the Mexico F&W booth. I thought I could take a quick ride on Test Track using the Single Rider line but that was insanely long – even longer than the Stand-by line, so I just gave up on that.
We took a slow walk back to the Boardwalk and called it a night.
Coming up…more Epcot, a wine seminar, and more…
Day 1: Wednesday, October 26, 2011
On our last trip, we took an early 7am flight which means, getting up at 4am, spending arrival day in the parks, and ready to pass out by dinner time. So this time, we bumped it back a few hours. Left BWI airport at 9:20am and arrived at MCO at 11:35. Kirk & Lauren had to figure out their route to the Downtown Disney Hilton and Mike & I were off to DME at the Boardwalk.
We immediately boarded a DME bus motorcoach and were on our way. Upon arrival, we were quickly greeted by Martha who was extremely helpful and took care of us right away. She told us to have a seat on the couch in the Boardwalk lobby and gathered our packet of information. Within minutes we were headed to our room (Villas #2052). Our room overlooked the Luna Park Pool.
I turned on the TV to say “hi” to Stacy, but then around 1 pm, we headed on a 15-minute stroll over to Hollywood Studios. Lauren & Kirk were still getting settled, so we toured without them. Right away the park seemed busier than I had anticipated, but the wait times didn’t really reflect that. We walked on Tower of Terror immediately.
We needed a quick bite and thanks to some fan sites out there, we were both excited to check out the “gourmet” hot dogs at Fairfax Fare. Mike opted for the Truffle Mac & Cheese dog, while I went for the BBQ Pork & Cole Slaw dog. However, we had a little Cast Member issue during this. The CM seemed bored while resting on the counter, didn’t greet us at all, mixed up our drink order, and almost began to argue with me over the drink. After resolving the issue, we took our dogs and “pigged” out. They were amazing!
We were still waiting for Lauren & Kirk to arrive, so we wandered over to Animation Courtyard and watched the “Magic of Animation” movie (first time for us to see this) and then proceeded to get pictures with Winnie the Pooh and determine which characters we are most like.
Then it was time for an afternoon cocktail, so we went on over to High Octane Refreshments while we still waited for our friends. Once they said they were finally on their way, we headed toward the main entrance to meet time.
After meeting up, we stopped for a group picture and made it to the 4pm Beauty & the Beast show. Then it was off to our first Star Tours adventure with no wait – and I was the Rebel Spy!! Woohoo! Somehow I was looking down in my picture…oh well. We encountered the Stormtroopers, traveled to Hoth, received a transmission from Yoda, and finally ended up in Naboo (oh silly Jar Jar). Then it was quickly over to the 5pm show of the American Idol Experience.
Then it was off to Epcot. We had just missed a Friendship boat, but there was a bus waiting to take us to the main entrance of Epcot, so we took that. After a quick ride on SSE, we grabbed some F&W Festival Passports and made our way to France for a Grand Marnier slush….yummmmmm. No one in the group could make a decision on any other kiosks until we stopped there.
We continued our way around picking up some snacks in Morocco (kefta pocket) and Japan (pork kakuni) before discovering the Singapore Sling at the Singapore kiosk. Kirk named it the best value in Epcot, because it’s $7.25 and almost all alcohol. Boyz II Men were about to start their final performance at the Eat to the Beat Concert Series so we grabbed Linda Bean’s Lobster Roll & a pumpkin mousse with Craisins and a beer (Hops & Barley) and stood in the back of the America Pavilion to just relax and enjoy the music. The Kefta pocket was okay; however, the Pork Kakuni from Japan was very delicious. The Lobster roll and pumpkin mousse were also both very good -- nice size portions to just let you try a little and keep going for something else.
After the show, we continued to walk around World Showcase, had some beef filet (South Africa), went for a spin on Maelstrom, and stopped for some potstickers, barbecue chicken stick (a very delicious choice) and a Happy Lychee (China) before watching Illuminations. Then it was time for the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico (even the Happy Lychee couldn’t help that one).
By this point, Lauren & Kirk (and almost everyone else in the park) went to their hotel, but Mike & I stayed. It’s amazing how quickly World Showcase went from being incredibly crowded to almost empty. We tried the tacos from the Mexico F&W booth. I thought I could take a quick ride on Test Track using the Single Rider line but that was insanely long – even longer than the Stand-by line, so I just gave up on that.
We took a slow walk back to the Boardwalk and called it a night.
Coming up…more Epcot, a wine seminar, and more…
