Trip Report One enormous BirthdayversaryPalooza! aka 2 Broke Guys & a dog & Irma COMPLETED

We've been using the "2 Broke Guys" moniker for so long now, we've outlasted the TV show "2 Broke Girls" on which it was based. (Canceled!)

The idea was a year+ of saving Disney Chase Visa points to see if we could go to Victoria & Albert's for our 10 year wedding anniversary completely on their dime - and keeping a running total including additions and withdrawals (for little WDW trips along the way) much like they did at the end of every episode of that TV show - like this:

$1,678.91

And that figure is actually what we have left to spend on our trip - about double what we would need for our V&A dinner! Not to mention: points paid for our 2 AP's, some of our lodging for this trip, and many mini-trips along the way. All that meandering, planning, brainstorming and trip reporting is on this thread:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...table-of-contents.909657/page-43#post-7874545

But that can take awhile. I'll give a little background in another post. Shout out to @dizfan917 for accidentally naming this thread in a post on that one, and to @Tuvalu for inspiring the "mother thread" with links to other thread(s) format.

Also to all those who have been following all this time! As those folks know, I go back and forth between posting with my phone and my laptop, and I'm more comfortable on the laptop. I'm using the phone now, whilst not asleep in Orlando, and anxious to get this first post out of the way before I do something to accidentally make it go poof! I will tag the others in a separate post.

Can't believe we're finally here!!

 

[bee]

We checked in at the Grand Floridian nice and early. The concierge CM walked us to our room at Sugarloaf.

View attachment 230754

There's that blue Disney gift bag on the table between our beds again! I was waiting to give Brian his surprises.

Incidentally, I am 99% sure I asked for a king bed when I first booked this a long time ago. I thought I paid extra for that, but could be mistaken. The reservation had changed at least once, and maybe when they rebooked it, they didn't rebook it as a king?

At any rate, we were glad to get the room nice and early and I didn't want to "rock the boat."

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We realized later there is a little table on wheels under the desk that rolls out, which is great for having little bites in the room.

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Also our room was the very first one just past the concierge lounge - very convenient, and to my relief, not at all noisy.

The concierge CM told us we could get beer, wine, or mimosas anytime of day just by asking.

What is this place of magic?!?

Oh, yeah. Duh!

But for now, it was the tail end of breakfast, around 10:30 AM, so we just wanted to fill up a couple of small plates of deviled eggs, veggie quiche, turkey, etc.

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A quick peek at the view...

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Ok so, mostly trees, but you could see the monorail go by, and what I especially liked was you could hear the train all day.

Snapped a quick pic of the concierge lounge schedule so I couldn't forget, (also thought it might be informative for some of you guys) and off to visit the pup.

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It was a quick visit, because we had to hurry to Mexico!

LOVE!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

This hit all the right notes for us. It was delicious, informative, and fun! Our hostess was originally from Tequila, Mexico. Over the course of the lunch, she taught us all about the different kinds of tequila, where they are made, from what they are made, how to properly taste them, etc.

Her name was Hilda, but the H is silent.

Menu:

Now, although I expected this to happen at Victoria and Albert's on this trip, I did not expect our first ever taste of octopus at this lunch!

And I'm so glad it was there, because it was fantastic. We were both a little skeptical about trying it. We rationalized it would be similar to calamari but looked very different.

If anything, the texture for me was more similar to lobster, if that makes any sense. I loved it. Brian loved it. We both loved it. Highlight.

This event had everything we love about Disney dining and then some. Please do this. If not the Mexican one, choose one at another country. I now wish I had booked the Italian one also. But that will leave us something to do in the future!

"Ilda" was exceptional – funny, informative, put everyone at ease. Loved her. Turns out she runs the tequila bar across the way. She suggested we all check that out. We had always intended to check it out at some point, we even tried to go there one night and it was already closed for the night. Now we had one more reason to go.

It was also our first time eating at La Hacienda de San Angel. We had only ever eaten inside the big pyramid before. We will be back!

Again: to sum: please do this.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

One final note on the lunch: we were seated cafeteria style. There were several long tables, and we had great conversation with the couples on either side of us. One couple was from Iowa, and the other I think was from Pennsylvania.

Also this was fully paid in advance including tip, so there was nothing to do when it was over but leave.

