212.6 Miles Too Far South - Day 19 - 17/8/2018

[Leyfy]

Day 18 - Hollywood Studios/California Grill/Epcot/Dolphin

Day 18
Index

Today we didn’t have any reservations until 10.25am so we had a slight lay in and got up at 9.30am. We got dressed and walked round to Hollywood Studios.

As usual, Phil got pinged by security at the entrance for a second search! After our long day and late night we were both in need of a coffee but neither of us was really hungry. We both prefer Joffrey’s over Starbucks and as our first stop was Toy Story Mania, we headed for the one that was where the old entrance for Toy Story Land was. This was all boarded up but luckily the coffee place was still there! Hurrah!

We ordered an iced cappuccino for me and a ‘bog normal’ for Phil and drank them in the shade. Caffeine fix fixed, we headed into the chaos that is Toy Story Land!

First impressions? It’s really well themed – everything is bold, bright and it really does look as if someone has dumped a toy box over a back yard and you are tiny little toys wandering around it! Think ‘Honey I Shrunk the Kids’ type thing! We went to the new entrance of Toy Story Mania and there was a cast member explaining it was only open to people with fast passes as the regular track was down! However, the fast pass queue was taking up to an hour, so she said we could come back and use the fast pass later if we wished. Slinky Dog Dash also seemed to not be running as well

We decided to leave it for now and made our way back out of Toy Story Land. You can see the new 'Star Wars' land taking shape behind it:

Our next stop was the Star Wars exhibit.

Always time to 'point at a pint'

When we left it was almost time March of First Order.

Despite the fact that it was five minutes away from starting, there was still loads of room at the front to watch. This showed how quiet it was to previous Augusts! Then ‘that’ music started:

Here they come!

By now it was about 11.45am it was so hot, so we decided to stop of for a drink. I suggested the new Brewery place that has just opened near The Muppets. Phil said it was a bit early for a drink but after seeing the menu he decided that it wasn’t’ too early to sample a new beer! This is quite near the entrance of where the new 'Star Wars' land will be:

As we were in the area, Muppets was next. It was quite busy in there, but at least the cast members were making people get up and move to the end of the row!

I love this show and I do worry Disney is going to decide to pull it down – I wouldn’t mind a little update, but it is a classic.

Our fast passes for Rock n roller coaster were up, but I didn’t fancy it as I was a little bit hungry. Phil headed off for a go and I tried to decide what to eat in the little food bits on Sunset Boulevard. I was going to get chicken nuggets and chips, but the line was huge and I got bored waiting so I went off to explore. In the end I ended up with the biggest hot dog in the world!

I managed about half of it before Phil got back from Rock n Rollercoaster, so he ate the rest.

We headed back to Toy Story to see if it was fixed, which it was.

We were able to use our fast pass from earlier The fast pass queue was quite big but we were soon on:

Guess what - I won!

This is a great ride, one of my favorites in Walt Disney World! Slinky Dog seemed to be up and running again:

Our next stop was to Star tours with our final fast pass of the day.

We had a look round the shop afterwards and then headed back out of Hollywood Studios. Final 'selfie' before we left for the final time this trip:

We were both quite tired from all the walking, so we got the boat back to The Dolphin. We headed back to the room and found this:

How cute!

After sorting ourselves out and getting changed, we headed to EPCOT, with our plan being to get the monorail round to the Ticket and Transportation centre and then on to The Grand Floridian to visit the the bar there. We then had an evening reservation at The California Grill at 7.05pm. This is where we got engaged so it holds special memories for us and we traditionally end our holiday in WDW there.

We headed to the front of EPCOT and to the monorail. We were soon on our way to the ticket and transportation center and then swapping onto the resort monorails. We got to The Grand Floridian and made our way round to The Mizners Lounge. It was quite busy in there but we found some seats at the bar. We ordered some drinks:

You can take the boy out of England... !

Phil popped out for a smoke and I was digging through my (holiday) handbag (every woman has a ‘holiday’ handbag, right?! A little one they only take away with them) and I found a little ‘souvenir’ from our time down in Key West:

It really made me laugh, sat there in pretty much the classiest bar in Walt Disney World with a little reminder of the rough-n-ready (but oh so brilliant!) Key West a mere 8 hours away! What an amazing holiday of contrasts we’d had!

We were chatting with the bar lady and Phil then pointed out that the fireworks were 10.30pm tonight, not 9pm! That’s because it was the first Halloween party and Hallowishes was later – when I’d made our reservation it wasn’t confirmed and I thought the fireworks were at 9pm! D’oh!

Our dinner reservation was at 7.05pm, so that was a *long* time to wait to watch the fireworks afterwards….

We still had time to kill so had a second drink at the bar. The band started up again and we were disappointed to see that Mr. Pumba75 (Phil’s brother) had been sacked from his job as double bassist!

(See our previous trip report here for that reference to make sense!)

Drinks finished, we left the Grand Floridian and got onto the monorail for a trip round to the Contemporary:

Hello Castle

Phil wanted to smoke his pipe when we got there, so I took the opportunity to wander round and take some photos of the area:

It’s so peaceful here – it’s one of the things I love about being at WDW. You can’t believe that theme park madness is literally happening round the corner from where you are! It’s something I try (and possibly fail miserably) to explain to friends that have never been – it really is Walt Disney ‘World’ – it isn’t like a day out at a theme park! There is so much more to do than sit on Splash Mountain all day! Although there is nothing wrong with that, I’m pretty sure that’s what I did on my first visit in 1997!

