Taking the Castles By Storm: A Summer TR (Finished 10/30)

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Part Two

I'm just speeding through this so we can get to the next day lol.

So, we left our room around 4:45 or so. Our dinner was at 6-ish? So I figured giving ourselves a little over an hour was the best thing to do.

Hah.

We got down to the bus stop and watched the time for a bus to MK go from 4:50 to 5 to 5:10. It stayed around 5:10 for the remainder of the time we were waiting until finally a bus showed up. We got on it and the two stops to the Swalphin were the most excruciatingly long moments of my life. Anyone know Mel Brooks' High Anxiety song? That's like my theme song when it comes to being late lol. We made it to Magic Kingdom and booked it pronto for the boat which was thankfully still loading. We were the last people on (I seriously saw the large gap between us and the people getting on and lost hope, but either they saw us and waited or we just had really good timing) and seated.

I snapped this picture on my phone:


One of my favorite views!

We got off the dock and booked it - we were about ten minutes late at that point.

Okay, we tried to book it.

There was a family in front of us walking as slow as can be. Isn't that always the way? I tried not to be all up on them, because I hate when people do it to me, but once the path widened I went around them, got lost once in the lobby of Wilderness Lodge (because it's not me leading if there isn't at least one point in a new place where I get lost!) and got to Artist Point!

Which was virtually empty and even getting there 15 minutes late was no issue.

Womp.

Oh well. At least we were seated right away, right next to the window. I have no pictures of the view apparently but I could see a bunch of hotel room balconies and we had a perfect view of the geyser whenever it went off (which it was doing as we were sitting down).

Our waiter was named....Izzy, I think? He'd been working there for a while and had his repartee down pat, and was a really good, attentive waiter without being too on you. I don't normally get alcohol in Disney in the summer but since I was so wound up I got myself a glass of the Sokol Blosser Evolution White, which is a mix of pinot gris, white riesling, muscat, gewurtztraminer, muller-thurgau, semillon, pinot blanc, sylvaner, and chardonnay grapes (phew!). It was a little dryer than I had thought it was but it meant that I slowed down and actually enjoyed it.

I really, really enjoyed people watching here. I had a great view of all the people on their balconies and then the people around us at the restaurant as they showed up. I was enjoying the mood and the quiet and relaxing after a stressful hour and such minutes trying to get there.

For an appetizer we both ended up getting the artisanal cheese platter:


Which, since I knew I wouldn't even remember the description by the time I took the picture and sent it to my mother, I have a picture of the little card they give you so you know what you're eating:



It was very good! I liked the Flagship Reserve best I think, though I enjoyed them all!

My aunt got the filet mignon and said it was very good. I had:


Aged Buffalo Strip Loin, with buffalo sausage, macaroni and cheese romanesca, crispy shallots, and black currant demi. I really enjoyed this, though I wasn't a huge fan of the sausage - it was a little spicier than I wanted and because of the dryness of the wine it was a biiiiit too hot for my tastes. But the rest of it was yummy! I'm really glad I went with this and not the Cornish hen like I nearly did, because that's something we make at home on rare occasions and this was something so completely different.

I think my aunt tried it and liked it but liked her filet better? Not sure on her reaction.

Dessert time came and my aunt got the cobbler. I really needed something chocolatey so I got


Warm House-Made Donuts, with cinnamon sugar, Nutella ganache, and Marionberry. Two out of three of these ingredients are things I cannot pass up. Seriously, the only thing it was missing was caramel and then it'd be the holy grail of desserts for me. These were good, though the Marionberry did become a bit too sweet for me after a while. I got a cup of peace through water tea as well with it (as you can see from the picture, kind of), which is chamomile, lemon-balm, and lavender - all stress reducers. I'm actually kind of addicted to mint and chamomile teas so it was a nice little bit of home. I kind of want to find this for work, honestly. It's a great deviation from the norm. Hmm, maybe I'll google that later...