We thought this might have been a time to use up some of those food and wine tickets we had purchased. But we were full and at least buzzed, and pretty tired since we hadn't had any kind of break yet.

Went back to the room to chill a bit, and see what the concierge lounge had up it's sleeve! We were looking forward to our delayed flying fish reservation that night, seeing Craig the bartender, and finally indulging in that lobster Nero pasta.

Maybe our last time there was just an off night. The chef was brand new at the time and the menu was brand new. It had been our number one favorite Disney restaurant and we had exceptional meals there for our four year anniversary and eight year anniversary. I was going there for redemption!

But first, our afternoon rest – well, Brian's afternoon rest. I had to go speak with the front desk.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

OK, had to switch to the laptop for this one. Too many words.

One thing I've tried to steer clear of in this TR was Irma (in more ways than one.) But I just added her into the title because she was a major player. I also added the "and a dog" back in, because Kylie had been part of the title of the pre-TR for the longest time, and although we decided some time ago not to bring her on this trip, we ended up bringing her - because of Irma. Our days revolved as much around visiting her and making sure she was OK as it did making our lunch ADR's on time.

So I mostly left out of this TR the couple of hours of every day where Irma dominated our time. It's a bummer and a drag on the story. I mentioned the first night when I spent hours on Amazon looking for a generator, to no avail. I mentioned how weird this all was - balancing the celebration of an important milestone with being sensitive to others and responsible to our home, our dog, our families, etc.

Everything worked out in the end - better than we could have hoped. We are absolutely blessed. Spoiler alert: we lost nothing other than income while my store was closed for about a week. Some of our close friends are still without power just blocks away. Some in the Keys have been absolutely devastated - places we visit often and know well.

But what I left out of my TR was the TV was constantly set on the news in our rooms. We were constantly monitoring and adjusting our plans. The conversations with the family at the Epcot Chase picture spot and with the couples on either side of us at the Mexican lunch revolved around Irma.

As you know, the first change was canceling our first night at All Star Music and bringing Kylie along. Both WDW and Best Friends Pet Care were very accommodating and helpful.

By day two, we had decided to go to Atlanta on our checkout day (Saturday) instead of going home. We have many friends up there (Brian lived up there for a few years) and one of my best friends from high school (Dr. Billy from the pre-TR, who took us out to dinner when he visited recently) just moved there and didn't know anyone. We thought - great! We'll get to see our friends, we'll get to introduce them to Billy so he has some new friends (actually in many cases re-introduce, since most of them had met at our wedding ten years prior. What a neat little bow on top!) And Billy was the only friend who didn't have a cat or a relative already taking refuge with him LOL.

I was relieved to have a plan, but it still felt weird focusing on such seemingly frivolous things as dinner plans and attractions while people were dying in the Caribbean and we didn't know what was going to happen.

By day three, the Atlanta plan was on the chopping block. The storm was turning and we didn't know what was happening. By the day we checked in at the G.Flo, we knew Atlanta wouldn't work. We might get stuck up there or stuck in crazy traffic trying to get home, or literally stuck without gas partway home with the dog in the car. We knew we could get home from Orlando on one tank of gas. Not possible from Atlanta. Too big a risk. Us getting stuck was one thing, but not the dog in the heat. And Brian was tentatively scheduled to start his new job on Monday - he was to check in with them on Sunday.

On Tuesday, we asked about extending Kylie's stay if we needed. They said they were completely booked up but they could put us on a waiting list. They didn't seem too optimistic about that waiting list. By Wednesday, I called back and asked them to put us on that waiting list just in case.

By Thursday, Brian's family made plans to come from all parts of Florida to Kissimmee, as I "broke in" to mention earlier in this TR. We had to give his brother an answer right away whether we wanted in or not.

I had called the main WDW phone number while at BFPC on I think Tuesday. They said I should go to the front desk. I thought this might be the only time staying at the G.Flo would work against me, because even at a discounted rate, I couldn't afford 3 extra nights there.

My suspicion proved to be accurate. I went to the concierge line at the front desk. As I started to explain my situation (mentioning that Kylie was at BFPC and we were on a waiting list to extend her stay) our concierge CM pretty sternly interrupted me with, "You know we're not going to allow dogs here, right?" He was otherwise very polite, seemed genuinely sympathetic, and helpful, and I was in no way surprised to hear him say that, but it wasn't even what I was asking.

