Post-Trip Report: Aly’s Grand Family Trip to the Grand Floridian (September 2024)

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VIRGINIA: Welcome to Where I Long To Be, A Magical Trip Report Podcast.

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VIRGINIA: My name is Virginia and I am your host.

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VIRGINIA: Thank you all so much for tuning in.

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VIRGINIA: If you have someone you know would enjoy the show, please make sure to share it with them.

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VIRGINIA: Along that same line, if you or someone you know would make a good trip report guest, please send them to my web page, which is whereilongtobepodcast.com.

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VIRGINIA: I'm currently looking for guests who are traveling in early 2025.

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VIRGINIA: Since my schedule does get booked up, if you're considering submitting yourself to be a guest, now is the time to jump on that before all the slots are filled.

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VIRGINIA: On this week's episode, Aly is returning the podcast to talk about her most recent Walt Disney World trip.

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VIRGINIA: If you didn't get a chance to listen to the pre-trip episode, the important things to know are that they were staying at the Grand Floridian in two DVC resort studios, that Aly was joined by her mom, her dad, and her brother for this adventure, and that her dad and brother are both wheelchair users, so they rented scooters.

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VIRGINIA: Finally, that while Aly is an annual pass holder, at the time we spoke for the pre-trip interview less than a week before their travel day, neither Aly's parents nor her brother had purchased their park tickets yet.

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VIRGINIA: Very different for a planner like Aly.

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VIRGINIA: Hello, Aly.

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ALY: Hello.

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VIRGINIA: How are you?

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ALY: I'm doing good.

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ALY: How are you doing?

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VIRGINIA: I am doing well.

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VIRGINIA: It is officially October now, so I'm starting to feel the fall vibes.

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VIRGINIA: I don't know about you, but...

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ALY: Of course, the leaves are already changing.

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VIRGINIA: The leaves are changing.

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VIRGINIA: I'm feeling myself drawn towards plaid.

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VIRGINIA: I keep wanting to get some suede loafers.

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VIRGINIA: I'm ready for the fall.

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VIRGINIA: But we are here not to talk about fall fashion or pumpkin spice lattes or anything like that.

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VIRGINIA: We're here to talk about your Disney trip.

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VIRGINIA: So, overall, how did it go?

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ALY: It was fun.

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ALY: We had a good time.

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ALY: It was a different trip than I've been taking the past couple of times, but it was fun.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: When we spoke last time, there were no tickets purchased yet.

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VIRGINIA: So tell us the story of how the tickets got purchased and what was decided.

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ALY: So the tickets were purchased the night before we left.

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VIRGINIA: Oh my word.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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ALY: We're going old school.

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ALY: ended up being that my mother and my brother got five day tickets, and then my father got three day tickets.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: What was the reasoning for that?

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ALY: The reason behind it was my dad said that he really just wanted to spend time at the resort, and he didn't want to run around all day long, and he wanted to take a break.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: So in that decision, did he have in mind which park days he knew he would want to join you on, or was he going to just play it by ear?

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ALY: I just think he was waiting for us to make this decision.

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VIRGINIA: Got it.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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ALY: But it changed, so we'll get to that, I guess.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: You also on this trip happened to be using the quick service dining plan.

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VIRGINIA: So overall, what were your feelings about using the dining plan?

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ALY: I personally don't like it.

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ALY: It was not worth it.

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ALY: We didn't use all of our credit.

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ALY: It's a lot of food, especially in September.

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ALY: I don't know if it's just me.

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ALY: I have a hard time eating a full meal when it's very warm outside.

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ALY: Typically, usually, my husband and I will go and we'll eat at a lounge, and we'll split an appetizer or I'll get a kid's meal at some point during the day.

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ALY: I mean, we don't really eat a lot of full meals when we're down there, just because of the way that we travel.

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ALY: My mom, the last time she had gone, they still hadn't come back yet, but the time before, she remembers really enjoying it.

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ALY: So she really wanted to try it and she thought it was, she liked the idea of everything being paid for.

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ALY: So I was willing to try it because I haven't tried it since it's been back.

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ALY: So we all just went in and again, it's easier if every separate person is paying for themselves, you know, but I would not recommend.

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ALY: The different thing is the drink with the meal, which was confusing to me.

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VIRGINIA: Did you take advantage of that?

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: And for listeners, this is an alcoholic drink per meal, not just any old drink.

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VIRGINIA: The drink was included before, but the alcoholic part of it is new.

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VIRGINIA: So what I usually recommend when people are interested in pre-paying is I will typically suggest buying a Disney gift card for the same amount that you would have paid to purchase the dining plan, and then just use that to swipe all your meals.

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VIRGINIA: Because you will likely have money leftover at the end, and then it's on a Disney gift card, and you can use it for a souvenir, or you can save it for the next time, that sort of thing.

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VIRGINIA: And so it can give you that pre-paid feeling without having to be locked into a certain number of credits, or trying to maximize your credits.

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VIRGINIA: Because we talked about this on the pre-trip, but some people use the dining clan because they want to feel like it's pre-paid, and some people use it because they feel like they want to try to squeeze every last drop of value out of the dining plan, which it's very hard to do.

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VIRGINIA: And I will link in the show notes, but there's an episode of the Main Street Dish podcast where they have someone on who's really good at statistics and she's done all the research.

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VIRGINIA: And they break it down as to what you have to spend to be able to make a value of the dining plan.

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VIRGINIA: It's really hard to do.

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VIRGINIA: It's sort of like gambling.

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VIRGINIA: The house always wins, except in this case, it's the mouse always wins.

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ALY: Yeah.

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ALY: It's good advice because let me tell you, it was just super awkward sometimes because, you know, because you feel like you want to get your money's worth.

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ALY: So you were getting breakfast and you were grabbing a drink, like an alcoholic drink out of the cooler, you know, and it was just like, so then we had a backlog of drinks in our fridge in the room because we just kept collecting them.

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ALY: So, you know, it is what it is, but I would recommend, like you said, definitely get the gift card because we didn't use it.

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VIRGINIA: Now, something else different about this trip is that both your dad and your brother use wheelchairs and you were renting a scooter from ScooterBug, and I think ScooterBug is the one place these days that will drop directly off at your resort and you don't even have to be there to retrieve it.

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VIRGINIA: So, I know that you were expecting the scooter rental to be there on your second day since you were arriving in the evening.

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VIRGINIA: How did everything go with the rental company?

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ALY: It went well at first.

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ALY: Essentially, the rental went fine, they dropped off the scooter, but by the last day, my father's scooter broke at a different resort, which created a transportation opportunity.

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ALY: So, we ended up having to take a minivan because my father and brother both cannot walk more than just a few steps.

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ALY: So, they are in a wheelchair and they use crutches to walk.

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ALY: So, if they don't have a scooter, they're stranded.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: We'll get to the details of that when the time comes.

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VIRGINIA: But as a company, would you recommend Scooter Bug to others?

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ALY: I don't know, to be honest with you, because I haven't tried others.

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ALY: So, I don't, and I think the idea of them dropping them off and not having to meet them is good.

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ALY: But the way that we had planned it, it wouldn't have been a big deal anyway.

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ALY: I think it probably depends on price.

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ALY: I didn't actually see what they paid for them.

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ALY: So, that said, maybe shop around.

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ALY: I think the next time we go, my dad said he's going to use a different scooter company.

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ALY: So, I mean, I don't know.

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ALY: I don't know if I wouldn't recommend them or I would recommend them because we did have trouble with it, but I don't know if it was just luck of the draw or whatever.

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ALY: So-

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VIRGINIA: Right.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: Well, let's get into the day-to-day details.

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VIRGINIA: So, Monday, September 23rd, you were arriving at MCO close to seven o'clock at night and had planned to take mirrors.

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VIRGINIA: So, how was your travel?

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ALY: So, our flight was delayed and we found out when we were in the driveway at our house.

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ALY: So, if it's going to be delayed, it was convenient, right?

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ALY: So, we didn't have to go to the airport early.

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ALY: We didn't end up leaving the airport until 7 PM.

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ALY: And we did not arrive to MCO.

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ALY: It was just after 10 and we took mirrors.

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ALY: Now, I listened to your last podcast.

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ALY: I think it was the last one that just played, and they had trouble with mirrors, and it took them a long time.

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ALY: It was a late night.

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ALY: This, no trouble at all.

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ALY: It was literally, we weren't even the first stop, but we were at the Grand Floridian by 11 PM.

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VIRGINIA: Oh, that's really good.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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ALY: And we had to collect our luggage, and we had to get through the airport.

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ALY: And because they use wheelchairs, we're the last off the plane, because we have to wait for the wheelchairs to be brought up from below, and then we have to get through the airport.

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ALY: And it's just, it's not a quick process.

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ALY: So, I mean, it worked perfectly.

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ALY: I actually am going to go back to using mirrors, I think, because I was using Uber and Lyft.

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ALY: But I like the whole experience.

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VIRGINIA: How did mirrors do with handling the wheelchairs and boarding the bus?

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ALY: So well, that part is the reason we do mirrors, because they usually save the two front rows for a handicap seating because they can't, when you're on, when you have crutches, you can't walk to the back of the bus.

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ALY: You would have to hold on to all of the chairs.

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ALY: So, you know, it's so convenient.

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ALY: They can get up the stairs, but each driver both ways was so helpful, loaded the wheelchairs, helped me and my mom out because we're kind of smaller people.

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ALY: So we can do it.

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ALY: But like, you know, it's just nice to have help.

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ALY: We have wheelchairs and we have bags and we have all the things.

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ALY: So, you know, they're so nice and they're, they're, they're so professional and they, they're so helpful.

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ALY: So no complaints.

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VIRGINIA: It was quite late then when you got to Grand Floridian in terms of food or anything, and you had thought maybe you'd watch the fireworks.

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VIRGINIA: Obviously, that wasn't happening.

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VIRGINIA: Was it straight to bed or were you just so excited to be at the Grand Floridian and you had hard time sleeping?

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ALY: Well, we were hungry, so we did the late because Gasparilla's has late night dining.

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ALY: So you can get like salads or sandwiches, cold sandwiches in the fridge.

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ALY: So we got, we got something to eat as soon as we got there.

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ALY: We ate and then we went up to the room.

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ALY: I had to get my owner's locker and Bell Services wasn't answering the phone.

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ALY: So I had to go down to the lobby and then got the owner's locker.

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ALY: It was just, you know, it's just late night.

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ALY: There's only a couple of people working.

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ALY: But they were so nice.

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ALY: They went and got the owner's locker.

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ALY: They gave me a ride back to the room.

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ALY: And I think I was in bed by like 1.30.

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ALY: So it was a late night.

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VIRGINIA: What about your room location?

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VIRGINIA: You had requested to be connecting or at least close by.

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VIRGINIA: Were they able to accommodate you?

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ALY: We were close-ish by.

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ALY: We were definitely not connecting.

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ALY: But it worked out fine.

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ALY: We were on the same floor.

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ALY: The accessible rooms are right next to the elevator.

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ALY: And then we were kind of down the hall, like five or six rooms.

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ALY: So it wasn't terrible.

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ALY: But yeah, they at least got us close.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So Tuesday, September 24th, this is the day you received your scooter bug scooters.

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VIRGINIA: So is that the first thing you did in the morning was go to retrieve those?

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ALY: Yes.

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ALY: So I think they dropped off around nine.

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ALY: We had a slow start because by the time we got to bed, it was just kind of late.

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ALY: We went down, we got scooters.

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ALY: I had had groceries delivered, just a few things.

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ALY: Then we had coffee.

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ALY: Then we were at Magic Kingdom by 11 AM that morning.

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ALY: So it wasn't too bad.

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VIRGINIA: No.

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VIRGINIA: When we spoke before, you thought you might try to go over at 10.

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VIRGINIA: So that's not too far off your original plan.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So how was your Magic Kingdom Day?

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ALY: It was fun.

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ALY: And interestingly enough, my father is one of those.

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ALY: His favorite park is Epcot.

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ALY: He says he doesn't really like Magic Kingdom.

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ALY: And he had a good time.

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ALY: He had a really good time.

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ALY: We went to Gaston's first and we got the cinnamon roll and the creme brulee croissant.

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VIRGINIA: Everybody's talking about that creme brulee croissant.