Anyway, we paid and left, and even though it was kind of early I said I wanted to go back to the room. I was exhausted and we were getting up really early the next morning, so I needed some sleep. I think we got a bus back fairly easily? I didn't make a comment about it either way so we must have!

When we got back to the hotel room, it...wasn't fun. I was getting ready to shower and to go to bed when my aunt asked me if I was having a good trip. When I gave a noncommittal sort of "yeah" answer she told me I needed to pay more attention to her because I didn't talk enough at dinner. I was kind of baffled and honestly thought I was participating in the conversation (but she was talking about people and things I don't know much about so I couldn't contribute much) and when she kept insisting I wasn't talking and if I knew I was going to be like this why did I even invite her to come with me anyway I just...I had it. I was fed up, exhausted, and had been trying to appease people for the past week and a half while traveling. I had killed myself to put together a trip she would enjoy, with no input, and I wasn't pushing the issue that we weren't doing any of the more thrilling rides I normally do on repeat because I knew she wouldn't like them nor would she like being alone for fifteen minutes.

I had my Disney meltdown.

I haven't had one in a very long time, not since I was like 19 and it was 2 AM and that wasn't even a real meltdown, it was just me making Jey sick on the teacups (guess who won't go back on the teacups with me unless Liz is with us?)

I told her I couldn't change who I was. She shot back saying she couldn't change who she was and I should deal with it. That...got me mad. I should let me be who you are but you can't let me be who I am? Nope. I said as much, stormed into the bathroom, and was really mad that the doors are made so they can't slam because I really needed to slam something at that point.

In the shower I broke down. I wasn't going to walk on eggshells in Disney and if my aunt continued I was going to remove myself from it because I really didn't want to do or say anything to make matters worse. But I really just didn't want to be in the parks or anything anymore. While in the shower I made a shoestring plan to just change my FP and do what I wanted to if it continued so we could have a day away from each other.

With that I went to bed, irritated and not looking forward to the next day.

 

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Ugh. I am so sorry about the situation with your aunt. I COMPLETELY understand where you are coming from.
I could never, ever, EVER travel with anyone in my family. I would end up on the news, and then they'd make an Investigation Discovery show about me. My MIL hints around about wanting to come with us, but she would fully expect to be with us doing what we were doing the WHOLE TIME. We could never mention anything that happened on any previous trip, because she would complain that she didn't understand what we were talking about and would feel left out. She would be exactly like your aunt, and she would be beyond passive aggressive. I just...can't.

I am sorry you were so upset, it wasn't your fault!!

I considered getting Laila in Norway, and I regret not doing it. It smells so good! We were somewhere the other day and I smelled something that was just like it, and it's killing me that I can't remember what/where it was!! I just remember having the fleeting thought that it smelled the same.

I looooove your pictures of the Boardwalk at night. It's so pretty there and I can't wait to see it in person.

Yum!! Artist Point!!

I considered getting those donuts, they look so good. I mean, they involve nutella. Come on. I'm glad you enjoyed your meal there. I really liked the relaxed vibe. It wasn't stuffy or uncomfortable and it's so pretty in there!

I hope the next day of the report goes better for you

 

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Ugh. I am so sorry about the situation with your aunt. I COMPLETELY understand where you are coming from.
I could never, ever, EVER travel with anyone in my family. I would end up on the news, and then they'd make an Investigation Discovery show about me. My MIL hints around about wanting to come with us, but she would fully expect to be with us doing what we were doing the WHOLE TIME. We could never mention anything that happened on any previous trip, because she would complain that she didn't understand what we were talking about and would feel left out. She would be exactly like your aunt, and she would be beyond passive aggressive. I just...can't.

I am sorry you were so upset, it wasn't your fault!!

I considered getting Laila in Norway, and I regret not doing it. It smells so good! We were somewhere the other day and I smelled something that was just like it, and it's killing me that I can't remember what/where it was!! I just remember having the fleeting thought that it smelled the same.

I looooove your pictures of the Boardwalk at night. It's so pretty there and I can't wait to see it in person.

