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Thread: Sue (Holland) Rayford, Nov 8-11, 2019 - Beach Club Villas Weekend

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    Sue (Holland) Rayford, Nov 8-11, 2019 - Beach Club Villas Weekend

    Who/When/Where:

    Who: Sue (61), DVC Member
    Pete & Judy, dvc friends from NJ
    Dates: November 08 12, 2019
    Resort: Disneys Beach Club Villas Resort studio
    Experience: Very Experienced 48th stay at BCV

    INTRODUCTION:
    Since the real Food & Wine trip just ended 4 days prior to this one, it may seem odd that Im going again so soon. The bottom line is I get $25 birthday credits from Landry and Levy Restaurants, but they dont start until November 1st (midway through the last trip). I dont want them to go to waste, so the obvious answer was to book another 4-night stay to make sure I had time to use them both, lol! This trip Im solo, so itll be nice to just chill out and take it easy. Pete & Judy will still be here, so itll be kind of like the old days before SB came into our lives. Their family leaves Saturday, and Pete & Judy will move offsite to a villa at a non-Disney resort. I added them to my reservation, so this way they can drive over and park at Beach Club we may even enjoy Stormalong Bay at some point. They dont need Magical Express, since they always rent a car.

    With Levy Restaurants, a great use of the $25 birthday credit is happy hour at Terralina (formerly Portobello), but its impossible to use it all as a solo. Pete also gets the same credits, for his Oct 28th birthday, so we may be able to work it out to get both applied for the 3 of us. The Landry credit was used at Rainforest Caf with SB the day we were at Animal Kingdom with Pete & Judy last weekend. If Blue Zoo (Dolphin) still does their happy hour, thats another option, but well see. Disney has raised prices and shrunk pours on their wines to the point that its hard to justify buying anything there (in Epcot).

    The concerts this weekend are the Hooters on the first night, then Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to finish out the trip. Pete & Judy love Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and I really enjoyed them last year as well. Itll definitely be worth checking out the concerts every night, especially since Im right outside the back door (International Gateway a true Crescent Lake Snob).

    Booking fastpasses was a bit of a challenge, as I knew Saturday was a moving day for Pete & Judy. Plus, I was wanting to make this trip more relaxing. I ended up with afternoon fastpasses, which leaves the morning free for beach or pool time. Theres a good chance I wont bother with the afternoon fastpasses some/most days. Id rather relax and enjoy the resort!

    The plans so far are:
    Friday 11/08: Drive to WDW, Food & Wine
    Saturday 11/09: Pool, Animal Kingdom
    Sunday 11/10: Pool, Terralina, Food & Wine
    Monday 11/11: Epcot, Studios, Food & Wine
    Tuesday 11/12: Drive to Gainesville



    DAY 1 Friday 11/08/19
    Who: Sue (61), DVC Member
    Pete & Judy, dvc friends from NJ

    Plan: Drive to WDW, Food & Wine

    Actual: I was on the road by 12:15 and arrived at Beach Club at 2:13. I never got any texts or notifications about the room, and think it may be because I didnt order more magic bands (dont want more, but you cant decline them online anymore). After parking in the Villas lot I walked up to the desk in our building, where the cast member told me my room was ready.

    I checked it out, then went to the car to get my stuff, then got settled. It sprinkles every now and then, and is supposed to rain tonight, so my Food & Wine Festival time will be limited to this afternoon today (most likely). Just before 3 I walked over to Epcot. It felt cooler than the 80 degrees it was said to be, thanks to the breeze, dampness, and drizzle. I was glad to have my umbrella, and used it quite often.

    I started by turning right towards France, and with the rain my options for food were limited to something I could eat with one hand. In Germany the bratwurst on pretzel roll sounded good, so I ordered that. I was able to eat it as I walked. In Africa I got the Cederburg chenin blanc, and realized I think I had this before but evidently didnt mark it in the passport. Its pretty good, but not necessarily something I would have repeated. I want to try the blueberry almond dessert at The Alps, but since that takes 2 hands (one to hold the plate, one to hold the fork), today is not the day.

    At the old Odyssey I went inside with my chenin blanc and watched the continuously playing movie. It showcased new stuff that was coming, but didnt really give many details. They changed the lighting over the Epcot model in the middle of the room, depending on what was happening in the movie on the wall (360 degrees). It was worth stopping in for, and doesnt take too long.

