Currence Platinum Trip Jan ‘10 - or how to go to WDW without going into the Parks

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Travel dates: January 9, 2010 to January 13, 2009
Travel method: Plane / Rental car
Resort: Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Contemporary Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel
Ages Represented in Group: Early 30s
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Disneyland regulars, Semi-experienced Disney World
Comments: Our 10th Anniversary trip to WDW on the Platinum Plan
Cast of characters: Me and my husband

When I first started writing this trip report, I had intentions of going over it with my husband and posting it serially. I know that both of the people who read the report would have brilliant and insightful guidance and my trip would be better for having posted in advance. But there’s nothing more annoying to me than starting someone’s trip report and waiting for them to finish. And knowing me, if I started, I might not finish. So to spare anyone from my pet peeve I waited until our return to post our report. Which means I don’t get to benefit from the brilliant insights of anyone reading. It also means that while most of this trip report is in the present tense, some of this stuff happened months ago. I can all but guarantee at least once or twice someone will think “I could have told them that…” and it’s now too late. Hopefully my lessons will be beneficial to someone else’s future trip.

Because I don’t know how to write short reports, this is way too long. For that I’m sorry. I included pictures at least J

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This trip has its genesis in other people’s reports and a long festering desire to eat at Victoria & Albert’s. I came really close to making a reservation back in 2003 or 2004, but couldn’t justify the per person cost. And since they don’t allow plate sharing, I just couldn’t do it. I think we saw La Nouba (again) instead.

A little bit about me, I grew up in Southern California and my family made the obligatory annual trip to Disneyland with bonus trips when girl scouts or other youth groups would take us. At the time, the goal was to get the “maximum value” from the trips, which was calculated on a cost/ride basis. Parades, eating, stopping to smell roses didn’t count in this formula and were avoided. So we would race through the Swiss Family Treehouse, walk briskly up and down Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, just to count them as rides we went on. Even without the internet to post trip-reports on, we would number the attractions on our park map as we went on them, so we could see how many we got done. In hindsight, this is a great way to recreate your trips for a trip report. I got my first annual pass to Disneyland in 1994 and have had one ever since. This has allowed me to enjoy a slower approach.

Moving forward, I would read other people’s trip reports from time to time and one that struck me was a family who took a two-week vacation to the World and spent the first week at the parks and the second week hanging out at the resort playing tennis and swimming. I’m not a big tennis fan but it just seemed to me that if you’re paying money to be at Disney, you should BE at Disney. And based on my background, that meant in the parks riding rides.

Yet having said that, I have had more non-park days at Disney World than probably a lot of people. For a few years, a tournament my husband played in took place at the Wide World of Sports complex. The first year he went, I went with him and while he played I spent one day taking a self-guided tour of all the different hotels which at the time meant finding and comparing their pools. I spent another day at River Country, because it was the cheapest one-day ticket. After that, I would fly out a day or two after him and didn’t have to find cheap ways to amuse myself. One year, he didn’t finish until mid-day and we decided that rather than spend the cost of a park admission, we would watch La Nouba. It was really fun. We had great last-minute seats and some of his friends and friends of friends joined us. While we justified the expense as being comparable to a one-day ticket, this was a mistake. My husband fell in love with Cirque Du Soliel and this has proven to be a very expensive love.

At some point, I became aware that Disney offered a “Platinum Plan” at a cost of “way more than normal human being should pay” that includes just about everything. This knowledge was filed away in “things I know but doesn’t affect me.” Later still, Disney offered the Platinum packages at 25% off. Mousesavers.com pointed out that this was an especially good deal as you could buy a 10-day, parkhopping, waterparks and more, no expiration ticket and still save 25%. Of course, that’s the ticket we bought on our last trip and still have most of the days left so we really don’t need another one, but it did get the wheels moving at just how much one could do with a 2-day, 1-night stay if everything is included.


Around this same time, I was having issues at work. One of those being, my work does not offer any vacation days. Usually this is actually a plus, because they don’t care if I work from home or the office, as long as the work gets done, so I can go to doctor’s appointments with my kids or run errands in the middle of the day. But it’s hard to “get the work done” when you’re thousands of miles from home and not in the mood to work. My husband’s solution was that I should find a new job, give them a 3 week start date, work out 2 weeks notice, and then spend a week at WDW. This was a great plan with a few (minor) flaws:

• With all the Buy 4, get 3 and free dining promotions, it would be really hard to decide to go to Disney World on 2 weeks notice and actually get reservations anywhere we would want to eat.
• Most of the time I like my job, and I didn’t want to take one I would like less just for the sake of a vacation.

So I put the dream of a Platinum vacation back on the “maybe someday” shelf.

Then one day I was mentioning to my dad my plans for a Platinum vacation, and he reminded me that my 10 year wedding anniversary was coming up. If I wanted to leave our kids with them, my husband and I could go on our dream trip. I guess my sister escaped to Paris for their 10-year anniversary with my parents watching her kids, we would at least be staying in the country. I discussed this with my husband and we started really scheming.

Ironically, before our trip took place I did change jobs, so I started the new job with the condition that I could take one week off, without pay, so that we could go on this trip.

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One of the first considerations was how long to go. Again, for planning purposes I didn’t have any vacation days. Our anniversary is very early in 2010 so it makes sense to go around that time. Fortunately, we started looking into this trip right as the annual price increases and the 2010 vacation packages were released. At first, it looked like Victoria & Albert’s was no longer included in the Platinum package, which meant going in 2009. But I was able to confirm with Disney Dining that they are still included for Platinum, which gave us more flexibility. And, while usually Disney gives you less value for more money with their price increases, for 2010 they only raised the price by $11 per person but added a Ride-along at the Richard Petty race track, a $109 value.

Before looking into it further, I knew that we wanted to do the Epcot Segway tour, dinner at Victoria & Albert’s, La Nouba, the Dolphin and/or Snorkeling tours, maybe horseback riding, water skiing, maybe parasailing. If we planned properly, I thought we could do this all in two days (one night). My husband wants to go to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. We still have two one-day park hopper tickets from a previous trip before they added expiration dates.

My initial thoughts were to fly out on a red-eye Friday night, spend a bleary Saturday at Universal, spend the night somewhere cheap, check in early AM Sunday to our deluxe hotel, spend Sunday and Monday on the Platinum Plan doing as much as we can, fly home Tuesday. Work Wednesday. Total time away from work – two days. Total time away from kids: 4 days.

This would be a great plan if we didn’t want to go to La Nouba, which is dark Sundays and Mondays. Did I mention how much my husband loves Cirque? This plan was unacceptable.

If we shifted the time we left to Wednesday, we could take a red-eye Wednesday night, spend Thursday at Universal, Friday and Saturday at WDW, fly home Sunday. This isn’t a bad plan until I overlay it with the Master WDW calendar. The first weekend in January is not only really crowded, but I would expect people who went for Christmas to still be there and have priority to make reservations before us. This may be negated because we’re on the Platinum plan and have special numbers we can call to get reservations. If we have to wait for our 90 days (or 90+1) I imagine a lot will have already been scooped up by people who have longer reservations. The advantage is I wasn’t going to work on January 1st, so I would miss very little extra time from work.

Around this time, my husband and I read a few other trip reports from people who have succumbed to the Platinum plan. He enjoyed reading about the tours and added the 7-hour Backstage Magic Tour to his list of things he would like to do. We both agreed that this means adding another day. We also looked at the flights schedule. If we fly out during the daytime, we could spend the first three days at Disney, the last day at Universal, before leaving there around 3pm to fly home. This would let us function better the first day since it’s not a red-eye (crucially important if we’re doing Disney 1st), and we only lose about 3 hours at the Universal/Islands of Adventure if we go when they have off-peak hours.

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After overlaying the 2009 tours and times calendar with the information listed in the 2010 platinum PDF, it appeared that the best time to go was Sunday-Tuesday, with Saturday as a travel day and Wednesday as Universal/fly home. This is now three days from work and five away from the kids, but adding the extra day for Backstage Magic should be lots of fun.

We made reservations through AAA for the Contemporary Hotel, garden area. This is one of the cheaper deluxe hotels which is a requirement for the Platinum plan. This is our first time staying on the monorail line, which is somewhat ironic because we also plan on having a rental car. There are just too many places we need to be at specific times to budget wasting an hour for park transportation. Once we had our Disney confirmation number, our travel agent gave us the contact number for Platinum planning.

We requested booking as follows:

Sunday: Segway Tour. We will probably also take the Behind the Seeds Tour, but not book it until we get there. We also plan to play in the parks and try to do parasailing and/or Richard Petty Experience (RPE) this day. RPE does not require reservations but that also means we might have to wait. Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse, followed by Illuminations Cruise. The only time we've seen Illuminations was last year, when the globe was missing. I wasn't very impressed but am willing to give it another go.

Monday: Backstage Magic, dinner at Victoria & Albert’s (maybe at chef's table?).

Tuesday: Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s, Dolphins in Depth and Epcot Seas Aqua Tour, La Nouba.

I realize that this doesn't leave us much time in the parks. That's okay. That's not what this trip is about. My concern is that we are locked into these dates so if something goes wrong, we don't have a plan B. This is what I mean: Dolphins in Depth, Aqua Tour, and La Nouba are only offered on Tues-Sat. We're there Sun-Tues. We have to do these on Tuesday. Backstage Magic is not offered on weekends. Since our Tuesday is booked, we have to do this on Monday. Segway Tour is offered daily, but during the time we're doing other things Monday and Tuesday. It has to be Sunday.

We hit a snafu at our 90 day mark - there was no Segway tour that Sunday. It turns out that the Marathon (which I knew about but didn't think would affect me) runs through Epcot and Disney doesn’t think it's a good idea to mix runners/walkers with newbies on Segways. I have to say I agree, but am disappointed. The Disney planner offered to move the Segway tour to one of our other two days but there's no way I'm giving up the other tours. We could take the “MagicKingdom in Depth Tour” on Sunday and then the Segway tour on Monday, but that tour requires park admission. So far, the tours we signed up for do not require admission media. I had planned on using a day at Epcot for the Segway tour and hadn't yet decided if it should be a park-hopper or just a one-park ticket. Since we're now not going to do the Segways, I'm not sure if we are going to get into the parks this trip!

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The people at the Platinum planning department seemed really nice (at least via email and telephone), but while we were planning our contact went on vacation and another person stepped in. The backup just didn't seem to have her heart in making our trip as Magical as possible.