Yum!! Artist Point!!

I considered getting those donuts, they look so good. I mean, they involve nutella. Come on. I'm glad you enjoyed your meal there. I really liked the relaxed vibe. It wasn't stuffy or uncomfortable and it's so pretty in there!

I hope the next day of the report goes better for you

You make me feel so much better about my reaction! <3 Because I honestly felt like I was going a bit crazy after the fact but man, oh man!

Spoiler alert: It does get better. But this is totally why my DL TR is so filled with pictures and this one is so not lol

 

[DisneyJo]

I'm so sorry you had a Disney meltdown but I can totally understand why I'm glad to hear it gets better!

 

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I'm so sorry you had a Disney meltdown but I can totally understand why I'm glad to hear it gets better!

Thanks!

 

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Chapter Four: Humidity Safari

We had to leave by 7 this morning, so I was up by 6. My aunt was supposed to be in the shower by the time I woke up, as she was setting her alarm for 5:45. I heard her alarm go off (I was awake but refused to move which is basically how getting ready for work goes every morning for me too) but when I got up she hadn't gotten into the shower yet.

Oi.

I just pretended to be asleep until she got into the shower and got up and dressed. I may have bought this shirt back in June specifically to wear to Animal Kingdom:


I got the shirt off of ModCloth which is my second favorite clothing store after TJ Maxx/Marshall's. It's my personal splurge when I have some extra money. I got a ton of compliments from random people and CMs to the point where my aunt asked if my shirt was a Disney shirt.

We were out of the hotel by 6:50, about 5 minutes later than I had intended which is pretty surprising honestly. We walked to Hollywood Studios, intent on taking a bus from there, but as buses don't run back to the hotels that early we got a private van over to Animal Kingdom Lodge, meaning that we ended up being a half hour early!

Well, that's a little better than last night I think!

We sat in the lobby and read. I didn't take any AKL hallways pictures because I forgot Whomp. But after about fifteen minutes we headed down to Boma for breakfast.

I'd never been to Boma, but I've been to Tusker House, and my parents RAVE about Boma, so I figured since character dining was out with my aunt it'd be a good alternative to my Tusker House.

We waited a while for our waitress. After about five minutes or so I was starting to feel nauseated from hunger so I said I'd start our first round at the buffet after telling my aunt what I wanted to drink.

My first plate:


mealie pap, French toast bread pudding, goat cheese eggs, pineapple with yogurt, speck, sausage, and a biscuit. The yogurt and pineapple aren't on this plate but I didn't manage to take a picture of it. I also got jungle juice, coffee, and some milk.

Talk about a full meal!

Service was slow, but we were out and headed to Animal Kingdom by opening.












We had a little bit of time to kill before our FP for the Safari so we went into the little store in Africa. It was...better. My aunt actually went looking at her own stuff. I had to walk around slowly just to make sure I could see everything (too stubborn to take out my glasses when I knew I was going right back outside). I only bought myself a Powerade. It was already hot and it was barely past 9, so I knew I'd need one or I'd be sick.

We sat and watched the drummers come out, but then it was time to use our FP. Turns out we didn't actually need it as it wasn't busy enough for them to be using the FP system yet, so they just let us on. I had the icky middle seat of the truck so I didn't get very many animal shots as usual. In fact these are the only two good pictures I got:





When we got off we headed to the trail. I wanted to see me some baby gorillas:
















In the gorilla section they were trying to film for the next round of vacation videos. I was watching the media team talking with the family of a little girl. It was actually very interesting to watch - Jey and I had walked in on the media team making a video/taking photos of a family of adorable kids skipping up and down the wharf to the lighthouse/Friendship boats at the Beach Club/Yacht Club last year but getting to watch them even closer was interesting to me.

