Brett & Jo’s ‘This Changes Everything’ 2015 Orlando Adventure - Day 10: Shopping, MK, Epcot & DTD

[Happyhaunt1000]

I know you guys probably get bored of reading TRs that have shopping days in them, so I’ll try to keep this first section as brief as possible… but hey… it's me! It’ll probably end up being 15 pages long!

We get up around 8am and decide to use the last bagels from Publix instead of going over and grabbing breakfast from AP. Turns out to be a mistake as we've run out of butter and eating week-old, dry, toasted bagels isn't enjoyable. It's absolutely chucking it down outside, but seeing as we’ll be inside a mall for the first part of the day, I can't say we’re too bothered. Luckily for us, when it's time to walk to reception and get a cab, it's stopped raining… and by the time we’re in the cab and on our way it's belting down again.

We get to the Florida Mall (yes… we’re here again) and as luck would have it, the entrance that the cab driver dropped us off at is the side we haven't walked around yet. This shopping trip gets off to a much better start than previous visits and we find trainers, hoodies and t-shirts that we both like. Of course, if I go into a store that sells masks and hats… I'm gonna try them on!









We then happen across a new store that’s like geek nirvana! I can't remember what it was called, but it was huge and full of so many cool things that we end up spending well over half an hour walking round looking at everything.

















The one thing that catches both our eyes are the Walking Dead sets depicting different scenes and areas from the four seasons. They are like adult lego sets but with way more detail. I'd never seen anything like this before… and I'm determined to buy a few sets. I know Jo’s gonna have some great fun putting these together when she’s off on maternity leave… it’s not like she’ll have much else to keep her occupied









With some successful shopping under our belts we decided that now is as good a time as any to get some lunch. Unlike last time where we were seduced by the first free sample we tasted (goddamn tasty bourbon chicken) we today decided to take a walk around the food court and see what caught our eye. The smells were amazing, and unlike the last time we came to the mall, today the food court was rammed! Seems like everyone else in the Orlando area decided to go shopping today because the weather was so bad. Eventually we decided to get something from Charley's Philly Steaks.



I go for the Philly Cheesesteak and Jo opts for a Teriyaki Chicken, and we get some loaded fries to share. While I'm standing there in a huddle of people, waiting for my number to be called out, I feel a tap on my arm. I look round at the lady standing next to me, and she says “I'm not in the habit of talking to strangers, but I read your trip report and I'm a fan of what you write. I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading them!” I'm a bit shocked but I say thank you and ask her what her name is. She tells me it's Kathleen (hope that's the right spelling) but that she doesn’t actually post on the DIBB and is just a lurker (her words not mine). She tells me she first recognised Jo, and then she noticed my tattoos and knew it was me. We stand there chatting about how our holidays are going, where we’re staying etc, and while we’re chatting, her son is standing next to her. I don't think he had a clue why his mum was speaking to this random stranger in the queue for philly cheesesteaks! Kathleen is a lovely lady, and she even lets me take a selfie of us together. I tell her that I'm going to write about this meeting and post the picture as well... “ohh noooooooo” she says (she’s Scottish so it was a little bit like Mrs Doubtfire when she said it ) So… being a man of my word Kathleen… here's the photo:



Her number is called out not long after and we say goodbye... then a few minutes later our food arrives. Jo’s managed to locate us a table and when I get to her I tell her what happened while I was waiting for the food. Jo tells me she’s been people watching and points out a (clearly) British family that have apparently had her attention for most of the time. There’s a herd of about 10 of them… all different shapes and sizes… all pasty white with red shoulders… wearing some of the most inappropriate clothing I think I've ever seen at a shopping mall. The one that's a standout for me is the woman who’s wearing a playsuit (I had to ask Jo what it was called). I say wearing… I mean she’s squeezed herself into this thing that's clearly a couple of sizes too small, and is riding up and too tight in all the wrong places. As she bends over to pick up her kid, I nearly go blind! It was like looking directly at the sun!

Thankfully, it wasn't enough to put me off my cheesesteak… because if it had, I would've missed out on one of the best lunches I had in Orlando. This thing was loaded with meat and I was absolutely stuffed when I finished it. Jo was equally as happy with the sandwich she had picked. We both tried a bite of each other's, and both thought that as nice as the other's persons was… our own sandwich was the best. (Jo was wrong though… mine was better!) This place is well worth checking out if you're at the mall for lunch, and even though you may have to wait 10 minutes for your sandwich, it's totally worth it.





