Trip Report Two broke guys & a dog (for the last time.) (now with Christmas 2024!)

No, I’m not mad at Disney. We’ll be back (in fact, it can’t be soon enough.) But this turned out to be our last trip together as a family.

Who: Brian (R) Tony (L) and Kylie.

When: May, 2023.

Can’t tease this, so I’ll just come out with it.

We’ve posted TRs over the years under the “Two broke guys & a dog” banner (and other titles.) Our May trip was short, and we had already booked August for my birthday (complete with a planned meet up with @Tuvalu) so I thought I’d make one double TR after August.

I ended up with Covid mid-month and we had to postpone to December for Brian’s birthday.

In the meantime, Kylie, our 14 year old German Shepherd/Chow Chow was diagnosed with heart failure. That “heads up” turned out to be a gift and a blessing that allowed us to spend so much extra quality time with her.

Kylie’s 14th bday on Halloween:

She stayed with us through the holidays, rubbing on the Christmas tree when she walked past it, per usual (like a cat lol) and was really doing well - eating, going for walks, snuggling. I expected more of a slow, gradual decline…but she passed yesterday. Now my heart is failing.

I don’t know how far I’ll get with this today. It might actually be too soon. But I thought it could be therapeutic, and a nice tribute.

For some reason, since my 30s, if I cry even a little, my eyelids swell up and it’s hard to undo. Ice helps only temporarily. I fear typing all this out will continue the waterworks (it already has) and prolong that condition. OTOH, they’re already swollen, so WTH? I’ll play it by ear, if that’s ok.

This is my love letter to my pup.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Avoid Narcoosse’s at all costs. That was our Boma.

That's really interesting. Maybe you hit it on an off day? DFB always says the only thing consistant about Disney restaurants is that they are inconsistent. We ate at Tusker House in 2016 and never again. It was AWFUL. There was hardly anything any of us would eat, nothing was fresh or hot....like it had all been sitting there getting stale for ages, but it was SOOOOO busy so it couldn't have been. And it was FREEZING in there. It was pouring rain outside and cold, and we ordered hot chocolate when we got inside. But the hot chocolate was luke warm muddy water. Our server wasn't the most attentive. It was a one and done. But we keep going back to Boma because it's been stellar every meal we've had there.

And this is why I said don’t take my word for it. We all like/dislike what we do for different reasons.

We went to Narcoosee’s once within the last few years (I think the menu had been redone or something had been.) I don’t remember it being mind-blowing but we enjoyed it.

Sometimes it even comes down to what you order, or who’s cooking that day. You all know I’ve turned against Flying Fish, my own former fave. My guess is a number of the people praising it to this day are not ordering the fish.

This may come as a surprise, but I booked something just now that may end up being a placeholder but, to my point, is often maligned for not great food, but I have reasons.

Now, I know most people prefer the place across the way. We did a dinner there a few years ago, you can see the fireworks through their big windows (of course, not fully. All these places that say you can see the fireworks from here, you can - but not as well as from a more traditional vantage point. Illuminations was not Illuminations through a window. It was just background fireworks.) It was not a great meal for either of us. (But I believe that’s the night I ran from the restaurant to meet Tuvalu (and mom?) (near Japan?)(and was handed my magic Tuvalu card?) Sometimes memories get jumbled lol.

But we love the inside of the Mexican pavilion. We love the colorful things they sell (and this will be a great excuse to buy one lol.) We have engraved flutes from the crystal store from when we renewed our vows in the backyard with Kylie & a priest (after our marriage was legally recognized in Florida and we took a “second honeymoon” to WDW the next day.)

Much like my lunch choice of Tony’s I think it’s a romantic setting, the dark, the boats. We rarely miss Three Caballeros, so we can do that before dinner. And this was one of the first WDW places we ever had a sit-down meal (when we were truly two broke guys) because it was lower cost. We enjoyed it and I think went back once. So there’s a meaning to it (although I can probably find a meaning to almost everything in WDW lol.)

I am liking this idea that just popped up this morning. If it ends up being our final selection, cool. We can do a fancy schmancy meal the next night. I’ll start looking at those options now.

Here is our wedding vow renewal, January 12, 2015 (we had been married over 7 years already.)

Here’s the shot that’s been in a white frame with a Mickey design ever since.

Here’s the frame. (And those are the same kind of flowers that were on the tables at our 2007 wedding.)

(The cabinet and frame are on a different wall now, below the TV. Kylie’s urn is on that table as well now.)

And here’s the picture I just told Brian two weeks ago I want to get printed out to replace that picture, because Kylie is in it. It’s an awful shot, but it’s the only one we could get her in that evening. She had a lot of energy then!