When we were done we headed over to Festival of the Lion King for our FP. I hadn't seen it since it was in Camp Minnie-Mickey and even though it was one of the things my aunt had done the last time she had gone to Disney I got FP for things I knew she'd do - no Dinosaur or Everest for me this trip

During our wait my friend Liz was texting me. You guys may remember her from my last TR from last year - she's one of my oldest and closest friends who currently works/goes to school in Florida. She had come home for an extended vacation/her niece's first birthday/her sister's baby shower the day I left for South Carolina and we had been trying to figure out a way for us to meet up. She said she would be free the next day before we left if we'd like to meet up with her so I said of course (my aunt had been mentioning how it would be nice to see Liz if we could even though she's only met her briefly before) and spent our time in line changing around our lunch ADR for the next day so she could join us.

FotLK was just as good as I remembered it, and with the added advantage of air conditioning!



(dear dude in this picture: I want you shirt.)

















Afterwards we headed to the Asian trail. It was getting incredibly hot and crowded at this point, but the trail wasn't bad yet!















As we walked out I stepped aside and checked the WDW app and asked if my aunt would want to see Flights of Wonder. She said she would but she wanted to sit down for a bit, so I went to stand and wait for Flights of Wonder while she went to sit on a bench near Yak & Yeti.

 

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Part Two

So we were some of the first people to enter the bird show, after the handicapped viewers who were in line. We were right up front, on the first non-handicapped bench on audience-left. I don't see this show often; I tend to just go to it when I've got time to kill but my aunt had seen it last time and really liked it so I figured it'd be a nice thing to do.

Bird spam ahoy:







(ravens are my favorite)
















After that we went into the blessed air conditioning of Finding Nemo the musical and really luxuriated in have FP+ so we could get in 45 minutes early and just stop sweating. I finished the PowerAde I had bought, thankful that it was helping my headache, and enjoyed the show, which is probably my favorite of the live performances in the park, honestly.

We decided to leave Animal Kingdom at that point. We had about 2 hours before dinner but my aunt said she didn't mind just walking through some stores before dinner. Because there's no real good way to get to Downtown Disney from DAK (seriously, didn't there used to be a bus? Now it specifically says on the sign you have to go to a resort to get there) we got into the line for Caribbean Beach because it was the closest bus stop to us.

I think we may have waited somewhere between 20-30 minutes. I'm not really sure how long, but it was close to that. It felt longer in the heat and I was sitting on the ground because it was so hot. I seriously choose the worst days to go to Animal Kingdom, lol.

We finally got to Animal Kingdom and got off the bus at Jamaica, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Oh, my god did we wait! It was probably over 45 minutes and there were people at the stop who had been waiting longer than us! There was a woman with her two daughters with whom my aunt was talking and she was saying that she felt like the bus system was worse this year than it had been in previous years. Our experiences the past two days definitely agreed with that!

We FiNALLY got to the Marketplace and had to power walk our way over, then double back because the normal walkway to Raglan Road past Cook's wasn't open - there's a sign, it's just not any place you'd see it until you're walking to the Boathouse. As we were doing all this I was updating my aunt's phone (she has an iPhone 4 so it needed some updates to run the WDW app properly) and fixed our BOG meal so that my friend Liz could join us - I made mine for two and made one for my aunt at the same time, and, well, we'll talk about that when we get there

We were brought into Raglan Road and the band had just started playing. There were some....very amusing drunks at the bar singing along who I enjoyed watching. They sadly stopped before I could video them (I had it prepared - they were trying to sing Country Roads Take Me Home).



My aunt got the tomato salad for an appetizer. I got the tarte art. So, here's a quick story that some of you may know - last year, when Jey and I went to Raglan Road for the first time in a long time, I had ordered the tarte art. Well, that day there had been a kitchen fire in the Cooke's kitchen, and so they had to use part of the Raglan Road kitchen, meaning the menus for both places had been halved. Our very apologetic waitress had told me that they didn't have it and I said I'd have the first thing I saw on the menu for an appetizer - the Crock o' Pate. Which, honestly, I hated, because I'm not a pate person, but I ate it anyway.