Once it was discovered that we couldn't do the Segway tour, I asked for a few changes. One of them was to move our breakfast at Chef Mickey’s from 7:00am to between 7:30-8:00. I realized that we would not be up, out of bed, and ready for breakfast by 7am. Just wasn't going to happen. Not while we were on vacation. No matter how good my intentions when I booked. I got back a reply saying "At this time, there are no other seatings available for Chef Mickey's, but for the most part, the restaurant will hold your reservation for about 20 minutes or so. You will need travel time from Chef Mickey's to the tour meeting place at the entrance of Epcot for 9 am, so eating at 8 am could be cutting it quite close if you are taking Disney transportation."

Okay, so I don't expect them to remember (even though it was in an earlier email) that we will have a rental car. Also, per the schedule she sends me, the Dolphins in Depth tour starts at 9:45 and we need to be there by 9:30. So why do I suddenly need to be at the entrance to Epcot at 9:00 am??? I went online and by that time she was right, there were no reservations between 7:30 and 8:00. I secured my own reservation for 7:20 and asked her to cancel the 7:00 one. This is the first time I've had "two" reservations for the same time. But they were for the same meal and only until the duplicate was canceled. I'm pretty sure that two adults can have a meal, even a character one, get in our own rental car, and drive to Epcot entrance in two hours. I just don't get why the agent provided the wrong information.

Also, when I asked about the hours for parasailing and if any times are less rainy than others (I just remember a trip to Florida where a waitress commented that the afternoon rains were late) I get back "We can set up parasailing and waterskiing through Sammy Duvall Sports, since that is included in your Platinum Plan. These occur on BayLake at the Contemporary Marina, and excursions would be cancelled in case of inclement weather. Their hours of operation will change seasonally, but for the most part, they are usually open from 10 to 5 daily. We, of course, would check on actual operating hours for the time you are here. Please let us know and we will be happy to assist." Um, you know the three days I'm going to be there, would it have been that much effort to actually check???? Similarly, she recommended the other Segway tour which doesn't operate the days we are there. We were able to correct the planers, but what about the people who don’t obsess as much as I do, or who pay extra for the Platinum planning because they don’t want to or don’t have time to know everything.

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The meal credits on the Platinum Plan are a bit different than regular meal credits. On the traditional meal plan, you get one quick service meal, one table service meal, and one snack. For the Deluxe Dining Plan and above you get three table-service credits per day and two snacks. For the Premium and above, you don’t have to use two credits to eat at the Signature restaurants. And for the Platinum plan, they add Victoria & Albert’s. The only thing we can’t do for free on the Platinum Plan is the Chef’s Table at Victoria & Albert’s or some of their premium upgrades They will credit you the regular price of dining at Victoria & Albertt’s if you eat at the Chef’s table, so it’s not as expensive as normal. Despite getting six table service meals during the three days we're there, we can't decide where else we wanted to eat. I'm reluctant to make an in-park reservation, because I don't want to commit to going into the parks. Also, I don't want to do things that make me miss my kids, such at eating at Cinderella’s Royal Table without them.

I also like trying new things. We've already eaten at the California Grill, Artist Point, Coral Reef, Narcoosee’s (which I didn't like but it was at the end of the trip and I think I was just at the end of my rope) and one of the Animal Kingdom ones (it's been so long I forget which, which probably means it's time to go back).

Our initial reservations are as follows:

Sunday:
Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
Platinum Plan Illuminations Cruise

Monday:
Backstage Magic
includes lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe
Dinner at Victoria & Albert’s

Tuesday:
Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s
Disney’s Dolphins in Depth Tour
EpcotSeas Aqua Tour
Cirque Du Soleil
Dinner at Victoria & Albert’s

We still have two meal credits left, plus our four snacks each. I'm thinking we will use one credit for lunch somewhere on Sunday and the other either for a late lunch on Tuesday at Downtown Disney (assuming they add someplace besides Capt' Jacks Restaurant or Food Quest). Otherwise maybe we'll do room service breakfast on Monday before the long tour. I can't imagine eating three meals a day on this plan, but spreading it out to two meals plus 1 1/3 snacks per day feels reasonable. Last time we were on the dining plan (regular) we used our snacks for breakfast. But that was at the Boardwalk and the Boardwalk Bakery was so convenient to get pastries.

At exactly the 90-day mark, we woke up at 4am to try to get the Chef’s table at Victoria and Albert’ for Monday. My pronunciation must not be that great so early, because it decided I wanted “Information” rather than “Reservations.” By the time I realized the mistake, hung up, called back, and got to the right prompt, the table was gone. I asked my husband if he wanted to try again the next morning but I don’t think he was impressed by the 4:00 am wake-up time. Instead we booked Cirque du Soleil for the 6pm show, locking us into the late seating at Victoria & Albert’s Tuesday night. The Platinum Plan coordinator told us she could add us to the waiting list for Monday night. When I had called the main reservation number (at 4am) I was told they don’t have a waiting list. It makes sense to me that they would have one, so that the table doesn’t sit empty if someone cancels within the 90 days. But it also occurred to me that telling me I was on a waiting list would make me feel better even if the list didn’t really exist. I was never told where on the waiting list I stood. We had to decide if we really wanted to eat at Victoria & Albert’s twice on one trip or try to make other reservations.

I still wanted to add to the schedule the parasailing, photo session, massages, and Richard Petty experience. All but the last one require reservations. I understand why, but I do lament the lack of spontaneity. And in making sure we have enough time for each individual experience, I'm all but guaranteeing we don't have time to play in the parks. Right now, the biggest chunk of free time (other than Sunday) is Saturday from when we arrive until the parks close. I'm guessing after picking up our bags we'll have about three hours. I'm leaning more and more to going to Epcot for that time, though my husband thinks it’s a waste of a park-hopper. We won't pick up the one-day, one-park ticket we bought with the package until the next day, so we can't use those. We also could spend time at Disney Quest, so that's also something to consider.

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Saturday:
Fly to MCO on American, First class using airline miles
Dinner somewhere, maybe Downtown Disney
Spend the night at Priceline Hotel

Sunday:
Check out of hotel early
Check into Contemporary
Richard Petty Ride-Along
Breakfast or Lunch at Kona Café
Parasailing
Waterskiing
Photography Session at Yacht & Beach Club
Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse
Illuminations Cruise

Monday:
Room Service Breakfast
Backstage Magic Tour
Lunch at Whispering Canyon Café
Spa Treatment at Grand Floridian
Dinner at Victoria & Albert’s

Tuesday:
Breakfast at Chef Mickey’s
Dolphins in Depth
EpcotSeas Aqua Tour
Lunch somewhere (probably Downtown Disney)
Cirque Du Soleil
Victoria & Albert’s
Universal Hotel

Wednesday:
Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure
Fly home on Delta, using miles to upgrade to First class

Shortly before we left we learned a few bits of information which caused us to somewhat dramatically change our plans. First, it was expected to get down to the fifties. Being from Southern California we call this cold! We cancelled the waterskiing and moved the parasailing back ½ hour to give us more time for the Richard Petty Experience. We had no idea how long it would take to complete or how long the line would be to do it so we budgeted two plus hours.

Second, we got a call from Victoria & Albert’s. They had a cancellation, and if we wanted to eat at the Chef’s table we could. We just had to call them back by noon the next day to accept. I forgot about the whole time zone thing and called them back at 12:07 their time. The table was ours! Of course this meant we had to move our massages since they now were scheduled at the same time. We moved the massages to Tuesday at 4pm and switched them from the Grand Floridian to Saratoga Springs. This was cutting it close from when the Aqua Tour ended at 3pm and we needed to get to Cirque Du Soliel by 5pm (5:30 if we got our tickets in advance). I asked if the Aqua Tour really ended at 3pm or if it routinely ended early/late as that would affect whether we could get to Saratoga Springs by 3:30 to check in. I thought we could do it. The coordinator didn’t think so. But ultimately the spa agreed that as long as we paid for the 50 minute massage (included in the plan) then if we got there late they would still give us a 25 minute one. Problem solved.

We also booked breakfast at Kona Café. I was interested in trying Tonga Toast. This further locked in all our times. Now, if something goes wrong with the plans, we don’t have a lot of wiggle room.

Third, we discovered from our Coordinator that the Platinum Plan was changed from when we first booked it. Originally, we were told that the Richard Petty Experience was one per person ages 14 and up. Now, it’s one per booking, and you can use that cost to upgrade to one of the driving schools. The coordinator mentioned this in passing since this was new to 2010 and other guests had also thought it was one per person, she wanted us to be aware. We had two “vouchers” for the Richard petty experience as part of our AAA booklet but the front said “see back for details” and the back was blank. That seemed less than ideal. After looking into it further she confirmed that it was one per person at the time we booked. She got supervisor’s approval and told us that we could simply charge the second ride-along to the room and they would credit it back if they needed to. She also mentioned that she left a note in our hotel reservation that this is how it was supposed to work and that we had our trip booked down to the 10 minute mark so they should fix any problems with minimal hassle. The pre-planning was as done as it was going to be. Now, if anything changed, we would have to wing it when we got there.

I’ve mentioned in passing that my parents volunteered to stay home with our kids. We have two little ones who are staying behind. Our son will be 4 in February and our daughter is almost 1 1/2. Don’t feel too sorry for them, though, they were just at WDW almost 1 ½ years ago. We went with my parents for our daughters’ 1-month birthday. Yes, we were “those people,” who brought our very small children to the California Grill and Narcoossee’s. They were little angels. I’m sorry if you felt otherwise. The timing wasn’t intentional; we met my parents at the end of a Disney repositioning cruise so we didn’t have a lot of options. In hindsight, two weeks of non-stop Mickey was a bit much for my parents, but this is not that trip report.

We also have talked about taking one “last” off-peak trip before our son starts Kindergarten. I’m not sure yet if we will take them out of school when they are older, but this is the last time we can go without any guilt of what they’re missing or the money their school is losing. My parents have made waves that they might come with us, although last time my father vowed to not return while our kids are still in strollers. We have mostly weaned our son from his stroller (getting rid of the free rental with your Disney Visa greatly accelerated that process) but I’m in no hurry to get rid of our rolling locker … I mean stroller. So I’m trying to not feel too bad about taking this trip without the kids. And yes, that last sentence was probably more for my benefit than anyone else’s.

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We spent most of the week leading up to our trip getting final stuff done at work. A few nights before we left, I didn’t come home until 10pm. I also had to take a mid-week trip for work, which was unusual for me and time consuming. So when we finally got home late Friday, we had done no packing for our trip. My parents came up to spend the night at our house and drive us to the airport in the morning. They were going to sleep in our room that week since our “guest room” is now painted pink and has a crib in it. Since I want this to be a photo heavy trip report, here’s a picture of our daughter’s pink bedroom.