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VIRGINIA: I cannot wait to try it.

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VIRGINIA: How was it?

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ALY: I thought it was good.

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ALY: I like the cinnamon roll better, but I think that's my preference because I'm not a huge croissant person.

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ALY: My mom loves croissants and creme brulee and she said she did like the cinnamon roll better.

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ALY: But she said it was really good though.

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ALY: But it's one of those things like we split a croissant and a cinnamon roll between the four of us.

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ALY: Then that was because it's so sweet.

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VIRGINIA: Split it.

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ALY: So that was fun.

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ALY: Then we did the Liberty Bell boat.

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ALY: My father had never ridden it, I don't think.

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VIRGINIA: Well, he needs to ride it while he can.

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VIRGINIA: It's not going to be-

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ALY: That's what we said.

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ALY: We're like, hey, it's going away.

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ALY: We enjoyed that.

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ALY: Interesting to note, since my brother and father have mobility limitations, stepping into rides can be a challenge.

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ALY: Pirates is off limits.

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ALY: Any boat ride is difficult, although Small World has a wheelchair boat, so we can get them in.

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ALY: Then the rides with moving walkways like Haunted Mansion and Little Mermaid, they have to stop the ride to get on.

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ALY: Not a problem, it's just makes your day at Magic Kingdom a lot different.

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ALY: It makes it a lot different.

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ALY: So after the Liberty Bell, we went to Hall of presidents.

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VIRGINIA: Haven't done that in a while.

00:15:28.387 --> 00:15:29.687
ALY: No, I have not.

00:15:29.687 --> 00:15:32.087
ALY: That was some rocking AC.

00:15:32.087 --> 00:15:37.667
ALY: I have to say it was like the best Hall of presidents ever because it was just so cool in there.

00:15:39.847 --> 00:15:45.927
ALY: We did that and then we got the cheeseburger spring rolls and we split those, tried them.

00:15:47.107 --> 00:15:52.427
VIRGINIA: Your mom was really itching to try those based on things she had seen.

00:15:52.427 --> 00:15:54.167
VIRGINIA: What was her assessment?

00:15:54.167 --> 00:15:54.647
ALY: She liked them.

00:15:54.647 --> 00:15:58.747
ALY: I think she liked the cinnamon roll the best of all the stuff though.

00:15:58.747 --> 00:15:59.367
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:15:59.367 --> 00:16:00.607
ALY: All right.

00:16:00.607 --> 00:16:03.167
ALY: Yeah, she liked them and then we went.

00:16:03.167 --> 00:16:04.707
ALY: My dad wanted some sunglasses.

00:16:04.707 --> 00:16:06.547
ALY: We went to the Emporium.

00:16:06.547 --> 00:16:08.387
ALY: It's like he's a rookie and never been to Florida.

00:16:09.667 --> 00:16:12.247
VIRGINIA: So he didn't bring sunglasses at home.

00:16:14.927 --> 00:16:19.047
ALY: So then we watched the Festival of Fantasy parade, which I've never done.

00:16:19.047 --> 00:16:20.327
ALY: You haven't?

00:16:20.327 --> 00:16:21.347
ALY: No.

00:16:21.347 --> 00:16:22.147
ALY: No reason.

00:16:22.147 --> 00:16:30.567
ALY: It's just like we're never there because we're either there early in the morning and we're gone by the time it starts or we're not there when it's going.

00:16:30.567 --> 00:16:33.587
ALY: So we did that and that was fun.

00:16:33.587 --> 00:16:34.827
ALY: That's such a cool parade.

00:16:37.007 --> 00:16:42.007
ALY: Then we ended up over in Frontierland and did Country Bears.

00:16:42.007 --> 00:16:43.427
ALY: And that's so fun.

00:16:43.427 --> 00:16:45.167
ALY: I love the new version.

00:16:45.167 --> 00:16:48.387
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing the new version.

00:16:48.387 --> 00:17:00.327
ALY: It's so much more, it's just more vivacious, I guess, because I saw it right before it closed and it was tired, you know, and all the animals look really good and cleaned up.

00:17:00.327 --> 00:17:06.207
ALY: And, you know, the songs are more relevant to Disney songs.

00:17:06.207 --> 00:17:08.387
ALY: So I think it's fun.

00:17:08.387 --> 00:17:13.147
VIRGINIA: So, yeah, it was it was tired before, for sure.

00:17:13.147 --> 00:17:19.027
VIRGINIA: But there was just something so nostalgic about it that I enjoyed it for all its quirkiness.

00:17:19.407 --> 00:17:22.247
VIRGINIA: So, yeah, but I'm also looking forward to the change.

00:17:22.247 --> 00:17:23.787
ALY: So, it's fun.

00:17:23.787 --> 00:17:24.367
ALY: I like it.

00:17:24.367 --> 00:17:24.687
ALY: I like it.

00:17:24.687 --> 00:17:26.667
ALY: I think they did a good job.

00:17:26.667 --> 00:17:29.127
ALY: At that point, we ended up going back to the resort.

00:17:29.127 --> 00:17:33.587
ALY: I always underestimate how tired you get when it's this hot out.

00:17:33.587 --> 00:17:34.207
ALY: You know what I mean?

00:17:34.207 --> 00:17:39.847
ALY: Like, it's so funny because you always like when I'm at home, I'm thinking, oh, I'm going to be so excited.

00:17:39.847 --> 00:17:41.567
ALY: And the heat doesn't bother me.

00:17:41.567 --> 00:17:46.907
ALY: Well, it maybe doesn't bother you, but it makes things, I don't know, go slower.

00:17:47.187 --> 00:17:50.587
ALY: And your stamina is different, you know?

00:17:50.587 --> 00:17:51.887
VIRGINIA: Yeah, exactly.

00:17:51.887 --> 00:17:53.247
VIRGINIA: Exactly.

00:17:53.247 --> 00:17:55.747
ALY: So we went back and then we kind of rested for a little bit.

00:17:55.747 --> 00:17:58.347
ALY: And then we went and had drinks at the pool bar.

00:17:59.907 --> 00:18:01.647
ALY: That was fun.

00:18:01.647 --> 00:18:06.387
ALY: Then we decided we were going to go to Crockett's Tavern over at Fort wilderness.

00:18:06.387 --> 00:18:06.747
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:18:06.747 --> 00:18:10.207
VIRGINIA: You mentioned thinking about going over there.

00:18:10.207 --> 00:18:12.027
VIRGINIA: So how was it?

00:18:12.027 --> 00:18:12.547
ALY: So fun.

00:18:12.787 --> 00:18:14.227
ALY: I love that.

00:18:14.227 --> 00:18:16.827
ALY: I love Crockett's Tavern.

00:18:16.827 --> 00:18:18.247
ALY: I've never stayed at Fort wilderness.

00:18:18.807 --> 00:18:20.827
ALY: It doesn't appeal to me in that way.

00:18:20.827 --> 00:18:26.387
ALY: But the tavern is such a cool night out, I guess, is a good way.

00:18:26.387 --> 00:18:30.427
ALY: You take the boat for Magic Kingdom and you go there and you go into the tavern.

00:18:30.427 --> 00:18:33.447
ALY: And it's usually not super busy.

00:18:33.447 --> 00:18:38.427
ALY: They serve kind of meals where some of the lounges don't serve full meals.

00:18:40.367 --> 00:18:45.907
ALY: And, you know, it's just, it's just a, I don't know, it's just a vibe, you know, it's just.

00:18:45.907 --> 00:18:49.767
ALY: So we had really good, the drinks, the moonshine flights, always fun.

00:18:49.767 --> 00:18:53.027
ALY: And we had drinks and we all had dinner there.

00:18:53.027 --> 00:18:58.427
ALY: And the servers there are just, they're so good and fun.

00:18:58.427 --> 00:18:59.947
ALY: There's a lot of life going on there.

00:18:59.947 --> 00:19:02.147
ALY: So it's fun, something different.

00:19:02.147 --> 00:19:10.687
VIRGINIA: You would stay at Fort wilderness if you had one of the cabins and had access to a golf cart?

00:19:10.687 --> 00:19:18.587
ALY: I would, but it's not, it's not on my top five on my list.

00:19:18.587 --> 00:19:22.767
ALY: But I feel like the only way you could do it is with a golf cart.

00:19:22.767 --> 00:19:23.967
ALY: It would be fun.

00:19:23.967 --> 00:19:24.787
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:19:24.787 --> 00:19:30.847
VIRGINIA: I would love to go over there at Halloween time because of everybody decorating.

00:19:30.847 --> 00:19:35.407
VIRGINIA: So I don't know if based on where Carcass Tavern is, if you could see anything.

00:19:35.407 --> 00:19:46.527
VIRGINIA: But was there evidence of Halloween decor on people's golf carts or things that people had done to kind of get into the spirit of the season?

00:19:46.527 --> 00:19:48.407
ALY: Yes, the golf carts were decorated.

00:19:48.407 --> 00:19:51.527
ALY: You can't really see any of the sites because it's right up front.

00:19:51.527 --> 00:19:54.227
ALY: It's literally on the other side of Pioneer Hall.

00:19:54.227 --> 00:19:58.767
ALY: So you take the boat and you literally walk, I don't know, a couple of hundred feet from the boat.

00:19:58.767 --> 00:19:59.947
ALY: And that's where it is.

00:19:59.947 --> 00:20:00.807
ALY: But it's fun.

00:20:00.807 --> 00:20:02.347
VIRGINIA: Was that the last thing you did that day?

00:20:02.747 --> 00:20:06.047
ALY: Well, we went back to Grand Floridian.

00:20:06.047 --> 00:20:13.827
ALY: We got cupcakes at Gasbrillas for dessert and watched the water pageant and the fireworks from the room.

00:20:13.827 --> 00:20:15.147
VIRGINIA: Good way to end the day.

00:20:15.147 --> 00:20:16.407
ALY: It really was.

00:20:16.407 --> 00:20:17.187
ALY: It was a good day.

00:20:17.187 --> 00:20:17.647
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:20:17.647 --> 00:20:28.207
VIRGINIA: Wednesday, September 25th, you were planning on doing a little bit of park hopping this day because there were after hours for Deluxe guests that night.

00:20:28.207 --> 00:20:30.607
VIRGINIA: So you thought you were going to start at Epcot.

00:20:30.767 --> 00:20:32.967
VIRGINIA: Is that where you actually ended up starting your day?

00:20:32.967 --> 00:20:33.727
ALY: We did.

00:20:33.727 --> 00:20:34.947
ALY: We started at Epcot.

00:20:34.947 --> 00:20:40.027
VIRGINIA: Were all four of you there or was this a dad stays back?

00:20:40.027 --> 00:20:43.467
ALY: That all four of us were together still.

00:20:43.467 --> 00:20:47.927
ALY: I got a virtual queue for Guardians and I bought a virtual queue.

00:20:47.927 --> 00:20:54.047
ALY: I bought a Fastpass for Guardians and I bought the Lightning Lanes for the park.

00:20:55.067 --> 00:20:57.007
ALY: I got like Soarin.

00:20:57.007 --> 00:21:07.787
ALY: No, I got Remy's Spaceship Earth, which we can't really ride because that's a loading difficulty when we did Figment because the Lightning Lanes at Epcot are tricky.

00:21:09.247 --> 00:21:11.227
ALY: We headed to Epcot that morning.

00:21:11.467 --> 00:21:13.347
ALY: We didn't get there till 10.

00:21:13.347 --> 00:21:17.707
ALY: We rode Guardians right when we got there and that was the virtual queue.

00:21:17.707 --> 00:21:20.507
ALY: That was literally ready so early.

00:21:20.507 --> 00:21:25.067
ALY: We ate lunch at Connection because we kind of skipped breakfast this day, went to Connection.

00:21:25.067 --> 00:21:28.787
ALY: I think we ended up eating at Connection around 11.30.

00:21:28.787 --> 00:21:31.287
ALY: I've never eaten at Connection before, which again, crazy.

00:21:31.287 --> 00:21:33.627
VIRGINIA: What did you end up getting?

00:21:33.627 --> 00:21:37.747
ALY: I got, my mom got the pizza.

00:21:37.747 --> 00:21:38.787
VIRGINIA: I got the chicken sandwich.

00:21:39.967 --> 00:21:41.127
ALY: Yes.

