Monday (this was three weeks ago) we arose at the usual time - about 4 am - and spent the day doing some more unpacking from our recent move. That afternoon we took the kids out to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for their vacation and returned home to figure out dinner. ‘Out’ seemed to be the best answer, so it was off to Hecho en Mexico for a last Tex-Mex dinner.
Once home again it seemed silly to go to sleep. Our shuttle was to pick us up at 1 am, and we’d probably sleep through wake-up time! So we stayed up, doing some last minute stuff on the computer, checking the packing, and waiting….
Took all our stuff outside and waited on the sidewalk from about ten of one until 1:30 when the shuttle finally arrived. And we weren’t alone - there were 3 others already in the van.
During our time on the sidewalk we were questioned by two Federales ‘walking the beat.’ Didn’t know they did that sort of thing in San Miguel. Guess we had the correct answers as our interchange was cordial.
So after a long ride to the Mexico City airport through the dark of night and some rain, we were deposited with our luggage curbside and we did the check-in business. Lines were short and service quick. Found our way to the gate and eventually loaded onto the plane. Luckily the flight wasn’t full and we moved to an exit row, so there was plenty of leg space for our three-hour flight to Miami, where we needed to clear customs and immigration, recheck our luggage, and go through security again for the quickie flight to Orlando.
Well, Miami immigration was a huge mass of non-moving humanity! O.M.G.!!! A gazillion lines, people standing in each one, nothing moving. They moved a bunch of us from the Citizens and Residents line to a Visitor line, where nothing moved either. And we had walked nearly the length of the airport to reach immigration. What a trek!
We eventually noticed that the last Citizen line seemed to be the only line moving and switched to that line. Turned out that there was another set of lines for Citizens only (no Residents) that moved right along - particularly when additional agents returned from lunch!
Finally made it through the line and moved on to Customs, which was a quick process, re-checked our bags, and headed through security - missing all the delicious-sounding food venues. Finally found a Wendy’s near the boarding gate for some fast food. I can’t believe that Wendy’s has bumped Burger King from second place; my sandwich was horrid - but it was food.
When we reached Orlando we found the Magical Express desk, gave them our luggage tags so they could retrieve our bags (we never got the luggage tags for our bags they told us they mailed in February), and jumped on the ME bus to Disney World!
After checking in, we went - via boat - to Downtown Disney Guest Services to arrange our park passes and Tables in Wonderland card. As an Annual Pass holder TIW gave us a 20% discount at most restaurants, including alcoholic beverages, and added an 18% tip - our usual. So since we would have added the tip anyway, it was a 20% discount; didn’t take long to earn back the cost of the TIW card. In fact, the meal at California Grill probably covered the entire cost of the card with that one meal!
The TIW card was a snap once we got our passes, but the passes proved problematic. We’d arranged the passes through the Club (we got credit for the price of a Disneyland annual pass) and left the confirmation number in our room at Old Key West. Rob, the cast member assisting us, couldn’t find Michael in their computer system (except for old things) but called the Club in California for the number. Once he had that the rest of the process was simple and we were soon back on the boats to OKW.
So we ended our 40+ hour day with dinner at Olivia’s, our resort’s restaurant. By the time we arrived they weren’t very busy so it wasn’t a long wait for a table. The service as good (yeah, Annie!) and the food was wonderful - and not just because we were so hungry. It was really good - baby string beans sautéed in olive oil, melt-in-your-mouth pot roast, et cetera.
Finally to bed.
The next morning dawned sometime before we awoke. Still up early-ish as we needed to meet friends for breakfast at Kouzzina on the Boardwalk by 7:20. WDW transportation is great - and free, but is limited to resort-to-parks. There is no resort-to-resort service. But we were on an early bus (Hollywood Studios because they were having Early Hours for a character breakfast that morning) and when the driver asked if we had a breakfast somewhere we sheepishly admitted that we were trying to get to Boardwalk to meet friends for breakfast. Lo and behold, she stopped at Boardwalk and dropped us off! A little pixie dust for the day.
Breakfast was good! Love their savory breakfast stack with sweet potato hash, rye bread spread with an artichoke tapenade, and eggs and chicken sausage. Yum!
Then it was off to EPCOT for us: Soarin’, the Flower and Garden Show, and lunch at the Mexico pavilion. Our waitress was a bit taken aback when we responded to her ‘Buenas Dias’ in Spanish, until we explained that we now lived in Mexico. As it turns out, she was headed back to Mexico for her sister’s wedding in two-week’s time in Guanajuato - the capital of the state in which we live!
After lunch it was time for a nap and then back to Downtown Disney to satisfy my craving for fried chicken. One might think that a staple at Disneyland would be easily found in Disney World, but it is not. There is a counter-service restaurant in DTD which serves a Latin American version that was really quite good. Better than what we find in San Miguel! Then back for sleep.
The next day it was off to the take-away service counter for a fast breakfast overlooking the dock to the accompaniment of a family having a meltdown - so early in the day, too! I must say we saw many of these meltdowns, especially later in the day when tempers were frayed and children were tired. Why do so many people take the family on vacation with small children? Is it really for the kids? ‘A chance to see WDW through their child’s eyes’? Or is it for them and the kids happen to be along?
After another turn at EPCOT (Test Track, Ellen’s Energy University, and fish-and-chips for lunch), a quick nap and then off to the Magic Kingdom. There we only rode the Pirates in the Caribbean attraction before walking over to Fantasyland to check out the expansion of the Land. One of the Dumbo rides was in full swing and the Barnstormer (a roller coaster) was operating, but the lines were long for the new attractions, so we walked back to the entry gate, found our ‘brick’ in the Walk Around the World pavement, then strolled over to the Contemporary Resort for dinner at the California Grill on the top floor. Great table next to the windows provided a view of Magic Kingdom. Once again the food was great, service attentive, and our waiter was the staff sommelier. Of course we joined our fellow diners on the outside observation platform when it was time for the Wishes fireworks show! I think our friends from California were suitably impressed. We decided to skip a visit to the Top of the Tower (the lounge on the top floor of the DVC building adjoining the Contemporary) and opted for bed!
Our last full day at the World was parks and eating and drinking ending with a trip to Animal Kingdom and dinner at the AK Lodge’s Boma. My, their food is good, too. I could dine there every day except AK Lodge is on the outskirts of the World - and travel to/from is long. Our friends missed out on dinner here.
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