That meant they couldn’t go to sleep until we at least finished packing our clothes and toiletries. We somehow managed to do that by their bedtime and then stayed up and packed everything else. Thank goodness for packing lists! I figured anything we forgot we could buy there almost as easily as here. I rationalized that we had the rental car. I ignored the little voice in my head that reminded me we wouldn’t have time to get to a store. I double checked the packing lists.

We woke up fairly early Saturday to get to the airport. Our daughter woke up when we got up, since we were in her room. As we got ready, my mom started packing my daughter for her weekend at their house. The plan was that they would take the kids with them Saturday, spend the night at their house, and then come back to our house Sunday evening so the kids could go to daycare/preschool during the week. Our son was still asleep when we were ready to go, so we woke him up in order to say our goodbyes. My dad drove us to the airport about two hours before our flight, as we didn’t know how bad the new increased security would be.

The flight was about ½ hour late leaving LAX. The plane wasn’t at the gate when departure time rolled around. Fortunately, we did have good tailwinds and were able to make up most of the time. American Airlines only had one movie for the flight, it was supposed to be Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs but they started something else instead. Then the English audio channel didn’t work. The Spanish one did. When they realized the problem, they started a different movie, and the English audio still didn’t work. Oh well. They served breakfast in First class which was okay. I used the time to figure out how to take photos on our new camcorder/camera. My last little camera suffered an unfortunate accident over Christmas so we decided to upgrade to a tiny HD digital camcorder. That meant I had to learn how to use it. It has a pretty cool smile feature that if it notices smiles it will take photos automatically. It was fun to have someone to take our picture and then have the camera start flashing before they did anything. I practiced on my husband and also with the clouds we were flying above.





After landing, we headed to baggage claim to retrieve our luggage. It seemed to take forever for the backs to appear, but once they did ours were among the first out. I could get used to flying first class. From there, we walked to the rental care area. I love that the cares are at the terminal. We did have to walk outside and were given our first taste of a cold Florida. It was only 42 degrees. We could only have our rental car for 4 days. We got an amazing weekend rate of $20 per day, with a four day maximum for a mid-size car. Adding even an extra hour would probably have doubled or tripled our rate for the trip. From there we checked into our Priceline hotel, Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. We used a ton of free re-bids by carefully adding new zones to get a resort level room for $74.00. After taxes/Priceline fees and resort fees it increased to $91.46. We also had to pay a resort fee once we got there. I wasn’t sure if we needed a resort level room but the price wasn’t too bad and we thought it would make a good start to our trip.

The room was nice, nothing spectacular. They had a place for a powered USB port, which was a nice way to charge a cell phone without having to turn on our laptop. I would stay there again but probably not at full price. We didn’t see much of the room though, as once we arrived we left to head towards Downtown Disney. We decided to have dinner at the T-Rex Café, which was still under construction the last time we were there. When we got there, the wait was about one hour, so we spent the time wandering through some of the shops and bought a glass with our combined initials on it. We’ve done this on most of our significant Disney trips, and have about five or six glasses. It’s interesting to note the changes in the way they do letters. Our favorite so far is cursive from Disneyland Paris:



This one turned out nice too:



When we headed back to the restaurant it had thinned out considerably and we were seated in the animatronic dinosaur section. I have been considering joining their Safari Club at Rainforest Café and if we were hungrier we would have joined as soon as we were told of the one-hour wait, as members can jump to the front of the line. The way the program works is you pay $15 upfront, you will be sent a coupon for $10 off a future purchase, and then either save 10% on your purchase or get a free appetizer with purchase of an entrée. If you don’t use the card in at least once per year, the membership deactivates and you have to buy another one. The server said we could also get $5 off their appetizer sampler if we wanted. So we got and shared the sampler, ordered soup as our entrée, and a “Cotton-Tini.” The drink is served in a martini glass and is a cocktail that’s poured on top of cotton candy, immediately dissolving it into the drink. Yes, it was sugary sweet, but yummy. It was poured from a souvenir plastic cocktail shaker. We had just thrown away our super old shaker at home, so this was good timing.

After dinner, the temperature had dropped to 34 degrees. We headed back to the hotel room to get ready for an early start the next day then crashed.

Summary of the day:

Saturday - Our Cost / Approximate Retail Value / Savings
First Class ticket - $5.00 and miles / $1735.40 / $1730.40
Starbucks (airport) - $17.23 / $17.23 / 0
Tolls (highway) - $2.50 / $2.50 / 0
Dinner at T-Rex Café - $62.23 / $52.23 / -$10
Arribas Brothers Glass - $18.11 / $18.11 / 0
Night at Hyatt - $110.63 / $245.08 / $134.45
Total of Above - $215.70 / $2,070.55 / $1,854.85

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We got up early and checked out of our room, taking a photo of ourselves as we left. We really liked the smile setting for self-portraits. The temperature dropped down to 27 degrees.



We told the portable navigation unit that we brought with us that we wanted to go to the Contemporary and it chose a very “interesting” route to take us. In hindsight, this was a good thing because the marathon was being run and the backroads we took got us pretty close to the Contemporary without the traffic delays of the Marathon. We did get stuck right before the Contemporary because they turned a road into one-way traffic and were alternating which directions the cars could drive through. We took some photos of the runners while we waited.



We checked into the Contemporary and not surprisingly our room wasn’t ready yet. We were given the standard check-in package but not the extra envelope of Platinum plan vouchers. They didn’t call us to tell us the vouchers were ready until noon. I don’t know if they were ready first thing in the morning or not. We gave them our cell-phone number so they could text when we had a room assignment.

I asked at the concierge whether the Richard Petty Experience was even open due to the Marathon. They told me they were but that we should take Disney’s transportation. The concierge called to confirm they were running, then gave us instructions on taking the Monorail to the Ticket and TransportationCenter where the Richard Petty van picks people up by the Kennel. She called over to confirm they were open and suggested we not try until close to 10:00 am because of the Marathon traffic.

We ignored that part of her advice and headed toward the Monorail. From there, we found someone to point us to the Kennel. This is what we found when we got there:



We tried to go inside the Kennel to find out what was going on, but not surprisingly the people in there didn’t know anything. I called Richard Petty and was told that a driver had left and would be there as soon as possible, but that with the Marathon traffic it was uncertain when he would arrive.

It turns out you could drive to the race track. How hard it was to get there is uncertain, but it was open for traffic and a person came as we were almost done who had driven himself. Fortunately, the van driver was super nice. He picked us up and then took several shortcuts to get us to the race track. I don’t know if we would have known to take those shortcuts on our own so it may have taken us even longer to get there.

The ride itself took very little time. The nice van driver, who is also sometimes a nice race car driver, stuck around until we were done so we weren’t trapped there. This was great because it meant we weren’t trapped there until the van completed its next round trip cycle.

We had vouchers for the Richard Petty Experience in our AAA booklet. There were two of them, one for each of us. Unfortunately, as I said earlier, the front said “see back for details” and the back was completely blank. We didn’t have our real vouchers yet, so we didn’t know what we needed. I knew that we needed to pick up our vouchers for La Nouba and didn’t have them. It didn’t occur to me until we got there, that there may be new vouchers for Richard Petty Experience in the package that we were not given. Fortunately, the Richard Petty Experience didn’t know what to do either. The cashier seemed less than convinced that the vouchers we gave him would be reimbursable by Disney, but decided that he didn’t care. So we suited up and were escorted to the race track.



We declined to buy the video, and we forgot to ask what our top speed was, but it was fast. I don’t think I want to be a professional race car driver in this life. At least neither of us lost our lunch.

When our rides were done, we told them that we could be taken back to the Ticket and Transportation center and would make our way from there to the Polynesian, where our next event was breakfast. The first van driver suggested cutting through a parking lot and dropping us off across a bridge where from there we could walk to the hotel. They traded drivers, and the driver who actually took us back drove past the bridge, so my husband pointed it out and the driver doubled back and dropped us off. This worked out great as we could walk a lot faster than it would have taken the van to get us there.

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At the Polynesian, we were nearly an hour early for our reservation time.





We checked in anyway and were seated almost immediately. I had the Tonga Toast



and my husband had the Big Kahuna with Macadamia-Pineapple Pancakes.



Since it was breakfast, we each got two drinks, so we each had a Lilikoi juice and Mega-Berry Smoothie.

The server also gave us a dessert for our Anniversary. It was weird to get dessert for breakfast, but the thought was nice.




During this time, we got a call from Sammy Duval’s regarding the parasailing. The lake was closed so they had to cancel on us. While they were willing to reschedule, there wasn’t any other time in our schedule to put them. So we had to skip that this trip. We stopped by the concierge at the Polynesian to see if we could go horseback riding. The person we spoke with indicated that she was hung up on but she thought that the horses were closed the day before because of the weather.

We thought about moving our massages to our now free time, and called the Platinum planner to see if we could do that. We couldn’t, because all the marathon runners had them booked (and they deserved them) but she did find an opening at 10:00 pm that night at the Beach Club. They are normally closed at that hour, but had extended hours due to the marathon. We switched our massages from Tuesday to tonight, after our cruise. That still left open the afternoon and while we wandered through the Polynesian and headed towards the Grand Floridian, our Platinum planner was able to book us the horseback riding.





The only problem was that we needed to check in 30 minutes early, which meant we needed to be there in about 10 minutes. Our planner didn’t think we had time to take the monorail back to our hotel and then drive our own rental car, so she suggested a taxi. She thought it would cost about $5. It cost $14. We got there with plenty of time before the horseback riding started. I really think the ½ hour before starting is just so you have time to get lost and still be on time. So it was kind of annoying having to pay for the taxi on top of the rental car. But these things happen. We were joined by another couple who arrived about 15 minutes after we did. They also booked at the last minute.

I thought it was funny that the check-in for horseback riding is at the Kennel at FortWilderness. This was the second thing we had planned that we “couldn’t” use our rental car for that required us to go to a kennel. I wondered what we would find at the other three kennels, but I’m guessing they don’t double as drop-off or check-in points for anything else.

In any case, the horseback riding was fun. We saw a few wild animals and mostly just wandered through their trails. For the four riders, we had three guides, and we spoke with them a bit about the hot topic of the day, the freezing weather. Many of their PVC pipes had frozen and burst. The only ones that hadn’t were the ones they kept on all night. They weren’t going to be replaced until the freezing weather was over, but they thought they had enough working pipes for the time being. Definitely not the conversations we expected when we booked our trip.



After the horseback riding, our room was ready, so we took an internal bus to the Fort Wilderness hub and then took a boat to the Contemporary. Since it was still 43 degrees outside, it should come as no surprise that we had our own boat.

