... and Then There Were 3, Orlando Feb 2019 - Day 8 - Mall At Millenia, Cheesecake Factory & Vine

[ally1966]

In all our previous trips to Orlando we have never visited The Mall At Millenia. This was mainly because it isn't on a convenient bus route from I-Drive and we didn't have a car.

On this occasion we (... well I really) have been tempted by a combination of cheap Uber fares and the lure of free cheesecake!

DD began the day with a breakfast of the Coco Pops that she'd brought back from yesterday's visit to GC. DH and I didn't bother as we knew that we would need room for dessert later.

We booked our Uber which cost just $9.94. We had a very chatty driver who was telling us all about how he is semi-retired but has moved to Florida to live near his son. He is renovating a boat to live on - sounds like heaven!

The Mall is bright, modern and very light thanks to all the glass. Everything is inside. It all looks very high end and is a complete contrast to the designer outlets that we have been used to.

Unfortunately, the prices reflect this!

We went into Victoria Secrets, where I looked at the nighties with a view to getting a present for DD18 but one glance at the price tag was enough to have me thinking, let's wait till we get to the Outlets (the observant amongst you may already have spotted my mistake here!)

I was tempted to buy a Mickey head charm from Pandora for my bracelet but they had nothing that I couldn't have bought in the UK so I decided to wait till we visit Disney Springs to see if I can get a WDW exclusive.

This set the tone for the morning and was repeated in several other shops.

(Random pic of DD in the Mall rest rooms. Strange location but I love how she looks in this photo!)

We did buy a couple of things in Abercrombie & Fitch kids. DD found a t-shirt that she liked for $17.99 and I bought her a jumper that was marked down to $12.99 in the sale.

Our only other purchases were from Forever 21 where DD bought herself a set of rings for $5.90 and I found myself some Mickey Mouse socks - I needed these desperately as my sandals were rubbing my feet badly but I hadn't fetched enough socks with me to wear trainers every day of the holiday. I paid $7.99 for 4 pairs.

The Mall was very quiet and we spent a while window shopping in the likes of Rolex and Louis Vuitton deciding what we'll buy when we win the lottery (highly unlikely as we've never played it!).

It was soon lunchtime and we headed to The Cheesecake Factory. We were seated very quickly and our server brought out the bread basket while we decided what to order from their vast menu.

I chose the Carne Asada Steak Medallions. These are sautéed with peppers, onions and cilantro and come with a spicy Ranchero sauce. It is usually served with sides of corn and white rice but I asked to swap the rice for fries. It was delicious.

There were so many dishes on this menu that I would've liked to try but I think that I chose well.

DH had the Classic burger which he enjoyed with a couple of bottles of Bud.

DD had the kids roadside sliders with fries. These are described as bite sized burgers but each one would've made a regular burger back home. She did well to eat them both.

Now on to the main event! I had pondered long and hard about which cheesecake to try and eventually settled on the Salted Caramel.

DH went for the White Chocolate and Raspberry which would probably have been my second choice anyway.

We ended up sharing these and I'd be hard pressed to say which I preferred. They were both heavenly!

DD didn't fancy any of the dessert options on the children's menu so asked for a slice of Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake. This was almost as big as she is!

We had most of it boxed to go and even though she had another go at it when we got home last night there is still some left in the fridge now.

I had mentioned to our server at the start of the meal that we had 2 Slices of Joy vouchers from the Black Friday promotion to redeem. She took down my voucher numbers and there was no problem using them both for the same meal despite the fact that the small print states one per guest.

This left us with a total bill of $72.76. I used my $25 gift card towards it, leaving us $47.76 + the tip to pay.

We had fallen into the trap again of ordering drinks with our meal and were charged $9.50 for a glass of wine and $12 for 2 bottles of Bud - some people never learn! The food though was lovely and I would definitely recommend it.

Once we'd eaten we agreed that we'd finished with this Mall and called an Uber to take us to the Vineland Premium Outlets. This cost $18.13.

On arrival we headed straight for Nike as DH still wanted some trainers. He found a pair that he likes for $49.99.

Next, having decided that I wanted to get DD18 a nightie from Victoria Secrets we decided to look for VS - you might remember I mentioned my mistake earlier - there isn't one! They are in Premium Outlets International but not Vineland.

I was delighted to eventually find a Kate Spade purse that was the right size. I was very glad that I hadn't bought one the other day because in addition to the store wide 60% discount they now had 20% extra off purses. I paid just $33.74 with tax.

We also picked up a Ralph Lauren Polo for $44.99 as a present for DS Ian.

In the Disney Outlet we found a cute Minnie Mouse vest and shorts set for the baby that DS Ian and his wife, Georgie, are expecting this Summer. DD and I also bought matching Minnie and Mickey bracelets for $12.99 each.

Our final and most expensive purchase here today was from the Fragrance Outlet where DH bought some Boss aftershave and as they had a buy one, get 50% off a second, offer we also got D-i-l some of her favourite Miss Dior perfume.

We returned to the hotel on the I-Trolley. This was a much longer journey than any of us remembered. It was gone 5pm when we got back and DH decided that he'd had enough and didn't want to go anywhere this evening.

So, after a quick change into her new A&F t-shirt, DD and I decided to go back to Premium Outlets International to see if we could find anything for DD18 in Victoria Secrets.

We've never been into this store before and our first impression was that it looked like a jumble sale! There were boxes of stock on tables that had all been obviously rifled through by numerous customers. Sizes were mixed up and it was generally chaos.

It took almost an hour to sort through it all and find everything that we wanted. However it was well worth the effort - for the $47 that they wanted for one nightie at the Mall At Millenia store we managed to find DD not only a nightie but also 3 different sets of matching bra and knickers, a new sports bra and 2 body sprays!

According to the receipt I saved $97.

We browsed for a while but my only other purchase was these cute little socks to add to the baby's present.

DD spent $10 on a tub of slime from one of the carts.

When we were done we left the Mall to look for the I-Trolley stop - and got lost! The car park looked completely different in the dark and we'd come out of the Mall by the wrong exit. It took some time to realise my error and I was starting to panic. It was 8.30 by the time we got back to the hotel and DH said that he thought we'd got lost - so I had to admit that we really had!

I nipped over to reception to book us onto the free shuttle for our first visit to Universal Studios tomorrow.

DD was happy to settle in for the rest of the night and play with her newly purchased slime so DH and I relaxed over a drink and some music.

I think that these rest days are becoming more exhausting than the parks!

Day 9 is here:- https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho...6#post13715456

[mick]

A good shopping day your food looked good too

Joan

[app]

New Photo Added by ally1966 - 2 Mar 19 9:35 AM.

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by mick

A good shopping day your food looked good too

Joan

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It was. The cheesecake was to die for!

[Floridaagogo]

Great day,fab bargains.your daughter is beautiful x

[ally1966]

Originally Posted by Floridaagogo

Great day,fab bargains.your daughter is beautiful x

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Thank-you xx

[Excitedx4]

Great shopping day!