00:21:41.127 --> 00:21:41.867
VIRGINIA: It is huge.

00:21:41.867 --> 00:21:42.847
VIRGINIA: And it's funny.

00:21:42.867 --> 00:21:50.307
ALY: It's another instance in which she would have got the kids' meal because it's one slice of pizza because that's all she ate.

00:21:50.867 --> 00:21:51.667
ALY: Right?

00:21:51.667 --> 00:21:53.607
ALY: And she would have got the kids' meal.

00:21:53.607 --> 00:21:57.907
ALY: I would have probably just got a snack or shared something.

00:21:57.907 --> 00:22:03.107
ALY: But I got like the whole sandwich with the fries and then I got the drink that came with it.

00:22:03.107 --> 00:22:08.407
ALY: My dad got a chicken sandwich and my brother, I think, I don't remember what you got.

00:22:08.407 --> 00:22:09.547
ALY: I think you got a hamburger.

00:22:09.547 --> 00:22:09.727
ALY: Yeah.

00:22:09.727 --> 00:22:11.867
ALY: You got the or cheeseburger.

00:22:11.867 --> 00:22:14.327
ALY: So it's just so much food.

00:22:14.327 --> 00:22:15.607
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:22:15.607 --> 00:22:21.467
VIRGINIA: They make a really good Asian chicken salad there if you like that kind of salad.

00:22:21.467 --> 00:22:28.007
ALY: I was going to get that and I made a last-minute change to the, likes the spicy chicken sandwich.

00:22:29.327 --> 00:22:31.167
ALY: I don't know why, but it was good.

00:22:31.167 --> 00:22:33.207
ALY: It was good, but I probably would have liked the salad better.

00:22:33.207 --> 00:22:35.227
ALY: So I'm going to try that next time.

00:22:36.307 --> 00:22:36.747
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:22:36.747 --> 00:22:37.607
VIRGINIA: What was up next?

00:22:37.607 --> 00:22:40.007
VIRGINIA: Oh, and what song did you get on Guardians?

00:22:40.007 --> 00:22:41.447
VIRGINIA: I can't believe I didn't ask you that.

00:22:42.107 --> 00:22:43.887
ALY: So they split us up.

00:22:43.887 --> 00:22:46.347
ALY: Me and my dad were on one.

00:22:48.247 --> 00:22:49.527
ALY: It was kind of confusing.

00:22:49.787 --> 00:22:53.987
ALY: My mom and Scott were on one car, and my dad and me were on a different car.

00:22:53.987 --> 00:23:00.007
ALY: We got I Ran, and my mom and Scott got September.

00:23:00.007 --> 00:23:07.447
ALY: So I was kind of disappointed that I got I Ran, because the whole way in line, I was like, I don't really care what we get, but I hope it's not I Ran.

00:23:07.447 --> 00:23:10.147
ALY: So it's like I wished it into a car.

00:23:10.747 --> 00:23:13.367
VIRGINIA: That's what I say every single time.

00:23:13.367 --> 00:23:15.847
VIRGINIA: Anything but I Ran, please.

00:23:15.847 --> 00:23:16.287
ALY: Anything.

00:23:16.287 --> 00:23:17.387
ALY: I'm good with anything.

00:23:17.387 --> 00:23:19.207
ALY: So it was fine.

00:23:20.947 --> 00:23:27.827
ALY: It's so funny because again, when you're with somebody that has a scooter, you go up the stairs and then down the stairs.

00:23:27.827 --> 00:23:33.307
ALY: When you get off, well, you have to get in an elevator and go up an elevator and then back down an elevator.

00:23:33.927 --> 00:23:35.047
ALY: So it was funny.

00:23:35.047 --> 00:23:38.847
ALY: We were in the elevator and I said, my brother loved the ride.

00:23:38.847 --> 00:23:43.467
ALY: My mom was like, wow, it was a good ride, but I can't ride that again today.

00:23:44.767 --> 00:23:47.647
ALY: Then my dad was like, I don't need to ride that again ever.

00:23:49.767 --> 00:23:52.787
ALY: He said it was fun, but he's like, wow.

00:23:52.787 --> 00:24:02.567
ALY: I tried to tell them what it was, but it's such a hard ride to describe to people that don't follow this kind of stuff online.

00:24:02.947 --> 00:24:09.607
ALY: It's like, oh, it's a roller coaster, but there's screens, but it's not a screen ride, and the car turns, but it doesn't spin.

00:24:09.607 --> 00:24:10.067
ALY: I don't know.

00:24:10.207 --> 00:24:11.187
ALY: It's very hard.

00:24:11.187 --> 00:24:18.207
ALY: Anyway, after that, we rode Figmen, and I was hoping to ride Figmen because at that time, the Lightning Lanes were just immediate.

00:24:18.207 --> 00:24:23.967
ALY: Honestly, me buying the Lightning Lane was not something I even needed to do.

00:24:23.967 --> 00:24:32.047
ALY: The only reason I did do it was because Remy, my brother wanted to ride Remy, and we didn't end up riding it.

00:24:33.127 --> 00:24:34.487
VIRGINIA: Oh, no.

00:24:34.487 --> 00:24:36.107
VIRGINIA: How did that happen?

00:24:36.107 --> 00:24:38.387
ALY: Because it was the only Remy time slot.

00:24:38.387 --> 00:24:42.667
ALY: Because again, we bought our tickets the day before we left.

00:24:42.667 --> 00:24:47.407
ALY: We didn't have the seven days in advance to book the Lightning Lanes.

00:24:47.407 --> 00:24:51.847
ALY: So I bought the Lightning Lanes the night, like I bought them sitting at Crocket's Tavern.

00:24:51.847 --> 00:24:57.267
ALY: And the only thing left for Remy was between 8.30 and 9 PM.

00:24:58.607 --> 00:25:00.407
ALY: And so I was like, you know what, maybe I can change it.

00:25:00.527 --> 00:25:05.247
ALY: So I just grabbed it and just, but I couldn't change it.

00:25:05.247 --> 00:25:08.907
ALY: It couldn't change, which is the reason I, I didn't like the old system.

00:25:08.907 --> 00:25:12.407
ALY: The Fast Festism, even when it was free, that drove me nuts.

00:25:12.407 --> 00:25:13.287
ALY: I prefer to do it.

00:25:13.427 --> 00:25:18.067
ALY: And I know I hate waking up at 7.30 in the morning, but I prefer to do it the day.

00:25:18.067 --> 00:25:20.827
ALY: Because the plans change like and things change.

00:25:20.827 --> 00:25:25.327
ALY: And the whole tiered system, you know.

00:25:25.327 --> 00:25:28.027
ALY: So anyway, we rode Soarin right after.

00:25:28.807 --> 00:25:32.727
ALY: We rode Figment to ride Soarin essentially, because then I could book Soarin.

00:25:34.287 --> 00:25:36.987
ALY: So we rode Soarin and we got B1.

00:25:36.987 --> 00:25:38.747
ALY: We requested B1.

00:25:38.747 --> 00:25:40.427
ALY: My mom loves that ride.

00:25:40.427 --> 00:25:41.867
ALY: My brother Scott loves that ride.

00:25:41.867 --> 00:25:45.827
ALY: So it was a hit with us.

00:25:45.827 --> 00:25:48.127
ALY: We had a good time on that.

00:25:48.127 --> 00:25:51.847
ALY: After Soarin, we decided to go into Mexico.

00:25:51.847 --> 00:25:53.207
ALY: I was like, I'm getting a margarita.

00:25:56.527 --> 00:25:57.607
ALY: So we went to Mexico.

00:25:57.607 --> 00:25:59.227
ALY: It was so crowded, right?

00:25:59.227 --> 00:26:02.567
ALY: It's always really crowded in that area, but it's tight.

00:26:02.567 --> 00:26:12.727
ALY: So we sat down where the mariachi band will play between Norway and whatever.

00:26:12.727 --> 00:26:16.407
ALY: I drank my margarita and then we went on.

00:26:16.407 --> 00:26:20.607
ALY: We went through Norway and then we ended up just going straight to China.

00:26:21.027 --> 00:26:26.507
ALY: And we decided to get the chips, like just different flavored chips and try them.

00:26:26.507 --> 00:26:32.167
ALY: So we got the, well, I don't, I believe it was octopus was the flavor.

00:26:32.167 --> 00:26:33.707
ALY: Okay.

00:26:33.707 --> 00:26:35.427
ALY: How was it?

00:26:35.427 --> 00:26:36.427
ALY: Not good.

00:26:36.427 --> 00:26:40.487
ALY: They weren't as bad as you think they were, because it was just like really salty.

00:26:40.487 --> 00:26:40.627
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:26:40.627 --> 00:26:51.487
ALY: And then like there was this very foreign like after flavor that was almost like, I don't want to say chemical, but it was just something you couldn't place, you know?

00:26:51.487 --> 00:26:52.007
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:26:52.007 --> 00:27:04.347
VIRGINIA: In theory, I hear shrimp chip, and I think that could be good, but the smell of the actual chip itself, like I can't, it's hard for me to get past that to even taste it.

00:27:04.347 --> 00:27:04.807
ALY: Same.

00:27:04.807 --> 00:27:06.867
ALY: I'm not a big flavored chip person.

00:27:06.867 --> 00:27:15.447
ALY: Like I don't eat sour cream and onion chips or any of the, like I eat, I will occasionally eat a barbecue chip, but you know, so maybe I'm just the wrong audience.

00:27:15.447 --> 00:27:16.567
ALY: I don't know.

00:27:16.567 --> 00:27:17.147
VIRGINIA: Maybe so.

00:27:17.147 --> 00:27:17.487
VIRGINIA: Maybe so.

00:27:17.867 --> 00:27:19.387
ALY: So it was, it was interesting.

00:27:19.387 --> 00:27:20.367
ALY: We had fun there.

00:27:20.367 --> 00:27:31.927
ALY: We kind of walked through the, that store always, I go in there a lot now and it always just kind of astounds me how big it is and how many years I just never went in that store in China.

00:27:32.187 --> 00:27:33.887
ALY: And never realized how big it was.

00:27:33.887 --> 00:27:36.867
VIRGINIA: It's, it's one I don't frequently go in.

00:27:36.867 --> 00:27:39.967
VIRGINIA: And you're right, because I don't go in it often.

00:27:39.967 --> 00:27:44.307
VIRGINIA: Every time I do, I'm like, oh yeah, this is a lot of stuff here.

00:27:44.607 --> 00:27:45.647
ALY: It's so much.

00:27:45.647 --> 00:27:54.347
ALY: And I started going in it because my son in high school took Chinese and he was very, very interested in the different culture.

00:27:54.347 --> 00:27:58.307
ALY: And, and just, so I would always go there to look for things for him.

00:27:58.307 --> 00:28:11.847
ALY: And he started going in there because he wanted to look for, you know, the t-shirts because they have like, sort of like Mitsukoshi in Japan, they'll have, you know, t-shirts that have, you know, just different like emblems on them or whatever.

00:28:11.847 --> 00:28:13.847
ALY: So I, I just, it's just so big.

00:28:14.007 --> 00:28:15.807
ALY: So if you've never been in there, go in that store.

00:28:15.807 --> 00:28:19.447
ALY: It's just so, it's so big and it has so much in there.

00:28:19.447 --> 00:28:21.527
ALY: I don't think my parents had ever been in there.

00:28:21.527 --> 00:28:26.687
ALY: So we went there and then we went from there to Germany.

00:28:26.687 --> 00:28:28.687
ALY: We got the pretzel bread pudding.

00:28:28.747 --> 00:28:30.787
VIRGINIA: I love it.

00:28:30.787 --> 00:28:32.367
ALY: I've never had it.

00:28:32.367 --> 00:28:33.247
ALY: I loved it.

00:28:33.247 --> 00:28:34.687
ALY: It was delicious.

00:28:34.707 --> 00:28:35.747
VIRGINIA: So good.

00:28:35.747 --> 00:28:37.447
VIRGINIA: It's so good.

00:28:37.447 --> 00:28:38.247
ALY: It's delicious.

00:28:38.247 --> 00:28:42.247
ALY: I'm usually just not in the mood for sweet treats when we're in the area and I always want to be.

00:28:42.847 --> 00:28:46.127
ALY: But oh my God, my mom and I just like literally gobbled it up.

