Time for a mid-week blog catch up!
Having posted on Sunday morning, and generally had a slow start to the day, we went out for a drive, ending up at our (my) favourite bookshop, Barnes & Noble. After a good browse, we both found a book, but then found it rather harder to find somewhere to go for Sunday brunch. We had a look at the development on the opposite side of Sand Lake Road to B&N, but it was too early for them to be open for brunch, and nothing looked appealing, so we headed further north to Windermere. Either we haven't found the centre of Windermere yet, or it is a bit strange and doesn't really have restaurants. In the end we came back down SR535 almost to WDW, tried to get into iHOP but it was jammed with a Sunday crowd, and so walked over to Denny's and had their regular fare.
We had afternoon fast passes at Animal Kingdom, and headed in with enough time to spare to do a wander through the animal trail in Africa before going on the Safari. We did pretty well with animal sightings (giraffe, elephants, rhino, cheetah, and even the lions), and then we were over to Pandora for our flight. It was excellent, as before, although interestingly we were right in the very bottom left corner of the screen, which didn't make for the best view (three tiers, two sets of sixteen seats, for a total of 96 riders per show).
Afterwards we tracked down another of the recommended snacks of the world - the Pongo Lumpia - a pineapple cream cheese spring roll - might sound a bit odd, but well worth tracking down.
Next stop was the Nomad Lounge, on the way out of Pandora - excellent spot and not too busy - we got comfy on a sofa outside and had drinks and snacks (satay and truffle poutine). In fact it was just so comfy that we decided that we couldn't be bothered to trek over to the other side of the park for our fast passes to the Rivers of Light show, and made do with watching a little bit of it on Youtube instead!!
Monday started with shopping trips, firstly to Mall at Millenia, where one or two gifts were purchased. This was followed by Old Navy (which is kind of in the car park of the mall) and lunch at Panera Bread, before going a couple of stops down I-4 to the outlets (Belz as we still insist on calling it) including important stops at Coach (for handbag consideration, but we were in there for so long that I ended up getting tempted by an outrageously expensive leather jacket), and the usual regulars - Hilfiger, Adidas, etc.
We had evening plans at Epcot, albeit we skipped our fast passes for Spaceship Earth in favour of a leisurely stroll around World Showcase checking out the festival stalls. We may well have to go back to sample some of the festival food. Dinner was at Via Napoli in Italy where the food was pleasant, the atmosphere was chaotic, and the service was typically rapid leaving us feeling like we'd been rushed through. Jake will at least be pleased to hear that we enjoyed the arancini balls.
We stopped in at the America Gardens theatre for the 8 o'clock show, and the singers were impressive - both from Broadway Disney productions, and then walked around to our spot for Illuminations (fast pass reserved in front of the walkway from Future World). View was good from there, but there were a decent number of open spots in other areas around the World.
Tuesday morning we headed in to the Studios, and our appointed time for the Slinky Dog coaster, which was great fun - the best thing about the new Toy Story land (given that Toy Story Mania was already there). We did join the queue for Toy Story Mania, which said 65 mins when we joined it, but gave up after about 20 mins as it was moving very slowly, and sure enough when we came out it had changed to 120 mins, and the fast pass line was very long as well. Next stop was another of the recommended snacks - the key lime pie on a stick. Nicky had that, and I had a monster choc chip cookie (and tried the key lime pie).
At this point we were pretty much content with our trip to the Studios, and headed back to Saratoga, and enjoyed some time by the pool in the splendid sunshine, taking it easy before our Membership Magic evening at the Magic Kingdom. We headed in on the bus at about 7pm, collected our wristbands and vouchers, and were there just in time to catch the Happily Ever After Fireworks. Amusingly, we watched from about half way down Main Street in a big crowd, and when they had finished, we wanted to go deeper into the park, whilst several thousand people wanted to leave, and so it was quite a challenge to move in our chosen direction, but with determination we made it through eventually.
First stop dinner, and we went to Pinocchio's Village Haus. As far as we can recall, the last time we were there was on Jake's 4th birthday, when he was serenaded by the band as we were having lunch. This time we got a table by the interior windows and watched the Small World boats go by.
