Ft Wilderness and Wal-Mart

It was still raining lightly this morning and a bit colder. Bill took his coffee outside and soon came in to get me to see two more hawks out by our RV. I only saw one that was on a branch quite close to the RV. Poor thing was pretty wet. We didn’t see him snag any breakfast, but it was fun just being that close to such a beautiful bird. About noon we went to Wal-Mart to do some grocery shopping. We came on back to the RV finally. It was sunny by then but much colder. Tonight it is supposed to get down to 30. It is still warmer than it is up north!

Ft Wilderness and Epcot

It was a cloudy morning that turned into a really rainy day, so we stayed close to the RV for most of the day. I worked on photos, and Bill took a nap. It was a nice, quiet day. At 5:30 we headed out in the rain for Epcot and our dinner reservation at Tokyo Dining. That is always a lovely experience. Bill had a sushi platter for an appetizer, and I had some chicken/shrimp/veggie tempura. Bill had shrimp and scallop tempura for dinner, and I had a NY strip steak with a ponzu sauce (soy sauce and citrus). We were both happy with our meals. For dessert we split a green tea pudding. It was really quite excellent, rather like a flan but much creamier with a sweet tea sauce on the plate. After dinner we wandered around the Japan store which is my favorite in Epcot. They have so many neat items from Japan. We ended up in the food section where Bill got some sauce for a pork roast he has in the freezer. We also got some candy and snacks that we miss from Hawaii, and Bill from his stops at airport gift shops in Tokyo. It was still raining when we left, but we had raincoats and umbrellas. The park was almost deserted. The rain should stop sometime before noon tomorrow, and then we will have cooler weather.

Fantasia Fairways

We were all up about 8:30. We got our coffee and went out to watch the hawk hunting for a new meal. It was a lovely morning for sitting outside with coffee, my best friend, and wildlife. Later Nancy went for a run along the nature trail. When she got back. We left for lunch and miniature golf. We ended up at the Swan hotel’s coffee shop. Nancy and I shared a Rueben and a bowl of mushroom soup.

Then we walked over to the mini golf courses. There are three of them, and we chose to play the course with bunkers rather than props. It was really a tough (but fun) 18 holes, but it was a lot of fun. We got back to the RV at 5, and Nancy had to take off to get the rental car back to Sarasota. We were still full tonight, so we had a light dinner. It is supposed to rain the next two days, so we shall see what we want to do.

Friends and Boma

It was a pretty day at Disney. We slept in and had a rather uneventful day. Bill woke me up to come outside to see a hawk not far from our RV devouring a snake it had jus killed. It was a pretty awesome sight. Finally the hawk flew away with most of the snake. After breakfast we did some cleaning on the RV and tidying up.

My friend Nancy arrived at 5. We sat outside and chatted until it was time to head to Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Boma. Both Nancy and I love this restaurant and ate ourselves silly. We started off with our favorite, butternut squash soup. We also tried the curried coconut seafood stew which was also good. We also had our usual favorites: Pap and Sheeba – roasted tomatoes and white cornbread; Boboti – a spiced ground beef and lamb with onions and raisins, with a baked egg mixture on top; Geelrys – yellow rice with raisins, turmeric, gloves, ginger. There was a new dish called corn and spinach pudding that was really quite tasty! And finally there were the desserts: zebra dome (a chocolate kahlua mousse covered in a white chocolate ganache), a chocolate crunchy mousse, bread pudding with rum sauce, and a pineapple upside down cheesecake.

Then we rolled back out to the car and back to the RV. Nancy fell asleep soon after we got home since she had been doing seminars for two days.

Epcot and Ft Wilderness

It was another beautiful day at Disney. We headed out at 10:15 for Epcot. The crowds weren’t too bad, and we stopped to get a Fast Pass to Soarin’. Then it was on to Canada for lunch at Le Cellier. This is a really difficult place to get reservations for, but we did get a lunch reservation. For appetizers we shared a cheddar cheese soup and a salad called a tomato stack that was a huge slice of fresh, good tomato with caramelized onions, cucumbers, crumbled blue cheese, and Yuzu vinaigrette. Bill had a filet and I had a prime rib sandwich with a side of wild mushroom risotto. The risotto was wonderful. After lunch we went back to Soarin’. We had to wait through one ride in order to try sitting in the front row of this Imax movie with elevated moving seats. The front row didn’t make that much difference, but now we know. On our way out, we rode Spaceship Earth which is always fun.

Epcot and Ft Wilderness

It was a lovely day at Disney. We slept in, had breakfast, and then Bill got the hose on the sewer changed. He had really been dreading that since it took him hours the first time he did it. This time it was much easier, and he is so happy to have it done.

We left the RV at 12:45 to head to Epcot to have lunch at Tutto Italia in Italy in the World Showcase. It used to be Alfredo’s, but when Alfredo’s contract ran out, they didn’t renew. We used to love the fettuccine Alfredo. I wasn’t anticipating much more than Olive Garden food at a steeper price, but I was pleasantly surprised. I had the lasagna, and it was the best lasagna I have ever had. Bill had bowtie pasta with ham and peas in a cream sauce, and he enjoyed that a lot, too. We had a very expensive dessert called Copetta Sottobosco that had blueberries, strawberries, red raspberries, and black berries with zabaglione ice cream, whipped cream, and a bit of chocolate sauce. The zabaglione ice cream was to die for! After lunch we came on back to the RV to enjoy the lovely weather in our lawn chairs! We were stuffed, so we ate a light dinner and watched some TV.