After lunch we carried on round and went into a few more shops… one being a clothes shop that had some cool t-shirts and jumpers. I ended up spending about $100 on a few bits. I actually liked a lot more in this shop, but was starting to worry about getting it all back to the UK.

There was only one more place I wanted to go… and it had already caused an argument earlier in the trip so I was determined to remain calm and level-headed this time. I'm talking, of course, about the Apple store. I still wanted to get myself a Macbook Pro, and now that I finally understood that Jo really had no interest in which one we got, I strolled into the store knowing that I wanted the 15 inch screen. We went straight to where they were in the store… and stood there. As with our last visit, there had actually been a queue outside of people waiting to get their hands on the iPhone 6S… so as you can imagine, inside was pretty hectic.

We stood there for about five minutes and during that time not one sales assistant had approached us. This is obviously completely different to every other store in the mall where the moment you step in the door you’re being told about the special offers and asked if you needed help. Well now was one of those rare occasions where I actually did need help… but it wasn't forthcoming. More minutes passed, and we still hadn't spoken to anyone. It was infuriating. It wasn't like I needed advice, or even to listen to some sales spiel... I just wanted to spend $2k and walk out of the store with a brand new laptop. I looked around and there were staff members transferring contact lists from OAP phone onto a brand new iPhones and then showing them how it worked… there were guys running through the operating system capability of new iPads with goofy looking parents and their idiot kids… but the one thing I didn't see was people actually walking out of the store with something they had just purchased. Across the other side of the store I saw an elderly couple talking to a guy holding a iPad. I walked over, politely waited for him to finish speaking to the couple and then said “I'd like to buy a Macbook Pro”.
“Ok, well I’ll have to put you on a waiting list... there are 12 other people in front of you in the queue, you’ll need to wait around 30 minutes.”
“I just want to buy it… I don't need a sales pitch, I know what it does” I said. He came back with “I'm afraid everyone is busy serving other customers right now, but if you wait by the Macs I’ll have someone with you as soon as possible”.

Now… if i wasn't so desperate to get this Mac I would've just walked… but I bit my tongue and walked back to Jo telling her what I'd been told. So there we stood… waiting and waiting and WAITING for someone to come over and serve us. I hate this store. I hate it with the passion of a thousand burning suns. BUT… those sons of bi**hes have me hooked on their products. I've tried using other mobile phones and other tablets… but goddamnit… these iWombles have me jonesing for their laptops, phones and tablets. But… I am also only human. After waiting close to 30 minutes (yes… I was that patient) I'd had enough. I didn't want to give them my money (today). I said to Jo we should leave. She actually protested and said we’d waited this long, we were bound to be served any time now… but I didn't care. I just didn't want to give my money to this particular store today. I walked out, with Jo alongside me. As we got to the door there was a guy standing there with an iPad (who was acting as some sort of greeter/doorman for those waiting for iPhones).
“Great customer service” I snarled as I walked out.
“Oh, thank you” he said… not detecting that I wasn't happy, as obviously sarcasm is lost on most Americans!
“I was taking the p**s mate. I've stood there for 40 minutes waiting to buy a Macbook… and not one person has been to speak to me or help me.”
“Oh I'm sorry, let me see if…”
And before he could finish I just said “don't bother mate, I've had enough… I’m not spending a ‘flipping’ penny in there today” and walked off.

Now… in the grand scheme of things, me not buying that laptop in there that day meant nothing to the staff, that store, or the Apple brand in general. Hell… a week after we got back I went into Stormfront in Romford and purchased the Macbook I wanted. As I said, I'm a junkie for these products… but on that day I couldn't handle the way I, the consumer, was treated. What’s wrong with just having a till where people queue up? I hate this idea of a virtual queue. Rides are incorporating it more and more these days and I just can't stand it. I could rant about this situation at Apple, and why it's everything that I hate about the pretentious age we live in… but I'd be here for another 20 pages and you guys would be bored witless… so I’ll carry on.

That was the end of the shopping at this mall BUT… not the end of the shopping overall, as there were a few items we wanted from the outlet mall… namely (and most importantly) a new bag/suitcase. We’d spotted these giant holdalls in the Adidas store that had wheels and a pull out handle. The largest one they did was about $70 and would be ideal. Again, unlike earlier in the week when this store had been empty, it was packed today. I got in line and there were about ten people in front of me. But that number almost double when the South American guy two people in front of me, with just a pair of shorts in his hand, was joined by half a dozen family members all carrying three or four items each! Cosmic!

