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Old 18 Nov 11, 03:12 PM  
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Clare
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I know I said I wouldn't but ... Day 3 first day Disney

Quick background:

I'd originally said I wouldn't return to the Boardwalk Inn (my favourite resort) as I was worried a return would not be as good as my 2010 trip, but when a Disney US annual passholder 40% discount came out I couldn't turn it down!

Chief Financier, Organiser and Payer of Bills - Me, Clare - 40 something Disney nut but lover of the finer things in life (purse strings permitting)


Day 3 - First Day at Disney

As is usual travelling to Orlando waking up early is something that most of us experience, 4.30 am this time round unfortunately, ugh!

I tossed and turned, tried to go back to sleep but to no avail so I went and had a bubble bath, then watched some TV until 6.30 am when the club lounge opened for morning coffee. A strong cup of English breakfast tea and a banana later I was feeling a lot more with it - cabin crew gave me the tip that apparently bananas help with jet lag - I ate a lot of bananas that first 24 hours!

early morning view from my room


I was meeting a friend from another board for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, I'd never been before so was looking forward to it. I caught a taxi from the Boardwalk to the Grand Floridian and arrived just before 8.00 am for our 8.00 am ADR. Just after 8.00 am Leanne arrived and we were taken straight away into the dining room. We had a table in the main dining area and it was beautiful, the first thing to hit me was the theming of the room, the second thing after 10 minutes was the noise, boy was it noisy!



Leanne is from Australia and extremely outgoing, she loves the characters and they love her as she really gets into the whole character thing, in fact she provided neighbouring tables with an added attraction, especially when she really got into character with Alice and the Madhatter about the Doormouse!



The food here was your usual breakfast fare and after a quick walk through of the buffet by the chef most of the offerings were gluten free. Really it was all wasted on me though as where I've been losing weight since the beginning of the year I just don't have the same appetite as I used to, but I had already decided I would have 'nice' food but just eat half of what was on my plate, and that was if I could manage half!

A plate of breakfast potatoes and an omelette later and I was more than full for my first morning at Disney.

Leanne and I said our goodbyes until lunchtime where we were going to meet at 50's Prime Time at Disney Studios.

I opted to take the boat to the Polynesian resort, along the way you could clearly see all the work that was going on at the Grand Floridian for the new rumoured DVC resort - I'm sorry to say that it look a mess and is a large area, once it's finished I'm sure it will look beautiful but I do feel it will have a negative impact due to it's size.



A quick look around the Polynesian and I caught another taxi back to the Boardwalk as I wanted to catch up with my CM friends once they'd finished the breakfast 'rush' in the lounge before making my way to Hollywood Studios to meet Leanne for lunch.

I love the walk from the Boardwalk to the Studios so I opted to use that option rather than the boat. A glorious sunny morning, 15 minutes later I was at the turnstiles.





Unfortunately this is where a rather unDisney moment occurred, I inserted my annual pass (run off by the Boardwalk CMs the evening before) into the turnstile and nothing happened - I was directed to guest services just outside the park.

Approximately 1 hour later the problem was rectified, it appeared the pass was only the voucher and not the pass itself, they could not find it on the system, then they could but then not the payment, a manager had to get involved and then another one. By the time I finally made it into the park and sprinted up to 50's Prime Time there was no Leanne. I was very disappointed not to have made it and I know she was too, poor show Disney! I was however given a $100 gift card by way of apology but it couldn't make up for missing my lunch with Leanne as she was leaving that afternoon.

As I'd missed lunch on a whim I decided to see if the Brown Derby would take a walk-in, they advised they were only take reservations but as I was an onsite guest and 'solo' they could sit me at the patio - result!





I wasn't on the dining plan this trip so was paying cash ('OOP'), I didn't want an appetiser so just went with the 6 oz char grilled filet of beef over white truffle whipped potatoes, mushroom ragout and red wine reduction, even though I'd originally thought I'd go with the cobb salad.



I didn't even manage half my 6 oz filet, and being perfectly blunt it wasn't the best quality meat either, certainly not worth $36. However, the white truffle whipped potatoes and red wine reduction were divine. Another thing, my plate was 'stained', it was clean but was obviously an old plate, I'm sorry but this is not acceptable at a signature restaurant.

I had another ADR for the following week but decided to cancel based on this experience. If I'd been on the dining plan I don't think I would have minded so much but paying $36 for a not so worth it piece of meat was not something I wanted to take a chance on again.

After lunch I decided to take the walk back to the Boardwalk again, to walk off my lunch.



I had a wander around Crescent Lake stopping off at each of the Epcot resorts before heading back to the Boardwalk where I relaxed in the lounge with an ice cold lemonade and some snacks, including yet another banana.

looking at my room from across the lake - as you look at the photo, my room is to the left of the presidential suite (i.e. the very long balcony)






I was meeting Dibber Paulrae and family for dinner at Cape May that evening so took a late afternoon nap, I woke up hungry so ventured into the lounge to see what the evening 'cheese & wine' offerings were.

A plate (i.e. saucer size) later of some appetisers to keep me going until I met Paul.

Smoked salmon on sauerkraut, potato, american and smoked cheeses, quinoa salad - all very nice


Later that evening I headed over to the Beach Club to join Paul and his family at Cape May.

It was lovely to meet Paul and his family and we had a great time, the buffet was excellent (sorry no food photos) although I only had a beef stew and potatoes, both extremely delicious, and a pomegranate lemonade. There was lots of talking and we ended up saying our goodbyes a couple of hours later, I took the walk back to the Boardwalk and went straight to bed.

turndown service
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Old 18 Nov 11, 03:23 PM  
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Iloveflorida
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Great tip about the Bananas, did you think it helped in the end?
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Old 18 Nov 11, 03:30 PM  
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Clare
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Originally Posted by Iloveflorida View Post
Great tip about the Bananas, did you think it helped in the end?
Whether it was in my mind lol but I did feel they helped - normally by the end of my second day I'm feeling dizzy/tired and have to go to bed, this time I didn't
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Old 18 Nov 11, 05:04 PM  
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Great day and fab pics and will be getting some bananas as well great tip thank you
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Old 18 Nov 11, 06:32 PM  
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Clare
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definitely have the bananas, they worked a treat
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Old 18 Nov 11, 07:18 PM  
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What a shame about the mix up with your AP, glad you got it sorted and were compensated, but it doesn't make up for missing your friend

Pleased to hear your dinner at Cape May was nice, made up for the disappointment at Brown Derby I hope.

Enjoying your report Clare, looking forward to more x
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Old 18 Nov 11, 08:23 PM  
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I think the demand for bananas in Orlando is going to go up. Certainly something I will try next time.

Sorry to hear you had problems with your AP and you missed your friend but glad you had a fun evening. I have to say that I was very impressed with Cape May.
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Old 18 Nov 11, 09:22 PM  
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Wow, I've never heard that about bananas, will definitely be giving it a try next year - I hate that woozy, heady, achy feeling I always get the first couple of days!
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Old 18 Nov 11, 09:28 PM  
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A great reas as usual, pity your day was spoilt with AP mess.
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Old 18 Nov 11, 10:53 PM  
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A great read !
looking forward to more !

H xx
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