During the evening we did a great job of getting on rides (Small World, Buzz, Astro Orbiter, Little Mermaid, Tea Cups, Dumbo), watching the fireworks, and talking to the DVC executives - it will be interesting to see if they get back to us about our comments this time.
And that brings us to today. Late start after a late night, and another trip to the pool to relax in the sunshine, and we are just planning a trip to Springs, hoping that we might go to the new Wolfgang Puck restaurant to try it out.
(Aim for a version of this with pictures later on.)
Wednesday 6 February 2019
Sunday 3 February 2019
Saratoga
Here we are at Saratoga Springs, with an overdue first holiday blog from Sunday morning.
Going back to Thursday, we were up and away at about 7am, with little evidence of any snow left around at home (but wow how that seems to have changed in Walderslade since we left!). Airport + parking + check-in + security was all very smooth and we were having breakfast at the Grain Store in Gatwick South before we knew it.
BA flight to Tampa was fine. We appreciated the extra legroom of the premium seats, and food was ok. No sign of any children on the flight - looked mostly like older couples (not young couples like us, obviously) going for their winter break. Tampa immigration was better, but not massively better, than MCO. There were still lots more immigration desks than immigration staff, which is always frustrating. Our overall wait time was about 45 mins, but once we were through the rest of the airport process was very efficient - picked up our bags straight away, then a couple of shuttle trains to the car centre to pick up our car (no queue for the car desk as we could use a kiosk to get the paperwork, and then straight to collect the car). Car journey from Tampa to WDW was 90 mins, but very straightforward - a little slow past downtown Tampa, but then straight up I-4.
By the time we got to the hotel it was about 8.30pm, so it was a case of check-in, collect a few provisions, unpack and bed.
Friday morning we had our Keys to the Kingdom tour, so it was straight up and away to MK on the bus, but we were there in time for a quick stop at the Main Street bakery for provisions before meeting our tour guide (Justin) at City Hall, where we made our lunch orders for later on (Pecos Bill) and collected our earphones. The tour was lots of walking and talking, with Disney history and trivia, and the route was down Main Street (windows), into Adventureland (Jungle Cruise), into Frontierland (backstage to see the production area, floats and the water tanks for Splash), lunch stop, Liberty Square (Haunted Mansion), Fantasyland, into the utilidors and under Main Street to reappear near City Hall for the end of the tour.
One thing we learnt on the tour was the 'Four Keys' to a great guest experience at WDW. They are (in this order): safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency, and are guiding principles for cast members when they are interacting with guests. Very interesting, and worthy of a longer discussion than a holiday blog warrants.
Once our tour was done we headed out of the park. Our plan had been to get the bus to the Springs, but for some reason buses didn't start to Springs until 4pm, so we got the bus back to the hotel, and took a break back here before walking over to Springs a little later. We ended up having an early dinner at Chef Art Smith's, sat outside watching the world go by (shared the devilled egg started, Nicky had fried chicken, and I had the pulled pork with mac 'n' cheese). Food was excellent. Servings were huge - should have shared a main course.
We had a little wander around the rest of the Springs (including a enjoyable trip to Sugarboo) before coming back to the hotel. After a break here we steeled ourselves for a final trip out of the day to the supermarket to stock up with provisions.
Saturday morning we were up in time so we decided to stick with the plan and use our fast passes, so we went back to MK and rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - always fun, and then went over to Gaston's Tavern to share one of their mighty cinnamon rolls. Next up were trips on the carousel and Philharmagic before our next fast pass on the Winnie the Pooh ride! It had been some time since we'd been on that one - probably because Jake had refused to go for at least the last ten years. I think they'd even changed the 'honey pots' since last time. Then we even had time for a trip on the Carousel of Progress - always brilliant, although I find in fascinating that the first three scenes are 1900s, 1920s and 1940s, and then the last one is a big jump to an attempt to be approximately up to date. Presumably this reflects a commitment to keeping the first three scenes consistent with the original show from the 1960s Worlds Fair, whilst keeping it in some way 'relevant'. A tricky balance.