It was pretty much time for our reservation by now, so we made our way to the check in area at the Contemporary. They checked us in and sent us up in the lift. Now, in the past we’ve had some fantastic seating areas at the California Grill – one was pretty much overlooking the castle at the window! This time we were not so lucky and were literally the furthest point away from the Magic Kingdom view, tucked away in the corner!

There was also a big party quite in front of us and although our server was attentive, tbh I did feel like we were forgotten about a bit. We’ve eaten in quite a few Disney signature restaurants (including the Cali Grill four times previous) so we know what the ‘usual’ portion sizes are. Phil ordered the charcuterie board and I ordered the California rolls:

These were really good but literally twice the size of what we were used to in the past!

They were very good though! Phil went for the steak, which he’d had the previous year and hadn’t stopped talking about it since! I had the seared tuna:

These were excellent but I was so full I couldn’t quite finish mine! Phil said his was good, but the steak the year before was better and we both said the portions were definitely bigger. We were both too full for dessert but Phil fancied a port:

We’d been served very quickly (again, quite unusual for the California Grill as usually they let you stretch out your meal) and it was only just 8pm. I said I really wasn’t that bothered about hanging around for another two and a half hours to watch Hallowishes – my suggestion was that we headed back to EPCOT, caught the 9pm ‘Illuminations’ and then went to try the new bar at the Yacht Club before seeing where the night took us.

Phil was concerned that I’d be disappointed that I’d missed ‘Hallowishes’, but I said I’d much rather see Illuminations for the final time as I knew it was due to finish any day. To make sure we got back in time, we decided to check out the new ‘Minnie-Van’ service.

We asked for our bill and paid up, including 20% tip. We’d enjoyed our meal, but we’ve had better there and tbh I’m not in a rush to go back to the California Grill at the moment. In the mean time, I’d ordered a ‘Minnie-Van’ and paid for it using the ‘Lyft’ app on my phone, and we asked him to take us to EPCOT. I'd set it up previously and it was very easy to use. Literally as we got to the ground floor of The Contemporary our driver turned up! We had a good chat with him as he drove us across – it was a pricey service (we tipped on top of the fee as we weren’t sure) but it was a quick service and we were in time to get to watch ‘Illuminations’.

We didn’t have a prime spot as it was literally 8.45pm when we rocked up, but we found a space near Canada again and, unlike previous times when taking photos was my priority, I just wanted to soak up every last minute of watching the show without worrying about taking photos.

I have to admit, I was in tears by the end of the show! I’ve said this before, but I first saw ‘Illuminations’ in 2002 with my parents, who have both since passed away and we’ve watched it several times on our trips to WDW as a couple. The thought of it ending ….

“We go on
To the joy and through the tears.
We go on
To discover new frontiers.
Moving on
With the current of the years…..”

“Illuminations of Earth” – thank you for the memories over the past 16 years, and I am going to miss you!

Illuminations finished:

We made our way round to The Yacht Club and the new bar there. Phil and I stayed at the Yacht Club a few years ago and loved the tiny Crew Cup Lounge – the new bar felt very dark, tbh I felt like I was in a nightclub in Essex, just without the banging music! We had one drink and headed round to The Boardwalk Inn:

It was very, very busy in there so we decided not to stop and went back to The Dolphin. The bar there was also busy as it was the second night of the Sizzler manager convention, but we managed to get a seat at the bar. We ordered some drinks and watch a very amusing exchange of a drunk guy (who was shirtless?!) trying to go behind the bar and being politely but firmly removed by first the bar staff and then security! The Dolphin is literally the only time I’ve seen drunk people or a bar being so busy in Walt Disney World – and this was only quite late at night, it was a completely different hotel during the day. It was quite a different ‘vibe’ from the WDW hotels we’ve stayed in, but as two adults I’d definitely stay there again.

Phil went out for a smoke and I got chatting to an American couple next to us who were there for the convention – we ended up being friends on Facebook by the end of the night! It was our final evening so I tried to make a night of it – I made it until 11.45pm and then had to admit defeat and go to bed!

Tomorrow: A day in the Magic Kingdom and a late flight home

[walt4it]

Well done on winning TSM - it is a point of huge competition in this house! LOve all of your photos again and the Brown Ale being enjoyed.

That view from Toy Story Land into Galaxys Edge/ Star wars kingdom is something that really does make you wonder as to how it will all end up in a coupel of years time.

You must be so pleased you got to see illuminations - given the news since you returned home that it finishes next year, a night when you made a real effort to see it one more time will live in the memory forever.
You got the chance top say goodbye to Illuminations, and that is something special

Another fab day have loved reading your report and all of your photos

[Fuellady]

That was a busy day... Toy Story Land looks good, if a little hectic at the moment - hopefully it will settle down.

Shame your experience at Cali Grill didn't quite live up to expectations this time, it sounds as though you have had some amazing times there in the past. The food looks lovely, but the portions look huge.

That was nice that you managed to see IllumiNations one last time

[DISNEYLIZ]

Another busy day, always love your photos and phil's pointing to his pints.

[Cinderella]

Huge portions at Cali Grill!

[mick]

Another busy day


Joan

[MarionG]

Oh we really liked the Crew Cup Lounge, shame it has gone!

[Pumba75]

Just having a massive catch up.

G being sacked made me laugh. Forgot about that!

Great read and enjoying all your photos.

Catch up soon.

M x

[sandshal]

Ahhh finally, now off to read the rest. You need to get yourself up in the GofE this year, it was entertaining

[Palm trees]

Wow those portions look huge at your dinner, no wonder you couldn't fit in pudding!