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After a brief rest, we drove to the Yacht and Beach Club, where we would be spending the rest of our evening. We started with the “Disney’s PhotoPass Professional Portraits Service.” We got there about ½ hour or more early, but they didn’t have anyone else so they could take us right away. They had trouble paying with the Platinum Plan but sent us out on our photo shoot anyway and said they would take care of it when we got back. The photographer was a lot of fun and gave us a bit more time than the allotted 20 minutes, both because we were early and because he was enjoying himself. I realized we do way too many Picture People sessions with our kids, because we could quickly get into odd poises and smile. When it was over, we had more fun deciding which borders to add to the prints. We also paid extra for the CD so we have the rights to use all of the photos for our own personal, non-commercial use. Since I don’t make any money off this site, here are some of our photos:





He also took one that was pretty good, but with a bit of photoshop I think even better



No, he’s not really holding the rope. That’s just the photoshop.

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After the Disney’s PhotoPass Professional Portraits Service, we checked in for dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. We were a bit underdressed because we had just come from our photo session, but it seemed okay.

For appetizers, we had the Seared Maine Diver Scallops and the Lobster Bisque:





They were followed by Oak Fired Ribeye with fried onion and red wine butter and Porterhouse steak with fresh cut fries and roasted garlic butter as our main entrees:




For dessert we got Crème Brulee and Antique Apple Tart.





We didn’t take pictures of our drinks, but I had the Nobo Whole Fruit tea that came in a tea press. My husband had iced tea that came with a side of simple syrup. He also ordered a glass of Villa Antinori, Toscana.



We also got the kid’s dessert because we asked for the kids menu around the same time as the desserts and the server misunderstood the request. He let us keep the dessert and took it off the bill, but we tipped him extra so it might have been a wash. They also had a special tray for us for our anniversary.



We didn’t finish our steaks and asked them to box them for us. We weren’t worried about them being left out during the Illuminations Cruise, because it was so cold outside.

After dinner, we called my father-in-law, who apparently wasn’t aware we were taking a trip. This was good, because our kids’ preschool called him the next day as he was on the emergency contact list. Fortunately it wasn’t anything too serious.

From there, we headed over to our “Dazzling Fireworks Cruise” (Illuminations Cruise). The instructions stated to arrive 30 minutes early, and this was the first time this seemed to matter. The booth was closed when we first arrived, but other people were lingering. So we waited as well. Shortly, thereafter our Captain came out and introduced himself to us. We chatted with him for a few minutes and then checked in. We were told that everything was already taken care of. So we were off, probably by 8:15. This gave us more time on the water. The Captain brought blankets and had laid down towels to keep the boat seats dry. I could have kissed him.

We sailed down to the Disney Studios and watched the end of Fantasmic. Another group was on Breathless II and you could hear the love in our Captain’s voice when he talked about the boat and it’s 400 horsepower engine. He pulled over so that they could pass us and go faster. Once Fantasmic was over we sailed to Epcot and docked for Illumination: Reflections of Earth. Our Captain offered drinks and chips and gave us a synopsis of what we were about to watch. The show has a lot more meaning WITH the globe, and our Captain’s summary of the “play” but I think I prefer a traditional fireworks show.

We took a video of the Illuminations so we don’t have any pictures of that, but here is one as the boat was leaving the dock:



After the cruise, we made our way to the fitness center for our massages. This time, being 30 minutes early was meaningless. We could have used the sauna while we waited (and it would have been nice to warm up) but we didn’t think about this before we left and didn’t have appropriate swimwear. My husband would have showered and put on a robe except they didn’t have robes here. It was very much a fitness center that also had two rooms for massages, rather than a spa. I could see why they were cheaper than the Spa locations, but in the end it’s the person who matters and I had no major complaints.

When I was done, the therapist was counting her tips and was ecstatic that she earned nearly $1,000 for the weekend with all of the marathon business. I got the impression that this was very unusual for them and was happy for her, though it was a bit awkward to be reminded that all the people helping make my vacation magical were real people with their own lives and issues. Of course, my therapist was also complaining of how tired she was and how long her commute is. Not in a blaming anyone sort of way, but it was a little less than perfect. Still, the massage felt good. I hope she made it home safely. The Platinum plan states that gratuities are included for the massages, and when we got there we were told that the “usual amount” is $10.00. We felt weird tipping that little, and added another $15 each.

When we were finished, we headed back to our hotel. I noticed the suite side of the lockoff was still unlocked and used the bathroom in there so we could each have one. At that point, I noticed that there was a message indicator light flashing. The message light in our bedroom was flashing too. We listened to the message telling us that we had an envelope (the Platinum Plan extra coupons that we picked up earlier) and the light in our bedroom stopped flashing. The light in the suite’s bathroom stopped flashing too. It finally, mostly, dawned on me: we had been upgraded: the suite being unlocked was not a fluke, it was ours!

We took a shower in the suite side because it didn’t have a tub so it felt bigger and ordered one room service breakfast for the next morning and then crashed.

Recap for the day:
Sunday - Our Cost / Approximate Retail Value / Savings
Richard Petty Experience - $0 / $218.00 / $218.00
Kona Café - $12.00 / $55.38 / $43.38
Taxi to FortWilderness - $14.00 / $0 / -$14.00
Horseback riding - $0 / $90.00 / $90.00
Photo session - $53.20 / $106.40 / $53.20
Yachtsman Steakhouse - $47.78 / $189.73 / $141.95
Cruise - $20.00 / $359.74 / $339.74
Massage - $30.00 / $210.00 / $180.00
Total for the day - $176.98 / $1,229.26 / $1,052.28
Total for the trip - $392.68 / $3,299.81 / $2,907.13

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Room service arrived at the main double doors to our suite, and had to call us because we were in the bedroom getting ready. It was really nice to have a table to eat breakfast at, but beyond that and the shower/second (and third ½ bath I think) bathrooms, it was not needed for this style of trip. I was glad that we didn’t pay extra for a nicer room. We were hardly ever in the room.



We had eggs for breakfast, with hash browns and toast. I wanted my husband to order two orange juices as the beverages but he wasn’t paying attention to me and ordered one orange juice and one tea. I drank a bit of the milk intended for the tea.



After breakfast, we drove to Epcot for the Backstage Magic tour. We went back to our room for the AAA preferred parking coupon, but didn’t use it. Not too surprisingly, our regular parking space was better than the AAA probably could have been.

We checked in and filled out extra paperwork for the Platinum plan. Of the approximately 30 people on the tour, we were the only ones on the plan. There were also two guides and a driver.

We started backstage at Epcot by the American Showcase. The guide spoke generally about the basis for EPCOT and the trouble getting sponsors, then led us inside the American Adventure and behind the stage. There was a test performance going on, so we could see the figures emerging and retreating and they explained how the process worked. I haven’t seen “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” since it has returned and was happy to see the “two brother’s” scene as we walked down the stairs. It made me want to go back to Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Because I commented on it, the tour guide told us that this was the only scene that wasn’t authentic to the time period. Part of the scene involves taking a flash photo of the family and flash wasn’t invented yet. According to the guide, the rest of the show was historically accurate.

From there, we went to the MagicKingdom and walked down Main Street over to a utilidoor entrance. If we had been faster, we could have taken a picture of us by the castle. This was one of the few areas that allowed pictures and perhaps the longest time we were “onstage” our entire trip.



We went down the utilidoor and wandered around underneath, primarily Main Street. In the hallway, they had some pretty cool photos, including historical photos and photos of all the cast member pins released in the past few years. Sadly, no pictures on the wall for 2010 so I don’t know what’s coming up. I’m not interested in pin trading, but I can see that if I was going to trade, I would want the special ones.

After that, we went to the Machine shop and painting department for the MagicKingdom and other parks. It was interesting to hear that they worked exclusively for Disney, but had to bid out their work and compete against outside firms. I know that this is corporate practice, but it seems odd.

We stopped for lunch at Whispering Canyon Café. There we had BBQ ribs, chicken, sausage, cornbread, coleslaw, mashed potatoes, backed beans, and corn on the cob. For dessert, there was a yummy cobbler style dish with ice cream. All the food was “all you can eat.” We forgot to take photos.

Perhaps because the restaurant wasn’t that crowded, but the meal wasn’t nearly as obnoxious as I feared it might be. For the most part, our four tables were left alone. If you look at the menu, you’ll see that there was no basis for us to “ask for ketchup.” We opted against participating in the restaurant’s birthday/anniversary celebration. We spoke with several people and met a nice retired couple and a couple who were living on their boat. I felt a little bit gypped given the restaurant’s reputation.

After lunch, we continued on to the Disney Studios and walked through the costume shop, waiving at the people on the trams as they passed. It was fun to be on the “other side” of the giant windows. They announced in advance that we were entering, so that if anyone was doing something top secret they could cover it. It’s amazing how much work goes into all the costumes that the cast members wear. Of course, when it’s pointed out it’s obvious that Disney can’t just go into “Costumes R us” and order a “Princess Tiana suitable for floats” outfit. Or that a costume worn to a character breakfast needs to be more durable and have the ability for frequent launderings, while a costume worn on a parade is more likely to be very intricate and detailed and laundered less frequently, but will likely have a detachable inner liner that can be laundered often since that’s the part that will get sweaty in the Florida heat. And since the costumes aren’t exactly off the rack, when they are first created the process they use to document the outfit’s creation so that if it’s successful they can reproduce an outfit in various sizes.

When we were done there, we went backstage to the Tower of Terror area to see one of the ride vehicles and have the mechanics of the ride explained to us. Again, it was one of those things that made sense once you could see and have it explained, but I never really considered how Disney created a ride with both a horizontal and vertical elevator. The tour guide also pointed out that the elevator is not merely in “free fall” mode but actively being pulled down so that it goes faster than gravity would. Just something to think about next time you’re on the ride. They also mentioned the computer process that helps randomize the sequence of falls so that it’s never the same experience twice.

After the Tower of Terror, we were allowed back “onstage” to use the restrooms. We took advantage of this, since this was the only time this trip we would get to set foot inside the Disney Studios. As far as I could tell, they had stopped the testing of the virtual queue. I would have enjoyed seeing that.

From there, we went backstage and saw the greenhouses where they keep the topiaries in progress and the extra flowers. Because it was so cold, most of the plants were moved indoors. This was the only area backstage where we were allowed to take photos and we took full advantage. It made me want to go back this year for the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival to see how many of these made it on display







Our last stop was backstage at Animal Kingdom. There, we were taken to a building that houses the vehicles for Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade. While we weren’t allowed to touch, we did get really close to the various floats. They also explained that these vehicles were the only ones who did their test rehearsals in front of the public, because they don’t want to annoy the animals after hours. These are also the easiest parade vehicles to drive, with the best lines of sight for the drivers. While not explicitly stated, this probably means that they can perform with fewer rehearsals than the more complicated shows. As we were leaving, the parade crew began pulling out the floats for the next parade.