    Coming back outside, I reversed my course and when I came back to Morocco I got a piece of baklava to take back to the room. Overall the food booths were not very crowded. A few places had big lines, but more places had either no line or a very short (couple people) one. So much nicer than last weekend when the half marathon people were all here!

    At International Gateway I left the park, and took the baklava back to the resort and put it in the fridge. I grabbed my light jacket and walked back over to take the Skyliner to Caribbean Beach. I havent been over there in many years (probably decades), and I always hated that resort in the past. Ive even said Id stay at a value before Id stay there.

    There was a pretty good line of people waiting to board, but it moves quickly. They were putting parties together, to pretty much fill up the gondolas. Strollers have to be folded up to board, which is something I didnt know (we never brought the stroller when riding w/Ari). I rode with a big family of British people (assumed due to their accents), who had mixed feelings about the Skyliner. They were riding just to check it out, and a couple of them couldnt wait to get off. I later saw them by the bus stops, so they were looking for an alternative way to get back, lol!

    I walked around Caribbean Beach, and found I still absolutely hate it. Its cheap-looking to me, and way too sprawling and dont get me started on the motel style rooms. The newly renovated food court (Center Market??) is pathetic. The shop is nice & big. Overall, its a place Ill never stay at even if I didnt have my dvc.

    I walked back to the Skyliner and rode back to Epcot, this time with people who were ok with it, lol. From there I went to Beach Club Marketplace and got the new caprese sandwich for dinner. Its big, but thats because theres so much bread!! It comes with some of their homemade chips, which are pretty good. I brought it to the room and decided I was in for the night with the rain off and on, there was no reason to be out there.

    The sandwich was good but not great the massive bread detracted from it, and the bread was kind of dry. I tried peeling off some of it, which helped. The rest of the night was spent doing online stuff and watching reruns on HGTV since I wasnt interested in being out in the rain.

    I ended up forgetting to send out the report discovered that the next morning, so here it is. I didnt bring the big camera this trip, so Im not planning to do an album. Today was a nice start to the trip, other than the rain. Thankfully, thats temporary should be nicer once it stops in a few hours! Saturday Pete & Judys family leaves and they check out of Boardwalk. Well spend part of the afternoon either at the pool or at Animal Kingdom, then were doing Blue Zoos happy hour for dinner.


    DAY 2 Saturday 11/09/19
    Who: Sue (61), DVC Member
    Pete & Judy, dvc friends from NJ

    Plan: Pool, Animal Kingdom

    Actual: I slept well last night, with little noise. There were some loud people who walked down the hall, but they didnt linger and other than that it was silent. I woke early but dozed off again and didnt get up until after 5. Thats when I discovered Id never sent out yesterdays report!

    It was still raining, but it should end in the next couple hours. I made my cappuccino and took it back to bed to enjoy while I got online. One of the HAL ships was approaching Port Everglades, so I watched her sail in. My next ship (Koningsdam) arrives Wednesday from Europe for the Caribbean season. Theyll do the 11-night itinerary, then its my turn for the 10-night itinerary.

    A little before 7 I walked over to Boardwalk Bakery for an Ooey Gooey sandwich. The rain had stopped, but it was still very damp. Once the sun breaks through though, it should be pretty nice today. There was no wait in the bakery, and I took the sandwich back to my room, eating half today and saving the other half for tomorrow morning. It was delicious, and the bread was a thousand times better than what Beach Club uses on their caprese!

    After breakfast I showered and got dressed, then let Pete know to come the long way since the stretch of road between Boardwalk and Beach Club is probably closed (construction??). Around 9:15 I left for the outlets over on Vineland. My only objective was to visit the Disney shop there, since its been a long while. Last time people were lined up waiting for the store to open, and within a short time the queue to wait to pay for anything was ridiculous. But, since they charge for parking here (which is ridiculous and offensive) I only come over early enough to snag one of the relatively small number of free spots and then hike over to the store I want. If I parked in what used to be the free garage, that costs $10 regardless of whether Im here all day or 15 minutes not gonna happen.