Now that this report gave me an excuse to find it, I think I’ll send it to Walgreens right now and get it done today.

 

[Tuvalu]

I was the one who did the running (from my mama, no less!) and met you guys inside La Hacienda.

 

[Songbird76]

I love your display with the photo and the flowers. It's gorgeous!! What kind of flowers are those? I don't think I've ever seen them before! I love that you want to replace the picture with one that has Kylie in it. That sounds very special.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I was the one who did the running (from my mama, no less!) and met you guys inside La Hacienda.

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See, I told you memories get jumbled! But I was right about mama!

I love your display with the photo and the flowers. It's gorgeous!! What kind of flowers are those? I don't think I've ever seen them before! I love that you want to replace the picture with one that has Kylie in it. That sounds very special.

They are a white & purple orchid, but they get placed into water with a blue dye, which then comes up the stem and colors the petals. (It was more thoroughly done at our wedding than by our local florist.)

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Booked Tiffins for dinner at 5 on Thursday, so we are guaranteed one fab meal.

Jiko was only available after 8:30, and that wouldn’t leave us much time for MK after.

But…that means I need to book a second night time place (like 9 or 10) because there’s no way I’ll go to sleep at midnight if I haven’t eaten since 5!

Top choices so far are the plaza, skipper canteen (love them but faves have been taken off the menu so..?) or a monorail trip to Kona again, because I haven’t done well in booking places with SF desserts so far(!)

Thinking about Yak & Yeti for lunch that day just to use the secret password for the D3 club’s special drink menu. Gotta just walk in and sit at the bar for that, though. Never been.

 

[93boomer]

Booked Tiffins for dinner at 5 on Thursday, so we are guaranteed one fab meal.

Jiko was only available after 8:30, and that wouldn’t leave us much time for MK after.

But…that means I need to book a second night time place (like 9 or 10) because there’s no way I’ll go to sleep at midnight if I haven’t eaten since 5!

Top choices so far are the plaza, skipper canteen (love them but faves have been taken off the menu so..?) or a monorail trip to Kona again, because I haven’t done well in booking places with SF desserts so far(!)

Thinking about Yak & Yeti for lunch that day just to use the secret password for the D3 club’s special drink menu. Gotta just walk in and sit at the bar for that, though. Never been.

We hadn't eaten at Yak n Yeti until trip last year. Absolutely loved the place. The food was amazing. A lot of food. I couldn't eat it all. The drinks were very good. It's our new fav.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We hadn't eaten at Yak n Yeti until trip last year. Absolutely loved the place. The food was amazing. A lot of food. I couldn't eat it all. The drinks were very good. It's our new fav.

That sounds great! I keep hearing good things. May I ask what you had?

 

[Tiggerish]

Here’s another for Yak n Yeti. It’s been way too long for me to remember what I ate, but I remember that it was really good (and I couldn’t eat it all either)

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I like the Korean fried chicken and chicken fried rice at Yak and Yeti.

 

[93boomer]

That sounds great! I keep hearing good things. May I ask what you had?

I had the pad Thai and DH had the honey chicken. They were both so good. The pad Thai is usually on the special menus and not listed online. But, it is the best I’ve ever eaten!

 

[Songbird76]

We really enjoyed Yak and Yeti on our last trip, too. E and I are very veggie heavy and don't always need meat and tend to choose dishes that have a bunch of vegetables. We had the wok fried green beans and the honey chicken and shared. Both were great.

 

[littleroo]

Another vote for Y &Y from me. The pad thai is great and the ahi tuna nachos were amazing. Great bar and beer list, too!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Does this shirt *scream* Valentine’s Day at MK?!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Does this shirt *scream* Valentine’s Day at MK?!

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Don’t worry, I didn’t buy it. Haven’t lost my mind yet!

 

[Swissmiss]

Don’t worry, I didn’t buy it. Haven’t lost my mind yet!

Where’s the ouf reaction when you need it (and if "ouf" is French the translation would be "that’s a relief")

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Just looked at a TR from 2017 to remind me about the minor Kylie Valentine's Day story I was going to tell (which I've already told - so if you've been reading my TRs that long, this is a rehash.

I was right...being able to refer back to these TRs is one of the most valuable things about this site. I may go back and read more just to see Kylie stuff.

For a few years in a row, while Brian was managing Food & Beverage for the company that serviced both Dolphin Stadium (whatever it's called) and our local Convention Center (he worked at both) they used to send him up to Tampa to help run the State Fair. They would put him up in a La Quinta, which was pet friendly (that's how we got on the La Quinta bandwagon. Previously, I used to always go to a pet friendly Red Roof Inn.)

