Sunday, August 11

Apologies in advance for the many low-quality iPhone photos. It was one of those days.

Up with the sun today. There’s really only one real motivator for me to get up for rope drop these days, and that’s to get a ride or two in on Toy Story Midway Mania without standing in a twelve-hour line. As much as I enjoy the ride, the lines aren’t worth it.

Plus, we had a second super FastPass to use, which had been added to our MDE account for today. I also had a FP+ reservation for 9:00am-10:00am. By my calculations, if we went to Studios for rope drop, we could ride once standby, once with our super FPs, once with our FP+ reservation, and perhaps a fourth time if we pulled a paper FastPass with an early return window.

We arrived at the Studios around 8:20, and were lined up with the crowds by 8:30. Luckily, we didn’t have long to wait: if I remember correctly, we were through the turnstiles at 8:37, and on TSMM for the first time at 8:42.

If you can pardon the poor picture, I thought I’d point this out – the queue is starting to look worse for wear. I shudder to think what will happen to the Studios should TSMM (inevitably) go down for a refurb, but it looks like it may need one soon:

As it should be at 8:42am, the ride was a walk on.

We exit the ride, and it’s just before 9am. I ask the Cast Member working the FP queue if she knows whether a super FastPass can be used before the park officially opens; serious confusion ensues. I don’t think she knows what a super FastPass is – I try to explain to her why we got it, what it is, how it’s used – but she instead insists that we wait off to the side, which we obediently do. She proceeds to stare at us for the next four or so minutes, and then we’re allowed into the FP queue. Okay.

Exit the ride. Immediately re-enter the FP queue.

We briefly contemplated pulling a paper FP for a fourth ride, but decided three spins was actually enough. Up next? A quick walk through One Man’s Dream.

Having exhausted all the things we enjoy doing at the Studios, we headed out – after all, it was almost time for breakfast, anyway. This trip could actually be summed up in one word: “breakfast.” So, for the third time this trip, we were headed to Boma. Another day, another beige plate of food. (I promise that fruits and vegetables were consumed, really!)

Boma and The Wave are head-to-head in my competition for the best buffet breakfast on property. Boma certainly has more variety; The Wave has a slight edge for the bounty of fresh fruits and different egg dishes it offers. Would I kick either out of bed? Never.

The most hysterical thing about our Boma breakfast were the two women seated at an adjoining table. I hate to make light of another’s suffering, but these two women were engaged in what could only be described as a therapy session. One woman was crying into her breakfast, while the other addressed her in somber, therapist-voice tones.  It was intensely personal, and there was no way not to overhear them. Awkward!

Yeah, so that was…intense. But at least breakfast was delicious as always.

Back at the Polynesian, we napped, checked in with e-mail and Twitter, and plotted our plans for the rest of the day. I was also trying to get rid of a nasty headache, so I thought maybe some additional caffeine would help. We both had a craving for Starbucks, and were about to drive off-property when we remembered: we could just take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom! And so that’s exactly what we did: went into MK, quickly checked a few Main Street stores for pins; grabbed Valencia refreshers, and headed back to the Poly. All in less time than it would take to drive to the Starbucks on 535. We were thrilled.

Back at the Polynesian, we grabbed the rental car and headed out to kill some time before our Via Napoli dinner reservation. And to do that, we figured we’d do a little resort hopping, looking at places we’ve never stayed or never even visited. First on the list? The Caribbean Beach Resort.

Instead of hearing the customary “Welcome home!” when we arrived at the security gate, we had a CM yelling at us to use the keycard lane as if we were staying there. When I finally got her attention enough to point out that we were just there to visit, she visibly rolled her eyes at us and sighed. Welcome home, indeed.

It went downhill from there. Whereas Coronado Springs has beautiful, lush grounds and buildings to complement them, Caribbean Beach totally underwhelmed us. The buildings looked like buildings you’d see in Orlando apartment complexes, and the grounds something out of a cheap gated community. We didn’t bother checking out the registration building, but we did park and head into Old Port Royale. There, too, we encountered some of the rudest Cast Members I’ve ever met on Disney property. Disengaged, dismissive, barely communicative. Totally off-putting.

Old Port Royale was dark, dingy, and saturated with an off fast-food smell. We didn’t care for it at all.

Honestly, we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. And so we did.

Let me just say that I know CBR is a favorite of many people, some of whom are family members of mine. To each her own, I say. But if I were to stay at a Moderate, my money would probably go to Port Orleans or Coronado Springs first.

Next up was a trip to the Yacht and Beach Clubs, two resorts we’ve visited briefly but never stayed at . We’ve toyed with the idea of checking one of them out for an upcoming trip, so we figured they were worth a second look. For the record, the Yacht Club security CM was perfectly pleasant.

Not many pictures taken here, mostly because we were far too busy ogling the ridiculous, WASPy things you can buy at the Yacht Club store. And, of course, you can buy these there too:

Since we were on vacation, and on vacation one eats dessert first, we decided on a whim to stop at Beaches and Cream for milkshakes, which we enjoyed in the Solarium.

As much as staying in all the Disney Deluxes is on my bucket list, I’m just not sure what I think about Yacht and Beach, at least from their public spaces. I quite enjoy the feel of both in different ways, but I don’t love the restaurants; Yacht feels a little too stuffy, and Beach a bit too twee. So who knows. But at least we saw them.

With our dinner reservation fast approaching, we realized we needed to run back to the Poly before dinner, so we made a brief stop there before proceeding to Epcot. I was worried about being late for our reservation, but karma must have been on our side. We timed things PERFECTLY, right down to a waiting Friendship boat to take us across the lagoon. We arrived right on time, and waited only briefly before being seated at (for Via Napoli, at least) a quiet table on the side of the restaurant.

For the first time our server wasn’t a hot Italian man, but instead a very attractive Italian woman named Francesca. (Seriously…attractiveness is a prerequisite to working here, yes?) She was friendly and attentive, and although she slightly messed up our order, she was apologetic and took full responsibility. It was, as usual, a terrific meal: I truly love this place.

Not pictured is the arancini we ordered, which we ravenously devoured before I could snap a picture of it. Suffice it to say, though, it too was delicious.

Stuffed and a little tipsy from the pitcher of sangria we killed, it was time to wander around the World Showcase. As usual, Epcot was looking beautiful in the fading daylight.

In addition to walking off our dinner, we were headed to Japan’s Mitsukoshi store, a must-do (and a money-suck) for us on every trip.

After making the lagoon loop, it was time to head out before the IllumiNations crowds did. One final Spaceship Earth shot for the night:

Our drive back was quick, and we arrived in time to once again watch the Electrical Water Pageant and Wishes from the balcony. A girl could get used to this.

Up next: One last full day, seen mostly in pictures.