    Along the way I stopped for gas at the station across from Disney Springs. At the Premium Outlets I found the lot I used last time, and parked at the end closest to Character Warehouse. I got to the store by 9:45 and was absolutely stunned by the line of hundreds of people snaked on both sides of the entry door!

    Eventually the cast member managing the line came by and I asked him what was going on today. He said today was nothing special, but they sell merchandise for 50-90% off and people get there early because when its gone, its gone. Well, thats always been the case (about the pricing). I talked to the people behind me who said theres a whole online culture now where people post what they found, and perhaps whats going to be there gets leaked, so many come over early to buy up bunches of the same item to turn around and sell online. What a shame.

    It was 10:30 before I got in the store, and then I noticed the line to check out (pay) extended outside of the roped queue and snaked throughout the entire store. I wandered around but didnt see anything worth another 45 minutes in line to pay, so I left. I need to remember to NEVER go back there this was truly my worst decision of 2019!

    I was back at Beach Club shortly after 11, and soon Pete & Judy said they were on their way. Its turned into a really nice day warm in the sun, and not too cold in the shade. Well see what they decide they want to do. I went down to wait for them by the quiet pool, but they ended up entering the building at the first entrance (before the pool). Pete texted when they got into my studio and I wasnt there. They waited for me on the balcony, and I came up to join them.

    Pete & Judys trip had a couple moves built in. They started with 3 nights in a Boardwalk studio while they were solo. Next they moved to a 2-bedroom Boardwalk villa for 7 nights when their family arrived. They wanted to add a few more nights in a studio at the end of the trip, but nothing was available and their waitlist never came through. They checked for a studio anywhere on Disney property recently, but its all booked up. So, they booked a 1-bedroom villa at Vistana offsite. Since theyre not in a Disney resort room I added them to my reservation, so thats why their magic bands work to get into my studio. This way they can meet me here, park their car without issue, and its allowed because theyre registered guests here.

    We walked over to Epcot, arriving close to noon. It wasnt horribly crowded yet, but as we reached the second half of World Showcase it became unbearable. We started with France, and although the booths had lines they werent excessive. In Germany Judy & I grabbed an empty picnic table by the water while Pete got them some food. He was back in no time, so the line must not have been long. They shared the bratwurst on pretzel roll and the schinkenoodln (mac & cheese w/ham). They enjoyed them both. When we got up to leave, we saw the line at the food booth was extended beyond the limits of the queue yikes!

    As we continued walking, we frequently saw lines that had at least twice as many people as the roped-off area would hold. At the margarita stand in Mexico, the queue was filled in, spilled out, and ended on the other side of the bridge! China was backed up pretty much to Norway. It was just crazy, so Im glad they got something when they did! We decided to head back to the resort, which was a little challenging due to the big crowds. We made it though!

    They went to their car to get their swimsuits, and I went up to the studio and changed into mine. I grabbed a table with an umbrella, close to the rest rooms where theyd be changing, and we met back up out there. The quiet pool was nice and quiet, and it was very pleasant. We discussed our next HAL cruise, which looks like itll be the 10-day itinerary in March 2021. SB gets to come on this one, so itll be the 4 of us. Id printed a bunch of info for Pete & Judy, so we went over that, and I updated them on what had changed since their last (first) HAL cruise with me several years ago. Around 2:30 we went up to the studio so they could see the various wine packages and other stuff on the HAL website some of it is only accessible when youre already booked. This gives them an idea of what to expect.

    Around 3 they headed over to Vistana to check in, and I ate the leftover chips from last nights sandwich and got the report updated. They sent pictures of their villa, and it looks very nice. Much cheaper than Disney, too <g>. But, they had to pay a higher rate to avoid the timeshare sales pitch, which is probably very high-pressure and time consuming.

    Pete & Judy were back before 4:45, and I met them outside the villas lobby. We walked over to the Dolphin, arriving at 5:03 for happy hour which started at 5pm. I was surprised to see most of the bar stools full and all of the booths in the immediate bar area taken (last time I did this it was me and one other table nobody at the bar). I asked a server if the tables in the next section were considered the bar and she replied yes so we sat back there with a few other parties. We were right across from the LSU/Alabama game, which Pete was interested in.