After this stop, we drove back to Epcot and were given a special “Backstage Magic” pin. Even though we’re not pin traders, this is a pretty cool pin.

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Once the tour was over, we drove back to our hotel and changed for Victoria & Albert’s. We considered taking the monorail to the chef’s table so that we could drink, but we drove so that we could drive to Downtown Disney afterwards and pick up our La Nouba tickets. While we were at the hotel changing, we got a phone call that our son was being sent home for daycare due to pink eye. Even though we told them that my parents were watching our kids, they went off the emergency contact list and called my husband’s dad first. I called my mom and let her know what was going on and she coordinated with his dad so that they didn’t both go get the kids. My parents drove and picked up our kids and scheduled a doctor’s visit at urgent care. We had left their Kaiser cards as well as a consent to treat form with them, but this is the first time they needed to be used.

Now, there was a problem in that Victoria & Albert’s has a no cell phone policy. As much as I trust my parents, I didn’t want to have zero access for the next two to three hours if something went wrong, or Kaiser didn’t like my consent to treat forms. So I told my parents that if they needed to reach me, to call my sister and ask her to send us a text message and we would call them back as soon as we could (yes, this was easier than trying to explain to my parents how to send one themselves). We also told our servers that if we received a text, we would need to step outside to return the call. They indicated that their cell phone rules were a bit more relaxed at the Chef’s Table because there weren’t other guests to be annoyed, but that cell phone reception was spotty.

The meal started by introductions from our server and an explanation that the amazing chef Scott Hunnel was not in the kitchen that day. They seemed almost reverent when speaking about him, which was a bit odd. In his absence, another chef, Amy would provide us with the explanations of what we were eating. Our server poured us each a glass of champagne and also poured one for the chef. The chef came by and went over our likes and dislikes. For the most part, we’re pretty easy going, and even food we don’t like we’ll try if it’s prepared properly. The chef seemed to appreciate this adventurous attitude. With that, our meal got started.

Like Club 33 at Disneyland, the table is initially set with a special charger plate. This is the one for Victoria & Albert’s. The charger plate was taken away before they served the first course.



The first item up was the Amuse-Bouche or “mouth amuser” (small appetizer). We were served Soft Poached Quail Egg with DeSietra Osetra Caviar, Crispy Mozzarella in the Skillet, Popcorn Crushed Gulf Shrimp on the Fork, Smoked Salmon Panna Cotta with Salmon Caviar, and Maine Lobster with Vol-Au-Vent. The wine pairing was Pirathon Shiraz from BarossaValley, 2005.



The second course was Caviar Tin of Peekytoe Crab with Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and Petit Herbs. I thought the presentation was very well done. The wine pairing was Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc from RussianRiverValley, 2008.



The third course was Cold “Smoked” Coleman Lamb with Fuji Apple and Curry Dressing. The wine pairing was Pirathon Shiraz from BarossaValley, 2005. The food was served on a plate with vents on the bottom and dry ice underneath. After they brought it to the table, a different server poured a broth onto the plate which created a pretty cool fog effect.



After these courses, the server brought out their signature salt collection. I’ve never been one to add salt tableside. A shaker of fortified table salt is a lot easier to ignore than six signature salts. The black one is lava salt. The other five were, um, yummy. Sorry, the menu didn’t make a note of what they are were. I know two of them were blends and they were all delicious. It felt wrong to want more, though, and I’m glad most restaurants stick with the shaker.



The fourth course was Diver Scallop with Winter Spinach, Bulgarian Caviar Sauce. The wine pairing was Puligny-Montrachet Etienne Sauzet, 2006.



The fifth course was Vermont Squab with Root Vegetable Flan and Pomegranate Jus. Fortunately, before the meal began I had never heard of Squab and had no idea what sort of meat it was. The chef indicated it was a young bird and if cooked properly, it is very tender. If overcooked it is not tasty. It was very good, which only goes to show that personal or cultural biases can impede the enjoyment of food. The wine pairing was Domaine La Roquete Chateauneuf du Pape, from Rhone, 2005.



The sixth course was Minnestoa Elk with Fresh Cannelli Bean Cassoulet. This was my husband’s least favorite course. The wine pairing was Familia Schroeder “S” Pinot Noir/Malbec from Patagonia, 2004.



Our server suggested we might like to take a brief break before the entrée so we took heed and utilized the restrooms. I also stepped outside to phone home and check in on the kids. When we were ready, we were escorted through the kitchen and back to our table.

The seventh course was Tasting of Kansas City Prime Angus and Japanese Wagyu Tenderloin with Cauliflower Caviar and Oxtail Sauce. They were tiny portions, but Wow! My husband has only had Japanese Wagyu once before, and he described it as “beef jello.” While not appealing in description, it did aptly describe the tenderness of the meat. The wine pairing was Torres “Perpetual Salmos” from Priorat, 2005.



The eighth course was Abbaye de Tamie with Mostarda Di Cremona and Grated Italian Chestnuts. There was no wine pairing for this course, which was probably a good thing.

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Around this time we were asked if we were going to want coffee with our desserts, and advised that it took a while for the coffee to be ready. I’m not a big coffee person, so I ordered the Harmony tea, which I thought was from the same offerings as the night before, but actually wasn’t. There were some tea choices that were the same, such as the previous night’s Fruit Tisane. only this time instead of being served in a tea press, it was served in a tea pot. Yes, that’s right, my own personal tea pot. I don’t think I got a photo of the tea pot, but you can see it in the background of the dessert photos..

Fortunately my husband is a coffee drinker, and we were able to see their intricate setup. I suppose because this is Victoria & Albert’s they serve coffee the truly old-fashioned way. It reminded me of a chemistry experiment gone right, and I wonder how many kids could get full credit for their science fairs for reinventing this method.

According to our friend, the internet, they used a “vacuum coffee maker.” Essentially it started with water in the lower pot/chamber and dry coffee grounds in the upper pot/chamber.



A fire was lit under the bottom pot and as the water began to heat up and boil, a vacuum is created with forces the water through a small straw into the top chamber, still boiling and mixing with the coffee grounds.




Eventually, almost all the water was in the upper pot. After a few minutes, the server extinguished the fire and all the water was sucked back into the bottom pot while the coffee grounds stayed in the top. It was pretty cool to watch.



The ninth course was Green Apple Mousse with Hazelnut Cookies. The wine pairing was Paolo Saracco Moscato D’Asti, from Piedmont, 2007



The tenth and final course was Tanzanie Chocolate Mousse, Peruvian Chocolate Soup, and White Chocolate Gelato.



When we started, I said that we wanted one wine pairing. I intended that they would pour my husband a glass and I would have a taste. This isn’t how they do things though, they poured me a taste in my own glass and poured my husband a slightly smaller than normal serving in his own glass. This also meant that when my eyes lit up when he described a wine the amount in my glass increased slightly. Despite this, I still had a substantial number of wine glasses at the end of the meal. I was glad that I hadn’t paid for my own pairing.



After dessert, we observed one of the chef’s cutting vegetables for the next seating. We commented to each other on how much he reminded us of one of our friends, who is also a chef and he overheard us and came over and spoke with us for a little bit. I wish we had spent more of the meal chatting with the various chefs, but it’s just not our personalities. It made me wish we had taken our chef friend, or one of the people who wish/think they have permanently reserved seats at Napa Rose, who might have chatted the chefs up more so we would have learned even more about what goes on in the kitchen. Oh well, maybe next time?



At the end of our meal, we were given personalized menus that listed all of the foods we ate, along with the wines they paired them with. We were also given a small loaf of bread that they said was for breakfast the next working. There were a few “bonus” chocolates presented with our bill, and we simply couldn’t eat them. Most of them came back to our room with us along with the bread and the rose. I was also given a long-stem rose in a protective case.



The Chef’s table is advertised as an approximately 3-hour long meal. When I first made our reservations, I didn’t think it was possible that a meal for two people could last that long. Especially since the regular dining hall is described as a 2 to 2 ½ hour meal. We got there only slightly after 5pm and didn’t leave until after 9pm. The servers mocked the people who schedule La Nouba for 9pm and I could see why. This was not a meal that you want to rush. This is also why there is only one seating per day. You are allowed to spend as long as you like. Had we chatted with the servers more, the meal might have been even longer.


Because it was so late, I called the La Nouba ticket line to see if they were still open. If they weren’t, we would skip picking up our tickets and go straight to bed. Online, I could find out that they opened at 11:00am but no indication of when they closed. When I finally reached a live person, I was told they closed at 11:00, which made me worry that I was given opening hours instead.

Since we couldn’t make it there by 9:00 pm, we hoped that the 11:00 pm closing was true and we stopped to take Photopass photos at the Grand Floridian. We got a free Photopass CD as part of our package but the only opportunities we had to take photos was at the Yacht and Beach Club and the Grand Floridian. Fortunately, we will have opportunities to visit Disneyland soon and will take more pictures there.

When we got to Downtown Disney, we discovered that they are open until 11:00 pm on nights when they have a show. Did I mention earlier that part of our planning problems was that they are dark Sunday and Monday? Yeah, well they close at 9:00 pm on the nights that they are dark. So the trip was for naught. We headed back to our hotel with the intent to crash.

At the hotel, we split up for only the second time of the trip. The first was when my husband went to the car to get the luggage while I picked up the La Nouba and other vouchers. This time, he stayed behind in the room and I picked up our complementary mugs at the food court. I also spent three of our snack credits on fudge. The cashier was not from the United States (according to her name badge) and couldn’t pronounce fudge. She kept trying to convince me to get six fudge because they are 33% off when you buy six. So it’s basically six for the price of four. I kept telling her I was using snack credits. She kept telling me to get six. Eventually she figured it out and confirmed that I couldn’t get six fudge with four snack credits. Oh well. That would have been nice. I also bought a ½ bottle of Banif Rosa Regalle, 2006 because people on Mouseplanet had good things to say about it. I considered the other wine Magicale, but didn’t want to spent the money on a full bottle. When I got back to the room, we pulled out the clothes we would need for the next few days and otherwise repacked our suitcases. I knew this would be a short trip, but it doesn’t seem possible that it’s almost time to check out.


