Trip Report Cycling through Celebration, a cream cheese covered remote and the Closed Wallet Rebellion of 2016.

So last week we spent seven nights in a one-bedroom at Saratoga Springs Resort in the Congress Park section. We like Congress Park and have stayed in that section before. The walk over to Disney Springs is fun and since the new section just opened with several new shops and restaurants, we walked over several times during the week.
I think the first evening there is when I declared the wallet closed and decided to try to save a dollar or two this trip. What started it was sticker shock at some of the prices I was seeing.
But let's start at the beginning and I'll go into more detail later.
We got an early start and arrived to WDW via the 535 entrance to Hotel Plaza Blvd.:

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epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sunday morning would find us up early, eggs and sausage in the room, then over to Celebration where we would ride the streets and pathways for hours, and visit the Celebration Farmer's Market for some fresh veggies and more. We have been going to Celebration since it was just a tent in a pasture. We looked at buying early on and moving there, but just could not make it happen. It will be one of those all time "what if" situations in our life. Of course, I am not sure I would change a lot and if we had bought in Celebration some 20 odd years ago, who knows what the future might have held.
Anyway, I'll end tonight with the first few of many, many pics at Celebration. I bet we rode the bikes 10 miles or more going through several different neighborhoods and following several pathways. It is a beautiful place, and the goodies at the Farmer's Market were very fresh and tasty too!

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epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
OK, let's ride, Clyde! Back for fruits and veggies (and toasted almonds and watermelon and guacamole and salsa) later.
More cycling through Celebration pics posted tomorrow if anyone is interested. So to catch up, we have been there going on our third day and have not been anywhere near a park. Bored yet? I'm betting so, but it works for us.

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Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
epcotisbest said:
Saw this guy hanging out on a dumpster lid near the Farmer's Market. Would enjoy lots of Florida flora and fauna during the day.

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Wow!! I've got several bird feeders in my backyard but draw nothing like that majestic bird!

epcotisbest said:
OK, let's ride, Clyde! Back for fruits and veggies (and toasted almonds and watermelon and guacamole and salsa) later.
More cycling through Celebration pics posted tomorrow if anyone is interested. So to catch up, we have been there going on our third day and have not been anywhere near a park. Bored yet? I'm betting so, but it works for us.

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Hubs and I have been DVC members since 1998 and a couple years ago did a trip where we had no park tickets. It's one of our favorite trips, and I foresee more of them in our future. So, not bored; it works for me!!
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh, @Tiggerish our first day over at Disney Springs, there were several cast members helping people find their way around. While looking at a directory map, we met a young lady named Siobhan. We spoke with her for awhile and I asked her about her name and being the clueless country boy I am, asked "Is that French," to which she laughed and said "No, Irish. Can't you tell?"
I did not know.
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
More tomorrow. Thanks for reading along. Hope you like the photos. I am thinking there may be some folks who have never been over to Celebration and may enjoy the pics. One of our favorite restaurants is there, Columbia, but since I closed the wallet, we passed on it this trip. We will go on to ride much more at Celebration, SSR, The Treehouses, Old Key West and over at Fort Wilderness too. More photos of those rides later.
I might even have some meals cooked in the room pics just for @Zipitidoda who knows I like to cook in the room from a previous trip report.
@fractal @Songbird76 @Sans Souci @BuddyThomas @coachwnh @Tuvalu @DisneyShe @bee @Longers @Tony the Tigger @prfctlyximprct @ajrwdwgirl @FlaggNL @Mr Ferret 88 @LisaBelle @MouseDreaming @lostpro9het @MinnieM123 @93boomer and many others I did not leave out on purpose, hope you can come along for the ride.
 
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BuddyThomas

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
Wait, what?! How did I never know about this trip report?!?! And all these freaking amazing pictures??? Wow, this was awesome, and thanks so much for posting. I either need an upgrade on a phone or a photography course, because everyone post so many amazing pics and all I know how to do is click and shoot. ;)

Loving this report. Thanks for tagging me, because I would not have known about it otherwise. In the middle of changing jobs and lots going on.

;)
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
BuddyThomas said:
Wait, what?! How did I never know about this trip report?!?! And all these freaking amazing pictures??? Wow, this was awesome, and thanks so much for posting. I either need an upgrade on a phone or a photography course, because everyone post so many amazing pics and all I know how to do is click and shoot. ;)

Loving this report. Thanks for tagging me, because I would not have known about it otherwise. In the middle of changing jobs and lots going on.

;)
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Thanks. I get lucky and get a photo in focus every now and then. There will be lots more to come so I hope you will come back to this TR later.
 
BuddyThomas

BuddyThomas

Well-Known Member
epcotisbest said:
Well, I will warn you, mine is an alcohol-free report. I have read your's and mine will be tame and boring in comparison, but fun none the less, at least for us. :joyfull:
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Well there is nothing at all wrong with that. And it has not been tame and boring so far. It's nice to see sanity once in a while. :) But don't worry - sooner or later you'll see another one of my ridiculous trip reports, and I'm sure I'll be swinging from a chandelier somewhere.

In the meantime, your report is an absolute delight. Have a great time if you are still there, and if not, I look forward to hearing the rest when you are ready to write about it.
 
epcotisbest

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
BuddyThomas said:
Well there is nothing at all wrong with that. And it has not been tame and boring so far. It's nice to see sanity once in a while. :) But don't worry - sooner or later you'll see another one of my ridiculous trip reports, and I'm sure I'll be swinging from a chandelier somewhere.

In the meantime, your report is an absolute delight. Have a great time if you are still there, and if not, I look forward to hearing the rest when you are ready to write about it.
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We got home Friday and I started this TR today. More to come later. Thanks for reading.
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
Excellent TR!! Your pictures are great. I really like how you are highlighting areas around the parks such as Celebration and Disney Springs. I had to laugh over a number of your comments about the updated Disney Springs shopping area and parking garage. I agree with everything you said--clearly, you and I are NOT the demographic they are looking for down there!! :hilarious: I even thought to myself, why don't they also open up a Little Debbie's shop with Debbie's regular prices--I'll bet they'd make a fortune in sales from all the guests who'd flock there--the ones unable to afford the fancier pastry stores!! ;)

Now, as for Earl, I found that disturbing. Earl has always been a major favorite of mine down there (although, I didn't stop in this recent trip). Instead, I went to my other favorite, Wolfgang Puck Express, close by Earl's. I always get their chicken plate, and this time, I thought it was greasy and not really delicious like it used to be. What the heck happened in there, too?? I'm praying it was just an off day for the chef, but between your review of Earl's and my experience in W.P.'s, I'm beginning to get very concerned. :cautious:
 

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