    Happy hour here is 7 days a week from 5-7 and is a really nice experience. Judy and I had the house white, which tasted a lot like a chardonnay (I remember it being a blend a couple years ago). Pete went for vodka martinis, which are not on happy hour. They have 4 food items classic flatbread, crab nachos, fried calamari, and fried green beans w/truffle aoli. We asked the server how big the portions were, and based on her reply Pete & Judy chose to order 1 item for the 2 of them (and had a little bit left over). I ordered the classic flatbread and ate half (excellent) and took the other half back to the room. They got the crab nachos, which they really enjoyed.

    It was a very pleasant evening sharing stories wed never covered before, despite decades of friendship. It was close to 7 when we finally left, and we walked through the Swan & Dolphin Food & Wine Classic on our way out. This looked really nice, and something to consider for a couple years from now. The all-inclusive price is $145/person, which is cheaper than Disneys Party for the Senses (which weve all done). On a Saturday night when Epcot is a disaster, this could be a nice alternative or for much less money, just do happy hour <g>.

    We caught the boat back to Yacht Club and walked over to Beach Club. Pete & Judy headed back to Vistana, and I updated the report briefly before changing into warmer clothes and heading over to Epcot to see how bad it would be. The Skyliner was down once again. It wasnt running when I walked over to Boardwalk Bakery at 7 this morning, and still wasnt running when I went to the outlets around 9:15. It was running when I got back. Now its down again, and was still down when I left Epcot later. They really need to fix this it needs to be much more reliable than it is!

    Getting into Epcot was a breeze, with no wait at bag check or the entry. World Showcase wasnt as busy as it had been earlier, too. While many food booths had long lines, none were extended outside of the queue are and some booths had very short lines. I walked over to America, where I was shocked to see many empty seats for the 7:45 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert starting in less than 10 minutes. I took a seat in the front row of the 2nd section, and enjoyed the show. Theyre a really enjoyable group, and I look forward to more of them the next 2 nights.

    After the concert I continued walking around World Showcase, stopping in Epcot to get the bread pudding. There was no line to order, but I had a short wait to get the food. The bread pudding was very tasty, but a bit large for a solo person. It would be much better shared. Im glad I tried it.

    On my way past the shop at the entrance to World Showcase I looked at the festival merchandise. Its all 25% off now, and our DVC or passholder 20% discount is good as well. I picked up a baseball cap for SB, with an original price of $27.99 but after the discounts & tax it was under $18. Good deal!

    I continued towards International Gateway, noticing that Canada had no wait for the food! Too bad I was full, lol! Leaving the park, the line for the boat was much longer than usual thanks to the Skyliner being down. Fortunately I just had a short walk home the beauty of staying on Crescent Lake! I settled down to finish the report, and will make sure to send it out tonight.

    Today was a mostly great day. The only negative was the experience at the outlets. Its just insane that people have to stand in line for an hour to get into a store, and then stand in line for probably that long again to pay for what they selected. No thanks, no way for me! They can keep their discounted merchandise. Other than that, my ooey gooey was delicious, I enjoyed relaxing at the resort, Epcot was nice initially (before the mobs), the pool was good, and happy hour was excellent. Wrapping it up with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was the icing on the cake.

    Tomorrow is another relaxing day. I will probably make an early spin through Food & Wine before hitting the pool. Pete & Judy are coming by around 3, and well head to Disney Springs for brief shopping and happy hour at Terralina. After that we should make it to the 3rd (8pm) Big Bad Voodoo Daddy show.



    DAY 3 Sunday 11/10/19
    Who: Sue (61), DVC Member
    Pete & Judy, dvc friends from NJ

    Plan: Pool, Terralina, Food & Wine

    Actual: I slept well again, getting up at 5 this morning. I enjoyed my cappuccino and later heated up the other half off the ooey gooey for breakfast. It was nearly 9:15 before I finally left the room.

    The weather is beautiful today, so I took advantage of that and walked around Crescent Lake, then headed down the ramp to International Gateway. Once again, the Skyliner was no operating. The other 2 loops are running, but the Epcot loop seems to be down quite often. I arrived just after the boat unloaded, so there was a bit of a delay getting into the park.