Now, the tart:

Asparagus and goat cheese tart with garden peas, leeks and lemon oil dressed arugula. It's basically a quiche. It was delicious and I'm glad I finally got it.

For a meal, my aunt got the pork and said it was the best pork she had ever eaten. I got:


Shepherd's Pie. Y'know, that think I always get when I go to Raglan Road. Still amazing, still the only way I'll eat lamb, om nom nom.

My aunt got the orange pudding, figuring it'd be light. She forgot about the pudding part of the deal. I got the Market basket:


Just fruit, yoghurt, and honey. Basic, simple, perfect for a sweltering day!

We left, then sat out near the bar listening to the guitarist while we did online check-in for Southwest. He played Galway Girl, which has a soft spot in my heart. When I lived in Ireland the movie PS I Love You had just recently come out on DVD. It had sparked an obsession with the song, particularly among American women. Every time we'd walk into the local bar on the nights they had live music (generally Saturdays) the band would play it as a joke. I really don't like that movie but it's become one of those sensory memory songs.

I also took pictures while we waited for it to be 7 so we could check in:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/w2aYw7]

After we were done we walked back to the Marketplace. We spent a good deal of time in World of Disney. I almost gave in and bought myself a Pandora bracelet but I didn't. I actually had enough self-restraint to not buy anything there. I found my aunt agonizing over some cookies to buy for my grandparents as a thank you for getting her mail and taking her car to get inspected while we were gone. I suggested she wait until we were leaving then she could get something from Goofy's Kitchen. With that decided we left and just walked through stores. I found a shirt I loved in the Co-op! So, I love Jerrod Maruyama's paintings. Last March while my parents were there with my dad's students he was there signing things and doing pictures. My mother got me a surprise signed painting he had done of Donald and Daisy with little heart balloons, and I just love it! It's currently hanging near my bed in my room, but once I have my own house again it'll be going in my living room! But anyway, there was a tank top with that on it. I walked away from it but before my aunt went to Goofy's Kitchen I said I was going to go back for it and picked it up.

We got home around 9. I showered and then watched Illuminations from the balcony of our room before going to bed.[/url]

 

[DisneyJo]

Oh wow your bus journey sounded terrible, next time catch a bus to POR/OKW and catch the boat or to SSR and walk

 

[xlsm]

For the first time ever, Raglan Road looks appealing to me. Maybe I'm starving, I don't know, but everything looked really good.

So, your comments about Galway Girl made me laugh. Get ready for a depressing story that is funny now that I look back on it - after my first husband left, there were several weekends when my kids would go visit their grandparents, and I would drink LOTS of wine (or vodka), and watch PS I Love You (or Bridget Jones' Diary) and lay in the floor and crrryyyy drunkenly over how depressing my life was.

At the time I was really thin (size 3 - oy! Not anymore!) and had long, long dark hair. And my eyes are blue. And he would sing Galway Girl, and I'd just be so convinced I'd find some incredibly gorgeous Irishman (or just Gerard Butler playing one) to sing songs to/about me, and hey, what's he doing wasting his time on Hilary Swank, anyway?? Her hair is not black. Are HER eyes blue? And THEN, oh, and then, how did she manage to land Jeffrey Dean Morgan TOO?!?!?? AND Harry Connick, Jr was into her?? No fair.

There was much intoxicated outrage over that, let me just tell you.

Sooo...that's where your post took me, LOL!!

Onto other things...

I'm sorry you had such bad luck with the buses! I swear, bus waiting time is about three times longer than regular time. Ugh.

I LOVE the Marketplace. I wanted to buy ALLLLLLLL the artwork. Although I'm still bitter that the dTech place didn't have cases available for my phone. So, so bitter.

I'm also determined to catch Flights of Wonder next time, because we always miss it.

 

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Oh wow your bus journey sounded terrible, next time catch a bus to POR/OKW and catch the boat or to SSR and walk

We saw the POR bus drive away as we were walking up to the buses! I think karma didn't want us to get time before dinner to look at things lol

For the first time ever, Raglan Road looks appealing to me. Maybe I'm starving, I don't know, but everything looked really good.