He made a phone call and said he could offer me 40% off to stay 3 extra nights in our same room. While that's a sweet deal in general, we had already booked the room with a 30% off bounce back offer, and the total for 3 nights would be around $1100.

That simply was not in the budget, and Kylie was still a question mark re: BFPC.

I had to consider canceling Victoria & Albert's and using my points to pay for the room instead.

I asked if he could check other hotels, maybe a moderate or a value. He made another phone call, and said he would not be able to check other hotels, and that I should call the main number. I mentioned that calling the main number is how I ended up at the front desk, and he said he was sorry I was given incorrect information and started looking at the person behind me as if to move me along.

I went back to the room and started frantically checking on the WDW site. Rooms were disappearing left and right. Very few showed any availability at all. I found one at All-Star Sports and decided to reserve it, knowing I could probably cancel at the last minute if necessary. What's $90 per night compared to $1100, anyway?

Sure enough, when I clicked to confirm, I got an error message. I couldn't get it to go through. This led to another phone call, no availability, etc.

At this point, three things happened (this was Thursday):

1. BFPC called and said they could take Kylie for 3 more nights.
2. Brian's brother called about the timeshare but they were going fast and he needed an answer within minutes.
3. On the phone with WDW, they offered us Port Orleans for 3 nights for something like $550 with my AP discount.

We had to make a fast decision. As much as I had more faith in Disney's structures and the fact that there were restaurants on the property or nearby, we were truly at the limit of our spending, might (at that time didn't know) have no income from my store for a time, no power at home, maybe Brian couldn't start his new job on time (= also less income) and the Timeshare place had waived their pet policy and was only $120 per night. Also factor in being near Brian's family, being able to help his Dad, etc. and it was basically a no-brainer. We would move to the timeshare building with his family. This would also save us paying 3 extra days boarding Kylie and the stress on her.

What I did not know but later learned: When the Governor declared a state of emergency and storm warnings included our area, hotels were required to take pets - even Disney hotels. As we checked out, we saw several dogs. We could have stayed. We didn't know.

To be fair, the CM who advised me at the front desk on Thursday didn't know, either.

And like I said, everything worked out perfectly. But had I had that information, I may have chosen to stay at Port Orleans with Kylie rather than risk moving off site.

All that said, the building we ended up staying in was solid, and as already mentioned, it was time well spent with family. In the end, we stayed 4 nights instead of 3 for the same $360, and could have stayed one more night if we wanted.

But that was what all went into my Thursday afternoon. lol.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

After all that, I could use a drink. Brian and I went out to the lounge, and I had two really nice glasses of pinot noir. B had two bottles of Stella (beer.). We picked on the mostly hearty offerings. There were mini crab cakes with lump crab, grilled vegetables, little desserts, etc.

There was also a section with gummy worms and other treats aimed at kids. Never eat these. We sat near that station. The kids can reach it, and they just dig in with their hands, put some back...no. This with the parents right next to them. My mother would have killed me.

We got changed for dinner, went to play with Kylie, and decided to park at Epcot and walk through Epcot to get to the Boardwalk area, preferably finally spending some of those drink coupons!

It wasn't until Scotland we found a $10 drink called a citrus thistle. We got one each and drank them on the way to the IG exit. (It's not worth using the tickets unless the drink is over eight dollars.)

From there, we walked to the Boardwalk and took our rightful places at the bar at the Flying Fish.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

By the way, this was projected onto the ground at the entrance of Epcot.

Flying fish was pretty empty. There was one other woman at the bar who of course was talking about Irma with us and with the bartenders. Nobody seemed to be taking it seriously, which was a little frustrating.

The first thing I did was open up the menu to my lobster Nero pasta - and the price was down to $48 rather than the $64 I had seen on line. Awesome!

The next thing I did was read the description of my lobster Nero pasta:

Hokkaido Scallop Nero Pasta
Savory Tomato Sauce, Artichokes, Braised Fennel

Wait, what?!? Scallop?

Well, that explained the price drop.

What's up with the "musical chairs" with the proteins, Disney? Pin The Tail On The Protein? Duck, Duck, Protein?

I mentioned to Craig that I had my heart set on that, thinking maybe there was some lobster in the back and they could whip up an old-school one for me. That that was not to be.

We ordered some wine and a pork belly appetizer, which was fine.