    I walked into Future World and decided to ride Test Track as a single rider. The posted wait time was 10 minutes, and Id say it was at least that long. This attraction is really very lame it would be hard for me to waste a fastpass on it, and its not even worth a 10-minute wait in my opinion. I like the original version better.

    By now it was just after 10am so I wandered around a bit, then went up and sat in the DVC member lounge for a while. I was waiting for the Flavors of Fire stand to open at 10:30, At 10:30 I went back outside and saw it was open, so I picked up a glass of the pinot gris from Oregon at the Active Eats stand, then got in the short line at Flavors of Fire for the chimichurri skirt steak. It was delicious, as usual!

    Now it was time for the pool, so I headed back to International Gateway, and the Skyliner was still closed (just Epcot loop). They really need to fix whatever this problem is. I walked back to the resort, changed into a swimsuit and went down to the quiet pool about 11 am. It was a great day to be out by the pool, and I lasted a little over 2 hours before going back inside. I showered and dressed, and went out to the bus stop a little after 2:45.

    When I got there, it was around 2:55 and the board said the next Disney Springs bus would be 3:18. Not happy, I sat down on a bench and within a couple minutes a Disney Springs bus pulls up! Were the last stop, so we went directly there.

    My only real destination was the Vera Bradley shop, to pick up the rest of my birthday present from SB. While I was looking at it, I felt a tug on my backpack, and it was Pete & Judy. Theyd come over early too. They waited for me outside while I paid for my item, then we walked towards the old Marketplace section. We browsed through a few shops, and picked up a chocolate sample from Ghiradelli. We got over to Terralina around 4:15 and were surprised to learn happy hour is 4-6 rather than 5-7! That works better for us.

    Pete & I each had a $25 birthday credit from the loyalty club, and it was no problem getting separate checks. At happy hour wines are half price, beers are mostly $5 and pizzas are half price. Its a great deal! We had more food than we could eat and more drinks than we needed <g> - but we managed to use up most of the credits, just paying for the tip. Wed definitely come back here.

    After settling the checks we walked over to the Orange garage and got Petes rental car, then drove back to Beach Club. I ran upstairs to put my leftover pizza in the fridge (along with last nights pizza) & changed into jeans & a sweatshirt, then met them downstairs. We walked into Epcot without much delay, and headed to America.

    They were still letting the line of guests into the 6:45 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert, so we waited for that to trickle down and then they opened the rope where we were waiting. We ended up with seats down front in the 3rd row once again it wasnt full. It was a great concert very high energy, with terrific music. Starship is still my overall favorite, but this group is a close second.

    After the concert we headed out of the theater. Pete & Judy went back to Vistana and I continued walking around World Showcase. In the Alps I finally got the blueberry and franzipone almond tart, and it was outstanding! I really liked this! It was hard to eat with a plastic fork, so after a couple bites I just took it back to eat in the room. The Skyliner was still running when I left, which is a good thing.

    I was back in the room around 8, and will spend the rest of the evening watching HGTV. Today was a nice relaxing day, with terrific weather! I enjoyed every minute. Tomorrow is the last full day. I plan to get some pool time, and then will meet Pete & Judy at 3 to head over to the Studios briefly before one last afternoon/evening at Food & Wine Festival. I think the only must have that I havent tried yet is the chicken parm in Italy, so hopefully that will happen. Maybe Ill repeat the blueberry tart since it was so delicious and well have Big Bad Voodoo Daddy again too.



    DAY 4 Monday 11/11/19
    Who: Sue (61), DVC Member
    Pete & Judy, dvc friends from NJ

    Plan: Epcot, Studios, Food & Wine

    Actual: As usual, I slept well and was up a little after 5. I relaxed in the room for quite a while, enjoying my cappuccino and later finishing the Blue Zoo flatbread for breakfast. Eventually I packed up my stuff, since Id be busier later.

    Around 9:30 I went out for a walk, and discovered they were assembling the gingerbread carousel in the Beach Club lobby. They had racks with trays holding the various pieces, and were just getting started adhering some of the gingerbread tiles to the structure. A cast member was standing there passing out gingerbread samples. I took it, and it confirmed again that I simply dont care for Disney gingerbread, lol.