Finally I was served, and the guy who served me was the guy who had served this family… and it had not been an easy transaction for him. There seemed to be some arguing among the family members themselves about some of the items being purchased. Items were scanned… then taken off the bill at the request of the ‘dad’… then after a change of heart, he wanted them added back on again. I told the guy that he deserved a medal for keeping so calm in dealing with that bunch of idiots. He just smiled and said “yeah… it can be testing at times. I wish each sale was as easy as this one!”

I took my giant bag and we headed to the final store of the day, which was the Timberland shop, where on our last visit I'd seen a pair of boots that I really liked. I'd stopped myself buying them because of the price ($190), but having slept on it for a few days, I decided to pull the trigger. The store had an extra 20% off all items EXCEPT for anything that was in their ‘special’ range. And wouldn't you know it… my boots were in this ‘special’ range. I didn't care though, as I liked them enough to pay full price. On our way to the counter, me and Jo picked up a couple of pairs of thick socks each and stuck them down on the counter with the boots. I was expecting the total to be north of $220 including tax...but when it came up on the register is said $180! It seemed the cashier had not been aware that the 20% off didn't apply to my boots. Finally… a little bit of luck goes the way of Team Harding!

With our shopping finally done we hopped in a cab back to the resort and decided that we would head to MK for a few hours, then over to Epcot and finally going to DTD for something to eat. We dropped off our stuff in the room, then basically turned right around and went back out again. We didn't have to wait long for a bus… but while we were waiting it started raining again.



I saw this as a good thing because I thought it might clear out some of the crowds in the parks… and I was right. When we got to MK it had stopped raining, but there were still a lot of people making their way to the exit. The storm had passed, leaving one of those amazing Florida skies that I've never seen anywhere else. (You’ll notice in the pictures I post for the rest of this day that I got a little bit obsessed with it!)











Once in the park we headed right into Tomorrowland and onto Buzz Lightyear. It is here that a miracle happened… I actually got a decent score!


I'm concentrating while Jo’s doing ‘Big Eyes’!

I'm not talking the crazy 999,999 that so many of you have achieved… but a score of 670,500. I can normally barely get over 100,000 and here I was with six times that... as you can see, once I got off the ride I was very happy with my score.

[Happyhaunt1000]

Jo was feeling a little hungry and we realised that we hadn't yet eaten at our favorite place in the MK… Pecos Bill’s. We left Tomorrowland, across the hub and headed in the direction of Frontierland. I like the new hub, but I really wish they’d got rid of the low wall around the Partners statue. Along with the castle, it's an iconic photo opportunity… but the chances of getting a clean shot without having some random family lounging around and spoiling your photo are nearly impossible.



Oh… and while I’m ranting (again!), what is it with these people who feel that the wall around the statue isn’t good enough for them… so instead they sit up on the railing! I'm literally gritting my teeth as I write this, as these kinds of fence-wombles wind me up no end! The anger I felt being around the idiots at the Partners statue was replaced with disappointment when we reached PB’s, as the doors were shut and we were told that the restaurant was closed! Turns out they were changing the menu and would be closed for a few days while they sorted a few things out. I asked Jo if there was anywhere else she wanted to eat but she couldn't think of anywhere and said she’d be fine for a bit. She then said she wanted to get a book she’d seen in one of the Frontierland stores, as she’d not seen it anywhere else on property. The person who served us was very clean. (I apologise not only to the CM in question, but also to anyone who found my joke either childish or offensive. It was low hanging fruit and I couldn't help myself!)







With the book and a couple of Vinylmations purchased and sent back to the resort, we walked round to the HM, again stopping to take pictures of the sky... only to do the same thing again when we came off the attraction.

















It was getting to the time where people start camping out to see the parade, so we took that as our cue to exit and jump on a monorail over to Epcot to use our FP for Soarin. I honestly don't think I've done this attraction as many times over the years of coming to WDW as I have on this one trip. It's mainly because it's one of the only ‘slightly exhilarating’ attractions that Jo can go on.

When we disembark the monorail at Epcot Jo isn't feeling good. She’s light headed, lethargic and in desperate need of food… so instead of going to DTD to eat a nice table service meal, we head into The Land and get a quick counter service meal from there. Jo gets the fish tacos and I get chicken with mash. Mine is mediocre at best, and Jo’s is quite nice.