So, your comments about Galway Girl made me laugh. Get ready for a depressing story that is funny now that I look back on it - after my first husband left, there were several weekends when my kids would go visit their grandparents, and I would drink LOTS of wine (or vodka), and watch PS I Love You (or Bridget Jones' Diary) and lay in the floor and crrryyyy drunkenly over how depressing my life was.

At the time I was really thin (size 3 - oy! Not anymore!) and had long, long dark hair. And my eyes are blue. And he would sing Galway Girl, and I'd just be so convinced I'd find some incredibly gorgeous Irishman (or just Gerard Butler playing one) to sing songs to/about me, and hey, what's he doing wasting his time on Hilary Swank, anyway?? Her hair is not black. Are HER eyes blue? And THEN, oh, and then, how did she manage to land Jeffrey Dean Morgan TOO?!?!?? AND Harry Connick, Jr was into her?? No fair.

There was much intoxicated outrage over that, let me just tell you.

Sooo...that's where your post took me, LOL!!

Onto other things...

I'm sorry you had such bad luck with the buses! I swear, bus waiting time is about three times longer than regular time. Ugh.

I LOVE the Marketplace. I wanted to buy ALLLLLLLL the artwork. Although I'm still bitter that the dTech place didn't have cases available for my phone. So, so bitter.

I'm also determined to catch Flights of Wonder next time, because we always miss it.

Oh my goodness I shouldn't have laughed at that but I did! I can understand though!

If it makes you feel better they don't have one for my new phone either. And the buses feel worse when you only have to take them to get to certain parks and not all of them I think.

 

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Chapter 5: So Long, Farewell...

I didn't make any notes of the time, but I know we got up sometime around 7, because it took my aunt about 2 hours to pack and shower. I had pretty much finished getting ready, so I texted Liz to tell her we wouldn't be in MK until about 10:30. Then I snapped this:


My new shirt!!!

We got out of the room by 9, and had an easy drop off of our luggage then headed out to the bus - there as actually an MK bus waiting for us! And it didn't go to either the Swan or the Dolphin!

We headed into MK and went up to the train station to take a couple of pictures while I waited for Liz to text me back to let me know if she had left her apartment yet or not.

Liz, for those of you new to my TRs, is one of my best friends. She and I grew up together, and I consider her to be one of my absolute best friends. A few years ago she took a semester off from college and moved down to Florida to transfer to her dream school, so the only times I get to see her now are when I'm at the park.

I had a surprise for her today - because of the morning I had gotten a waffle that not on the DDP, I had an extra meal left, so I was planning on buying her lunch.

But she had just left her apartment and was stuck in morning Orlando traffic, so I took advantage of the time I had to loiter around Main Street.







We went into the Emporium and I wandered over to the women's clothing section - I was glad I did as it wasn't that crowded yet. I picked up a Minnie Mouse lightweight sweatshirt (as featured in my DL trip report's first picture) and a Dumbo shirt (also featured for about half the first day lol) while my aunt picked up some stuff. We paid for them together so that she could get the $10 mini backpack.

We basically hung out at the top of Main Street for about a half an hour, waiting for Liz. I found her near Town Hall and we headed over to Tomorrowland because I hadn't gone over there at all this trip.

We rode the Peoplemover and caught up, then headed down the path to Fantasyland for lunch. Be Our Guest is one of Liz's favorite places, it's in my top 3 lunches in WDW, and my aunt hadn't been so it was a nice last day idea.

My aunt could check in five minutes before us, so we told her to so she could get us a table and we'd meet up with her inside. We waited the five minutes then checked in ourselves. We chatted while we were in line, when my aunt came back to us; she had gotten to the front and had asked to stand aside instead of going in because she was waiting for 2 more further back in the line. The CM told her to just call us up and he'd let us in together. So in we went, walking by about 50 people - sorry, people!