    I checked out the Yacht Club lobby but theres no sign of the holiday dcor starting over there yet. On the way back I stopped at Stormalong Bay to pick up a few pool towels, then went up the studio to get my stuff. Today I decided to relax on the beach instead of the quiet pool, since its so pretty out there. I spent a couple hours and finished up the book Id started yesterday.

    Today is my trash & towel day, but they hadnt come yet when I returned to the studio close to 12:30. I latched the door and took my shower, and after getting dressed I enjoyed some of the leftover Terralina pizza with wine for lunch. Ive got a slice left, which Ill take in the car tomorrow morning. A bit later I also finished the baklava from the other day it stays good for several days.

    While I was online I saw sad news from Chris & Amanda. When they met she had an adorable Yorkie named Macon and a cat named Norman (for Norman Bates, since hes crazy). They had to put Macon down this past Saturday, and today they lost Norman to a stroke. They were both sweet, loving members of the family and theyll be missed. Now theyre down to Chris cat and dog, and the dog they got together (Dante from the movie Coco).

    Pete & Judy arrived a little before 3 and we walked through the lobby on our way to the Yacht Club boat dock for the boat to Hollywood Studios. The carousel was pretty much finished and functional by now, so we stopped to look at it for a minute. When we approached the dock our boat was coming in, so I ran up ahead to make sure they waited for Pete & Judy.

    It was a pretty full boat, and there werent any whole empty seats so I took the empty space outside and Pete & Judy were able to sit together inside. At the Studios bag check and entry went quickly, thanks to them having a lot of stations open. I wish they did that at International Gateway! The park seemed fairly busy, but when we got to Toy Story Land it was absolutely mobbed!

    I had a 3:35 fastpass for Slinky Dog, which had a 95-minute standby wait. With the fastpass I was on and off in about 5 minutes great fun as always. Pete & Judy dont want to ride this, so Id booked them 3:55 fastpasses for Toy Story Midway Mania. We fought our way over there next, and the cast member let me go in with them even though I didnt have a fastpass. He had me tap my band to get the blue light, then he hit a button to turn it green. This way at the 2nd checkpoint Im cleared.

    The fastpass line was extended OUTSIDE the building, which Ive never seen before! Judy said it was like that the other day, and it was a good 15-20 minutes to get onto the ride. Thankfully today and moved steadily, and didnt take that long. They rode together and I rode solo. Pete got the high score of our car, with 128,400 points. I had 119,900.

    Now it was time to get the heck out of this crowded park, so we headed for the exit. We rode the Skyliner to Caribbean Beach, getting our own gondola. Once there we switched to the Epcot line, where the line extended outside of the queue area. Ugh. Thankfully this moved quickly, and we were put in a gondola with 2 other couples.

    At Epcot the bad crowds continued the line for bag check was backed up to the Skyliner. This is friggin ridiculous!! We got in line and by the time the boat arrived to disembark another mob of passengers, I joked that theyd be joining the line back by Beach Club (only a slight exaggeration). When we got up to the bag check area, they had 4 stations open, but room for 6. The lines to enter were backed up too. It doesnt help that many people bring way too much crap with them for a day at a theme park, often something with a dozen different zippered compartments which they dont even bother to open until theyre standing with a deer in the headlights look at the table. Then the entry was delayed because a girl in a stroller kept turning the light blue instead of green, and dad was yelling at mom because neither of them could remember which finger the girl used before. I know what finger I wanted to give them, but I refrained. FINALLY Judy & I made it into the park to meet up with no-bag Pete (who was sitting on a bench).

    It was a little after 5 so we walked over to America and took seats on the side wall for the 5:30 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy concert. We knew that just before the show theyd let people in the 2nd half of rows down front would be allowed to move up to the front half (assuming seats remained), and then those of us not down front would be allowed in. When that happened, we ended up in the front row. A family of 4 was to my right, and the 2 kids were really strange. The daughter immediately got up when I sat next down next to her, and rushed over to her dad. He let her sit next to him, and made the son go sit where shed been. He was a miserable looking kid, who kept scowling at me and giving me dirty looks. I thought maybe I was just imagining it, since I had a negative opinion of the kid, but Pete noticed it and commented on it midway through the concert. It was very strange.

