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Old 10 Aug 19, 05:08 PM  
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MinnieMrsA
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Whatever it takes...June 2019 Trip Report - Day 10

Tuesday 25th June

We woke at 6.50am, and made it down to the bust stop for 9am. We were last of all in the queue for the Magic Kingdom bus, but the driver made everyone keep moving up until we all fit on. Perfect – co-operation always gets things done! We stood next to a really nice family who lived in the Florida Keys and had moved to Florida from Maryland for better weather. They couldn’t believe we would do the long flight multiple times a year, or that we had Annual Passes.

Today was another hot one, so we decided to get some pictures taken before we melted. We had some lovely ones taken in front of the castle, and then asked the cast member about the zoom in magic shot we had seen online, and she directed us to the rose garden to get it taken. I absolutely love this shot and the video – new photopass pictures are always fun!






It was time to start hammering through our FP+ plans, so we started with Big Thunder Mountain, before heading for It’s a Small World for some aircon. We had our cooling towels on again today, the heat was just not breaking – which on the plus side meant no rain. Next it was time for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, after which we decided we were incredibly hungry. We went to Big Top Souvenirs to get a cookie and a cold drink, having already consumed the bottles we had taken with us.




We had a FP+ for Jungle Cruise, but it was so incredibly hot that we swapped it for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin for more aircon time.



We headed back to the resort for lunch and we were both really hungry today, so Dave had a burger and I had chicken tenders. We also had a late (for us) ADR later, so we didn’t want to be too hungry before then. Whilst we were sat having lunch, we were messaging the friends we are going with on our next trip to see if they wanted us to pick up their magic bands in advance. They did – and sent us some pictures so we could pick them up on our next shopping trip.

As we got rained on during our tour of the All Stars a few days ago, Dave took this opportunity to complete the set of pictures he was taking, and get some of our resort too.





We were now ready for a rest and a shower, and I took this opportunity to check our plans for the evening. It was another ADR that we had modified, and lo and behold – it had also disappeared from MDE. Back to the concierge desk I went, and came away with another print out of our ADR. This one was very special to us – we were going to the California Grill for an early anniversary dinner – this year we have been married for 5 years and together for 10 years. What better place to celebrate?! I also sorted out the Minnie Van option on the Lyft app, as we planned to travel in style tonight.

Once rested, showered and dressed up a little, we headed down to the front lobby to use the Lyft app to get our Minnie Van – it was a 14 minute wait and you could track your van on the way to meeting you. I had a 25% off my next 10 rides offer pop up, which was even better. FYI – from All Star Sports to the Contemporary Resort was £21.52 – I also think surge pricing affects this service. I did also tip in cash, but could have done so via the app.



Anyway, 14 minutes later the lovely Mackenzie pulled up, and in the van we hopped. It was lovely – clean, roomy and air conditioned. Mackenzie was super friendly too, and the journey went much too quickly. She was also quite happy to take a picture of us with the Minnie Van. Whilst this isn’t the cheapest service, it was super easy and convenient, and I think worth the price. We told her that if there was a request from the Contemporary at about 9.30pm it would be us!



We could see the weather was drawing in, so we headed straight into a jam packed lobby – something wasn’t right here. To cut a long story short, there had been a minor fire at Chef Mickey’s, and floors 4-6 of the resort had been evacuated. Wherever you were- you were stuck for now. We hung round the lobby until we were allowed upstairs to check in to the California Grill. We saw so many guests being rude to cast members because they couldn’t get to their rooms/the monorail/a restaurant – there really was no need for it. I doubted any of those cast members had started the fire. The weather outside had also taken a stormy turn, which I don’t think was helping tempers.

By the time we did get upstairs, of course the queue to check in for the California Grill was much longer than it usually is, but we just joined the next queue for the lift and then waited round a bit more once we got to the 15th floor. Once the server who was seating people actually read the printed ticket with my name, we were seated and had a fantastic waiter – Simo. We started with the usual bread service, and a nice glass of red wine each. Dave had the fillet steak, and I had 4 choices from the vegan/vegetarian unlimited menu – and they were all delicious.






We also decided to splash out and have dessert – I had the warm chocolate cake, and Dave had a crème brulee. The bill arrived at 8.55pm, and Happily Ever After was on at 9pm. I told Dave to go outside and get a spot, and I sorted the bill out. Including a very generous tip and with our AP discount, we left $200. Expensive – yes. But for a special occasion – worth it.




Thankfully it stayed dry for Happily Ever After, although I spent the first minute or so of the fireworks attempting to comfort the little girl next to me. She told her Dad she was scared, but he ignored her – so she tugged on my dress and told me instead! I just told her that she was such a brave princess to watch the fireworks, and that all the other princesses all over the land were watching them too. She seemed content with these and just watched the fireworks after that – thank goodness as it is my favourite show and I didn’t want to miss it! I cried – a lot. I always do at these things! I think it is the bets evening show on property by a country mile, and I hope whatever is introduced at Epcot is as good. A very nice man asked Dave to take his picture on the way out – well he asked me first and I volunteered Dave! In return he took ours too.




A quick restroom stop later, and we were back in the lobby ordering another Minnie Van. It was only 5 minutes away as it was dropping off at Bay Lake Tower, so it was soon with us. It was a different numbered car to earlier, but guess who was driving – Mackenzie! We were super pleased to have her as our driver again, and told her all about the events of the evening. Before we knew it, we were back at All Stars. Mackenzie did offer to drop us off at our building, but we were happy with the lobby on this occasion as I had our refillable cups in my bag so we could get a drink on the way upstairs. I gave Mackenzie a very generous tip, as she had really contributed to what had been a fantastic evening.

Steps: 16659
Food cost: $226.86
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Old 14 Aug 19, 12:45 PM  
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collybird
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I think we’ll use Minnie Vans a lot this year, I know there are cheaper services but we’ll be on holiday and it’s all in fun. Did you just download the Lyft app and then you were good to go? I remember reading a while back that if you were from the UK you needed a special code from reception or something.

You guys look lovely all dressed up for your dinner and a lovely picture from the observation deck.
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Old 14 Aug 19, 05:11 PM  
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MinnieMrsA
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Originally Posted by collybird View Post
I think we’ll use Minnie Vans a lot this year, I know there are cheaper services but we’ll be on holiday and it’s all in fun. Did you just download the Lyft app and then you were good to go? I remember reading a while back that if you were from the UK you needed a special code from reception or something.

You guys look lovely all dressed up for your dinner and a lovely picture from the observation deck.
Thank you! I downloaded the lyft app and registered my credit card in the UK (that is the important bit - it won't let you do that whilst you are there), then when we were there I just waited for the Minnie Van pop up box on MDE and clicked on it when I saw it and it worked the magic! On lyft, just keep swiping through the car choices as Minnie Van is the last one 😊 if not, a quick visit to the front desk will sort it too.
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Old 13 Oct 19, 05:53 PM  
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Ariel's Mum
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Loving your report. Haven't commented on every day but have been bingeing this afternoon.

Your dress is gorgeous and your dinner at Cali Grill sounds lovely. Happy Belated Anniversary!
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Old 13 Oct 19, 06:19 PM  
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MinnieMrsA
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Originally Posted by Ariel's Mum View Post
Loving your report. Haven't commented on every day but have been bingeing this afternoon.

Your dress is gorgeous and your dinner at Cali Grill sounds lovely. Happy Belated Anniversary!
Thank you so much! The dress is from Asda 😁 I find their clothes good value and quality.

Thanks for reading along ❤
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