00:28:46.647 --> 00:28:51.427
ALY: I think we gave my brother a bite and I don't even know if we gave my father anything.

00:28:51.427 --> 00:28:53.927
ALY: So we just hogged it.

00:28:53.927 --> 00:28:59.067
ALY: So we waited out a rainstorm right there in that little vestibule in Germany.

00:28:59.067 --> 00:29:00.047
ALY: So it worked out.

00:29:00.047 --> 00:29:05.467
ALY: Italy, we took some pictures, just kind of walked around the pavilion a little bit.

00:29:05.467 --> 00:29:08.847
ALY: And then we went to America, but the pavilion was closed for a private function.

00:29:08.847 --> 00:29:10.587
ALY: We couldn't go inside at all.

00:29:11.427 --> 00:29:13.567
VIRGINIA: Oh, in the middle of the day.

00:29:13.567 --> 00:29:14.087
ALY: Yeah.

00:29:14.127 --> 00:29:16.087
VIRGINIA: I wonder what that was.

00:29:16.087 --> 00:29:18.467
ALY: I was thinking like, who is it?

00:29:18.487 --> 00:29:19.407
VIRGINIA: I know.

00:29:19.407 --> 00:29:27.987
ALY: So we just kept going and we were in Japan and we went to the Cute Culture Museum that's kind of behind over there.

00:29:27.987 --> 00:29:29.407
VIRGINIA: Is it over the K?

00:29:29.407 --> 00:29:30.307
ALY: Yes, Kawai.

00:29:30.307 --> 00:29:30.647
ALY: That's it.

00:29:30.647 --> 00:29:31.587
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:29:31.587 --> 00:29:33.607
ALY: It was empty in there for one.

00:29:33.607 --> 00:29:40.487
ALY: And it has cute little like vignettes of an apartment in Japan and where Cute Culture came from.

00:29:40.567 --> 00:29:44.807
ALY: And I mean, it's just, it's cool, it's interesting and the AC is so good.

00:29:44.807 --> 00:29:45.587
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:29:45.587 --> 00:29:47.547
ALY: And it's just like a nice place to visit.

00:29:47.547 --> 00:29:50.007
ALY: I think so many people just pass by these things.

00:29:50.007 --> 00:29:53.507
ALY: And yeah, it's just nice and entertaining.

00:29:54.427 --> 00:29:57.167
ALY: So from there we went through Mitsukoshi.

00:29:57.167 --> 00:30:03.127
ALY: Then we just went over to Morocco, sat in the back little area over there where they have like the lounge in there.

00:30:03.127 --> 00:30:05.947
ALY: We didn't go in the lounge, but we just kind of found a seat.

00:30:05.947 --> 00:30:08.927
ALY: And it was about six o'clock by this time.

00:30:09.447 --> 00:30:11.487
ALY: It was like five or six o'clock at this time.

00:30:11.487 --> 00:30:12.527
ALY: We were just worn out.

00:30:12.527 --> 00:30:14.467
ALY: It was hot.

00:30:14.467 --> 00:30:16.847
ALY: We're having a lot of fun, but it was just really hot.

00:30:16.847 --> 00:30:22.067
ALY: And we kind of like made a decision at that point that it was so humid this week.

00:30:22.067 --> 00:30:25.587
ALY: And I don't know if it was because the hurricane came in and then left or whatever.

00:30:25.587 --> 00:30:31.207
ALY: But I mean, I was just there in August and the humidity was like triple what it was in August.

00:30:32.907 --> 00:30:44.287
ALY: So at this time, we're just like, we are ready to go back to the hotel at this point and freshen up because if we want to make Hollywood studios after hours, then we just want to kind of rest a little.

00:30:44.287 --> 00:30:52.907
ALY: So we just kept walking on a World Showcase, just kind of went through France, UK, Canada, got back on the monorail and then got back to the hotel.

00:30:52.907 --> 00:30:58.767
ALY: It ended up being my brother was in the bathroom and slipped and fell on the floor.

00:30:59.767 --> 00:31:02.087
ALY: And so he didn't get hurt or anything.

00:31:02.087 --> 00:31:06.587
ALY: It just kind of changed the night dynamic a little bit.

00:31:06.587 --> 00:31:08.627
ALY: So we're a little worried.

00:31:08.627 --> 00:31:10.607
ALY: We wanted to make sure that he was going to be okay.

00:31:10.607 --> 00:31:19.367
ALY: So we pivoted and ended up getting our last minute reservation at Tony's Town Square at Magic Kingdom because they were open till like 11 that night.

00:31:19.367 --> 00:31:23.187
ALY: And I haven't eaten at Tony's in at least a decade.

00:31:23.187 --> 00:31:27.647
VIRGINIA: So is your assessment that it has gotten better because that's what everyone is saying.

00:31:28.067 --> 00:31:30.527
ALY: It has gotten better.

00:31:30.527 --> 00:31:32.467
ALY: It was inedible before.

00:31:32.467 --> 00:31:33.907
ALY: Now it's better.

00:31:33.907 --> 00:31:36.687
ALY: That garlic bread people talk about is actually pretty good.

00:31:36.687 --> 00:31:42.507
ALY: Like I didn't think I'd like it because I don't typically like a white carlicky sauce like that.

00:31:42.507 --> 00:31:43.707
ALY: It was good.

00:31:44.727 --> 00:31:46.727
ALY: So it's definitely gotten better.

00:31:46.727 --> 00:31:49.287
ALY: So we had a good time and then leaving the Magic Kingdom that night.

00:31:49.287 --> 00:31:59.327
ALY: I think the problem is that when Magic Kingdom is closed, so many nights for these parties, the nights they are not close for parties become an absolute zoo.

00:31:59.327 --> 00:32:05.607
ALY: Because it really wasn't that busy during this time of year, it was late September.

00:32:05.607 --> 00:32:13.107
ALY: We waited on the ramp to get out of Magic Kingdom because we weren't quite at close, but it was after the fireworks.

00:32:13.107 --> 00:32:19.787
ALY: We waited on the ramp to get on the resort monorail, not the express monorail, for almost an hour.

00:32:19.787 --> 00:32:20.087
ALY: What?

00:32:21.167 --> 00:32:24.207
ALY: Yeah, it was just insane.

00:32:24.207 --> 00:32:29.487
ALY: It really truly was just the amount of people all trying to leave at the same time.

00:32:29.487 --> 00:32:31.927
ALY: Most of the people got off at the TTC.

00:32:31.967 --> 00:32:34.107
ALY: It was just like, oh my God.

00:32:34.107 --> 00:32:35.407
ALY: It was so frustrating.

00:32:36.287 --> 00:32:37.027
ALY: I don't know.

00:32:37.287 --> 00:32:44.847
ALY: As good as it is to go, I love going the days that there is a party because if you're there during the day, it's literally walk on everything.

00:32:44.847 --> 00:32:47.547
ALY: I know you don't need a FastPass, you can walk on everything.

00:32:47.547 --> 00:32:51.567
ALY: But the days they don't have a party, that place is a zoo.

00:32:51.567 --> 00:32:55.247
VIRGINIA: To me, that's an argument for on the days when they don't have a party.

00:32:55.247 --> 00:33:05.847
VIRGINIA: I could see wanting to go see Happily Ever After, but maybe going to other parks with the theory that everyone has gone to the Magic Kingdom because they can tonight.

00:33:05.847 --> 00:33:08.827
VIRGINIA: Therefore, maybe the others are less busy.

00:33:08.827 --> 00:33:10.267
VIRGINIA: I don't know.

00:33:10.267 --> 00:33:17.587
ALY: I would or I just plan on, if this is a once in a lifetime trip, go watch the fireworks and then just stay.

00:33:18.787 --> 00:33:21.687
ALY: Main Street is open an hour after they close.

00:33:21.687 --> 00:33:24.747
ALY: Typically, just wait, wait it out.

00:33:26.107 --> 00:33:35.907
ALY: Especially with the monorail, if you're going to the buses, it might be a little better, but that monorail, it was just a zoo and it's just not fun.

00:33:35.907 --> 00:33:41.767
ALY: You're trying to get through with two scooters and you have to have enough room in the cabin to load the scooters and then no one is willing to.

00:33:43.227 --> 00:33:48.747
ALY: People are stepping over you and it's like not Disney World anymore.

00:33:48.747 --> 00:33:49.327
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:33:51.167 --> 00:34:02.307
VIRGINIA: You do have the resort launch boats as an option, but if you have two scooters, same problem, trying to get two scooters onto the boat is also a challenge.

00:34:02.307 --> 00:34:10.907
ALY: It's very much a challenge because we were only one of the days we were there, did I see the big boats going to Grand Floridian and to the Poly.

00:34:11.847 --> 00:34:13.987
ALY: So they only had the little boats.

00:34:13.987 --> 00:34:16.727
ALY: You can't get the scooter on the little boats.

00:34:16.727 --> 00:34:18.807
ALY: So they say they try to reverse them.

00:34:18.807 --> 00:34:23.787
ALY: Like so with wilderness Lodge, just like every other boat is the big boat that you can get on.

00:34:23.787 --> 00:34:28.907
ALY: Where Fort wilderness is always the big boat, so it is a little easier.

00:34:28.907 --> 00:34:34.727
ALY: But yeah, the boat launches when you have scooters or even people in wheelchairs, can't get on.

00:34:34.727 --> 00:34:53.747
ALY: And the other thing too to remember is, Disney is marketed towards families and children and strollers, and to have those as much as fun as those little boats are, when you're a small little, like we were a small family of three with no physical challenges or no nothing.

00:34:53.747 --> 00:34:54.907
ALY: Those boats were fun for us.

00:34:54.987 --> 00:35:04.247
ALY: We would jump on and we would, but I saw people trying to hold up strollers and double strollers, and get on those boats, and that's going to be miserable.

00:35:04.247 --> 00:35:05.727
ALY: So I don't know.

00:35:05.727 --> 00:35:07.967
ALY: It's a challenge, so we have to take them on a rail.

00:35:07.967 --> 00:35:13.087
VIRGINIA: So was there ever a moment in time when you considered taking the pathway?

00:35:13.087 --> 00:35:16.667
ALY: So yes, but we were already stacked in line.

00:35:17.087 --> 00:35:26.647
ALY: So again, so we had gone up the ramp, and it was kind of like everybody exited, and we were kind of like in this crowd of exiting.

00:35:26.647 --> 00:35:35.447
ALY: And I think what ended up happening is there was a half of the monorail part was, I don't want to say it was closed, but there had been some sort of spill that happened.

00:35:35.447 --> 00:35:40.527
ALY: So they were only letting people load on the back side of the monorail, which is what took it so long.

00:35:40.527 --> 00:35:45.147
ALY: But the way they funnel you out of the Magic Kingdom now, they funnel you through ropes.

00:35:46.387 --> 00:35:52.287
ALY: And so again, when you have like two scooters, it's hard to pivot and just be like, oh, I'm going to duck out of line.

00:35:52.287 --> 00:35:52.647
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:35:52.647 --> 00:35:56.587
ALY: You know, and just, you're just kind of stuck.

00:35:56.587 --> 00:35:58.287
ALY: So not a complaint.

00:35:58.287 --> 00:36:03.767
ALY: It's just things you don't think about, things you don't think about when you're not traveling like that.

00:36:03.767 --> 00:36:09.107
ALY: So we avoided the monorail at closing of Magic Kingdom on nights that it was in the party.

00:36:09.107 --> 00:36:10.067
ALY: So yeah, it was fun.

00:36:10.067 --> 00:36:11.787
ALY: We had a good time that night.

00:36:11.787 --> 00:36:13.467
ALY: That was a tough thing to get through both.

00:36:14.507 --> 00:36:17.747
ALY: It was fine, so we didn't end up at extra hours, but it worked out.

00:36:17.747 --> 00:36:19.767
ALY: We had a good time and we enjoyed it.

00:36:19.767 --> 00:36:21.487
VIRGINIA: So yeah.

00:36:21.487 --> 00:36:24.687
VIRGINIA: And then the next day was a resort day.

00:36:24.687 --> 00:36:30.227
VIRGINIA: And so you were planning to use that monorail and do a monorail crawl.

