Sue's Jan '09 AKV Concierge Trip - Day 4 of 4

DAY 4 – Monday 1/19/09
Who: Sue (50), DVC member

Plan: Epcot, Wolfgang Puck’s, Resort, Concierge Lounge

Actual: Last night I’d set the alarm for 5:24 so I’d be awake early
and could hopefully get to sleep tonight. There’s nothing significant
about 5:24 – that’s simply where the time was when I let go while
setting the alarm. As it turned out I woke up at 5:23 and laid there
waiting for the radio to come on <g>.

I showered, dressed, made a cup of cappuccino in the room and then
took it with me to go explore outside. It had rained earlier but had
ended by now. It wasn’t cold outside, but the air was cooler than the
pool, so lots of steam was rising in the darkness. It looked pretty
cool. I was startled when a man came by and said good morning – I
hadn’t heard him coming, but he must have just left the gym. When I
got closer I saw the fitness center was quite busy – all those people
who are more dedicated than I am!

It was nice & peaceful wandering around that early. I sat in a
rocking chair for a little while, then went back upstairs sometime
around 7:30 or so. In the concierge lounge the breakfast stuff comes
out at 7, but since I was planning to get a yogurt parfait I didn’t
want to eat much here. I had a mini croissant, and might have made a
cup of lounge cappuccino. I read some emails and internet stuff, then
left to get my car a little before 8.

I drove over to Beach Club Villas and parked there. I had time to
kill, so I took a walk around the lake, then came back to the Beach
Club Marketplace. These yogurt things are popular! There was 1 guy
in line ahead of me, getting a ham & egg omelet croissant, but then he
ordered 2 yogurt things. A guy came and got in line behind me, and he
was there for a yogurt thing, too. I got mine the usual way – yogurt,
strawberries, granola and a little bit of mini chocolate chips.
Yum!

The guy working at the cash register told me that it’s the law in
Florida that I have to have a good time. I didn’t tell him I live
here, lol! I took my yogurt, went outside, and ate it while sitting
on a swing on the beach. It was such a nice way to start the day!
I’m so glad I drove over here! Once the yogurt was finished I got up
and walked down to the International Gateway. Today they held us
outside the bag check area until 9am. Only then did they take down
the rope to let us enter for the bag check. The guy doing my line was
ridiculous – just over the top when we’re all smart enough to realize
this bag check nonsense is utter bull! The woman ahead of me had a
backpack with a million and one zippers (why do they make them like
that???) and he wanted to see inside each one. He also wanted to see
inside this little zipper bag she had inside her backpack. It was
just a bit much – he must have come here after retiring from the
airport bag check dept in Colombia, lol!

At the turnstiles, the people at the front of my line had some
difficulty, but finally we started moving. I headed over to Soarin’
and every fastpass machine had a line back to the wall! I haven’t
seen it like that in a long time, and it surprised me! While I was in
line the return time advanced about 15 minutes. My return time was
10:21. I was going to ride standby since it was posted as 20 minutes,
but when I started inside I could see the line was backed up too far
to be only 20 minutes and I left.

Living with the Land had no wait, so I walked right onto that. I
think 4 other people arrived before the boat left, so it was a small
group! They finally finished the section on your left just before you
get to the NASA stuff – honestly, it’s nothing. There’s a tank of
fish and what looks like some lettuce above. I don’t get it, lol!

I went back outside and decided sooner was better than later for
trying Spaceship Earth. To my surprise there was no wait at all,
which was great! I gave different answers at the end, and saw stuff
I’d never seen before. From there I went over to Test Track and did
the single rider line. The wait was posted as 20 minutes (standby was
25 minutes) but I walked right up and through the preshow (both doors
were open) and was in a car in no time. A party of 7 split up as 4
and 3, so a dad and 3 young girls were went to row 1 & 2, then I was
told to go to row 1. Well, the girl in row 2 starts pitching a fit
because she wants to sit up front with the other 2. He asked if I’d
switch, and I did. I could really care less which seat I’m in, but
part of me didn’t feel right “rewarding” the whiner. But, if she’s
like that all the time, it’s not my problem and not my job to fix!
The ride was fun – a little cool outside on the high speed loop,
though!