Brian once again went with the beef.

Snake River Farms Wagyu Strip Loin
Cheddar Gratin Potatoes, Roasted Cauliflower, Red Wine Butter

He said it was ok, but extremely fatty, and Brian is not as picky as I am about fat.

Fresh off my octopus lunch, I decided to go for it:

Wood-fired Spanish Octopus, Cobia, and Key West Pink Shrimp
Bomba Arroz, Peruvian Sweet Peppers, House-made Chrorizo

Sigh.

Well, I loved the peppers - I had them once before at Tiffins. Tiny little bursts of sweetness, which are great when you need a burst of sweetness.

This didn't.

It was a remarkably similar experience to my last experience with this chef: sweet and rich on top of sweet and rich on top of a carb that soaks up all the sweet and rich you just can't escape. (Last year, it was a scallop dish.)

I was encouraged that the whole menu had been revamped - but I realized I just don't like this chef. I made a point of saying earlier in this TR that although my dish at Tiffins was not my favorite, I did not think the restaurant was going downhill.

I think flying fish is going downhill.

The octopus was nowhere near as good what I had for lunch in Mexico.

The shrimp, I couldn't believe this, looked like those little frozen shrimp you get out of a bag at the store. The texture matched.

It was really not good. Like last time, I tried to force myself to finish it, but couldn't.

I'm glad we decided not to go overboard with all the wine pairings and courses because it just wasn't worth it.

When my friend who knows Craig asked me how dinner was, I replied that this was probably our last dinner at the Fish until they get a new chef. We will still go and sit at the bar and visit Craig and maybe get an appetizer and some drinks.

Maybe there are better entrées to pick. But my love affair with flying fish is officially over.

They did bring us out a lovely personalized dessert plate.

We actually had an enjoyable evening, except for the entrées.

We walked to the front of the boardwalk and for convenience, ubered from there for like $4.25. Totally worth it.

A little news, and off to bed. The next day was the big day, and we had to get up a little early.

The forecast was not great, and I considered canceling our morning appointment for that reason. I'm glad I didn't.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And here we are, Friday, 9/8/17. 10 years ago on that date (it was a Saturday) Brian and I were married by a reverend from the Unitarian church before God, our families, and our friends.

We did this in NJ where I grew up. While planning it, civil unions became legal there, so we decided to partake of that also. Our license was #0001 and they had to cross out "wife" on the paperwork because there was no new paperwork yet.

Regardless of the law, that is, was, and will always be the day we were married. When various branches of government decided to recognize what already existed is a separate issue.

So Friday morning, I was able to reveal my surprises for Brian.

The top item is a keepsake box. I brought with us all of our wedding cards to read, plus our save the date card and invitation samples.

The idea was to look at those, and then use the box for new pics from this trip.

The bottom item is a photo album. Most of you know the story from the pre-TR. If not, if you read my notes inside the book, you'll understand.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Those were all pre-wedding pics. We thought we had none of those.

Then we drove the Rev to Grandma's house because she was physically unable to come to the wedding, and that wouldn't do. Everyone knows she's my favorite person in the world. We really got married there with her and Grandpa, and then went through the motions again for everyone else at the hall.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The bottom pic is me with my best girls from high school. The one above that is Gwyn who is related to two WDW CM's.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Michael is just a very silly guy.

It's an Italian wedding (at least partly) so...the Tarantella!

 

[dizfan917]

That is very cool. LOVE those pics!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

These pics were especially fun and meaningful because our guests are not professional photographers. Some had so much ceiling in them and would cut people off at their knees LOL.

I almost forgot...

 

[Tony the Tigger]

The legendary Dr. Billy with mutual friend Nancy.

Billy and I ran into each other at our ten year high school reunion, at which point we both started with, "I have to tell you something…"

Ha! Both gay and at one point had a fight over a girl named Tracy. Poor Tracy. (Not invited!) LOL.

 

[Tiggerish]

Michael is just a very silly guy.View attachment 231034

It's an Italian wedding (at least partly) so...the Tarantella!

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That photo album is so special! ALL THE FEELS.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

That is very cool. LOVE those pics!

Thank you!! I got just about 200 of them into that book. Just tried to give you guys a few highlights and people you've heard mentioned.

It was a glorious day. The last song played at the reception was "Unspeakable Joy" by Kim English. Joy was absolutely the theme.

