The Disney Lunch Club Rerun: Motivational Edition - Dec 2019 - Day 4

[MinnieMrsA]

The Disney Lunch Club Rerun: Motivational Edition

Day 4 – Thursday 5th December

Today we were back to the Magic Kingdom – fitting considering it was Walt Disney’s birthday. To save a visit to the TTC, Sean & Tammy picked us up from the Gran Destino Tower and we drove round to the parking for our building and tapped them in with our magic bands. We parked right by a bus stop and only waited a couple of minutes to be…

KING OF THE BUS!

What a great way to start the day. We were soon pulling up at Magic Kingdom and the bag check lines weren’t too long - we’d seen online that they had been 40 minutes long the day before.

We had FP+ plans for later in the morning (the only time we got get Seven Dwarfs Mine Train) – so we decided to do some walk ons first of all. Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin had no wait so we went to see if we could redeem our poor scores from MVMCP. We did marginally better – I find it so hard to score on this ride!

Next was a first for me – Space Mountain. This ride is an absolute no go for Dave because of his back, so he kindly waited outside with the bags. It was posting a 25 minute wait and this was pretty accurate. I really enjoyed the ride – Sean & Tammy put me in the middle to keep me safe! It was lots of fun but I can see why it would be really uncomfortable for Dave.

My hanger had now set in, so we got Joffrey’s and pastries which really hit the spot. Whilst we let this digest we went on the People Mover to have a good look at the Tron Construction in the light. It is going to be absolutely epic! It was time for our first FP+ - Peter Pan’s Flight. Not the most exciting ride but you can never get a FP+ for it on the day and the queues are always mental.

As it was warm-ish today, we decided to get some air con in Philharmagic. I don’t think Sean & Tammy had done this before either – and luckily we walked straight into a showing with no wait. Winning today! It was getting to the end of our FP+ window for Big Thunder Mountain, so we went to ride the wildest ride in the wilderness. This ride is one that feels different depending on where you sit and how light/dark it is.

After a visit to the prettiest restrooms in all the kingdom, it was time for our last FP+ - Seven Dwarfs. I even put my hands up on this ride – I’m so proud of myself!

As we got off and walked back towards the hub, Dave and Sean remembered there was a SpaceX rocket launch today. We looked up into the sky – and there it was! Could not have planned that moment any better.

We dived through the Emporium for a nosy and I helped Tammy do some covert Christmas Shopping for Sean.

It was time to depart the Magic Kingdom, and we were off to do some resort hopping again.

We boarded the monorail and got off at the Polynesian – we were planning lunch at Captain Cook’s and then a Dole Whip from Pineapple Lanai – another first for Sean & Tammy. We ordered and found a table at Captain Cook’s – this is the sort of quick service location where they bring the food to you. We were sat near another couple who were grumbling that their food was taking too long to come. They were so downright rude to the cast member, and I highly doubt it was personally her fault.

Our food came in good time and was delicious. I had the vegetable noodles, Dave had a flatbread, Sean had a salad and Tammy had meatballs in a coconut sauce with rice. The menu here is just a refreshing change form theme park grub. Sean & Tammy have been to Florida plenty of times, but admitted they would never think to look around the resorts or go and eat there, but that they had really enjoyed doing it.

Sean & Tammy were still looking for a cutlery set like ours, so we headed into the shop and found the serving set, which they bought straight away. The lovely cast member who served also managed to establish that they have the cutlery at the Grand Floridian, so she called the shop there and they put it aside for us – that is where we were heading next!

We had left room for a dole whip – a vanilla and pineapple swirl to be specific. Dave loves soft serve, so this is always a winner for him. We always share else I eat it too quickly and get brain freeze.

We enjoyed our dole whips as we walked to the Grand Floridian. We almost managed to get in someone’s wedding pictures, but Sean found us a somewhat questionable diversion across some grass. We made it round to the car park and then walked through the resort to the main building, and finally got the cutlery. As I purchased it (using AP discount), I knew I recognised the guy serving us. I asked him if he worked at POFQ usually. He said yes – he still does but does a few extra shifts for managers who he has worked for at POFQ and have moved on elsewhere and call him up. I have to say – his service is exceptional. He once offered me new socks because mine were wet and I was having a strop about it! Such a lovely man – his name is Robert. He also said that managers get shuffled round the resorts every 5 years at Disney to keep things fresh.

We mooched through the lobby to look at the Christmas tree and Gingerbread house – it smelt amazing. We had some photopass pictures in front of the tree too, which was a nice addition to our own pictures. We then joined a very long queue to get onto the monorail (it was another MVMCP night) and got the bus back to Coronado Springs from the Magic Kingdom.

We decided to head to the other Premium Outlets on I – Drive, and got stuck in the inevitable traffic on the I4. It was only a flying visit – Dave and I managed to get the Skechers that they didn’t have in our size at the Vineland outlets, and we had a quick look in Adidas for Tammy, and the obligatory mooch in the Character Warehouse (anyone else think the Vineland one is better – in fact we just prefer those outlets in general!).

There was a few eateries opposite the outlets, so we wandered over and settled on somewhere new for all of us – Longhorn Steakhouse. Our server was in training but supervised well by an experienced server, and we had a brilliant meal. They dealt with my allergy requests with ease and were so friendly about it. There was a lot of salad though! I had chicken tenders, Dave had some prawns – and I can’t remember the rest! We really enjoyed it though.

It was soon time to head back up the I4 to Coronado Springs, and get excited for tomorrow – first time for Sean & Tammy on Flights of Passage!

Tomorrow – Animal Kingdom, Target and Sweet Tomatoes!
Steps - 22080

[mick]

A good day and you can’t bear Longhorn

Joan

[MinnieMrsA]

Originally Posted by mick

A good day and you can’t bear Longhorn

Joan

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I agree - we were really impressed!

[squishy]

The sky looks so lovely on your photos - much nicer day today! Resort hopping sounds good - not so much fun with children! Lola was saying yesterday how she feels BTM is a different ride at night than in the day (she reckons better at night!)

[MinnieMrsA]

Originally Posted by squishy

The sky looks so lovely on your photos - much nicer day today! Resort hopping sounds good - not so much fun with children! Lola was saying yesterday how she feels BTM is a different ride at night than in the day (she reckons better at night!)

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She is 100% right! It is much better at night 😁

[Rescuer]

Sounds like a great day. The Christmas tree at GF is just incredible. I liked the gingerbread house but as much as the smell was very Christmassy I don’t think I’d have liked to have spent too much time there.
Your meal at a longhorns looked good, somewhere else that’s been on our list but we’ve never got to yet.

[MinnieMrsA]

We were pleasantly surprised by Longhorn! I always feel a bit out of place at the GF 🤣🤣