Monday - Our Cost / Approximate Retail Value / Savings / Room Service
Breakfast - $0 / $20.00 / $20.00
Backstage Magic - $0 / $438.00 / $438.00
Refillable mugs - $0 / $27.68 / $27.68
Snacks - $0 / $11.02 / $11.02
Wine - $18.05 / $18.05 / 0
Victoria & Albert’s - $360.93 / $627.18 / $266.25
Tip for housekeeping - $5.00 / $5.00 / $0
Total for the day - $365.93 / $1,128.88 / $762.95
Total for the trip - $758.61 / $4,428.69 / $3,670.08

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We started the day at Chef Mickey’s for a character breakfast. Before breakfast, we finished the packing. The room bill was waiting for us (outside the main double doors we never used) and included an unpleasant surprise. Our room was charged for the Backstage Magic Tour and the PhotoPass Professional Portraits Service. I have not budgeted time to get this fixed!

We were still full from last night’s dinner and had our leftover steak from the Yachtsman Steakhouse, but that didn’t stop us from keeping our reservations at Chef Mickey’s. While walking to the restaurant we took this photo of the steam escaping the heated pools/spa.



We decided to go easy on the food though, and just tried a little bit of only those things that appealed to us. This was probably the least I’ve eaten at a buffet that served good food. We skipped anything made to order to save time. Even here we were given an anniversary cupcake. Wearing our buttons all trip and having the anniversary noted in every reservation seemed to pay off in that regard. We were too full to eat the cupcake, so we nibbled at the chocolate chips on the bottom.



All of the characters came by and we took our obligatory photos.









After breakfast, we had just enough time for my husband to take the luggage to the car while I stood in a non-moving line to complain about the room charges. Only the concierge staff could help me and both of them were busy with other people. Eventually more people came out and I explained my problem. It took a while but they did reverse the charges for the two things that were supposed to be included. They had already billed our credit card so they had to put a credit back on our card. We made sure to not use the room key the rest of the day so that if the credit wasn’t what we thought it should be, or if there was a second charge, it would be easier to figure out what was valid and what wasn’t.

From our hotel we headed back to Epcot. We tried to use the AAA parking pass but the area was closed down. I’m not sure if it wasn’t working at all during our trip or just didn’t open up until later. The parking spaces we had were still very near the front entrance so it didn’t matter too much.

For the Backstage Magic tour we were told to meet at the “Epcot Guided Tours Location” sign outside the main entrance to Epcot. That’s where we went for the Dolphins in Depth also, but when there didn’t seem to be anyone else loitering in that area I asked and found out that we were supposed to meet at “Guest Relations window outside Epcot” That’s what it said on the reservation, I just didn’t realize the difference at the time. They were close enough that we would have been able to see them regardless, but it’s nice to actually be in the correct place.

There were a total of six people on this tour, the other four being a woman with her daughter and another couple. The woman who brought her daughter had done the tour a week or so earlier with a different daughter and returned because she liked it so much. She was apparently terrified of water, but you couldn’t tell based on her behavior. I got the impression that the staff had made her feel so comfortable during her last encounter that she just wasn’t as scared as normal. The woman in the other pair was also not a water person, but she didn’t even try to go into the water and just waited on the other side. I’m not sure I would pay that much to not splash with the Dolphins. We were once again the only people on the Platinum Plan.

The tour itself tried to be educational. They really stressed that it’s the dolphin’s decision whether or not to interact with the guests and while they usually choose to, there are days when they simply don’t want to participate and the interaction does not take place. The tour guides gave us a bit of a dolphin anatomy lesson and a warning against playing with dolphins in the wild. We also got front row seats during a training session with the dolphins. They are trying to determine how much ability Dolphins have to match objects, so that was the focus of the session. When it was over, it was our turn to change into swimsuits and get into their tank. The guide was sure to tell us that the wetsuits went on OVER our swimsuits. I’m glad I wasn’t in the session that caused them to start giving out that particular warning.

The trainer went through some of the dolphin’s behaviors and allowed us to rub the dolphin and pet his tail. They indicated that this was also beneficial to the facility as it helped the dolphins remain comfortable with lots of different faces. Having a daughter with strong stranger anxiety, I can see why it’s important to have them continually see new people so they don’t freak out when they get new staff. It also made me wonder what their turnover rate was among staff. Probably high if they allow people on the college program or other internship type experiences to work there. I don’t know whether they do or not, it was not discussed.

When we were done, we walked back through the Living Seas Pavilion to the locker rooms to change. I got the impression that normally they will take the participants around the Pavilion through the outside, since some people don’t want to be seen in their full wetsuit glory. But it was so cold out that they didn’t make us go outside. No one seemed to complain, especially given the alternative. I felt a little bit bad for their wet carpet and the people who were going to have to walk on it afterwards.

The highlight was having the photo taken with the dolphin. We got one photo each so we took two different poses. They both turned out nicely. This would not repeat itself during the afternoon session when they just made a double print of a lesser photo.

When it was all done, we were taken us to their classroom to collect our photos, a conservancy pin, and to fill out a survey. Afterwards, the other four people were escorted back to the main entrance and we stayed behind for our next tour.

While we waited, we chatted a bit with some of the leaders of the Epcot Seas Aqua Tour. They thought it was great that we were doing both tours and teased us that if we were Scuba certified we could stay and do that too. We’re not, and we had plans for the evening. Still, they did make us feel welcome. They also made us feel like it’s somewhat unusual to have people do both tours. I suppose for the price I can see why.

The tour is described as using a Scuba Assisted Snorkeling Unit. I don’t know why but I expected air hoses to be dangling in the water. Instead, we got our own little Scuba packs attached to a very buoyant vest so we would stay afloat. It was pretty clear that they didn’t want us diving down to explore things more closely. For that, you need actual Scuba certification and to pay for Dive Quest.

This tour had fourteen guests total. Ourselves and six other couples. We didn’t learn much about the other guests as most of the time was spent in the water or changing. This tour did not do as good a job explaining to the guests how to use the lockers, so I felt like the voice of experience when I showed everyone else what they needed to do.

Once everyone was changed, we had 30 minutes in the water. There were some people who seemed squeamish and I could see some of the leaders holding their hands and guiding them to various locations.

One of the highlights of the tank was a pregnant Spotted Ray. They don’t know much about these particular rays so they don’t know what the typical gestation period is. They seemed surprised that she was still pregnant and expected her to give birth at any moment. I was glad it didn’t happen when we were in the water, because my guess is that we would have been asked to leave. I don’t know if the mom and baby will stay on exhibit or move to a smaller location.

The tank also had turtles. For those not in the know, turtles have more rights than humans. Federal law prohibits the harassment of turtles and the guides made it very clear that this law was strictly followed. In addition to the standard “this may kill you, agree to not sue” waivers, we also had to sign an agreement that we wouldn’t harass the turtles. We were reminded that the turtles had not signed such an agreement against harassing us, and if one came too close, we should simply move out of its way.

The strangest part of Scuba assisted snorkeling for me was turning sideways. I’m used to trying to do this while snorkeling and after my breathing tube fills with water a few times I remember that this isn’t a good idea. So at first, I would accidentally turn my head sideways to look at something and then slightly panic. Of course, since we were breathing through a tank and not a tube, nothing bad actually happened. After 30 minutes, we were called back to the pool’s edge and assisted with taking off the gear. When everyone was out of the water, we were again walked through the exhibit to change into our street clothes.

Unlike the Dolphin tour, this time I did feel the need to take a complete shower and wash my hair. Afterwards, I used one of the few blowdryers that worked to take the edge off my wet hair, but did not dry it completely. The tour waited until everyone was out of the changing area to go back up to the classroom. Once we collected our photos we were escorted to the main entrance of Epcot.

We were given bags to put our clothes in as part of the tour and had the choice of four different colors. Since there were two of us and we did two tours, we now have one of each of the colored bags.



We were at the main entrance very close to 3:00 p.m., which was when it was advertised that the tour would be over. In hindsight, we could have easily made it to the spa treatments by the 4:00 p.m. start time and probably by the 3:30 check-in time.

Instead, we drove to Downtown Disney and picked up our La Nouba tickets. We had lunch at Planet Hollywood. I chose this restaurant earlier when I thought we would be out of meal credits for this meal, since they have the $15 food voucher in our AAA booklet. Of course, this coupon was not combinable with using a meal credit. I’m not surprised, but had I thought it through, I would have suggested a different restaurant.

Our server was horrible. She mumbled through the specials with a robotic manner at the beginning of the meal, which we could forgive. We ordered one appetizer, one entrée, and one dessert to share, as well as a “regular” smoothie. She attempted to charge us for our “souvenir drink” even though we both said we didn’t want the souvenir glass. We probably would have paid for the drink, just to be done in time for La Nouba, but when the server offered to rinse out the glass and package it up for it; we both told her we didn’t want the glass. At that point, she ripped the bill for the drink from our table. Worse than possibly paying for a glass we didn’t want, the server tried to use up TWO of our meal credits. That would leave us with only 1 credit for Victoria & Albert’s that night. Um, I’m not paying $125 for my meal tonight because you took away a meal credit FOR A MEAL I DIDN’T ORDER OR EAT! Yeah, that didn’t go over very well. We caught it immediately and she was able to reverse her mistake, but it just wasn’t a good meal. I also got a few work emails that I had to respond to during dinner. It was the least Disney part of the three days and it definitely felt like the trip was coming to an end. It also made me wish we had chosen a different restaurant. I doubt we will go back there anytime soon.

After horrible dinner, we walked over to La Nouba.



They have introduced Photopass photographers before the show, and we stopped to have our photos taken. We got the impression that these photographers are fairly new. I hope they are successful.

La Nouba is my husband’s favorite Cirque Du Soleil show, possibly because it was the first one he ever saw. Before the show started, we talked to the person sitting next to us, who had never seen it before. The show was still really good, but there were definite changes from when we’ve seen it previously and from the DVD we own. They replaced one entire scene with a different, juggler performance. I don’t know if it was a cost-savings measure or just to refresh the show. The juggler was amazing. He did things I didn’t think was possible. But it was not quite the same. The rest of the show was very good. I noticed other details that I didn’t remember from the time before. I don’t know if they were truly different, or if it was just faulty memory.

When the show was over, we wandered through Downtown Disney and used the remainder of our dining plan snack credits. We shared a deep fried snickers and brought home the remaining snacks. We also used one of the companion bathrooms to change for Victoria & Albert’s. I had mixed feelings about this. We’ve only ever used the companion bathrooms when we need to toilet and change our kids, who were not with us. It seemed a bit sleazier to use the restroom without medical or child reasons. But we only had one garment bag with all of our clothes and it was a lot easier than taking turns in regular stalls.