He would be up there for about 6 weeks. Kylie and I would go visit at least a couple of times, and always over Valentine's Day.

In 2016, I had it all planned out. Rather than pay for boarding or leaving her in the hotel room (she was less chill back then) so that Brian and I could have a nice, romantic Valentine's Day lunch, I had the brilliant idea of dropping her off at the nearest Petco for a bath. We'd have lunch and pick her up on the way back. The problem: at home, we never needed to call ahead for a reservation for a bath. In Tampa, apparently we did. I found that out after we packed Kylie up into the car, drove over, and they wouldn't even consider seeing her.

Subway subs on the way back to the hotel it was.

In 2017, I wouldn't repeat the same mistake. I booked that thing - early, too!

I would make a completely different mistake. I mentioned to the groomer that I'd given Kylie a Benadryl to calm her down a bit. That was a no-no. They couldn't bathe (just bathe) a sedated dog in case anything went wrong.

This time, I went to the restaurant I had booked, and took our Valentine's Day lunch to go. We ate in the room. And I found these pics I hadn't seen in almost exactly 7 years to the day.

I told you she chewed on poor Mickey!

The next day was my first solo day at WDW.

I'm in for the night with Kylie, who has unfortunately discovered she can open the curtains with her nose and stare outside until there's something to whine about lol.

Yeah, right!

Well, I chickened out of temporarily renaming the thread "time for another quickie" last time. But I did change it this time. "Honey, I'm doing it without you!"

B got home from work at 5am and then did not sleep well or feel well. Turned out his insulin pump had come out in bed and he was having sugar issues.

I went down to the gym around 9 AM, then grabbed a little free breakfast, then went out to the Salvation Army to look for inventory, came back, Brian was fine but didn't sleep so well. That actually made it easier to leave because I know he would sleep better if we let him be.

So Kylie and I got on the road around 11:30 AM and it's a pretty easy less than 1 Hour drive.

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And right now I'm spending a little extra time with her at Best Friends Pet Care since it's just us and there's no rush.

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She kept trying to play with the dogs on the other side of the fence. Those are the dogs being taken for their walks by staff. Our side of the fence is the big playground area. This one guy kept trying to get her to chase him as if she could jump through the fence LOL:

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Anyway we've been hanging here for about a half hour now. She should be good and tired which makes boarding easier. Time for me to continue with my plan of parking at Epcot and going to Magic Kingdom first.

Clearly this was before I learned how to crop a photo.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And this was Kylie's 2018 Valentine's Day at Margaritaville in Hollywood FL.

Little Miss Nosey Rosey thinks she’s a cat, and will stare out a window all day.

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It was a wraparound balcony, really nice, could let her sit out there.

...or wait to be seated.
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No, didn’t really take her in there. But got my refillable mug - for margaritas! (Oh, yes I did.)

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[Tony the Tigger]

I can tell 2019 was the year we had Valentine's Day lunch at the Brown Derby (I can see where I posted in Chit Chat when I booked it.) Haven't found the TR yet, though...

 

[Minnie1986]

So incredibly sorry for the loss of your girl. Losing a pet is never easy, but there's something especially terrible about losing a four legged best friend.

 

[Minnie1986]

I was grateful. Brian may have been a leeeeeeetle jelly(?) I downplayed it like, “I had to get a hotel room somewhere in Orlando, right?”

One hitch: my bag was already in Fort Lauderdale.

I had my little backpack with my laptop, and not much else. I was wearing my “flying clothes” aka sweatpants and a t-shirt.

So I got on that laptop and purchased our APs, making our family trip (two days from now, remember?) that much easier. Oh, heck yeah I was going to activate mine that day!

But first…I needed supplies! Time to go to the gift shop and pay triple the price for the basics. Thank goodness for my Chase Disney Visa Rewards card. It takes the sting out. (They should hire me for commercials.)

I needed a toothbrush, deodorant, a pair of shorts, and maybe some new magic bands for us. View attachment 763295View attachment 763296

Mission accomplished! Almost. I don’t see any shorts in that picture, do you?

They didn’t have any. Or at least, not any I would wear. How could I walk around the parks in sweats in May?!

Btw that $3,900 toothbrush (ok maybe like $6) is bamboo. It’s fabulous and I love it to this day. I would buy another one but I’d probably check outside of Disney first for a better price.

Yes, I got the Pride Magic Bands. There was a time I’d never do that because I was hiding that part of me, so now I like to do it and appreciate that I can. They even had a surprisingly decent Pride display in the gift shop. That made me feel good because I had never seen it before. I bought the Millennium Falcon pin.
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LOVE the pride band. I recently purchased one for my niece (she came out a little while ago) and am going to give it to her as part of her surprise first trip in July.