    After the concert it was gridlock for a while, but thats to be expected. I wanted to try the parmesan crusted chicken from Italy, even though the line extended outside the roped area. They only had 1 side open grr. Pete & Judy found a bench outside the shop and waited for me there. The line did move pretty steadily, and I was shocked how big the portion was there were 3 big thick pieces of chicken, and a little cup of marinara sauce. Pete & Judy ate one of the pieces, and we all liked it. I think Id like it better with honey mustard, though.

    We continued walking, and Judy & I each got a Riesling from Germany. She got the driest one and I got the middle (of 3) one. Both were pretty sweet. Years ago I used to drink Rieslings, but in recent years Ive moved away from the sweet stuff. In India Pete got the bread service with the 3 sauces/dips and really enjoyed it. It reminded me Sanaa or Jiko.

    Next we headed into Future World, where I held a bench and Pete & Judy got the chimichurri skirt steak and the blended burger at Flavors of Fire. Petes burger slid off the bench and hit the ground, but Disney replaced it for him very nice! He loved the burger said the only other thing that good was the filet in Canada. Ill have to make sure SB tries it next year.

    At Active Eats next door, Pete & I got a glass of a WA state chenin blanc. After the sweet Riesling, this was so totally different, lol! It was pretty good, but I like the Indaba (from South Africa) chenin blanc better. We walked to the 3 booths along the walkway, and Pete got the scallops from the last one (Wine & Cheese Studio). He liked them, but wouldnt get them again. He finished the night with the maple boursin cheesecake from the Cheese Studio next door, and loved that!

    I walked with them to International Gateway, where we said our goodbyes until early May in Hilton Head. Its been nice spending time with them, and were all looking forward to May. I did another loop, walking faster since I was solo. At the Alps I got the blueberry and franzipane almond tart, which was delicious again. I was done eating at this point, but I went to the Cheese Studio and got the maple boursin cheesecake to bring to Tiana at work tomorrow morning. I saved a to go container that fits in the cooler, for this purpose. From there I left the park and walked back to my studio.

    Today was a great day once again I loved relaxing on the beach, we all agreed the ideal way to do the parks is ride a couple attractions and leave (when crowded), and Food & Wine was great. Im thinking Ill set the alarm for 3:30, hoping to be on the road by 4:30 and home by 6:30. Thatll give me time to start some laundry and have my cappuccino before work.

    Once again, my next trip starts sooner than normal 8 days after I get home. I have a HAL cruise starting November 24th, but itll be preceded by a few nights with Chris, Amanda & Ari. Before that, on November 20th I join one of my sorority sisters (Gayle) from college at the Beach Club, where shes attending a conference. That evening theres a local charity event that also celebrates Jason Hunts birthday. Hes my friend Marys husband, and is an extremely talented artist. Several of the former cast from Comedy Warehouse, along with others, will be performing (with Carol Stein on the keys) as Jasons art (many portraits of entertainers) is presented. I sent the info to Gayle to see if she was interested, and she said yes so well spend the evening together, then Ill make one last pass through Food & Wine the next day (while shes at her conference) before hitting the road for Chris & Amandas house. The HAL cruise report will go out via email to the people on that list. Im not sure but I may send out a report to the Disney/DVC list on the brief WDW/evening portion.

    The next actual WDW trip is the weekend of December 13th. Until then, thanks for reading!

    Sue (Holland) Rayford
    WDW1972

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  3. #2
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    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    Gulf Coast of Florida

    I love the Caribbean Beach Resort. And the fact that it is hundreds of dollars less a night than the Beach Club Resort makes it all the sweeter. And now we even have the Skyliner to get us right to the back door of Epcot!! Right on, right on, right on!


  4. #3
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    Aug 2014
    Location
    Gulf Coast of Florida
    Quote Originally Posted by wdwchuck View Post
    I love the Caribbean Beach Resort. And the fact that it is hundreds of dollars less a night than the Beach Club Resort makes it all the sweeter. And now we even have the Skyliner to get us right to the back door of Epcot!! Right on, right on, right on!
    But I will tell you, if I could afford the Beach Club or the Boardwalk I would defiantly stay there. I am a member of the ever shrinking American Middle Class with a budget for Port Orleans or Caribbean Beach. Even though I am not wealthy it still makes sense to stay on Disney property and stay in the bubble.

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