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We drove from Downtown Disney to the Grand Floridian, arriving at Victoria & Albert’s in time for our 9:00 p.m. reservation. We were quickly seated and Jack and Sherrie, our servers from the previous night came by to say “Hi.” I got the impression they would have also served us that night if we had come to the first seating. But since they were not crowded, their shift ended after the first seating. Instead, we were served by Allen and Yousef. We again ordered one wine pairing and everything was amazing (except for licorice sake).

Ironically, we originally made our reservations for both nights at the 90-day mark so we would have them just in case. This time of year, that was no needed, at least not for the second seating on a week night. We were still glad we ate there twice, especially since it was two very different experiences.

Being in the main dining hall, we now had our choice for each course and in an effort to try as many things as possible, we elected to order different items and simply share. I hadn’t thought of how this would work with the wine pairings, because once again I simply could not drink that much alcohol. But our servers came through again and, possibly after consulting with our servers from the night before, gave me a splash of my paired wine and a nearly full pour of my husband’s. The only exceptions were when I indicated I thought I would like a wine, when I got a bigger pour. Because we weren’t expecting to get to try both wines, we had deliberately ordered as my husband’s food the items for which we thought we would enjoy the wine more. This meant that we got to try both wines, but primarily got the wine we would most enjoy. We succeeded in all but one of the wines choosing a larger glass for the one we liked better.

The Amuse-Bouche was a glass of Tattinger Prestige Cuvee NV. There was also a foursome of tasty treats, the description of which I can’t seem to find. One of the items was some sort of egg dish, served in the egg shell. We watched the chef’s cut the eggs the night before so it was pretty need to eat them at the regular seating.



The first course was Maine Lobster with Watermelon Radish, Kohlrabi and Vanilla Aioli, paired with Baileyana Chardonnay “Firepeak Vineyard,” from Edna Valley 2006.



We also had a Colorado Buffalo with Fennel, Olives, Artichokes, and Sherry Vinaigrette, paired with Lasseter Syrah Rose, from Sonoma 2008.



The second course was Diver Scallop with Zellwood Corn and Chorizo Sauce, paired with Michel Redde Sancerre “Les Tuilieres” from Loire, 2007.



We also had Sake-Soy-marinated King Salmon with Bok Choy and Soy Beans paired with Kanbara “Bide of the Fox Gohyakumangofu Junmai Ginjo from Nigata. This was the wine we didn’t like. Sake technically, which we’re okay with, but “black licorice flavored sake.” My husband is NOT a fan of black licorice. The other wine was really, really good, so I was glad that we at least had a sip of that. I would have been happier with only a splash of the Sake and a lot more of the other wine.



The third course was Roasted Butternut Squash Cream with Apple and Squash Ravioli, paired with Chimay Ale Peres Trappistes, from Belgium. I made the mistake of getting excited when the server said “Ale” and got perhaps a larger serving that I would have preferred. My husband finished it off.



We also got Duck Breast, Duck Sausage, and Confit with Salsify, Pomegranate Sauce, paired with Acacia “Winery Lake Vineyard” Pinot Noir, from Carneros, 2006.



The fourth course was Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin and Belly with Baby Beets and Sherry-Bacon Vinaigrette, paired with Trinitas “Old Vine” Zinfandel, from ContraCostaCounty, 2005.



We also got Kansas City Prime Beef Tenderloin with Marble Potatoes and Sauce Soubise, paired with Pirathon Shiraz, from BarossaValley, 2005.



We could have chosen a Colorado Lamb with Fresh Cannellini Bean Cassoulet, but we weren’t completely impressed with the beans from the night before. We opted against paying $80 for more Japanese Wagyu Tenderloin with Oxtail Jus, though it is delicious.

The fifth course was Thomas Hoe Stevenson Stilton, Couronne Lochoise, 36-Month Aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Thomasville Tomme, paired with Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Porto 2002.

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As part of the fifth course, we also got White Chocolate Gelato with Tableside Shavings and Micro Orchid’s, paired with Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto d’Acqui, from Piedmont 2005. I was excited to try this wine as I had already bought a ½ bottle. The server also thought I would like it and gave me a more generous taste. It’s definitely a winner. I considered trying to buy another bottle before we left, but remembered that I could probably get it for less locally.



The sixth course was Carmelized Banana Gateau. We also got Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee. There was no wine pairing for this course, but we again got a pot of coffee. I got “Mad Hatter“” tea. I don’t have it’s description from dinner, but according to the internet it’s a blend of passion fruit, pomegranate and vanilla. Both this tea and Harmony were good, but I think I liked the Nobo Whole Fruit from the first night the most. That tea was described as “a rich house-blend of wild strawberries, backberries, and raspberries. Full-bodied.” Ironically, that’s not the same description as the internet, which also mentioned apples. Maybe their house-blend changes based on what’s in season.




At the end of our meal, we were given back the personalized menus that we originally ordered from ,that listed all of the foods we had to choose from with the exception of the vegetarian fare, which had its own menu. We were again given a small loaf of bread a long-stem rose. There was once more some chocolates along with the bill, but not as many as the night before.

When the meal was finally over, we drove to the Hard Rock Hotel, arriving there around 12:20 a.m. The hotel was poorly laid out, and since we chose to self-park, we had to carry our luggage up a flight of stairs to get to the elevators. Again, we stayed up too late to repack our belongings in order to get a quick start in the morning. This time, we had to pack our bags for the plane.

Tuesday - Our Cost / Approximate Retail Value / Savings
Chef Mickey’s - $9.00 / $48.99 / $39.99
Dolphins in Depth - $0 / $350.00 / $350.00
AquaSeas Tour - $0 / $280.00 / $280.00
Planet Hollywood - $8 / $44.70 / $36.70
La Nouba - $0 / $210.00 / $210.00
snacks (x5) - $0 / $15.00 / $15.00
Victoria & Albert’s - $143.90 / $410.15 / $266.25
Tip for housekeeping - $5.00 / $5.00 / $0
2 nights at Contemporary with Platinum Plan
- 1 bedroom hospitality suite (upgrade from Garden view) - $1691.30 / $1,960.00 / $268.70
- 2 park tickets (1 day each) - $0 / $168.28 / $168.28
Total for the Day - $1,849.20 / $3,484.12 / $1,634.92
Total for the Trip - $2,607.81 / $7,912.81 / $5,305.00

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We got to sleep in some on our final day, as the alarm didn’t go off until 8:00 a.m. We had breakfast in the room, eating the remaining leftovers from previous meals. We once again were not particularly hungry from our huge meal the night before. We finished packing and checked out of the hotel.

As part of checking out, we paid $15 (plus tax) for the self-parking, so we didn’t have to worry about it at the end of the day. As it turned out, we could have left the parking lot without paying, but we didn’t know. We hadn’t left a credit card on file because we were too tired the night before.

We carried our bags to the car, again going down all the steps, then took a 5 minute walk from our car to Islands of Adventure. They also have a water-taxi for those who can afford to wait. The plan was to be at the park when it opened at 9:00 a.m. For the first time this trip, we were late to something we scheduled. I was a bit nervous that our tickets from 2004 would have an issue at the turnstile and we may need at least take time trading them for a new one-day ticket. Fortunately, there were no issues.

We went straight to Dueling Dragons and rode on the Ice side and then the Fire side. My husband took a video of the track while we were riding. He seemed happy to be able to do so. We didn’t have a wait and got off the ride at 10:02.

After Dueling Dragons we saw where HarryPotterLand is going. We took a couple of photos of the construction as well as a sign requesting patience during construction.




From there, we went to the Jurassic Park River Adventure. Fortunately, they had the water turned down so we didn’t get particularly wet. We got off that ride at 10:16. We tried to go on the other JurassicPark ride, Pteranodon Flyers, but couldn’t because we were too tall.

We almost came back to Islands of Adventure last year, but didn’t because we had our kids with us and decided to stay together. At the time, I remembered it as primarily an “adult” theme park with lots of height restrictions. The height restrictions are real, but I forgot how many rides are tailored to small children, including this one that was exclusive for kids. We skipped most of the kid areas as we figured we would go back when we had kids who could enjoy them with us.

We did stop to take a photo at a sign I’ve been harassing my husband about since we went last time. There was a sign that had feet marks for where to stand and if you stood properly, it looked like a thought bubble coming out of the person’s head. My husband did not stand properly and it just looked silly. This time, he amused me by moving as I instructed until the picture was perfect. Unfortunately, the lighting just didn’t cooperate. I suppose we’ll have to go back and try again in a few years.




Our next ride was The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, and we got off that at 10:38. I really like Spiderman. It’s a 3D ride that moves from scene to scene and projects 3D images to give you an increased feel for the action. I’m surprised Disney hasn’t figured out how to do this in one of their rides yet.

From there, we went to The Incredible Hulk Coaster and even after a bathroom break were off that ride at 10:56. I wanted to go on Storm Force Accelatron, which according to the brochure would let us “help the X-men’s superhero Storm in her battle against the evil Magneto.” My husband told me he had no interest in going on the teacups. We walked over to Storm Force Accelatron after Hulk and decided to skip the teacups.

We thought we could get to Poseidon’s Fury in time for the 11:00 show, and while we got there in time, the show was already full. The next one was not until 11:30 and it was recommended that we come back in 10-15 minutes. We decided to go on The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride, which took longer than I would have guessed. We got off that ride at 11:13 and headed straight back to Poseidon, only to be told that we just missed the 185 person capacity limit.

I would have skipped the ride this trip, but my husband thought otherwise. To avoid missing the next show, we just hung out there for 45 minutes. We finished the show at 12:17. We only had about 6 hours for both parks, and just over an hour was devoted to this one ride. I did not think it was worth 1/6 of our total time, especially since we had already seen it once. Worse, because we were first into the first chamber we were routed to the front of that stage. This meant that when the next door opened at the back of the room, we were struck at the back for the rest of the scenes. Despite waiting as long as we did, I didn’t get to see much.

We switched parks and went to Universal Studios. They have a new ride there called Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. It was the only ride we went on (with a wait) that did not participate in Universal Express Plus. He we realized that sooner, we would have been better served to start with that ride before continuing on to Islands of Adventure. Live and learn I suppose.

We got in line for the ride at 12:34 or just before. I remember this because I think it’s a cool time. The line was very slow moving and we opted to wait the extra few minutes for the front row. The ride itself was fun, but it made me worry that soon people will need brain scans before they are allowed into amusement parks. If I had any undetected brain aneurysms, between this ride and the Richard Petty Experience I don’t think I would have survived the trip. Fantasyland is seeming more and more appealing, and less likely to kill people with undetected medical conditions.