After the show we headed out of the park and took the boat to the Grand Floridian and had lunch at the Gasparilla Grill, before getting the bus to the Springs, where we did some shopping (Sephora) before coming back to our room for a relax. Dinner was at Perkins at the Crossroads, and that brings us about up to date.
Going back to Thursday, we were up and away at about 7am, with little evidence of any snow left around at home (but wow how that seems to have changed in Walderslade since we left!). Airport + parking + check-in + security was all very smooth and we were having breakfast at the Grain Store in Gatwick South before we knew it.
BA flight to Tampa was fine. We appreciated the extra legroom of the premium seats, and food was ok. No sign of any children on the flight - looked mostly like older couples (not young couples like us, obviously) going for their winter break. Tampa immigration was better, but not massively better, than MCO. There were still lots more immigration desks than immigration staff, which is always frustrating. Our overall wait time was about 45 mins, but once we were through the rest of the airport process was very efficient - picked up our bags straight away, then a couple of shuttle trains to the car centre to pick up our car (no queue for the car desk as we could use a kiosk to get the paperwork, and then straight to collect the car). Car journey from Tampa to WDW was 90 mins, but very straightforward - a little slow past downtown Tampa, but then straight up I-4.
By the time we got to the hotel it was about 8.30pm, so it was a case of check-in, collect a few provisions, unpack and bed.
Friday morning we had our Keys to the Kingdom tour, so it was straight up and away to MK on the bus, but we were there in time for a quick stop at the Main Street bakery for provisions before meeting our tour guide (Justin) at City Hall, where we made our lunch orders for later on (Pecos Bill) and collected our earphones. The tour was lots of walking and talking, with Disney history and trivia, and the route was down Main Street (windows), into Adventureland (Jungle Cruise), into Frontierland (backstage to see the production area, floats and the water tanks for Splash), lunch stop, Liberty Square (Haunted Mansion), Fantasyland, into the utilidors and under Main Street to reappear near City Hall for the end of the tour.
One thing we learnt on the tour was the 'Four Keys' to a great guest experience at WDW. They are (in this order): safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency, and are guiding principles for cast members when they are interacting with guests. Very interesting, and worthy of a longer discussion than a holiday blog warrants.
Once our tour was done we headed out of the park. Our plan had been to get the bus to the Springs, but for some reason buses didn't start to Springs until 4pm, so we got the bus back to the hotel, and took a break back here before walking over to Springs a little later. We ended up having an early dinner at Chef Art Smith's, sat outside watching the world go by (shared the devilled egg started, Nicky had fried chicken, and I had the pulled pork with mac 'n' cheese). Food was excellent. Servings were huge - should have shared a main course.
We had a little wander around the rest of the Springs (including a enjoyable trip to Sugarboo) before coming back to the hotel. After a break here we steeled ourselves for a final trip out of the day to the supermarket to stock up with provisions.
Saturday morning we were up in time so we decided to stick with the plan and use our fast passes, so we went back to MK and rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train - always fun, and then went over to Gaston's Tavern to share one of their mighty cinnamon rolls. Next up were trips on the carousel and Philharmagic before our next fast pass on the Winnie the Pooh ride! It had been some time since we'd been on that one - probably because Jake had refused to go for at least the last ten years. I think they'd even changed the 'honey pots' since last time. Then we even had time for a trip on the Carousel of Progress - always brilliant, although I find in fascinating that the first three scenes are 1900s, 1920s and 1940s, and then the last one is a big jump to an attempt to be approximately up to date. Presumably this reflects a commitment to keeping the first three scenes consistent with the original show from the 1960s Worlds Fair, whilst keeping it in some way 'relevant'. A tricky balance.
After the show we headed out of the park and took the boat to the Grand Floridian and had lunch at the Gasparilla Grill, before getting the bus to the Springs, where we did some shopping (Sephora) before coming back to our room for a relax. Dinner was at Perkins at the Crossroads, and that brings us about up to date.
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