00:36:30.227 --> 00:36:32.487
VIRGINIA: So did that end up happening?

00:36:32.487 --> 00:36:35.087
VIRGINIA: And if so, tell us all about your stops.

00:36:35.087 --> 00:36:35.647
ALY: We were.

00:36:35.647 --> 00:36:37.167
ALY: This was also the Hurricane Day.

00:36:37.847 --> 00:36:40.567
ALY: So this is the Thursday that came through.

00:36:40.567 --> 00:36:48.667
ALY: So we just kind of decided that we were going to take a slow morning and not, we didn't really know what the weather was going to do.

00:36:48.667 --> 00:36:50.487
ALY: It was really rough in the morning.

00:36:50.487 --> 00:36:54.667
ALY: And when I say really rough, I just mean like the rain and the wind.

00:36:54.667 --> 00:36:56.667
ALY: It wasn't going to be pleasant to be out in.

00:36:56.667 --> 00:36:59.427
ALY: So we just decided to kind of stay in.

00:36:59.427 --> 00:37:02.307
ALY: We did laundry or some of us did laundry.

00:37:02.307 --> 00:37:11.447
ALY: And then we ended up leaving just, I'd say like just after lunch, maybe two o'clock in the afternoon, one, two o'clock in the afternoon.

00:37:11.447 --> 00:37:15.987
ALY: And instead of doing the monorail, we ended up going, we were going to get on the monorail.

00:37:15.987 --> 00:37:21.067
ALY: And then we were going to go to either wilderness Lodge or Contemporary.

00:37:21.067 --> 00:37:25.227
ALY: But we ended up last minute saying, let's just go to Coronado.

00:37:26.267 --> 00:37:27.687
VIRGINIA: Oh, okay.

00:37:27.687 --> 00:37:29.407
ALY: So we went to Coronado.

00:37:29.407 --> 00:37:30.847
ALY: We grabbed a drink.

00:37:30.847 --> 00:37:34.147
ALY: We walked around and then it was kind of raining off and on pretty hard.

00:37:34.907 --> 00:37:40.367
VIRGINIA: So you took the monorail to Magic Kingdom and then took a bus to Coronado from there?

00:37:40.367 --> 00:37:41.027
ALY: Yes.

00:37:41.027 --> 00:37:41.467
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:37:41.467 --> 00:37:41.947
VIRGINIA: Got it.

00:37:41.947 --> 00:37:44.627
VIRGINIA: Just wanted to logistically understand what was happening.

00:37:44.627 --> 00:37:45.127
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:37:45.127 --> 00:37:45.467
ALY: Yep.

00:37:45.467 --> 00:37:51.567
VIRGINIA: They had been looking forward to trying Coronado because I think your parents had never been there before.

00:37:51.567 --> 00:37:58.447
ALY: They had never been there before and they had never really been to a moderate resort.

00:37:58.447 --> 00:38:03.607
ALY: So my parents have stayed DVC and then they've stayed All-Star.

00:38:04.807 --> 00:38:13.247
ALY: And honestly, when I, well, it was, I was kind of an adult at this point, but I have five brothers, so there's a big age gap.

00:38:13.247 --> 00:38:20.087
ALY: So they start, they bought a time-shared Orange Lake in the late 90s when I wasn't at home anymore.

00:38:20.087 --> 00:38:23.727
ALY: And they went to Disney all the time, but they always stayed off site.

00:38:23.727 --> 00:38:29.127
ALY: So they never had that experience until they started coming with me.

00:38:29.527 --> 00:38:35.587
ALY: So they've never seen the moderate resorts and just the vastness of a moderate resort.

00:38:35.587 --> 00:38:36.827
ALY: So that was interesting.

00:38:36.827 --> 00:38:38.607
ALY: They didn't realize how big it was going to be.

00:38:38.607 --> 00:38:39.907
ALY: They thought it was really big.

00:38:39.907 --> 00:38:41.407
ALY: And we had a good time, though.

00:38:41.407 --> 00:38:43.007
ALY: We had food.

00:38:43.007 --> 00:38:44.567
ALY: We ate at El Mercado.

00:38:44.567 --> 00:38:48.807
ALY: We had to wait because they're not open till 5, I think it was.

00:38:48.807 --> 00:38:50.187
ALY: So we just kind of walked around the resort.

00:38:50.187 --> 00:38:51.887
ALY: We had a drink at the Barcelona Lounge.

00:38:51.887 --> 00:38:55.427
ALY: We got a drink at the pool bar, the main pool over there.

00:38:55.427 --> 00:38:57.847
ALY: They have a really big pool bar over there.

00:38:57.847 --> 00:38:58.487
ALY: So that was fun.

00:38:58.967 --> 00:39:00.147
ALY: A good time.

00:39:01.367 --> 00:39:07.587
ALY: We headed back to Magic Kingdom from there, and then went back to the room, kind of freshened up.

00:39:07.587 --> 00:39:10.647
ALY: We decided we're going to go to the Polynesian for a dole whip.

00:39:11.687 --> 00:39:12.387
ALY: We had fun there.

00:39:12.387 --> 00:39:14.447
ALY: The Polynesian is so busy at night.

00:39:14.687 --> 00:39:18.267
ALY: I know this, but you kind of forget it every time.

00:39:18.267 --> 00:39:19.887
ALY: You're like, oh, I want to go to Polynesian.

00:39:19.887 --> 00:39:24.407
ALY: Then you're there and it's like, oh my gosh, there's so many people here.

00:39:24.407 --> 00:39:25.187
ALY: It was fun.

00:39:25.187 --> 00:39:26.307
ALY: We did some shopping.

00:39:26.307 --> 00:39:37.287
ALY: We kind of, it was kind of raining off and on, so we kind of tried to stay inside as much as possible, which I mean, obviously then it just made the inside more busy because everybody was doing the same thing.

00:39:37.287 --> 00:39:49.887
ALY: Then we ended up going back to the Grand Floridian and it was raining pretty heavily at this time, so we just waited it out in the lobby, got some snacks from the little walk-up store there, and then went back to the room.

00:39:49.887 --> 00:39:50.487
ALY: It was a fun day.

00:39:50.907 --> 00:39:51.927
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:39:51.927 --> 00:39:57.427
VIRGINIA: Friday, September 27th, had the weather calmed down by that point?

00:39:57.427 --> 00:39:59.647
ALY: Yes.

00:39:59.647 --> 00:40:07.407
ALY: There was virtually, other than just a little wind and rain, it really was nothing in Orlando.

00:40:07.407 --> 00:40:16.487
ALY: But I think a lot of things had been canceled, like schools and things, so that made Friday the day after very busy.

00:40:16.687 --> 00:40:21.527
ALY: So I got schooled a little bit.

00:40:21.847 --> 00:40:27.607
ALY: I'm always like, oh, it's not a big deal to make a park reservation, and I don't understand why people complain about it.

00:40:27.607 --> 00:40:31.567
ALY: I mean, it's not easy, but it's not something, it's not like something I'm going to fight for.

00:40:31.567 --> 00:40:34.727
ALY: I went to try to make a park reservation on the bus to Hollywood Studios.

00:40:34.727 --> 00:40:36.667
ALY: I was blocked out.

00:40:36.707 --> 00:40:38.487
VIRGINIA: Oh, no.

00:40:38.487 --> 00:40:40.947
ALY: So my parents had tickets so they could go.

00:40:40.947 --> 00:40:41.207
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:40:41.327 --> 00:40:48.247
ALY: And I was literally blocked out of annual passes, annual passes with hotel reservations, nothing.

00:40:48.247 --> 00:40:50.447
ALY: I couldn't get into Hollywood Studios.

00:40:50.447 --> 00:40:55.207
ALY: So I had to take the walk of shame to Epcot.

00:40:55.207 --> 00:40:55.707
VIRGINIA: Oh, no.

00:40:55.707 --> 00:41:03.667
ALY: Well, you know, scan in just to turn around and walk out and walk back to Hollywood Studios.

00:41:03.667 --> 00:41:04.827
VIRGINIA: But that's so silly.

00:41:05.147 --> 00:41:06.487
VIRGINIA: Is that not silly, though?

00:41:06.487 --> 00:41:08.587
VIRGINIA: That you have to go do that.

00:41:08.607 --> 00:41:12.527
ALY: It is because I'm still going in.

00:41:12.527 --> 00:41:15.927
VIRGINIA: I'm still a body that's going to be taking up space in this park.

00:41:15.927 --> 00:41:18.167
ALY: But I did measure the walk.

00:41:18.167 --> 00:41:24.827
ALY: So I did kind of take, you know, when you jump off the bus, we're in that first bay right to Hollywood Studios.

00:41:24.827 --> 00:41:31.707
ALY: There's like a little path that's, I don't want to say it's unofficial, but it's not paved and you just kind of scoot through the plants and you go right to it.

00:41:31.707 --> 00:41:38.707
ALY: So you don't have to go all the way around to the entrance and then back down to the path to the boardwalk.

00:41:38.707 --> 00:41:45.247
ALY: So I calculated it and I hear people say it's quicker to go, you know, Beach Club to Epcot.

00:41:45.247 --> 00:41:51.727
ALY: So I did the Beach Club route and then I came back and then I went through boardwalk and I cut through the pool, like not the fence part, but you know what I mean?

00:41:51.727 --> 00:41:52.967
ALY: Through the back.

00:41:52.967 --> 00:41:57.227
ALY: And it is significantly shorter to go by boardwalk.

00:41:58.067 --> 00:41:59.167
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:41:59.167 --> 00:42:00.227
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:42:00.227 --> 00:42:03.307
ALY: So if you ever have to do that, you know, go through boardwalk.

00:42:05.467 --> 00:42:06.867
VIRGINIA: I mean, there's some good bars there.

00:42:06.867 --> 00:42:09.187
VIRGINIA: You could stop on your way through and grab a drink.

00:42:09.227 --> 00:42:09.947
ALY: I know.

00:42:09.947 --> 00:42:12.807
ALY: I was just, I was laughing at myself the whole time.

00:42:12.807 --> 00:42:13.767
ALY: I'm like, you know what?

00:42:13.767 --> 00:42:15.447
ALY: You brought this on yourself.

00:42:15.447 --> 00:42:17.447
ALY: You brought this on yourself.

00:42:19.007 --> 00:42:23.627
ALY: Because I could have made a reservation days in advance because I was pretty sure we were going to Hollywood Studios.

00:42:26.227 --> 00:42:27.307
ALY: I don't know.

00:42:27.307 --> 00:42:29.327
ALY: Whatever, my parents ended up going to Tower Terror.

00:42:29.327 --> 00:42:30.967
ALY: They rode Tower Terror.

00:42:31.287 --> 00:42:40.487
ALY: In the time that they got into the park, got all the way over to Tower Terror, rode Tower Terror and got out, I met them back at the exit of Tower Terror.

00:42:40.487 --> 00:42:41.787
VIRGINIA: Not too bad.

00:42:41.787 --> 00:42:42.707
ALY: No.

00:42:42.707 --> 00:42:44.387
VIRGINIA: Could have been worse.

00:42:44.387 --> 00:42:45.887
ALY: Could have been way worse.

00:42:45.887 --> 00:42:48.427
ALY: It could have been like back in the day when we had to wait till 2 p.m.

00:42:48.427 --> 00:42:49.007
ALY: or whatever.

00:42:49.007 --> 00:42:49.807
VIRGINIA: Oh, gosh.

00:42:49.807 --> 00:42:50.627
VIRGINIA: No.

00:42:50.627 --> 00:42:53.467
VIRGINIA: Don't even say that.

00:42:53.467 --> 00:42:54.927
ALY: In dark times.

00:42:55.987 --> 00:42:58.807
ALY: Then we ended up, I think, just grabbing lunch at Catalina Eddy's.

00:42:58.807 --> 00:43:07.067
ALY: This is another example of the dining plan, getting lunch at places I would have never got lunch at, just because you feel like you have to get a meal.

00:43:09.707 --> 00:43:14.867
ALY: I think we got sandwiches and the pizza or something.

00:43:14.867 --> 00:43:16.667
ALY: I don't know.

00:43:16.667 --> 00:43:17.327
ALY: It was fine.

00:43:19.167 --> 00:43:28.107
ALY: At that point, we didn't have Fast Passes this day, so we were literally just going old school wait in line.

