Packable Jackets, Stiff Bananas and Crossings to Africa! (Jan/Feb 2019) Day 5

[MinnieMrsA]

Day 5- Tuesday 29th January 2019

We were up and partaking in our usual morning routine by 6.10am, and were on the road to Premium Outlets Vineland Avenue by 9.30am. I had read lots about having to pay to park, or park far away in order to park for free. We parked pretty close for free, and the car park was nowhere near full when we returned to the car either.
We went to the Character Warehouse first (well – after the obligatory stop in the rest rooms!), and it was really disappointing. We bought an outfit for our niece, and a top, scarf and mug for me. There was racks and racks of Star Wars merchandise, none of which appealed to us.

We had much more success in Skechers – Dave got 3 pairs – two smart-casual pairs and one pair of trainers, and I got a pair of trainers. They had lots of lovely shoes that were out of stock in my size. Never mind…I’ll add them to the list for next time! Thankfully I had more success in Vera Bradley – buying two bags, two purses and a sunglasses case for me, and a bag and purse for Mum. Every time we go to Florida my Mum requests another Vera Bradlay bag in a different colour. This time I wasn’t sure which one she wanted, so I called her from the shop and sent her some pictures, and she chose the one I would have chosen for her too. Always better to check though!

We carried on round the shops, buying an outfit for my niece in Osh Kosh B’Gosh, t-shirts for Dave in Timberland and some jeans for Dave and Matt (my BIL from our Ohana trip) in Levis. We also decided to look for new suitcases. We were just looking in one of the lower end luggage shops, when a pushy salesman approached us and began jumping on a suitcase to show just how durable it was. Great. Still didn’t make me want to buy it – and when he wouldn’t take no for an answer, we simply walked out!

We went back to POFQ for lunch, I had a salad and Dave had a wrap. We sorted out our purchases so they weren’t taking over the room, and I called my Mum for a catch up, as our chat at the outlets was a bit rushed.

We got the bus to Epcot, as we had made a reservation at The Ale & Compass at the Yacht Club on the recommendation of AJ from DFB and L&R Dreaming.

I managed to get us a FP+s for Soarin’, Living with the Land and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. Somewhere in there we had some frappes from Starbucks, and then headed off round the world to look at some of the artwork from Festival of the Arts. We scouted out a few bits that we wanted, and decided to come back for them another time.

We enjoyed the Coco exhibit in the Mexico Pavilion - it was mega busy in there though!

We stopped to get a picture together in front of the festival sign, and as we approached the queue, a couple of people who I will politely refer to as ‘extras’ ran to get in front of us. Fine. They were a young and glamorous couple, and upon having their photograph taken, broke into gymnastics! The guy flipped the girl above his head and held her there for the photo. Being British, I tutted whilst in my head thinking ‘show offs!’. The photographer then called us up and asked if we were going to do the same, to which Dave pretended to try to lift me and I almost punched him in the head. The photographer told us not to bother trying through howls of laughter – it really was a hilarious moment so the smiles in the photo is us stifling laughter!

We left Epcot through the International Gateway, and enjoyed the short walk to the Yacht Club. We checked in and were seated immediately. We felt a bit underdressed compared to the couple who checked in at the same time as us, but when we sat down, they got up and left so maybe they felt overdressed! Jen was our server, and for the first (and I think only) time this holiday, she asked for our ID. Jen said her tables kept walking out tonight (she was quite officious in nature, but I can be sometimes so personally I don’t mind that! She did ‘thaw’ over the course of the evening). Anyway – Dave had a beer, steak and lemon meringue pie (which was very fancy looking – so much so that if you showed it to the original lemon meringue pie connoisseur that is my Grandad, he would ask you what it was!). I had wine, half roast chicken and apple cobbler. The food was delicious, the service was good and the setting felt very high end. It was really quite too. This place is a bit of a hidden gem I think!

We sorted the tip and walked back through Epcot, picking up a FP+ for Spaceship Earth along the way. After this, we got the bus back and had a cuppa whilst sorting our bits and pieces for our little road trip tomorrow.

Tomorrow – tolls, space shuttles and dining in the dark…

STEPS: 22,571

[Cinderella]

Looks like it warmed up for you ☀️

[MinnieMrsA]

Originally Posted by Cinderella

Looks like it warmed up for you ☀️

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Yes it did slightly - I was lulled into a false sense of security as it didn't last...

[mick]

A good day shopping and a park


Joan

[Floridaagogo]

Great day... but you and Dave should have gone for the lift 😀

[MinnieMrsA]

Originally Posted by mick

A good day shopping and a park


Joan

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I do love the shopping!

[MinnieMrsA]

Originally Posted by Floridaagogo

Great day... but you and Dave should have gone for the lift 😀

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If I was the weight I was when we got married we could have done it lol - but 5 year of marriage and a few kilos later would definitely have broken Dave's wrist 😂😂😂

[Palm trees]

Fab day, your dinner looks delicious.

[MinnieMrsA]

Originally Posted by Palm trees

Fab day, your dinner looks delicious.

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It was amazing - one of the best meals of the holiday!

[margyloveswdw]

A fab day