The Disaversary day by day

[SorcererHeidi]

Sunday day 6
Epcot day again with breakfast at the bakery in France then Soarin ( we got front row near the center this time but still had issues with buildings being warped) Spaceship Earth, and Mission Space. Extra FPP also got us test track, then frozen as the dauy went on.

Lunch was pizza at Via Nappoli, yes I love their pizza that much. This time half plain and half four cheese white.. Then we simply walked the countries. This was the third time we tried to get a stamped penny from each of the 11 countries. Once we couldn't find China, later to fine out it wasn't there but at the international gate way, and once the one in Italy was broke. This time Morocco was broken.

We picked up a late dinner and are in the room. Dinner consisted of a bag of Carmel corn, a chocolate Carmel cookie, and apecan caramel barfrom Germany. I had some weird dreams that night..


Monady day 7
The big podcast day arrived and we were off to Disney Springs, took the first bus and grabbed breakfast sandwiches at Earl of sandwich. Explore a bit and shopped but that really isn't my thing by 12:30. We chatted again with Carol, who we met at the icecream social, and after a while all the pieces came together that she is Michael Bowlings wife. Buy now you've seen the pod castso I won't beat on that.

After the show we met up with Mike and Steve from the boards, then headed to lunch at Art Smith's Homecoming at DS. They have real sweat tea and my wife tried a watermelon moonshine shereally liked. Thet weren't taking reservations yet and at 2:00 we were abbl to walk right in. We ran into Carol again, this time with Michael and Kathy.

We shared an app combo that had shaved ham, sausage, candied pecans, pickle slices, and pamento cheese with homemade crackers. My wife had pulled pork barbecue and I had the fried chicken dinner. We finished by sharing a huge slice of banana pineapple cake. At under $100 for that we agreed the we were stuffed and it was the best meal we had.

We bus hopped to get to AK next with our FPP. We walked ontoTough to be a Bug and Everest at sunset was cool, but doing the safari just after sunset was awesome and the whole park seemed to cool down just in time. There was even a thunderstorm on the horizon. The perfect end to a perfect day

Awesome! Glad you got to spend some time with some other DIS'ers. Art Smith's is one of the few places that's opened in DS that actually interests me (the other being D-Luxe Burger). How was the fried chicken? That's one of the things there I'd like to try. I'd also def like to do the safari right after sunset, since I've always tried to do it right before it's closed right before sunset, and it's been awesome - tons of animals, very active.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Tuesday day 8
This was the day that broke me. For a week I packed my patience, smiled as kids cut me off yell "mi mama MAMA" and even tried not to hit people who cut us off or just suddenly stopped walking in front of me as I pushed a wheel chair. I was tired of lines blocked at every fast pass entrance by a family who couldn't read a clock or didn't know what a fast pass was. More importantly, I was fed up with eating at every quick service standing up because little Billy sunshine was holding a table for six playing Pokemon waiting for his parents to arrive with a tray of cups of free water.

The group of 11 kids wearing matching tour shirts sitting in Main Street clapping and cheering were fine for the first 10 minutes, so I put on my sunglasses and pretended to be blind as my wife yelled out instructions to me as loud as she could and guess what? People moved out of our way. Unfortunately it didn't work for the family in front of us on the exit of space mountain. The conveyor belt ends abruptly, so not the best place to all stop and look at a map. They got 3 warningsand then the foot rests of a wheelchair.

Even as packed as the park was, we took full advantage of fpp and used a das to hop from ride to ride. Space, Splash, BTM, Pirates, HM, Pete pan, tea cups, under the sea, buzz lightyear, space again. We hopped the monorail to Epcot for snacks and Illuminations and more snacking.

Yeah, have NEVER understood WHY the mouth breathers of this world have to stop IN THE EXIT of an attraction to look @ the map and decide where to go next (move to the side, peeps!!!), or IN THE ENTRANCE to discuss whether gramma's going to sit next to Peggy Sue or Billy Bob. It's called common courtesy, and realizing you are NOT the only ones in the park that have to use that exit/entrance/walkway. WAY self fixated for my sake, they are NOT the sun in my world! LOL Same things holds true @ the grocery store (or anywhere else, for that mater), by the way.

