Trip Report Two broke guys & a dog (for the last time.) (Once more, with feelings. 1/13/25.)

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.

 

[93boomer]

Pirate acknowledged us

View attachment 837323

and resumed drinking.

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which he continued to do while Shannon took a zillion of the exact same picture of us.

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and we were off!

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Ohh what a fun evening!!!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

By day 2, I always fall behind on the TR-ing!

Shannon is Bri-ish, and Pirate is 5. She has trained him to drive, and has been doing this for 6 years, he for one. He weighs about 2,000 pounds, I don’t know what she weighs.

She is trying to get him trained on the Port Orleans route, but so far, he doesn’t like the boats and reacts to them by acting out in various ways. She says he is “a little too confident,” which I take to mean willful.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We were able to carry on conversation while she drove. Twice I almost mentioned why we were there; twice I got choked up and chickened out. Of course, she asked if we had pets, and I briefly told her why we were here. I did well, not much more than a little quiver in my voice at the end.

Brian knocked over his former drink (cup of ice.) Twice. I was still sipping. It would not be Brian’s last spill of the evening…TBC.

A couple of times, we pulled over to let a car pass. Once, Pirate decided to pee. After that, I told Brian, “I will never again misuse the phrase ‘pee like a race horse.’” There’s no way! It was so much peeing!!

I mean, he drank all that water during the photo shoot.

What to do next? We were winging it.

 

[mpaulam]

We check in at the Fort next Tuesday and I’m debating trying to do this ride at some point!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Clearly we were backstage, I thought there’d be obvious signage to cut through to the front. Nope. We walked a bit, turned a corner, walked past a few interesting looking rooms, and Brian said, “We’re in the kitchen.”

A CM greeted us and asked if we were guests. I explained, and another CM graciously showed us how to get where we were going.

It was kind of amazing we were able to get as far as we had! Alas, no pictures were taken. I thought I had taken one of the sign, but I guess not.

It sounds like you almost made it into the Hoop Dee Doo Review!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We check in at the Fort next Tuesday and I’m debating trying to do this ride at some point!

$65 for up to 4 people. We had either an AP or Chase Visa discount, so it was less. Bring your drinks. Better than Slinky Dog.

It sounds like you almost made it into the Hoop Dee Doo Review!

Put me on stage!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I gave B some options: we could stay and hang at the Tavern or go to HS.

Whatever he picked, we walked past this

and needed to use the restroom. Who was it who likes bathroom pics? I was fairly impressed.

 

[Figgy1]

What an amazing day. I thought about going out to Can Can if you know you know but thought better as it's too cold for me

 

[Tony the Tigger]

And then my husband scared the you know what outta me. As we walked the now-dark path back towards the bus area, he tripped and fell on a section of uneven pavement, and got a little bloody. Two guys came over and helped me pick him up after a failed solo attempt. (I was afraid something had broken or sprained.) People were very kind, offering him alcohol wipes and napkins once we got on the bus.

But first a CM came over to help and check on him - and we recognized each other because he was the one who led us out of the kitchen earlier. He walked us over to his superior to just get our contact info just in case, and I’m sure it’s procedure to report the incident. She said, “Oh, it was you two who got inside?” And we all laughed. Apparently the CMs had been talking about that. I don’t blame them lol.

A third CM came over to actually take down our info, and she said, “You are the guys?!” Too funny.

And diabetes is a witch. I’ve found it very similar to HIV in that it’s always there, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. He’s been type 1 since age 10, so 43 years of fighting it. Although recent cataract surgery helped his good eye, he is legally blind in the other, and not great walking or driving in the dark. His ankles and wrists show signs of wasting (recently diagnosed) and he’s found it harder to keep his weight down, so he’s top heavy with skinny, weak legs. We have plans to deal with this, trying to reduce his back pain first.

With all that in mind, I got scared when he hit the ground. It is his nature and upbringing to say he’s fine and avoid attention. There was a fair amount of blood on his knee, and a lot of little scrapes, but I think it was just one of those annoying things where a patch of skin is affected, but it is just at the surface. He could walk at least as well as usual. I figured we’d know more in the morning.

As he sat down on the bus, the man across from us asked, “What does the other guy look like?” I said, “Sidewalk!”

Btw he was not drunk, and the CMs didn’t even ask if he was. He had the one drink on the carriage ride. And like a trooper, he wanted to go here:

 

[Tony the Tigger]

What an amazing day. I thought about going out to Can Can if you know you know but thought better as it's too cold for me

We know how to cram a lot into these short trips, no matter the circumstances!

 

[MinnieM123]

And then my husband scared the you know what outta me. As we walked the now-dark path back towards the bus area, he tripped and fell on a section of uneven pavement, and got a little bloody. Two guys came over and helped me pick him up after a failed solo attempt. (I was afraid something had broken or sprained.) People were very kind, offering him alcohol wipes and napkins once we got on the bus.

