DAY 3 – Monday 11/8/21
Who: Sue (63), DVC Member
Pete & Judy (60’s), DVC friends
Bonnie (60’s), Judy’s friend since kindergarten

Plan: Magic Kingdom, Pool, Food & Wine

Actual: Last night after sending out the report I got a call from Judy. Their luggage & stuff had finally arrived, and they were exhausted to the point 7:30 tomorrow wasn’t going to work. I was fine with that – I’ll enjoy a more leisurely
morning too. We have MK Saturday morning with Chris & his family, so that can be our attractions day where we arrive for early entry. We left it that we’d head over at 9:30 or 10 on Monday, and I figure I can see the holiday décor and if the
attractions are all too crowded I’ll just come back here and go to the pool. I doubt they’ll be at MK long either.

Then, a little after 8 Pete texted. Short story is they’re thinking if MK will be crowded by the time we arrive, perhaps switching to Epcot would be better. That works for me. I don’t really care about MK, and was only going because they wanted to
go there. I was able to cancel the MK reservation for me, Pete & Judy and rebook us at Epcot. They’ll have to take care of Bonnie in the morning. Epcot’s early entry starts at 9:30, so that’s more friendly to tired people and late risers. For
me, I’ll enjoy another leisurely morning.

Sunday nights I indulge myself with the total trash known as 90 Day Fiance, so I watched that and turned in just after 10pm. I woke up around 4:45 and got up at 5. As per the usual routine I made my cappuccino and took it back to bed while I did online
stuff and watched the morning local news. It was nice to not be rushing off to a park early.

I figured the others wouldn’t really be familiar with this, so at 7 I joined the virtual queue for Remy, getting boarding group 89. The estimated return time is 1pm, so hopefully they’ll still be there. I couldn’t book Bonnie, but I’ll bring an
extra one of my magic bands and let her ride as me – with the extra band I can leave Pete/Judy/Bonnie in the park and still get into my room if I decide to enjoy the pool at that time.

A little later I made my usual breakfast. The cookie had been finished last night, and the apple crumble tart was looking me in the eye <g> when I opened the fridge. Something tells me a bite or 2 might disappear before I head out the door. Next up
was a shower & getting dressed. By 8:30 I was ready to go, but it was too early for the others. I played on the computer a bit, got a couple things from the car to take to Boardwalk with me, and ate a couple bites of the apple tart. It’s great warm,
but also great cold.

Around 9:20 I left to walk over to Boardwalk and drop a couple things in their villa until tomorrow. I had a box of wine, partial gallon of water and a Publix reusable bag with assorted stuff. Thankfully it was cool outside, so the walk wasn’t bad.
I guess I could have driven, but I’m not sure the walk from the parking lot is much shorter <g>.

Pete was ready, but the ladies were still in the process. Pete was struggling with how to cancel Bonnie’s MK reservation and make an Epcot reservation, and I was able to help him with that. Sometimes if you’re not already sure of how to do
something you can end up trapped in the app and that’s what had happened.

It was pretty much 10 by the time we headed out the door, so we missed early entry. Judy had taken a fall on her knees a few days ago, and her left knee was still sore (not swollen at least). It ended up being a real problem for her and it was slow-
going. When we got into the park I checked the wait times and we were pleased to see Soarin’ was only 15 minutes so that’s where we headed. Test Track was 55 minutes, Frozen was 80 minutes, but most of the other stuff wasn’t too bad.
Unfortunately, by the time we made it closer to the Land Soarin’ was up to 40 minutes, and thankfully Pete & Judy didn’t want to wait in that long of a line. Looking back, I’m not sure Judy could have done it, as there’s no benches in the line.

We went into the pavilion and rode Living with the Land, which was posted as 5 minutes but was probably 5-10. We got the front 2 rows, so we had a clear view. It was a nice ride – very relaxing. Once off the boat I checked Soarin again, hoping the
initial rush had subsided but it was up to 45 minutes. Spaceship Earth and Nemo which had been 5 or 15 minutes were now up to 25 minutes. The Awesome Planet movie in the Land was starting in 8 minutes so we sat on a bench in the waiting area and then
saw the movie. I think Pete caught a bit of a catnap here and there – comfy seats, dark theater, music playing – it’s inevitable!

When we came outside we decided to get food from Flavors from Fire. There are other booths in the area, and then we could head to World Showcase to do a loop around the countries. At least that was the plan – not every plan comes to fruition.