00:43:28.107 --> 00:43:29.927
ALY: We went to Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway.

00:43:30.627 --> 00:43:32.167
ALY: It was posted 50.

00:43:32.167 --> 00:43:33.867
ALY: We only waited 25.

00:43:33.867 --> 00:43:45.427
ALY: This ride, I love this ride because this ride peels a car away and gives people that have trouble loading time to load that isn't in with the other cars.

00:43:46.567 --> 00:43:51.927
ALY: And I'll tell you that's stressful for the people trying to load.

00:43:51.927 --> 00:43:52.227
ALY: Right?

00:43:52.227 --> 00:43:59.227
ALY: Because sometimes their legs don't move the way they want them to move and trying to load into a car can be difficult.

00:43:59.227 --> 00:44:08.627
ALY: And when you've got like everybody in the car staring at you, waiting for you to get your feet situated or whatever, it can be stressful.

00:44:08.627 --> 00:44:11.327
ALY: So this is so nice that they have like a car that's peeled away.

00:44:11.867 --> 00:44:18.447
ALY: You take your time and then when you're ready, they kind of signal and then you just get in with the next train.

00:44:18.447 --> 00:44:18.807
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:44:18.807 --> 00:44:22.567
ALY: So it's just, it's so nice.

00:44:22.567 --> 00:44:23.267
ALY: It's so nice.

00:44:23.267 --> 00:44:24.287
ALY: So we did that.

00:44:24.287 --> 00:44:26.387
ALY: And then we got went and got a Wookie Cookie.

00:44:26.387 --> 00:44:27.527
ALY: We split it four ways.

00:44:27.527 --> 00:44:31.307
ALY: And that's literally the only way to eat that because it is so sweet.

00:44:31.307 --> 00:44:33.487
ALY: And then we went to Muppets.

00:44:33.487 --> 00:44:35.527
ALY: I haven't been to Muppets in years.

00:44:35.527 --> 00:44:36.867
ALY: I'm pretty sure I took a nap.

00:44:39.707 --> 00:44:43.967
VIRGINIA: I mean, honestly, it hasn't changed very much in years.

00:44:43.967 --> 00:44:49.187
VIRGINIA: So it's probably exactly as you remembered it, even if you slept through it this time.

00:44:49.207 --> 00:44:49.967
ALY: I know.

00:44:49.967 --> 00:44:50.507
ALY: It was.

00:44:50.747 --> 00:44:51.607
ALY: It's fine.

00:44:51.607 --> 00:44:54.827
ALY: I'm not, I just don't typically go there.

00:44:54.827 --> 00:44:56.647
ALY: My brother loves Muppets.

00:44:56.647 --> 00:44:59.147
VIRGINIA: I just want more Muppet representation.

00:44:59.147 --> 00:45:08.507
VIRGINIA: Like when they had the, I can't even remember what it was called, but when they would tell stories, like American stories, what were they doing?

00:45:08.507 --> 00:45:09.607
VIRGINIA: They were like history.

00:45:09.607 --> 00:45:12.307
VIRGINIA: It was like the history brought to you by the Muppets.

00:45:12.307 --> 00:45:14.567
VIRGINIA: And they would lean out those windows in Liberty Square.

00:45:14.567 --> 00:45:16.107
VIRGINIA: That was just the coolest.

00:45:16.107 --> 00:45:25.767
VIRGINIA: And I wish that they would, A, find some way to use the Muppets in the parks, and B, can we have Muppet recreations of all the great movies?

00:45:25.767 --> 00:45:31.227
VIRGINIA: I need to see the Muppets starring in pride and Prejudice.

00:45:31.227 --> 00:45:33.927
VIRGINIA: I need to see the Muppets starring in whatever.

00:45:34.947 --> 00:45:35.427
VIRGINIA: Anything they do.

00:45:35.427 --> 00:45:36.507
ALY: That might be kind of fun.

00:45:36.507 --> 00:45:37.907
ALY: That might be kind of fun.

00:45:37.907 --> 00:45:39.807
ALY: I'd be down for that.

00:45:39.807 --> 00:45:41.827
ALY: So yeah, it was fun.

00:45:41.827 --> 00:45:45.967
ALY: Rise to the Resistance was only 55-minute wait, and we decided just to go for it.

00:45:45.967 --> 00:45:48.567
ALY: I've never waited for Rise to the Resistance.

00:45:48.567 --> 00:45:52.587
ALY: I've only either had a Fastpass or a virtual queue.

00:45:52.587 --> 00:45:54.327
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:45:54.327 --> 00:45:55.827
ALY: So it was close to 55 minutes.

00:45:55.827 --> 00:45:59.027
ALY: It was a legitimate 55 minutes, but we waited and it was fine.

00:45:59.027 --> 00:46:02.547
ALY: You're inside, so at that point, we're like, let's go to Epcot.

00:46:02.627 --> 00:46:05.367
ALY: We're kind of done with Hollywood Studios.

00:46:05.367 --> 00:46:08.747
ALY: I don't understand why is Hollywood Studios so hot?

00:46:08.747 --> 00:46:10.947
ALY: It is the hottest park.

00:46:10.947 --> 00:46:16.707
VIRGINIA: Everybody says that, but then I also hear them saying, oh my gosh, Animal Kingdom is so hot.

00:46:16.707 --> 00:46:19.507
VIRGINIA: I think it just depends on the park you're in that day.

00:46:19.507 --> 00:46:20.287
ALY: I disagree.

00:46:20.307 --> 00:46:26.267
ALY: I think Animal Kingdom, yes, it's hot, and I get it, there's vegetation and they save the humidity and they give you all these reasons.

00:46:26.267 --> 00:46:30.687
ALY: I've never been hotter at any park than I've been at Hollywood Studios.

00:46:30.967 --> 00:46:33.907
ALY: I just, I don't know, there's like no shade.

00:46:33.907 --> 00:46:38.487
ALY: There's no like natural green space there, and there's no place to go in and out of.

00:46:38.647 --> 00:46:43.787
ALY: Like in Epcot, you can go in and out of the pavilions, and it could get hot there, but I don't know.

00:46:43.787 --> 00:46:45.147
ALY: That's just my hot take, I guess.

00:46:45.147 --> 00:46:45.767
ALY: Who knows?

00:46:45.767 --> 00:46:46.847
ALY: So then we decided to hop to Epcot.

00:46:46.847 --> 00:46:48.347
VIRGINIA: Your hot take, so to speak.

00:46:48.367 --> 00:46:51.427
ALY: Yeah.

00:46:51.427 --> 00:46:55.067
ALY: We hopped to Epcot, but we took the Skyliner because we like to take the Skyliner.

00:46:55.067 --> 00:46:57.227
ALY: We hadn't been on it at this point, I think.

00:46:57.227 --> 00:46:58.907
ALY: So that was fun.

00:46:59.947 --> 00:47:01.847
ALY: We had a good Skyliner ride.

00:47:02.847 --> 00:47:08.147
ALY: That's another form of transportation that is great with a scooter.

00:47:09.287 --> 00:47:23.807
ALY: On the monorail, they put the ramp up, and there are times when the monorail is so busy, they would look at my dad and say, okay, load, and there's a guy standing there with a double stroller, a woman standing there with a single stroller, and they just want my dad to try to drive up in between them.

00:47:25.167 --> 00:47:27.867
ALY: I get it, and we figure it out, but it can be difficult.

00:47:28.487 --> 00:47:29.147
ALY: Right.

00:47:29.147 --> 00:47:37.527
VIRGINIA: And it puts the pressure on you as a guest to try to navigate the conversations of like, oh, could you scoot over so I can fit here?

00:47:37.527 --> 00:47:46.767
VIRGINIA: It's like they need someone kind of directing traffic instead of leaving it to people to monitor themselves.

00:47:46.767 --> 00:47:51.387
ALY: I was a parent and I had two kids sleeping in a stroller.

00:47:51.387 --> 00:47:55.127
ALY: They're telling me to load a scooter in and me to scoot over.

00:47:55.127 --> 00:47:58.687
ALY: I'm like, where am I going to go?

00:47:58.687 --> 00:48:00.067
ALY: Where do you want me to go?

00:48:00.067 --> 00:48:05.307
ALY: So, I mean, I just, it's just, it's just, you notice, you notice things you never noticed before.

00:48:05.307 --> 00:48:10.647
ALY: So the Skyliner is nice because they have a car that pulls off and stops and you load in.

00:48:10.647 --> 00:48:12.927
ALY: You can do one scooter per car.

00:48:12.927 --> 00:48:16.727
ALY: So, you know, I would ride with my dad, my mom would ride with my brother.

00:48:16.727 --> 00:48:18.267
ALY: So it was totally fine.

00:48:18.267 --> 00:48:19.187
ALY: No issues.

00:48:19.187 --> 00:48:21.007
ALY: It was fun.

00:48:21.007 --> 00:48:23.247
ALY: We entered into Epcot the back way.

00:48:23.727 --> 00:48:24.947
ALY: Then we went to UK for a while.

00:48:24.947 --> 00:48:30.227
ALY: We went and we hung out in that little back area where they have live music.

00:48:30.227 --> 00:48:36.367
ALY: And at this point, the heat was like really kind of, I don't know, just we kind of slowed down.

00:48:36.367 --> 00:48:37.947
ALY: So we're like, let's have some slushies.

00:48:37.947 --> 00:48:45.187
ALY: So we walked up to the Coke Refresher Sand or whatever it is over by a test track and got slushies.

00:48:45.187 --> 00:48:50.467
ALY: And kind of at that point, we were just kind of done.

00:48:50.467 --> 00:48:51.447
ALY: It had been a long day.

00:48:51.447 --> 00:48:55.247
ALY: We had kind of stopped along the way, but we didn't really do anything.

00:48:55.247 --> 00:48:59.527
ALY: And then at this point, my dad upgraded his ticket because he wanted to keep going to the park.

00:49:00.027 --> 00:49:03.547
ALY: So he only added one more day.

00:49:03.547 --> 00:49:08.427
ALY: And we stopped at Guest Relations, upgraded his ticket, no big deal.

00:49:08.427 --> 00:49:10.627
ALY: Because that would have been his last park day.

00:49:10.627 --> 00:49:15.507
ALY: And headed back on the monorail and then just kind of enjoyed the resort that night.

00:49:15.507 --> 00:49:20.087
ALY: I think we got where I went in the pool after we got back and just kind of chilled.

00:49:20.087 --> 00:49:23.127
VIRGINIA: Am I correct that we're on Saturday, September 28th?

00:49:23.127 --> 00:49:23.427
ALY: Yep.

00:49:23.427 --> 00:49:24.067
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:49:24.067 --> 00:49:24.887
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:49:24.887 --> 00:49:29.187
VIRGINIA: So this was supposed to be a Skyliner Crawl Day.

00:49:29.187 --> 00:49:31.347
VIRGINIA: But your dad has just added onto his ticket.

00:49:31.347 --> 00:49:35.207
VIRGINIA: Did he add onto his ticket so he could go into the park on Saturday?

00:49:35.207 --> 00:49:35.927
ALY: He did.

00:49:35.927 --> 00:49:39.007
ALY: So we ended up.

00:49:39.007 --> 00:49:47.067
ALY: So this day, we didn't do a Skyliner Crawl, but we did go to French Quarter for beignets, for breakfast.

00:49:47.627 --> 00:49:50.867
VIRGINIA: Okay, so that was some real loose quotation marks there for breakfast.

00:49:50.887 --> 00:49:53.407
ALY: That was real loose.

00:49:53.407 --> 00:49:56.507
ALY: So we got beignets and we hung out at French Quarter.

00:49:56.507 --> 00:49:57.507
ALY: We love that resort.

00:49:57.507 --> 00:50:00.427
ALY: I mean, I've never stayed there, but we love that resort.

00:50:01.467 --> 00:50:03.607
VIRGINIA: It's so pretty.

00:50:03.607 --> 00:50:05.727
ALY: It's like the best of both worlds.

00:50:05.727 --> 00:50:08.667
ALY: Like you get, they have pretty good rates.

00:50:08.667 --> 00:50:18.127
ALY: It's a moderate, but it's like a footprint, more of like a value, but it has like deluxe vibes, because it's got such a good theme.