As we were waiting for our food I allowed my aunt to take the only picture of me of the entire trip:


Which is good because Liz and I forgot our usual castle picture. Whomp.

We all got the same thing:


Turkey sandwich. Liz also bought a cup of French onion soup for the two of us to share since we both wanted a bit of it but it was too hot to have a full cup each.

For dessert, I got:


An eclair. I'm not a huge eclair fan but since this one was something I hadn't had before of their desserts I decided to go ahead and try it. It was yummy!

Our lunch done and as great as always, we headed out.

Bye, Beast's Castle! Until next time!

 

[xlsm]

I'm glad you got to meet up with your friend!!

I love your Daisy and Donald shirt.

Annnddd....that picture of Main Street with the castle in the distance is beautiful!!

 

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I'm glad you got to meet up with your friend!!

I love your Daisy and Donald shirt.

Annnddd....that picture of Main Street with the castle in the distance is beautiful!!

I'm so glad we got to meet up too! We kept missing each other whenever she was at home for family things this summer so I was worried I wouldn't get to see her at all until after she graduates!

Thanks!

 

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Heeeeeeeeeeeey, remember that time I disappeared for a month and a half with like half a chapter left in my TR? Yeah, oops! I've been feeling really sick recently, and I think it has to do with the water at work. I've started bringing water from home and I've started feeling so much better. Also we found two strays and they've been taking up a lot of cuddle time.

Part Two

Once we got out of lunch the sky looked...well, leaky. Liz posted this picture to SnapChat and I stole it:


It never rained on us, though! Though it did rain in Downtown Disney according to Jey's mum's DBF.

We went to see Philharmagic then headed back to Belle's village for our final snack - a LeFou's Brew. I bought Liz hers and for the first time ever used up all my Snack Credits! (I'm really, really bad at using snack credits.) We sat in Gaston's Tavern for a bit and I snapped this stealth picture of Liz:



We started out to get our bus back to the airport. Liz offered to drive us back to the hotel so we didn't have to worry about the bus from MK not showing up in time. So we headed to her car.

I wish I took a picture of the way she was parked. She was in one of the 1-car-only spots because it had a light in it but an SUV had parked behind her anyway. Not just parked - they were basically bumper to bumper. Thankfully she has a jeep because it only took a tiny bit of inching before we managed to get out with me sitting in the back seat watching the sides.

We managed to get back with a ton of time to spare, so we got our bags back from guest relations and sat in the lobby reading for a while. Then we went out to the small alcove next to the busses to wait so we didn't miss the bus.

I dozed on the bus to the airport, then sat at the terminal whilst my aunt went to use the restroom.

I saw a peculiar sight there. When we got to the gate we sat basically in front of the desk since we were going to be boarding close to first once they started. There was another plane at our gate when we got there (not uncommon, especially for busy summer times) going to Chicago, I think? They called the name of a passenger three or four times while I was there, then finally looked at another Southwest pilot who was flying standby to Chicago (we'll just say it was Chicago) and told him to start filling out some paperwork so he could fly.

About half a second later a young woman, probably early-to-mid-20s, showed up out of breath saying that she was running to get to the gate and that she was there. The door was still open at that point and they closed the door on her, ignored her - not even a curtesy apology ("I'm sorry miss, but you're too late. We've given your seat to a standby flyer. Can we help you find another flight?" WOULD have been the thing I'd assume is policy. Even just the first part.) I mean the guy hadn't actually started filling out the paperwork yet, technically the seat was still hers at that point.

Obviously, she started sobbing.

I mean, I don't blame her. Traveling alone, stress, missing your flight, and the airline treating her like she wasn't even there. It was so damn uncomfortable, especially because it was SILENT in that area so you could just hear her sobbing while the women at the desk made small talk and jokes with the obviously uncomfortable dude taking the seat on standby. They opened the door to let him get on and about 15 minutes later the plane had taken off.