 

[pjweaver]

Awesome! Glad to got to spend some time with some other DIS'ers. Art Smith's is one of the few places that's opened in DS that actually interests me (the other being D-Luxe Burger). How was the fried chicken? That's one of the things there I'd like to try. I'd also def like to do the safari right after sunset, since I've always tried to do it right before it's closed right before sunset, and it's been awesome - tons of animals, very active.

This is different fried chicken Than 50's PrimeTime (which was always my favorite) and I think I liked this better. The chicken is soaked in buttermilk for 24 hours then dredged so it has less crispness but more tender and flavorful. The slice of cake was good too and the size of my head. We didn't eat anything we didn't like.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

This is different fried chicken Than 50's PrimeTime (which was always my favorite) and I think I liked this better. The chicken is soaked in buttermilk for 24 hours then dredged so it has less crispness but more tender and flavorful. The slice of cake was good too and the size of my head. We didn't eat anything we didn't like.

Cool, thanx. If I ever get back down there, will def check this place out!

 

[pjweaver]

Wednesday, day9
We have pretty much eaten at all the must does on our list, so the threw a little temper tantrum and got my way, Garden Grill breakfast 45 minutes before The park opened. Same thing, seated fast and my coffee and wife's guava passion fruit juice and those great stick buns. Still the best character AYCTE for $30, so it will be $45 by next year or mothballed.

Straight to HS for the only three ridesthey have, ToT, TSMWM, and Star Tours. We did Muppet vision for good measure, and by then TSMWM was closed for what turned out to be most of the day. We started walking to the Boardwalk but popped into get some Starbucks. Big mistake, my wife saw a mug she had wanted for years. Each Starbucks has one designed for each park though.

The treck began. Bus to MK (and TTA) to grab mug #2 on Main Street. Two monorails and we had Epcot's mug (and rode Spaceship Earth). We walked back to the Boardwalk and dropped off our bootie. Took the really bus to AK and grabbed the last mug by 9:30. That was the perfect time to get on Everest. The sky had cookie and humidity dropped and everyone was watching the water show. 10 minute stand by time dropped to 5 minute, and we had back row, front row, and two middle rows covered in 30 minutes. We walked to the bus proud of our feat.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Sounds like a good day overall. I like the park mugs Starbucks has, even if I don't like Starbucks.

 

[pjweaver]

Thursday, day 10
I may as well write this out now too, as our 10:15 departure time is now 1:35 and magical express picked us up at 7:15.

We went slow this morning, getting packed and checking every drawer or coner three times to make sure nothing was missed. Everything was at bell services promptly at 11:00. I look at the trail that runs from the Boardwalk to HS. In the past ten days I have built up to pushing a wheelchair over it in under 10 minutes.now our last blowout.

We work like a team now. My wife gets pasteries for breakfast while I power walk to TSMWM for a GAS return time. I get back just as soon as she finds a table. Brunch will hold us for four rides. ToT Toy story, Star Tours, then tsmwm again. We have done everything we love at HS in under 2 hours.

We hop a friendship to pick up our souvenirs from Germany, but hunger has returned and as if by magic Via Nappoli has an opening in 15 minutes. 3rd pizza of the trip by at $35 it's well worth it. We snagged two bags of caramel corn and consider a third for the plane, but that would be cruel. Then I remember that I still haven't tried a crounut yet. Off to Canada for a fresh hot one and it was everything I expected.

Everything went with military precision from returning her wheelchair and getting our carry one to ME showing up right on time. It was a mostly empty coach and we were the last pick up, at MCO in 30 minutes. That's when the delays started. Thanks South West.

 

[pjweaver]

Final thoughts...on flying:
Our flight kept getting delayed in 15 minute increments and we watched as Providence Rhode Island and San Juan Puerto Rice and finally Buffalo NY were all cancelled. At 1:00 we were told they found a pilot for us (didn't anyone at SouthWest consider this need in advance?) We started boarding around 2:45 and I got a front row seat. Thanks to our seat we got to hear how this was a brand new plane, and it didn't have seatbelt extenders that two of the passengers needed and the extenders we did wouldn't fit the new planes seat belts. Now flight attendants and other crew men are running all over the place. Then came fun news, a supervisor walk onto the plane and told the crew if we weren't taxing in 3 minutes the flight would be Timed out. That didn't sound good, but a maintenance crew member ran on right behind with three he had stolen from another plane.