00:50:18.127 --> 00:50:18.747
ALY: Right.

00:50:19.267 --> 00:50:19.647
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:50:19.647 --> 00:50:22.527
ALY: We ended up being there for a while, just kind of hanging out.

00:50:22.527 --> 00:50:24.307
ALY: I got the jambalaya for lunch.

00:50:24.307 --> 00:50:28.047
ALY: I'm sure it's not authentic, but I think it's good.

00:50:28.047 --> 00:50:28.507
VIRGINIA: I don't know.

00:50:28.507 --> 00:50:36.127
VIRGINIA: I didn't have the jambalaya when I was there, but when I was there recently, I did have the gumbo, and I thought that the gumbo was very good.

00:50:36.127 --> 00:50:42.807
VIRGINIA: I was in New Orleans within the past couple of years, so it's fresh in my mind what it should taste like, and I thought it was pretty good.

00:50:42.807 --> 00:50:43.207
ALY: That's good.

00:50:43.527 --> 00:50:44.507
ALY: I think it's good.

00:50:45.167 --> 00:50:47.887
ALY: I think it's the right spicy for Disney.

00:50:47.887 --> 00:50:49.007
ALY: You know what I mean?

00:50:49.007 --> 00:50:51.667
ALY: I can take a good amount of spice.

00:50:52.047 --> 00:50:58.087
ALY: I'm sure someone from New Orleans or whoever is going to tell me it's not legit, but I think it's good.

00:50:58.087 --> 00:50:59.307
ALY: I would recommend.

00:50:59.307 --> 00:51:00.287
VIRGINIA: I agree.

00:51:00.287 --> 00:51:10.847
ALY: Then it started really raining at this point, so we pivoted because we were going to go to Animal Kingdom, but I wanted to wait a little later because we weren't going to have fast passes.

00:51:12.107 --> 00:51:23.347
ALY: Then we pivoted and we ended up taking the bus to Epcot just so we'd be undercover because it was raining pretty good, and it didn't want to get soaking wet.

00:51:23.347 --> 00:51:27.647
ALY: Then we were like, well, let's just go to wilderness Lodge since we didn't get to go the other day.

00:51:28.887 --> 00:51:32.847
ALY: We took a bus from Epcot to wilderness Lodge raining off and on.

00:51:32.847 --> 00:51:33.487
ALY: We had a good time.

00:51:33.487 --> 00:51:38.947
ALY: My dad had never seen wilderness Lodge, and my mom still hadn't seen the cabin since the last time she was there.

00:51:39.027 --> 00:51:42.667
ALY: They hadn't built like Geyser Point or the cabins or anything.

00:51:42.667 --> 00:51:43.907
ALY: I love that resort.

00:51:43.907 --> 00:51:45.727
ALY: It's one of my home resorts like you.

00:51:45.727 --> 00:51:47.207
ALY: It's one of my favorites.

00:51:48.787 --> 00:51:55.527
ALY: We enjoyed that and by this time, it was like 2.30, 3 o'clock, and we're like, let's go to Animal Kingdom now.

00:51:57.267 --> 00:51:58.487
ALY: So we did.

00:51:58.487 --> 00:51:59.707
ALY: We got to Animal Kingdom.

00:51:59.707 --> 00:52:05.567
ALY: We ended up getting Animal Kingdom around 3.30, which was perfect because the place was empty.

00:52:05.567 --> 00:52:07.067
ALY: I mean, absolutely empty.

00:52:07.387 --> 00:52:09.847
ALY: We went straight on to the Safari.

00:52:09.847 --> 00:52:13.127
ALY: That has a wheelchair car, so that works out really good.

00:52:13.127 --> 00:52:17.527
ALY: So we transfer them from the scooter to the wheelchair and then put them in.

00:52:17.527 --> 00:52:18.647
ALY: We went to the Dawa Bar.

00:52:18.647 --> 00:52:19.567
ALY: We had a drink.

00:52:19.567 --> 00:52:21.387
ALY: We just sat there and talked.

00:52:21.387 --> 00:52:28.307
ALY: Then we went to Expedition Everest, and at the last second, my brother decided he didn't want to ride it, but it was a walk-on.

00:52:28.307 --> 00:52:32.287
ALY: Then we're going to ride dinosaur.

00:52:32.307 --> 00:52:34.607
ALY: I decided not to ride dinosaur because I had just ridden it.

00:52:35.907 --> 00:52:42.007
ALY: I went and got a drink at, I was going to go to the bar at Restaurant of Soros, but they weren't open.

00:52:42.007 --> 00:52:45.307
ALY: Then I got a drink at the Trilobites place.

00:52:46.327 --> 00:52:52.387
ALY: Then we shopped around the dinosaur store because my nephew is really into dinosaurs, so we got him a couple of things there.

00:52:52.387 --> 00:52:55.087
ALY: At that point, we just headed back to the resort and rested for a bit.

00:52:55.087 --> 00:52:58.727
ALY: We went in the pool back at the Grand.

00:52:58.727 --> 00:53:01.307
ALY: Then for dinner that night, we had a late dinner.

00:53:01.307 --> 00:53:07.047
ALY: We went to a contemporary because again, we're just trying to use up dining points.

00:53:07.047 --> 00:53:09.147
VIRGINIA: You were hopping everywhere.

00:53:11.747 --> 00:53:18.487
VIRGINIA: Sunday, September 29th, you were planning to either go to Animal Kingdom or to Epcot.

00:53:18.487 --> 00:53:22.267
VIRGINIA: I think when we spoke originally, you hadn't decided yet.

00:53:22.267 --> 00:53:25.647
ALY: We did neither of those and we went to Magic Kingdom.

00:53:27.187 --> 00:53:28.787
ALY: This was just me, my mom, and my brother.

00:53:29.627 --> 00:53:34.907
ALY: We went to Gaston's for another cinnamon roll.

00:53:34.907 --> 00:53:36.187
ALY: We went on Mermaid.

00:53:36.187 --> 00:53:37.387
ALY: Everything was like a walk-on.

00:53:37.387 --> 00:53:38.887
ALY: It was another party day.

00:53:38.887 --> 00:53:41.167
ALY: We did It's a Small World.

00:53:41.167 --> 00:53:44.147
ALY: We did Pecos Bills for lunch.

00:53:44.147 --> 00:53:45.887
ALY: They have a new menu there.

00:53:45.887 --> 00:53:48.087
VIRGINIA: I have heard about this new menu.

00:53:48.087 --> 00:53:51.587
ALY: I was always a fan of the kids taco.

00:53:51.587 --> 00:53:52.927
ALY: Yeah.

00:53:52.927 --> 00:53:54.467
ALY: Take a round of the taco.

00:53:54.467 --> 00:53:56.207
ALY: But now it's good.

00:53:56.207 --> 00:53:58.547
ALY: They have fresh pico on the nachos.

00:53:58.747 --> 00:54:01.907
ALY: I think we got a nacho plate and split it.

00:54:02.027 --> 00:54:02.707
ALY: It's pretty good.

00:54:02.707 --> 00:54:03.607
ALY: I mean, no complaints.

00:54:03.607 --> 00:54:06.967
ALY: They don't have tacos anymore, I guess, but what I did have was good.

00:54:08.647 --> 00:54:13.267
ALY: We watched Festival of Fantasy from Frontierland.

00:54:13.267 --> 00:54:14.987
ALY: Watched it again this time.

00:54:15.127 --> 00:54:17.747
ALY: Then went on Haunted Mansion.

00:54:18.907 --> 00:54:20.267
ALY: I think it was like 30 minutes.

00:54:20.267 --> 00:54:22.427
ALY: We had to go through the line.

00:54:22.427 --> 00:54:32.007
ALY: But it was interesting because I haven't been through the line again in a long time, where you see all the gravestones in the heads and the musical things.

00:54:32.007 --> 00:54:32.647
ALY: So it's fun.

00:54:32.647 --> 00:54:33.527
ALY: It was really fun.

00:54:33.527 --> 00:54:36.867
ALY: So after that, we went to Starbucks.

00:54:36.867 --> 00:54:39.107
ALY: My mom got a shake at the plaza.

00:54:39.107 --> 00:54:40.667
ALY: We sat at those yellow tables.

00:54:40.667 --> 00:54:45.987
ALY: We enjoyed our ice cream and coffee, and then took the monorail to Epcot.

00:54:48.247 --> 00:54:54.587
ALY: We went to the new Communicorps building, went to Canada, got the cheddar cheese soup from the food booth.

00:54:54.927 --> 00:54:57.627
ALY: Literally, only food and wine thing we did.

00:54:57.627 --> 00:54:59.707
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:54:59.707 --> 00:55:01.367
VIRGINIA: Was it really hot this day?

00:55:01.367 --> 00:55:01.887
ALY: It was.

00:55:01.887 --> 00:55:11.047
ALY: It was very hot, and the humidity after Thursday was almost unbearable.

00:55:11.087 --> 00:55:15.307
ALY: When I say that, as someone that was just there in August.

00:55:15.307 --> 00:55:15.987
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:55:15.987 --> 00:55:16.827
ALY: Yeah.

00:55:16.827 --> 00:55:19.087
ALY: So it was wow.

00:55:19.087 --> 00:55:23.047
VIRGINIA: There's nothing when you're experiencing that but to go get a hot bowl of soup.

00:55:23.287 --> 00:55:23.667
ALY: Yeah.

00:55:23.667 --> 00:55:25.927
ALY: I mean, it was perfect timing.

00:55:29.527 --> 00:55:32.127
ALY: It was like the dumbest idea ever.

00:55:32.127 --> 00:55:33.807
ALY: But it was so good.

00:55:33.807 --> 00:55:34.587
VIRGINIA: I mean, come on.

00:55:34.587 --> 00:55:35.927
VIRGINIA: It's good soup.

00:55:35.927 --> 00:55:37.307
VIRGINIA: It's very good soup.

00:55:37.307 --> 00:55:38.807
ALY: So good.

00:55:38.807 --> 00:55:43.867
ALY: So at that point, we ended up going back to the hotel.

00:55:43.867 --> 00:55:53.167
ALY: And then randomly that night, my brother texted us and said, Hey, I'm at Coronado for a conference, which we had no idea.

00:55:53.167 --> 00:55:55.607
ALY: Just randomly texted us, Hey, you guys still here?

00:55:55.607 --> 00:55:57.547
ALY: I'm at Coronado for a conference.

00:55:57.547 --> 00:56:00.387
ALY: So we went to Coronado that night, met them and had a drink and dinner.

00:56:00.387 --> 00:56:01.487
ALY: It was fun.

00:56:01.487 --> 00:56:02.867
VIRGINIA: At Three Bridges?

00:56:02.867 --> 00:56:07.927
ALY: We ended up just at El Marcado because Three Bridges had to wait because again, it was a conference.

00:56:07.927 --> 00:56:09.367
ALY: But this is the interesting part.

00:56:09.367 --> 00:56:11.527
ALY: This is when my dad's scooter died.

00:56:11.527 --> 00:56:14.407
ALY: So we were going to get out.

00:56:14.407 --> 00:56:28.167
ALY: We went to Magic Kingdom, got on the monorail, got on the bus to Coronado again, took it to the tower stop because we were going to get to the convention center to meet them.

00:56:28.167 --> 00:56:30.267
ALY: We couldn't get my dad's scooter off the bus.

00:56:30.267 --> 00:56:33.667
ALY: The bus driver, I think, wasn't real happy about it.

00:56:33.667 --> 00:56:39.767
ALY: So he put it in neutral and just pulled him off the bus, got him on the sidewalk.

00:56:39.767 --> 00:56:40.167
ALY: I get it.

00:56:40.167 --> 00:56:41.967
ALY: He's got places he's got to be.

00:56:41.967 --> 00:56:43.887
ALY: But it was just so funny because we're like, what do we do?

00:56:44.207 --> 00:56:49.087
VIRGINIA: Because now you're just sitting there, and it's not like you can pull him in a scooter everywhere you need to go.

00:56:49.087 --> 00:56:51.427
ALY: No.

00:56:51.427 --> 00:57:01.767
ALY: We put the scooter in neutral, and we had him hold on to my brother's scooter, and he was getting pulled, and then we were pushing him to get inside the building.

00:57:01.867 --> 00:57:03.607
ALY: Then we figured, well, at least he'll leave.