Right before it was our turn to load, my husband teased me that the people we had been waiting in line with who had chosen the regular lines, were now off the ride while, we were still “enjoying the anticipation of what was to come.” He wasn’t entirely serious, but I understood the point he was trying to make. What he couldn’t have known was that the car in front of us would have problems unloading. They couldn’t get the safety harness to release from what I could tell. Until they unloaded, we were stuck behind them, having at least already gone on the ride. And until they could take that car off the tracks, test its replacement and restart the ride, the line wasn’t moving. I was glad we were no longer “enjoying the anticipation.” We got off the ride at 1:55, which was only 10 minutes or so longer than we had waited for Poseidon’s Fury. I was now concerned that we wouldn’t be able to do everything that we wanted to get done.

We headed next to Revenge of the Mummy, and were done by 2:08. We went from there to Jaws, where I wondered how much longer that ride would have relevance to the people on the boat. It is actually now part of the spiel (or at least part of the spiel we heard) to ask this question, but the answer was ‘interrupted’ by a distress call about a shark sighting. We were done with Jaws at 2:24.

From there, we went on Men in Black Alien Attack. If Storm Force Accelatron is the teacups, Men in Black is Buzz Lightyear’s Blasters, only better. I scored higher than I would have expected and for a while was ahead of my husband’s score. He has better aim and more patience, so he did catch up and surpass me. But my listening skills are better than his, and I got 100 bonus points for hitting the red button at the appropriate time. They have a competition at the end of the ride and compare your score to the car across from you. We crushed them. We were done at 2:36.

The other new ride at Universal Studios since the last time we were there was The Simpsons Ride. This ride is also in California so I recall all the commercials when it first came out and was interested to see what it was like. We skipped most of the main queue with our room card, but they did have some entertainment as we waited in the final room to load. I didn’t know what to expect and was not disappointed. It reminded me of Star Tours meets Soarin’. I like Soarin’ better but this was good for what it is. We got off the ride at 2:59.

At this point, the only two rides we wanted to do were Terminator 2: 3D and Shrek 4-D. I hoped we would have time for both but was not optimistic. We chose Terminator 2 because it was first and if we did have time to do both this would avoid doubling back. We didn’t get out of this ride until 3:55. My plan was to leave at 4:00 to head to the airport, and while I had built in a cushion and could probably have done the other ride, it wasn’t worth risking it.

While not intentional, I was glad that we had chosen theater based attractions as our final ride. If something had gone wrong, it’s much easier to duck out of a theater than a roller coaster.

The main reason we were able to do as much as we did (besides our pseudo-early start) was because we had stayed at one of the three official Universal resorts. This got us their version of an unlimited Fastpass, called Universal Express Plus. This is sold at the parks for an additional fee, but comes free when you stay at their hotel. Of course, this lets them sell their rooms at an inflated rate, so I suppose it’s not really free. We simply had to show our room key and we skipped the bulk of the queue. This was fairly meaningless first thing in the morning and became much more significant later in the day. Most of the lines had a posted wait of around 30 minutes, which isn’t bad, but we waited even less.

The other advantage of staying on their property was we could roll out of bed and walk to the parks. This meant we didn’t have unnecessary travel time, also important since we had such limited total time. If we had to drive to the park that morning, we would have had even less time or even less sleep.

On our way out, we bought a drink because we realized we had not had enough to drink that day. The cash register wasn’t working properly, so there was a bit of a delay while they got it fixed. This guaranteed we didn’t see Shrek 4-D, thought we had conceded by that point we really shouldn’t. We walked back to the car and drove to the airport, stopping at a 7-11 to purchase gas for the rental car and another drink for ourselves.

After returning the rental car we went to the gate to check in for our flight. We skipped the self-service stands and went straight to a First class gate agent, who seemed to be processing us just fine until we commented that we had used miles to pay for the upgrade. This created an issue as the ticket wasn’t coded that way. The gate agent read notes indicating that the upgrade coupon was “invalid.” This created additional issues as they were not our frequent flyer miles that we used for the upgrade. We normally fly American Airlines but they fly out first thing in morning. To enjoy the day at Universal, we booked on Delta. We thought we had taken care of everything properly so this was a bit disconcerting. It took three ticket agents, but finally the problem was corrected and we were good to go. In the meantime, the ticket agent suggested I call the owner of the frequent flyer miles. I know the owner, calling would have done absolutely no good. Eventually we got it straightened out. I forgot my roses at the counter and had to go back for them.

We split up for the last time so that I could shop while my husband staked out a place to charge his laptop and play games. I didn’t realize that I had both cell phones but didn’t spent too much time loitering. My husband heard what he thought was a page and had gotten up to investigate around the same time I caught up with him. Had he gone further to investigate the page it would have been very hard to find him again.

We had a largely uneventful flight home. My husband watched “Inglorious Bastards” and “Jennifer’s Body” on the seat-back entertainment. I watched “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and slept through “This is it.” I also eavesdropped some on a conversation the two gentlemen in the seats behind us were having. I have no idea who one of them was, but the other person was Ed Begley Jr. He has been in a number of movies and TV shows that we have seen, most notably for us “Best in Show” and “7th Heaven.” According to IMDB he is most famous for his 137 episodes of St. Elsewhere. Overall, he seemed like a nice “normal” person, casually chatting to seatmate he didn’t know. As tempted as I was to ask for a photograph, I declined.

When we were off the plane, waiting for our luggage, my husband spotted a sign for “Begley” being held by a driver who clearly didn’t know what his ride looked like. After overhearing him ask a person roughly our age if he was Mr. Begley, my husband took off to look for him and see if he could help match him to the driver. When he couldn’t, he gave the driver a brief description of the person he was looking for.

My father-in-law came to pick us up from the airport and took us back to our house, where my parents gave us a brief rundown of the kids activities and then took off for their own home and bed. I gave my mom one of the Victoria & Albert’s roses. Without their prompting, this trip likely would never have taken place, and for that we are very grateful.

Wednesday - Our Cost / Approximate Retail Value / Savings
Hard Rock Hotel - $226.58 / $262.36 / $35.78
Tolls (highway) - $1.75 / $1.75 / $0
Rental car - $91.80 / $150.00 / $58.20
Drink - $3.19 / $3.19 / $0
Gas - $18.40 / $18.40 / $0
Flight home with upgrades - $611.20 plus miles / $1,735.40 / $1124.20
One day park tickets - $90.00 / $218.00 / $128.00
Total for the day - $1,042.92 / $2,389.10 / $1,346.18
Total for the trip - $3,658.73 / $10,309.91 / $6,651.18

[currence]

It’s hard to believe that we took a trip that has an approximate retail value of $10,000, or that we did it for about 1/3 of that amount! And, those are off-season rates!

I will concede that if we had to pay the full rates, we wouldn’t have flown first class, so the airline costs are exaggerated. We did pay a premium booking category for our Delta return flight and we used up airline miles though, which are worth something. And “if we had to pay full price, we wouldn’t have …” is true of the entire trip. If we had to pay out of pocket, we would not have eaten at Victoria & Albert’s twice, we wouldn’t have done both Dolphins in Depth and the Aqua Tour, we may not have done the Backstage Magic, and certainly not on the same trip as everything else we did. For the $220 per person add-on, we definitely got our money’s worth. Looking at just the things we did for free:


Our Cost / Approximate Retail Value / Savings
Richard Petty Experience - $0 / $218.00 / $218.00
Kona Café - $12.00 / $55.39 / $43.39
Horseback riding - $0 / $90.00 / $90.00
Photo session - $53.20 / $106.40 / $53.20
Yachtsman Steakhouse - $47.78 / $189.73 / $141.95
Illuminations Cruise - $20.00 / $359.74 / $339.74
Massage - $30.00 / $210.00 / $180.00
Room Service Breakfast - $0 / $20.00 / $20.00
Backstage Magic - $0 / $438.00 / $438.00
Refillable mugs - $0 / $27.68 / $27.68
Snacks (x3) - $0 / $11.02 / $11.02
Victoria & Albert's - $360.93 / $627.18 / $266.25
Chef Mickey’s - $9.00 / $48.99 / $39.99
Dolphins in Depth - $0 / $350.00 / $350.00
AquaSeas Tour - $0 / $280.00 / $280.00
Planet Hollywood - $8.00 / $44.70 / $36.70
La Nouba - $0 / $210.00 / $210.00
Snacks (x5) - $0 / $15.00 / $15.00
Victoria & Albert's - $143.90 / $410.15 / $266.25
Photo CD - $0 / $149.95 / $149.95
Total - $684.81 / $3,861.93 / $3,177.12

So, for the extra $220 per person per night ($880 total) we indulged in over $3,000 worth of free activities! Of course, due to tips, the extra $880 actually cost us $1,564.81. The biggest chunk of the extra money came from upgrading to Victoria and Albert’s, especially the Chef’s Table.

We also had to book at a deluxe level or higher hotel, so we chose one of the cheapest they had. Disney chose to upgrade us, which was super cool if not really needed. We also had to buy one-day park tickets, which we still have and will use on a future trip.

Will we do this again? I don’t know. I’m leaning towards doing it for our 25th Wedding anniversary. Of course, who knows what the plan will look like in 15 years.

[EJ4Disney]

WOW!!! What a wonderful trip. But I truly don't know if I could go to WDW and not go to the parks. That's what is Disney World to me. But good for you and thanks so much for sharing.

Ellen

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

wow that is one heck of a lot of fun things to do in a short period of time .attention MOUSEPLANET READERS : VICTORIA & ALBERTS IS A MUST IF YOU HAVE $$$$ . YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPOINTED . ARE YOU READING MR RUSSO !

[WdwGurl4life]

If I had $ like that, this trip sounds PERFECTTTTTTTTTTTTT- but I would have made it to a park one or twice, I do so frequently enough that missing the parks wouldn't be HUGE. I think this just shows you what WDW really has to offer. 10 days FILLLLED with stuff to do, and not once did you do to a park. I LOVE IT!

[currence]

EJ4Disney: I agree that it was very weird once the Segway Tour was cancelled and we realized we wouldn't make it into the parks (beyond the short time as part of guided tours). None of the Tours we did needed park admission and we just couldn't justify using a park ticket for as little time as we had.

relaaxedwheniamthere: Good Luck! Victoria & Alberts is pretty amazing. I have no idea if/when we will be back, but I'm really glad we went.

WdwGurl4life: I know the trip report was really long, but we were only gone for 5 days, and one of them was a travel day! If we had 10 days, we would have found time for the parks. We just didn't want to spend that much time away from our little kids. We did take them to Disneyland the weekend after we got back, so we did get a bit of a ride fix. I really missed Epcot though, especially since we originally thought that would be the one park we went into and Disneyland just doesn't have anything like the Epcot Pavillions. I'm already contemplating a return for 2011's Flower & Garden Festival!