SB called again – I’d last talked to him at International Gateway – so
I talked to him for a while and then cut through MouseGear to get back
over to the Land. I was within my fastpass window now, so I rode
that. As I was waiting before the boarding areas the cast member was
looking for any solo riders. I kept quiet. I was 6th in line and was
sure of getting the front row, but if I spoke up & got on now I might
be in the bottom row. I ended up in the front row, right near the
middle, which is ideal! I don’t know what I might have gotten, but I
was ok with waiting.

By now it was after 11, so I headed out to World Showcase. I rode the
boat ride in Mexico, then just wandered my way through the countries.
When I was in Japan Tom & Leanne called to say they’d just picked up
their Soarin’ fastpasses so we agreed to meet where Future World and
World Showcase meets. We actually met closer to Canada. It was so
great seeing them again – it’s been too long since we were there
together. I’ve known Tom for a good 20 years, when he was my
counterpart in Gainesville. Now I’m doing my job plus that job, and
he’s enjoying retirement. Something’s not right about that, lol!

We wandered chatting completely around World Showcase, stopping only a
couple of times. Back at the beginning we decided to head back to our
respective resorts, so we said goodbye until we meet for dinner during
my next Gainesville week. I left through the International Gateway
and stopped at guest services there to get information on the birthday
fun card. Tom gets his tomorrow – I’ll get mine in November! It’s
good for merchandise in the Disney owned/operated shops – like
Mousegear, Emporium, etc. It’s not good in Japan, Morocco or China.
I figure anything they give me for free is more than I had when I
arrived, so you’ll never hear me whine about where it’s accepted. It
also doesn’t expire, which is very nice. But, I think it’s wise to
spend it quickly, as whenever Disney decides to end the program it
could be worth nothing <g>.

I walked back to Beach Club Villas, got my car, and drove back to
Animal Kingdom Lodge. I saw the world’s worst bus driver – he seems
to think nothing higher than 25mph is appropriate in a 45mph zone. I
bet the people on that bus were climbing the walls, lol!

At the resort I swung by Mara to see if I liked either of their soups
today, but neither one were appealing. So, I had kettle chips and
cookies for lunch – along with a cappuccino. I didn’t want to get a
meal, because it was already 2pm and the evening food comes out at 5.
I hung out in the studio, packed my stuff, watched General Hospital at
3 and then took my shower & washed/dried my hair so I could get out of
here faster tomorrow. I can grab a quick shower in the morning but
won’t have to blow dry my hair!

Just before 5 I took the big suitcase down to the car, then stopped at
the concierge desk in the lounge to have my charges settled to my
credit card. I always do this, as my bill wouldn’t be on my door when
I leave at 4:30 a.m. and I don’t want it hanging there after I’ve
left. They were setting up the food, so I was able to see what the
offerings were tonight – meatballs, samosas, and palover stew. Darn,
why does my last night have to be awful stuff?? I went down to Mara
to see if a kids’ meal or something in the cooler looked good, but I
came back up empty handed.

By now the food was all set up, and there was a man sitting at “my”
table – the nerve! He was reading, so evidently he needed the lamp.
I took one of the other tables and got a glass of wine. Once the
initial rush for food was done I went up to get some crispy things and
yogurt sauce. I could eat these things all night, but I’m sure
they’re higher in calories than I’d like to think! I looked at the
palovar stew and it looked like there was chicken in it! I asked the
lady working there, and she confirmed it – woohoo! I was not touching
the samosas – tried them once because they looked good but oh my
goodness are they disgusting!! I guess if you like peas you’d like
them, but who likes peas??? That was a gagfest for me growing up, lol
– peas are one of my worst vegetables.