00:57:03.607 --> 00:57:08.507
VIRGINIA: So your brother was playing the role of mater and towing your dad to safety.

00:57:08.687 --> 00:57:11.947
ALY: He was like, oh, my God.

00:57:12.447 --> 00:57:17.507
ALY: So that was fun, and my other brother finally met up with us.

00:57:17.507 --> 00:57:22.987
ALY: So we're like, at least we have a little more brawn, some more hands that we can figure this out.

00:57:22.987 --> 00:57:27.267
ALY: So we just decided to just let it go, and we'll deal with it later.

00:57:27.267 --> 00:57:29.227
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:57:29.227 --> 00:57:33.347
ALY: That was another reason we didn't go to Three Bridges because we would have had to figure out how to get them.

00:57:34.587 --> 00:57:40.427
ALY: So we did, and then I'm like, wait, they have an accessible minivan, right?

00:57:40.427 --> 00:57:41.427
ALY: We'll just take a minivan.

00:57:41.427 --> 00:57:46.827
ALY: I've never been on a minivan, so I ordered the minivan around 11.

00:57:46.827 --> 00:57:48.747
ALY: It was just before, it was at 10.30.

00:57:48.747 --> 00:57:49.907
ALY: It got there at 10.40.

00:57:49.907 --> 00:57:51.407
ALY: It was only 10 minutes away.

00:57:51.907 --> 00:58:00.087
ALY: He was able to load both scooters up into the van, where you can actually be on the scooter or you can get off the scooter and ride.

00:58:00.167 --> 00:58:03.807
ALY: It can accommodate five people plus two scooters.

00:58:03.807 --> 00:58:07.347
ALY: And we took that straight back to the Grand Floridian.

00:58:07.347 --> 00:58:19.567
ALY: And then when we got to the Grand Floridian, I had to go to the room, get his wheelchair, come back down and we just left the dead scooter right in the lobby with fell services and said, hey, listen, I don't know what else to do.

00:58:19.567 --> 00:58:20.827
ALY: So yeah.

00:58:20.827 --> 00:58:24.007
ALY: And then honestly, at that point it was late.

00:58:24.007 --> 00:58:27.587
ALY: It was like 11.30 by the time we got back to our room and everything.

00:58:27.827 --> 00:58:31.907
ALY: And our Mears bus was picking us up at 6.30 the next morning.

00:58:31.927 --> 00:58:33.167
VIRGINIA: Oh gosh.

00:58:33.167 --> 00:58:33.747
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:58:33.747 --> 00:58:35.327
VIRGINIA: Because you had a 10 a.m.

00:58:35.327 --> 00:58:37.927
VIRGINIA: flight or something around there.

00:58:37.927 --> 00:58:38.687
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:58:38.687 --> 00:58:43.427
VIRGINIA: Did everything go fine with your return flights and everything?

00:58:43.427 --> 00:58:44.607
ALY: Totally perfect.

00:58:44.607 --> 00:58:45.387
ALY: No issues.

00:58:46.167 --> 00:58:48.607
ALY: The airport's empty that time of morning.

00:58:48.607 --> 00:58:54.227
ALY: So makes getting through MCO a lot easier because my parents don't have TSA pre-check.

00:58:55.107 --> 00:58:55.287
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:58:55.287 --> 00:59:04.267
ALY: And I went through the regular line with them because I didn't want to be like, it's like a lot of logistics.

00:59:04.267 --> 00:59:05.907
ALY: It's a lot of logistics going through.

00:59:05.907 --> 00:59:08.027
VIRGINIA: Like I do to Charles every time.

00:59:08.027 --> 00:59:08.647
VIRGINIA: Bye.

00:59:08.647 --> 00:59:09.547
ALY: I would to my husband.

00:59:09.547 --> 00:59:11.427
VIRGINIA: See you on the other side.

00:59:11.487 --> 00:59:16.907
ALY: I'd be like, my husband would go through without me before I had TSA and he had it because he hasn't worked for yet.

00:59:16.967 --> 00:59:18.907
ALY: I've never worked a long time before.

00:59:18.907 --> 00:59:22.987
ALY: So yeah, I would have left those two, but yeah, I wasn't going to leave them.

00:59:22.987 --> 00:59:24.967
ALY: So no lines, no nothing.

00:59:24.967 --> 00:59:26.327
ALY: It's so early.

00:59:27.707 --> 00:59:43.887
ALY: And we flew southwest, which that's an interesting experience with the wheelchairs because it's just kind of, you can load the plane and then, but people start lining up like an hour and a half before the flight trying to get on the plane first.

00:59:44.107 --> 00:59:45.707
ALY: So whatever it is.

00:59:45.707 --> 00:59:47.567
VIRGINIA: That sounds like the Hunger Games to me.

00:59:47.567 --> 00:59:50.627
VIRGINIA: I'm not so sure about that.

00:59:50.627 --> 00:59:51.307
ALY: I'll be glad.

00:59:51.307 --> 01:00:05.287
ALY: See, we don't really fly it that much, but it's easier to fly out of Manchester Airport with my dad and my brother, which is the New Hampshire Airport, and the Southwest flies from there, but they have like one flight a day.

01:00:05.287 --> 01:00:09.747
ALY: So that's why the flight times weren't really convenient.

01:00:11.087 --> 01:00:11.707
ALY: But it does.

01:00:11.707 --> 01:00:16.067
ALY: It's so much easier to get in and out of Manchester and it's in South.

01:00:16.067 --> 01:00:26.527
ALY: The only thing is the waiting to get on the plane and with the wheelchairs because now people have figured out that if you're in a wheelchair, you load first.

01:00:26.527 --> 01:00:34.167
ALY: So people in airport wheelchairs are lined up, like 20 people deep to get on Southwest plane.

01:00:34.167 --> 01:00:39.867
VIRGINIA: So they're asking to use a wheelchair at the airport, even though they may not necessarily need one.

01:00:39.867 --> 01:00:41.147
ALY: Yeah, I'm not going to be the judge of that.

01:00:41.307 --> 01:00:43.207
ALY: I'm just, it just seems like I am.

01:00:43.207 --> 01:00:43.767
VIRGINIA: I am.

01:00:43.767 --> 01:00:46.247
VIRGINIA: I'm judging it.

01:00:46.247 --> 01:00:48.747
VIRGINIA: Sounds suspicious to me.

01:00:48.747 --> 01:00:51.307
ALY: It's a little sus.

01:00:51.307 --> 01:00:54.647
ALY: It's someone that grew up with someone in her family her whole life with a wheelchair.

01:00:55.647 --> 01:00:56.787
ALY: Been around it my whole life.

01:00:57.667 --> 01:01:03.727
ALY: It's tough because, again, they can't walk down a plane aisle because they walk with crutches.

01:01:03.727 --> 01:01:05.687
ALY: So it's so small.

01:01:05.687 --> 01:01:14.227
ALY: So if they're walking down, they're grabbing onto seats, which nobody would want to be sitting in the seats they're grabbing onto.

01:01:14.987 --> 01:01:15.387
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:01:15.387 --> 01:01:19.487
ALY: So just something, it's just a different perspective you get.

01:01:19.487 --> 01:01:26.947
ALY: But yeah, hopefully when Southwest starts assigning seats, that will make it a lot easier and you won't have that hunger game.

01:01:26.947 --> 01:01:28.607
VIRGINIA: Are they going to be doing that in the future?

01:01:28.607 --> 01:01:30.947
ALY: Starting in 2025, I think.

01:01:30.947 --> 01:01:32.087
ALY: Yeah.

01:01:32.087 --> 01:01:33.827
VIRGINIA: Why the wait?

01:01:33.827 --> 01:01:34.587
VIRGINIA: What are they waiting for?

01:01:35.827 --> 01:01:36.507
ALY: I don't know.

01:01:36.507 --> 01:01:42.727
ALY: It's just I don't, I can't talk my hugs into a Southwest.

01:01:42.727 --> 01:01:44.547
ALY: But he travels a lot for work.

01:01:44.547 --> 01:01:47.167
ALY: Like he's on a plane four or five times a month.

01:01:47.167 --> 01:01:49.847
ALY: So he's a little picky about that stuff.

01:01:49.847 --> 01:01:50.187
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:01:50.187 --> 01:01:56.687
VIRGINIA: I've never flown Southwest, but partially it's because the place that I go most often is Orlando.

01:01:56.687 --> 01:02:02.267
VIRGINIA: They don't have any good time options that I like from New York down to Orlando.

01:02:02.507 --> 01:02:07.447
VIRGINIA: And I think most of them fly out of Newark, which is a challenge to get to.

01:02:07.447 --> 01:02:10.547
VIRGINIA: I'm much closer to JFK and LaGuardia here.

01:02:10.547 --> 01:02:18.107
VIRGINIA: And then when I fly other places other than Orlando, I just find myself gravitating back towards Delta usually or JetBlue.

01:02:18.107 --> 01:02:19.407
VIRGINIA: Those are my two go-tos.

01:02:19.407 --> 01:02:30.547
ALY: I think living in the Northeast, JetBlue for us has really pushed Southwest into inconvenient time slots and inconvenient airports.

01:02:30.667 --> 01:02:38.747
ALY: Because JetBlue is not the same, but it's a more discount-ish airline, and they just took over the Northeast.

01:02:38.747 --> 01:02:46.227
ALY: So we'll typically fly JetBlue or Delta, is usually what we'll fly to Florida out of Boston.

01:02:46.227 --> 01:02:54.327
ALY: Because Boston is actually easier for us to get into, a more direct route for us than going to Manchester, traffic-wise, because there's a bus that will take us there.

01:02:54.327 --> 01:02:56.327
ALY: But yeah, it was a great trip.

01:02:56.327 --> 01:02:57.467
VIRGINIA: It sounds like a great trip.

01:02:57.467 --> 01:03:01.787
VIRGINIA: So my follow-up question is, when are you going back?

01:03:01.787 --> 01:03:08.067
ALY: I'm going back with my husband, my son, and his girlfriend in December.

01:03:09.127 --> 01:03:12.827
VIRGINIA: This will be her second time with you as a family.

01:03:14.487 --> 01:03:22.607
ALY: Yeah, we're going to Animal Kingdom Lodge this time and we've got one bedroom and a studio for them.

01:03:24.287 --> 01:03:30.167
ALY: I'm just going to let them play it by year and figure out what they want to do now that she's been and he's been.

01:03:31.487 --> 01:03:38.027
ALY: We're going to relax more, I think, because Animal Kingdom Lodge is that type of resort, so it'll be fun.

01:03:38.027 --> 01:03:39.787
VIRGINIA: Well, Aly, it has been a pleasure.

01:03:39.787 --> 01:03:42.407
VIRGINIA: As always, you're one of my favorite guests.

01:03:44.087 --> 01:03:45.487
ALY: I love doing this with you.

01:03:45.487 --> 01:03:53.907
VIRGINIA: I love all my guests, but from the moment I met you, I felt like we had a connection, so I'm always excited to talk to you.

01:03:53.907 --> 01:03:55.027
ALY: Me too.

01:03:55.027 --> 01:03:58.867
ALY: Well, we're single boy moms, and I think we're a similar age.

01:04:00.247 --> 01:04:03.487
ALY: We're in similar parts in life.

01:04:03.487 --> 01:04:04.827
VIRGINIA: Exactly.

01:04:04.827 --> 01:04:10.187
VIRGINIA: Well, take care, and I hope to talk to you again at some point in the near future.

01:04:10.527 --> 01:04:11.187
ALY: You too.

01:04:11.187 --> 01:04:13.167
ALY: Thank you for having me.

01:04:14.367 --> 01:04:18.007
VIRGINIA: Thank you, Aly, as always for being such a fun guest.

01:04:18.007 --> 01:04:24.487
VIRGINIA: It's so much fun getting to interview returning guests because you really get a chance to get to know them and their travel style.

01:04:24.487 --> 01:04:30.907
VIRGINIA: Listeners, if you check the show notes, you will find the link to listen to Aly's previous episodes all in one spot.

01:04:30.907 --> 01:04:34.947
VIRGINIA: With that, it's time to wrap up another week of podcast episodes.

01:04:34.947 --> 01:04:39.887
VIRGINIA: Stay safe out there, and no matter what, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.