Hollywood Studios

It was a cold morning, but it warmed up nicely this afternoon. We were up at 6 and left the RV at 7:15 for Hollywood Studios for the 8am early opening. We figured this was the only way to get into Toy Story Mania. There was a crowd already lined up at 7:30 even though only Disney resort guests get to use the early opening.

At 8 everyone headed for Toy Story, but we still got in without much fuss. The line inside is filled with all sorts of giant old-time toys: a Candyland board on the wall, checker board on the ceiling in one section and a Scrabble board on the ceiling of another section. There are large dominos, cards, crayons, a huge Tinker Toy can, a talking Mr. Potato Head, a Lincoln Log cabin, a wall with a paint by numbers picture and a Chinese Checkers board, and lots of other huge toys. The ride itself consists of sitting in a car with toy canons shooting at various targets. I found the props lots more fun than the shooting. We came out, got a fast pass for an hour later, and went right back in again. After 3 trips I think I finally saw most of the ride. Before the last ride, we got some breakfast at the ABC Commissary. When we finished at 10:30, the entry for the current Fast Pass was for 5:45pm, and the line for the ride was an hour. We also went through the newly revamped Nardia ride, but that was a real disappointment.

We came back to the RV and had some lunch. Bill took a nap, and I worked on the photos I had taken this morning. Then we took off for Camping World to get a new sewer hose, some camping toilet paper, and an electrical extension for the rally he has planned in March. After we got back, I took my nap. While I slept, Bill went to the Trails End and got take-out dinners.

Photos for this trip can be seen by clicking on the link Disney 2009 Jan/Feb on the left.

Ft Wilderness

It was a warmer, sunny day. We spent the whole day hanging out at the RV just relaxing and doing some chores. We watched some TV, read, and enjoyed just being here. I worked on some photos and actually finished a book! Bill hooked up the sewer and put a new bolt on the Tracker battery. I did some research on Universal Studios so we will have a clue when we make our first visit sometime during our stay. Bill grilled some kosher hot dogs for lunch and a veggie and sausage stir-fry for dinner. It was a lovely day.

Ft Wilderness

It was finally a little warmer today. We slept in and had a lazy morning. After lunch we went to Shades of Green, the military hotel here at Disney World, to get our new annual passes and to buy tickets to Universal Studios which we will use sometime during the next 3 weeks. From there we went to Hollywood Studios to activate our passes. We figured we would go see how long the line was for Toy Story Mania. This park was really crowded today, and we have no idea why. The line for Toy Story was huge, so we left and went back to Wal-Mart to pick up a few more items. Bill wanted some boxes to store some of us ‘stuff’ in.
We also got a scale for the RV.

We came back to the RV for an hour before we took the boat over to the Contemporary Hotel. Bill had read about a new restaurant there that might be cheaper than our Trail’s End buffet, plus it sounded interesting. It is a fast food restaurant, but one goes first to a touch-screen computer and selects food items. You get a receipt and pay at the cashier. We had hot items, so we got a pager that would tell us when our food was ready. It wasn’t too crowded, and it wasn’t too bad. I got a barbeque sandwich. Bill got chicken alfredo. We also got a veggie bake which we shared. It was a step above fast food, but a cheaper alternative to fixing our own or the Trail’s End buffet. I went back and got a Dos Leches cupcake to share with Bill. It was really good!

Ft Wilderness

Today we got up, unhooked the RV, and headed out to get more propane so we wouldn’t freeze. That took a bit of time, but we are set for a while. We brought the RV back and hooked everything up this time. Then we took the tracker and drove back to Winter Garden to get the spare RV keys at the storage place. Then we had lunch and went to Wal-mart to get food and staples. We finally got back to the RV at 4:30 and finished setting up. Everything works fine except for the satellite TV – we can’t get a signal, but we do have the Disney cable. No Animal Planet or Crime for me! Another long day.

Raleigh to Disney World

It was an adventure in traveling today. We were up at 3:15 to lots of snow falling in Raleigh – the first snow in years. The cab came at 4, and we slip-slided to the airport. Check in was fine, and we boarded the plane at 5:30. At 6 we backed away from the gate and got de-iced which took a half hour. But then the runway wasn’t cleared yet, so we waited and waited. We de-iced for a second time and finally took off at 10, four hours late. Luckily I had 3 empty seats and slept for 3 of those hours.

We landed in Houston and waited for an hour and a half for the next flight to Orlando (which was full, but we got on). We got our luggage and boarded the shuttle at 5 to go get the car out of hock at the long-term parking. Then it was another half hour to the RV storage area. It was closed, but we had the code for the gate, and luckily the RV started. Bill drove the RV, and I drove the Tracker to Ft Wilderness. We managed to park in the dark at 8:15 and do a minimal hook-up. It was 27 degrees, so we turned on the heat, went to the Trail’s End for dinner, and soon went to bed. It was still freezing when we went to bed, but we were so tired we would have slept in an igloo.