I took a bowl of the stew and one meatball and went back to my table.
The meatball was pretty good, but I’m not really a meatball eater. I
don’t think I even at a third of it. SB would have liked them,
though. There was something fairly white in the stew and I took a
bite thinking it was potato, but it had a really strange (icky)
texture. The liquid tasted good, though. I ate some more, being sure
to get chicken in each bite and then noticed another icky white
thing. Upon closer inspection, it was shrimp! Oh goodness, I had no
idea what was in the stew, and except for the shrimp it was very
good.

Since I didn’t have my table to read by, I took my wine and crispy
things and returned to the studio. I set them up out on the balcony
and had a delightful time watching the zebras and other animals
roaming around snacking. That big gray animal was out there laying
down in his favorite spot – he spends a lot of time there! Eventually
the animals had all moved away, so I went back inside and then around
6:15 went back to the lounge to check on my table <g>. Spending the
time on the balcony watching the animals on my last night was
definitely more special than sitting in the lounge, so I guess that
guy unknowingly did me a favor by being at my table, lol!

SB called – he was downstairs in the lobby using the computer when he
saw one of his players come down with a suitcase and pillow. He asked
the kid what was going on, and found out the road trip he thought was
6:30 am tomorrow was actually 6:30 pm tonight, lol! He threw some
clothes in a bag, and was ready to get on the bus in time for the 6.5
hour drive.

Around 7:30 I went back to the lounge and that guy was still at my
table. I sat on one of the sofas, since that had better light than
the other tables. A woman was there with her 2 young kids, but
evidently she was on vacation because there was no parenting going
on. The girl moved all of the little tables into a straight line, but
cutting off access to the food unless people walked all the way
around. Then the girl was walking on the tables, and the mother
decided it was time to leave. Did she make the kids move the tables
back where they came from ??? Of course not, they’re on vacation.
Unreal! I got up and pulled the tables back so people could get
through.

At 8 I noticed the guy had left my table, so I moved over there. The
desserts were an assortment of the usual stuff. I took a fruit tart
and a cookie, and made a cappuccino. As I was getting my food the guy
working there said “I see you got your table back”, lol! Eventually
the other guy came back, so he took the other small table, up by the
food. I stayed in the lounge until after 8:30, then went back to the
studio and watched the incredibly stupid show called The Bachelor. I
don’t know why – it’s like a train wreck – I can’t stop watching,
lol! Those girls are so friggin’ ridiculous – the meet the guy for 10
seconds and swear they have “a connection” and are soulmates destined
to spend their lives together, lol! Yup, I’m a believer <g>.

SB called again from the bus, and he’d heard from one of his old
teammates with an offer to do a fantasy camp for the Giants.
Unfortunately, it ends the day after our cruise, so he isn’t able to
do it. Hopefully next year! Any work is good in this economy! I
finished updating the report but waited to post it so I could get the
photos uploaded and include the url in the report.

This has been a great trip! I love the concierge life here at AKV! I
was thrilled to be able to attend the Comedy Warehouse Reunion shows –
what an incredibly talented bunch of people & seeing it with Leesa was
like the good old days. Spending time with good friends – Mary, Tom &
Leanne – that’s what makes a trip special. The rides & attractions
stay the same from trip to trip, but it’s the friends and special
experiences that make each trip special in it’s own way.

My next trip will be our cruise in early Feb. I have the HAL cruise
report list from last April so if you didn’t get the last cruise
report & want this one, let me know via email. If you got the last
one, you don’t have to do anything unless you want me to take your
name off. Our next Disney trip will be a very short Fri/Sat trip in
early March so SB can be there before spring training starts for him.

The photos are on snapfish at:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=149201232499358030/l=464897411/g=5159584/cobrandOid=1000143/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Until next time – thanks for reading.

Sue/WDW1972
.

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