By that point the girl was calm enough to go over to the desk. I gotta give her props - you could tell she was about to start sobbing again (you could hear it in her voice) but she kept herself steady and she didn't make a scene. And I'm sure she wanted to scream at them. She just looked at them and said "The plane sat there for five minutes before you even let him take my spot. Why wouldn't you let me on?" When they wouldn't answer she went on with "I have no way to get home now. Give me a new flight."

Without even looking at her the woman behind the desk just said "what's your name?" and after everything was done she stormed away to her new gate.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the final awkward-turtle moment of the most awkward Disney experience I've had.

Our flight home was fine. I pretended to sleep through most of it because I can't hear on flights anyway so it's just better to not talk than have to guess at what's being said. My dad picked us up and drove my aunt home, then we went home together so he could get a few hours' sleep before HE went to Florida with my mum the next morning!

 

[coloredimage]

Final Thoughts

So, the new:

+ The Festival of the Lion King's new theatre, which is nice and air conditioned but pretty similar to the old one. It was nice to see FotLK again though
+ Boma - I liked it but I didn't love it. I think for an African-inspired breakfast buffet I'd go to Tusker House but I wouldn't mind trying it for dinner!
+ California Grill - YUM! And it's such a beautiful location. I'd love to come back here again!
+ Via Napoli - enjoyed the pizza here! I told Jey we need to go here next time we go to Florida
+ Artist Point - this is such a pretty place! So much yum.
+ Boardwalk Inn - I'm in love with this hotel and don't know how I'm going to go back to another resort next time!!! I would LOVE to share the experience of the BWI with Jey or my parents - but especially Jey who's never stayed Deluxe before. I'd love to surprise her with a trip here if I could pull it off honestly.

So...my aunt...

I honestly probably wouldn't go with her again, at least not just the two of us alone. It was too exhausting, both before and during. I really didn't enjoy some of the things she said to me and I don't know guys. It definitely taught me to be really thankful for my family trips as a teenager and for all the trips I've taken with Jey over the years!

 

[DisneyJo]

Thanks for coming back to finish. I'm sorry your trip wasn't quite what you wanted but it sounds as though you had lots of fun times

 

[coloredimage]

Thanks for coming back to finish. I'm sorry your trip wasn't quite what you wanted but it sounds as though you had lots of fun times

Thanks! It was actually really hard to finish this TR but I'm glad I did. It's like closure!

 

[summerw]

I enjoyed your report. Sorry about the aunt. Honestly I think it's hard to travel with anyone unless you are similar travelers. It's funny… we travel with my dad and his wife a lot, and I'm much more chatty than her. I know sometimes she's thinking from your point of view while I'm chatting away like your aunt. It was interesting to hear from the other side. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I am talking a lot in front of her.

From her comments, if I had to guess, I'd say your aunt was experiencing that in-law thing that happens sometimes where people are nonsensically jealous of in-laws and say stupid things because of it, because they love you and want you to love their side of the family the most. I wouldn't take anything she said to heart. She was probably just tired and cranky too.

We're going to Disney right before you in April. Hope this next trip is great!

 

[coloredimage]

I enjoyed your report. Sorry about the aunt. Honestly I think it's hard to travel with anyone unless you are similar travelers. It's funny… we travel with my dad and his wife a lot, and I'm much more chatty than her. I know sometimes she's thinking from your point of view while I'm chatting away like your aunt. It was interesting to hear from the other side. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I am talking a lot in front of her.

From her comments, if I had to guess, I'd say your aunt was experiencing that in-law thing that happens sometimes where people are nonsensically jealous of in-laws and say stupid things because of it, because they love you and want you to love their side of the family the most. I wouldn't take anything she said to heart. She was probably just tired and cranky too.

We're going to Disney right before you in April. Hope this next trip is great!

Hey, just saw this! Thanks for the perspective. I'm ridiculously excited for my next trip (but I'm also pretty biased because I'm so in love with the Flower and Garden Festival). Hope your trip's a blast!