At Fire we joined the queue, which wasn’t too long. Judy held an empty table across the way. I got the chimichurri skirt steak, Bonnie got the corned beef, and Pete & Judy got one of each. My steak was very good – I’m glad I got it. Pete
thought theirs was a little tough, which is a shame. I guess the corned beef dish was good, as they disappeared. I went over to the lobster booth to get the sparkling sauvignon blanc but when the cast member told me they were out of that & were serving
a sparkling rose instead I decided to pass. If that continues I’ll probably try it at some point, but right now I was set on the original.

I rejoined the others, where it was decided to just go back to the resort. Judy wasn’t going to make it around the countries, and we had to stop so she could sit a number of times to rest her knee. Certainly I could have stayed in the park if that
was my priority, but I was fine with heading out. The weather had warmed up and I figured I’d spend a little time at the pool.

World Showcase was very busy – in the past a Monday at noon wouldn’t be busy at all, but some of the lines we passed were ridiculous. It was very disappointing. In terms of the Remy virtual queue, it looks like our return time will be about 5.
Bonnie can’t ride it because she only has 1 real eye and any 3-D stuff makes her sick. Pete’s not sure they’re going to make it back in – depends on the knee. Normally we do a park in the morning, relax by the pool or elsewhere, then return for
the early evening of Food & Wine. I hope it happens, but it might not. I think a standard wheelchair would make sense. Judy’s so lightweight it wouldn’t be hard pushing her, and since she’s never used a scooter getting one of those could be
challenging in terms of maneuvering it with the crowds. We’ll see what happens.

I left them at International Gateway and walked back to Beach Club Villas (they would take the boat to Boardwalk). I changed into a swimsuit & coverup and went down to the quiet pool, getting there around 12:15 or so. At first there were only 2 other
people there, and eventually a few more started arriving, but it wasn’t crowded and there were no chair hogs “saving” chaise lounges or tables.

It was actually pretty warm out there – warm enough to be sweating. I did some reading and around 1:40 came back upstairs to change & cool off while watching General Hospital. I discovered I had access to my work email and files after all, so I spent
some time keeping up with work tasks since I was just sitting around for a while.

I’d texted back & forth with Pete during this time, and also kept any eye on the virtual queue. The return time kept getting pushed back, and it was indicating the wait once in the actual queue was 60 minutes! No freakin’ way!! I called Pete and
agreed to cancel the whole thing. Bonnie & Judy are talking about going into Epcot later, to see Harmonious, but both Pete & I are doubtful that’s going to happen. Not when Harmonious is at 9:45 and they can see the fireworks from their balcony.
Pete decided he wasn’t going to Epcot either, so it’ll be just me when I get up. We talked about plans for tomorrow, with things once again being somewhat fluid.

I got up and got ready for Epcot, heading out around 5. With the sun getting ready to set it had cooled off quite a bit, but nothing a sweatshirt or light jacket couldn’t handle. I entered the park and turned left toward UK to make a loop around the
countries. It was fairly busy, but it felt busier at noon today. Some of the F&W booths had significant lines but many didn’t. It seemed like the regular snack carts had worse lines than the festival booths. In Canada I could have walked right up
to order food, but if I wanted a funnel cake I’d be in a line extending well into Japan – go figure!

I wasn’t sure exactly what I was in the mood for, other than something I hadn’t gotten yet this year. As I approached Germany I thought of the sausage in pretzel roll, but that was one of the really long lines. Right next door the Alps had no line
at all. I didn’t feel like waiting, so I continued walking. Once again there was a fairly significant line extended out the caramel store. I’ll definitely mobile order here from now on – but not tonight.

When I finished the loop of the countries I headed into Future World and went to the mac & cheese booth. They had 3 registers open, and I think there was 1 person ahead of me. In no time at all I had the traditional mac & cheese and took it to a nearby
table. It was not a big portion but it was very cheesy! I could have scooped up a couple spoonfuls of cheese at the end, but I didn’t.

I headed back to World Showcase and just walked another loop around the countries before heading back to the resort sometime after 6. I fixed a plate of crackers & cheese, and poured some wine. I still have half the apple crumble tart to finish later
tonight and tomorrow morning before moving over to Boardwalk.

Tomorrow I’ve got a meeting I’ll be calling into at 8:30, and once that’s done I can gather up my stuff and drive over to Boardwalk. We might go to Disney Springs, or might just enjoy the pool. I hope my room will be ready earlier rather than
later. After SB arrives we all have a dinner reservation at Big River Grille. Hopefully Judy’s knee starts feeling better soon.

Sue/WDW1972

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)