But first a CM came over to help and check on him - and we recognized each other because he was the one who led us out of the kitchen earlier. He walked us over to his superior to just get our contact info just in case, and I’m sure it’s procedure to report the incident. She said, “Oh, it was you two who got inside?” And we all laughed. Apparently the CMs had been talking about that. I don’t blame them lol.

A third CM came over to actually take down our info, and she said, “You are the guys?!” Too funny.

And diabetes is a witch. I’ve found it very similar to HIV in that it’s always there, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. He’s been type 1 since age 10, so 43 years of fighting it. Although recent cataract surgery helped his good eye, he is legally blind in the other, and not great walking or driving in the dark. His ankles and wrists show signs of wasting (recently diagnosed) and he’s found it harder to keep his weight down, so he’s top heavy with skinny, weak legs. We have plans to deal with this, trying to reduce his back pain first.

With all that in mind, I got scared when he hit the ground. It is his nature and upbringing to say he’s fine and avoid attention. There was a fair amount of blood on his knee, and a lot of little scrapes, but I think it was just one of those annoying things where a patch of skin is affected, but it is just at the surface. He could walk at least as well as usual. I figured we’d know more in the morning.

As he sat down on the bus, the man across from us asked, “What does the other guy look like?” I said, “Sidewalk!”

Btw he was not drunk, and the CMs didn’t even ask if he was. He had the one drink on the carriage ride. And like a trooper, he wanted to go here:

View attachment 837434View attachment 837435View attachment 837436

Sorry to hear that he fell. I hope his knee feels better today.

 

[littleroo]

Awe poor Brian. I fear he may be more sore today. I hope I am wrong! Feel better Brian!! Outside of this incident, I really enjoyed your adventures over the last month. Thanks for bringing us along.

 

[93boomer]

And then my husband scared the you know what outta me. As we walked the now-dark path back towards the bus area, he tripped and fell on a section of uneven pavement, and got a little bloody. Two guys came over and helped me pick him up after a failed solo attempt. (I was afraid something had broken or sprained.) People were very kind, offering him alcohol wipes and napkins once we got on the bus.

But first a CM came over to help and check on him - and we recognized each other because he was the one who led us out of the kitchen earlier. He walked us over to his superior to just get our contact info just in case, and I’m sure it’s procedure to report the incident. She said, “Oh, it was you two who got inside?” And we all laughed. Apparently the CMs had been talking about that. I don’t blame them lol.

A third CM came over to actually take down our info, and she said, “You are the guys?!” Too funny.

And diabetes is a witch. I’ve found it very similar to HIV in that it’s always there, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. He’s been type 1 since age 10, so 43 years of fighting it. Although recent cataract surgery helped his good eye, he is legally blind in the other, and not great walking or driving in the dark. His ankles and wrists show signs of wasting (recently diagnosed) and he’s found it harder to keep his weight down, so he’s top heavy with skinny, weak legs. We have plans to deal with this, trying to reduce his back pain first.

With all that in mind, I got scared when he hit the ground. It is his nature and upbringing to say he’s fine and avoid attention. There was a fair amount of blood on his knee, and a lot of little scrapes, but I think it was just one of those annoying things where a patch of skin is affected, but it is just at the surface. He could walk at least as well as usual. I figured we’d know more in the morning.

As he sat down on the bus, the man across from us asked, “What does the other guy look like?” I said, “Sidewalk!”

Btw he was not drunk, and the CMs didn’t even ask if he was. He had the one drink on the carriage ride. And like a trooper, he wanted to go here:

View attachment 837434View attachment 837435View attachment 837436

Oh my!! Hope he’s ok and can move today.

 

[Tiggertoo56]

OMG Hope Brian is OK. Love following your adventures and especially how you've navigated the last 12 months.

 

[cgersic]

Ohhhh, he IS a trooper!! Enjoying this so much up until that moment.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Sorry to hear that he fell. I hope his knee feels better today.

Awe poor Brian. I fear he may be more sore today. I hope I am wrong! Feel better Brian!! Outside of this incident, I really enjoyed your adventures over the last month. Thanks for bringing us along.

Oh my!! Hope he’s ok and can move today.

OMG Hope Brian is OK. Love following your adventures and especially how you've navigated the last 12 months.

Ohhhh, he IS a trooper!! Enjoying this so much up until that moment.

Thank you all for your concern! I think we’re in the clear.

Meantime, we got to hang with Julie for awhile. I had an old fashioned, and Brian pounded two double Crown & Diets. (Toast to Kylie!)

Remember the pic of the lion/dog/dog who resembles a lion in my empty glass from Topolino’s?

I saw a face in my empty old fashioned!!

Per usual, we made friends with the people near us. In fact, Julie’s reaction when we walked in the door (she got all excited & made faces) I think increased our perceived cachet with them lol. Of course, they were from Jersey lol.