Could this look anymore unappealing and bland?







She’s upset though as she feels she’s spoiling the holiday. I tell her she’s being a bell, and she’s not spoiling anything. She’s worried that we won't use all our dining credits but I tell her I don't care. It's not like we've paid for the DP, so if we don't use it, we don't use it. We both knew this trip would be different and we’d have to play it by ear. So if we don't get to eat at certain places it doesn’t matter as it's not like we’re never coming back!

Whilst we’re sitting there in an almost entirely empty dining area, another couple rocks up and sits right next to us! I mean like… touching distance from me and Jo! What the actual flip?!?!?! I took this picture to illustrate just how empty this place was.



Anyway, after our food we used our FP for Soarin and noticed that the standby line was only 10 minutes! I don't ever recall seeing that low a wait time... I think 30 is the lowest I've seen posted.



Once we were off the ride we headed for the park exit and a bus towards DTD. Wasn't sure why we were still going to DTD especially as we’d now eaten, but hey… what they hell… it's not like we had anywhere else we needed to be. I could be mistaken, but I think this was the day the Disney buses stopped showing ‘Downtown Disney’ on the front and instead showed Disney Springs. I also think it was the first night I saw some of the new signs.



Having no particular place to be meant that our walk around the shops, and DS in general, was a lot more relaxed and laid back. We stopped in the WonderGround Gallery area in the Marketplace Co-Op, and they were selling some of the artwork we liked in California's DTD. We spotted a cool frame and some postcard sized attraction/area artwork to go in it. The frame was only $30 and the postcard pictures were only $5 a pop so we got six different ones and the frame.

Jo then remembered that we hadn't picked up our $200 gift card (an extra perk when we booked the hotel/Dining Plan) so we walked over to the World of Disney store and had a CM point us in the direction of where we could collect it. The process of them actually allocating it to us took a lot longer than expected, and then I managed to walk away without taking my passport back off of them! We picked up a few gifts for people back home, but we were both done for the day so thought we’d stop off at Ghirardelli’s and share a Hot Fudge Sundae before going back to our room.



After a few spoonfuls I was full up and getting a brain freeze, so I handed it to Jo and told her it was all hers. She didn't do much better than me to be fair, and we ended up chucking about a quarter of it in the bin. We deliberated if we should get a bus or a boat back to the hotel but chose the bus. A wrong move as it was packed… and seemed to take forever to leave DS. I was so tired that I actually started falling asleep on the bus waiting for it to move. Soon we were on the move and five minutes later we were pulling up at our stop. It was gone 11:30 when we got back in the room and even though we’d planned a laid back day, we’d ended up going here there and everywhere. We were both shattered and the bed was calling to us. We got our stuff ready for the following day and by midnight we were tucked in bed and drifting off to sleep. Day 10… done.

Wow… our poor credit card took a beating today, but it would've been worse if Apple hadn't been such shop-wombles!

Join us soon for Day 11 where we spend the day with friends at Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival.

Thanks for reading… I love you byeeeeeee xx

#dibbafteryoufinallygetadecentscoreonbuzzlightyear

Day 11 can be found here

[Sparksy72]

Another busy day, please keep posting shopping days - shopping days are awesome! Rubbish customer service... not so much. I just walk out now - shops, restaurants, you name it. Glad you finally got your MacBook 😊

[Cinderella]

That shop looks awesome at the mall👍

[Milner]

Another great read.

[Rescuer]

Great installment as always.

That shop in Floridia Mall looks awesome, a bit like Forbidden Planet. My ds will have a field day with that wall of pop bobble heads, I'm feeling this may be the push he needs to see shopping as a good idea . Thanks.

[Dissie]

The shop in the Florida Mall is Think Geek. My hubby loved it, I couldn't get him out of it. He has just told me it is their only shop in the world though they have a huge on line store. Think I may have married a geek

[ely3857]

Ah I hope Jo got the message she wasn't ruining anything. Apple stores kill me but like yourself, we're a family of addicts!

[abiknox]

That sky!

Great day again, wait times seems great.

[joface23]

The shops called Think Geek. I've wanted to buy stuff from their website for years but was always put off by the shipping cost. One of the most dangerous places I've ever been to. I could have spent a fortune! They had a cosplay contest while we were there, it was hilarious!