It was the morning after the night before and so we were all later up for breakfast today. The forecast for today was not great but we were still on holiday, in Florida, it was still warm and we were determined to make the most of the day.
Karen & I decided to have an early lunch using whatever we could find out of the fridge. As we were heading to Disney Springs, Neil decided he fancied something from ‘The Earl of Sandwich’ whilst there. There was some light misty rain as we set off and parked in the Lime Garage.
As usual I carried the rucksack. Every time this trip I have been going through any form of security I have been setting off the damn alarm as I did again today. The security officer when going through the rucksack confirmed that it was the umbrella that was setting it off each time. I was advised to take it out and hold it above my head as I walked through next time. I tried it the next time and it worked.
We found a table outside the Earl of Sandwich and whilst Neil was getting his lunch, Karen toddled off to get some drinks from Starbucks. We sat there for a while just chatting about life in general.
Then we headed off to catch a boat to the Riverside resort. It was a nice 25-minute journey even though the misty rain had started again. There were some Hare Krishna monks taking the trip as well. With some ignorance of different religions, it surprised me that these monks who I thought practised austerity were not only on a trip to Disney but also all had the latest iPads and iPhones with which they were filming everything.
At the Riverside Resort I finally had to put on my cagoule for the first time this trip. The rain wasn’t hard though – just annoying. We had a little wander round and a look in the shop. We then walked the short distance to the French Quarter. Karen commented she preferred the cleaned-up Disney version rather than the real one we had visited back in April.
The whole place was quiet as we walked through it. At the café we stopped and I got Karen & Neil some fresh hot Mickey Beignets to eat. They were apparently as delicious as they looked and Karen decided having these should be a new tradition on future trips.
There was about a 5 minute or so wait to catch a boat back to Disney Springs. Once there we had another wander through the Disney Shop and again marvelled at the prices of everything. I saw a T Shirt I liked but at $80 they can keep it in the shop.
We headed back to the car not long after 5pm. There was now proper rain coming down. The weather coupled with it being leaving off time meant the traffic was the worst I have ever seen on Disney property. I decided to overrule Waze and head to the Sherbeth Road exit near to Animal Kingdom. Bad call (although to be fair the Waze route may have turned out to as bad). The journey took an extra 35 minutes longer than it should.
After sorting ourselves out at the villa we headed out again for dinner. After lots of debate tonight’s venue had been chosen as Celebration Tavern. Previously we have had a long wait for a table here but we hoped that the weather would put people off. We were right and were seated straight away. We all had burgers (Cheese for Karen, Black & Bleu for me and Bison for Neil). The burgers themselves were very good along the accompaniments were just average.
Back at the villa we watched yet more Shark Tank including one where Peter Jones was one of the sharks. The strangest business to get investment was Nanna Hats – Woolly hats to put on bananas to keep them fresher for longer.
After that we went to bed as we were all still feeling the effects from the previous late night.
So far this trip we have been extremely lucky with the weather. It was perfect for the days in the water parks and theme parks. Today was not so good and the forecast for our last full day tomorrow is the same. Karen & I can moan about it but we have enough trips to have great weather at other times. We just feel really sorry for Neil when it is his only holiday of the year and he is not able to be out by the pool as much as he would like. Still, he is here and it is still warm and we are having fun (if not in the sun today).