We still had to eat! I love but was not in the mood for 50’s Prime Time meatloaf and what not. After last year’s revelation of Tony’s at MK being not at all as horrible as we expected, I thought maybe Mama Melrose would be about the same. With limited choices and not wanting to travel, I booked it for 8:50pm and we headed over at the appropriate time. Had Brian not chosen to demonstrate the Culture Club classic, “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya,” we might have arrived early enough to see the Muppets, which was on my to-do list (but for some reason closes at 8?)

Love this:

It was drizzling on our walk over, but not enough to break out the ponchos. As we approached the outdoor podium, two young ladies excitedly asked, “Are you Anthony?” I guess they were relieved their final booking had arrived (just about 3 or 4 minutes late.)

We sat down with realistic expectations.

 

[93boomer]

Thank you all for your concern! I think we’re in the clear.

Meantime, we got to hang with Julie for awhile. I had an old fashioned, and Brian pounded two double Crown & Diets. (Toast to Kylie!)

View attachment 837538

Remember the pic of the lion/dog/dog who resembles a lion in my empty glass from Topolono’s?

I saw a face in my empty old fashioned!!

View attachment 837542



Per usual, we made friends with the people near us. In fact, Julie’s reaction when we walked in the door (she got all excited & made faces) I think increased our perceived cachet with them lol. Of course, they were from Jersey lol.

We still had to eat! I love but was not in the mood for 50’s Prime Time meatloaf and what not. After last year’s revelation of Tony’s at MK being not at all as horrible as we expected, I thought maybe Mama Melrose would be about the same. With limited choices and not wanting to travel, I booked it for 8:50pm and we headed over at the appropriate time. Had Brian not chosen to demonstrate the Culture Club classic, “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya,” we might have arrived early enough to see the Muppets, which was on my to-do list (but for some reason closes at 8?)

Love this:

View attachment 837540

It was drizzling on our walk over, but not enough to break out the ponchos. As we approached the outdoor podium, two young ladies excitedly asked, “Are you Anthony?” I guess they were relieved their final booking had arrived (just about 3 or 4 minutes late.)

We sat down with realistic expectations.

We found that out about Muppets closing at 8 too in Dec. My DD really wanted to go one last time and we missed it by 5 mts. I felt so bad for her. She was upset. I don’t understand why it closes early.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Turns out we were the only booking in the 8pm hour, they said. It had been a slow night. I know how that feels. Funny, the parks didn’t feel slow. I’m guessing folks tried to eat earlier and duck inside before it got too cold.
I hadn’t slept well the night before. I thought some comfort food was in order to help me conk out tonight.

Love the decor.

I hear records are making a comeback.

Looking at the apps, this sounded interesting.

Now, if we were someplace like Tiffins or Terralina’s, I’d expect this would come out with a fancy shmear of white bean puree with chunks of eggplant and a half bulb of roasted garlic to dip in it.

Nope. It was hummus.

With meh bread.

It was fine. The ratio of bean to bread was off. You would need like a giant scoop of bean dip with each bite of bread.

Challenge accepted. We eventually cleaned the plate, with the help of a spontaneous delivery of ciabatta bread with the usual dip of oil with herbs. That helped give some flavor to the otherwise bland hummus. We didn’t care, we were hungry.

To my surprise, B ordered a whiskey breeze. I held off for a bit, knowing myself.

I ordered the standard chicken parm, which I had gotten at Tony’s on our Valentine’s Day trip. Let’s compare apples to apples.

B ordered the rigatoni bolognese, out of character for him.

I ate half of mine and he ate most of his. I was filling up on the breads and stuff. How was the chicken parm? Eh, well, not terrible. Also kind of bland. The chicken was good quality, the rest was…you know, fine. Better than Boma. Not as good as Tony’s. Kind of bad diner tasting. Fine for drunk at 9pm. Wouldn’t book it for a meal with expectations. Would book Tony’s.

Despite all this, for some reason I thought this would be good:

I mean, it’s a tiramisu martini! Why hadn’t I seen this anywhere else, ever?

Our server said it was good, and had Bailey’s, etc. What? Bailey’s? Re-read those ingredients. I assumed she was mistaken. Tiramisu martini? LFG!!

OK, it was cute…but it was a mudslide. (Clearly with Bailey’s.) I liked mudslides in my 20’s. It was fine. I tried to find tiramisu flavor in it. Nah.

I was about to tell Brian what I thought of it. I looked up and Brian “I never get drunk” was asleep sitting up at the table(!)

Dat bish was wreckeded!

It was time to go. He got a to go box for what I found out when I raided it in the middle of the night was two pieces of rigatoni (!?!) and I took home half my chicken parm with unsalted(?!) spaghetti. (You always throw some salt in the pasta water. Duh.)

Random empty HS pics as we exited. Nothing “arty” this time.

Oops, max pic limit. Please hold.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

It’s still Christmas at WDW.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

We found that out about Muppets closing at 8 too in Dec. My DD really wanted to go one last time and we missed it by 5 mts. I felt so bad for her. She was upset. I don’t understand why it closes early.

Especially now that it’s closing!