The passengers from other flights that kept getting canceled weren't happy, but amazingly no shouting matches, just stand in line forever getting told there was nothing the airline could do and everything the next day was booked solid. This seems to be a sign to me that we, as the consumer traveling, have begun to accept airline policies. I can't blame anyone for blizzards or hurricanes, but these flights are being delayed 5 hours until after midnight when nearly every place is closed, then just canceling the flight because we can't find a pilot.

There is no way around it now; Price yielding is here to stay, same with paying more for less and and tolerating losing half of our vacations while the airlines shuffle schedules like playing cards. I think the moral of the story is that in America, a nation that averages one of the highest obesity in the world, we keep getting bigger while making the seats smaller and as airlines continue to look to increase profits we may start seeing more surcharged for weight limits on people like they do on checked bags, fees for seatbelt etenders, and fees for reclining your seat.

My solution seems easy, every airline at at major city must have at least one backup plane and crew (or more depending on their average daily traffic). It won't happen because it will cost profits.

 

[pjweaver]

Review - resort
Boardwalk Villas studio preferred/pool view

We stayed for nine nights by renting points found through the Dis boards. The location is ideal if you like to walk to Epcot or HS. Our room was at the far end near the tennis courts, so by using the stairs we were closer to HS.

We did on line check in and asked for first available because check in time at DVC is normally 4:00, but we had a text by noon. That was the good, the bad part was we were on the third floor, my wife was using a wheelchair, and there is only one elevator on the villa side. Our room was as far as you can get from the elevator, which I'd say was just under a half mile walk. If we headed to Epcot or the bus stop we had to do that walk to get to the elevator. For HS I would carry the wheelchair the 2 floors while my wife walked. For me still better than busses all the time.

A huge bonus to this location is time. At a value or moderate, even some deluxes, you live on busses. They always seem packed and I usually am standing,or worse, waiting for the next bus. For example!e at Pop there will always be a wait for each park for a few hours in the morning and then again at park close. At Boardwalk you walk or take a Friendship to Epcot or HS. Pop deals with this by having queues for each stop, while at Boardwalk it is just 6 benches and a video screen showing ETA for each bus. The down side is if everyone wants DS a mob forms around the door and there is no order (though it was never so busy I had to stand)

This type of trave from resort to park and vice versa led to downtime. We hit the parks early, rested in bed or in the pool for the hottest hours of the day, then returned to the parks reenergized. This was something I never do when I factor in the time for busses for All-stars or OldKey West or AKL. In fact the only way to do this is to pay for a monorail resort or one on Bay Lake.

Dining at Boardwalk is well know. ESPN, Big River, Trattoria, Flying Fish, are higher end (at least prices wise) then the bakery (good for what it offers), and a pizza window that sells whole pies or by the slice (bad pizza), but really lack the grab and go the way most resorts do to get a quick sandwich or salad. Something like the Wave at Contemporary. Keep in mind Epcot, Y&B, and S&D are 5-10 minute walks or a boat ride.

The two quiet pools seem to stay open all night, but the main pool closes by 9:00 or 10:00. They also have a fitnesscloband arcade That are both good sized. This is a great resort to just hang out at, especially as the sun sets and the Boardwalk entertainers come out or a movie on the yard.

I did have two negatives about the Boardwalk, three if you count no food court. While they don't outright say they are doing a rehab now including indoor and outdoor painting which blocked off paths and paint splatter on the landscaping.



My second issue was our room size. It was fine for just my wife and I, but with recent remodeling they removed the dresser to put ina Murphy bed along with the sofa bed. So the room can sleep 5, but it would be a tight fit. The closest helped but only had 7 hangers in it and the upper shelf was filled with pillows and bedding. Each of the four dresser drawers were as tall as a soda can and maybe 10 inches by 28 inches. For our nine night stay I had to keep socks in a kitchen cabinet Underwear and shirts in the vanity. If you had 5 people staying 6 nights here you would be living out of, and tripping over your suit cases.
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