There were also really important pics of people who have since passed away, which were nice to share with family. (This book came in handy when we were all stuck in the hotel together during the hurricane!)

 

[Tiggerish]

This hit all the right notes for us. It was delicious, informative, and fun! Our hostess was originally from Tequila, Mexico. Over the course of the lunch, she taught us all about the different kinds of tequila, where they are made, from what they are made, how to properly taste them, etc.

Her name was Hilda, but the H is silent.

Menu:

View attachment 230764

Now, although I expected this to happen at Victoria and Albert's on this trip, I did not expect our first ever taste of octopus at this lunch!

And I'm so glad it was there, because it was fantastic. We were both a little skeptical about trying it. We rationalized it would be similar to calamari but looked very different.

If anything, the texture for me was more similar to lobster, if that makes any sense. I loved it. Brian loved it. We both loved it. Highlight.

This event had everything we love about Disney dining and then some. Please do this. If not the Mexican one, choose one at another country. I now wish I had booked the Italian one also. But that will leave us something to do in the future!

"Ilda" was exceptional – funny, informative, put everyone at ease. Loved her. Turns out she runs the tequila bar across the way. She suggested we all check that out. We had always intended to check it out at some point, we even tried to go there one night and it was already closed for the night. Now we had one more reason to go.

It was also our first time eating at La Hacienda de San Angel. We had only ever eaten inside the big pyramid before. We will be back!

Again: to sum: please do this.

I have to second your recommendation, having done the Food & Wine Pairing in Italy twice (back when it was Alfredo's). Fantastic experience.

Anyone, everyone--if you're attending F&W, these special events are well worth it.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

That photo album is so special! ALL THE FEELS.

Thank you!! It was such an adventure putting it together. Brian got choked up about it, but before we could get past the first few pages, we had to get showered and get to the monorail!!

We had booked the 9:30AM Keys To The Kingdom tour!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

It had been rainy in spots all week, and the forecast was showing a good chance of rain around noon. This tour was from 9:30AM to 2:30PM.

Thanks to staying at the G.Flo and monorailing it over, we made it just in time! We were the last two to get our badges.

The last time (only time) I did this tour was with Christopher about 18 years ago. Brian had never done it, and his one request for a tour was to get into the utilidors. Presto! KTTK. 18 years ago, I think there were 6 of us on the tour and there was only one time slot. Today there were several tours going on at once, and there were 15 people in our group.

This is where I wish I had a photographic memory. We were asked not to take any pictures even when on stage, so we didn't. There were so many great tidbits - some I probably never knew, some I probably forgot, a few I remembered. I guess I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't gone, but some fascinating stuff about the flag poles on Main Street, of course the castle, the music staying at the same beat when it changes from Main Street to the next lands, and on and on.

We went on the Jungle Cruise, and our tour guide pointed out all kinds of little things you wouldn't be able to get on the regular tour. I asked about the rhino, and he said it was getting fixed.

Our boat's name was Irma. Seriously.

(stock photo!)

He explained the mechanism of the boats, which later made sense when we found out the Jungle Cruise had been closed post-Irma.

I wished I had eaten a little something at the hotel lounge before coming out, but we were in such a rush and I don't usually eat as soon as I wake up. By the time lunch rolled around, I was starving.

Last time, lunch was upstairs at Columbia Harbour House. This time, it wasn't. When they showed us our options in the morning, most were some variation of hot dog and what not. Thankfully, on page two, there was a pulled pork sandwich that would do just fine.

 

[susan lees]

I loved the citrus thistle and hope its still on the menu when we return in 2018

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Sorry, I'm not really organizing my thoughts well.

At the very beginning of the tour, at the start of Main Street, it did actually start to rain. We just moved under the awnings (and in the way of many annoyed people LOL.) This would happen a couple of times, but it was never bad. A few people put ponchos on. Our tour guide was excellent and never let it bother him.

We also rode HM, cutting the line (actually going in a CM entrance that still had a ton of detail, even in the hallway.) Our tour guide did not narrate this ride.

We heard the story of the Liberty tree, Roy D., etc. After lunch was more backstage, utilidors, etc. We spent a good amount of time down there. It felt very Willy Wonka. "I want an oompa loompa nooooow!" We both thoroughly enjoyed this tour. It was well worth the modest price tag.