DAY 4 – Sunday 3/27/22
Who: Sue (63), DVC Member

Plan: Pool/Beach, Epcot, Space 220 Lounge

Actual: It seems my neighbors may have turned over yesterday. As I was sleeping soundly I woke up just before 2am to what sounded like a toddler crying. Yuck! It was faint, and eventually it stopped. I fell back asleep and woke up again just before
5 but didn’t get up until 5:15. Once again I made my cappuccino and brought it back to bed just in time for the ships to start sailing in. There are 2 HAL ships arriving today (2nd and 4th ships of the day), so I kept an eye on that while doing other
online stuff.

Around 7:45 I got up to shower, dress and fix my egg and slice of bacon for breakfast. Shortly after 8:30 I headed for the car. I brought my kindle with me so I’d have something to read while waiting. Hopefully it’s still true that the garages
open at 9 even though the shops don’t open until 10 over at Disney Springs.

On the way over I stopped and filled up the gas tank at the station across from Boardwalk. These must be the slowest pumps in the world – thank goodness I only needed 5 gallons or I would have been there forever! Regular gas was $4.039/gallon here,
which isn’t too bad for the current times. I think it’s come down slightly this week.

After topping off the gas tank I continued to Disney Springs and parked in the Orange Garage. It was just a few minutes after 9 by now so I parked real close to the entrance and entered the area with no delays. Quite a few people were here early as
well – it seemed most were headed to one of the brunches that start at 9am on Saturday and Sunday. Art’s Homecoming had quite a line of people, and when I walked by later they were doing a great business.

I headed to Gideon’s, where the line extended about halfway down the street. Later it went all the way down, around the corner and back almost to the other side of Morimoto Asia. Coming early pays off! It was 9:10 or so by now so I sat on the wall
and started reading another book on my kindle. We were all surprised when Gideon’s opened up at 9:35! The line started moving and by the time I got to the door, waited inside, bought my stuff and got back outside it was 9:51. I bought a coffee cake
cookie for Holli, a pistachio toffee for me, and a bag of the Gideon’s Bites (6 smaller pieces of various cookies coated in dark chocolate).

Almost forgot – when I came down the stairs from the garage there was a sign and QR code for the passholder magnet virtual queue. I joined and got group 10. My estimated return time was 95 minutes, but that’s because at least 50 of that was before
Disney Springs would even be open. The magnet location is the store near Rainforest Café, across from the Christmas store.

After Gideon’s I walked over to the Marketplace and browsed in the Christmas store before sitting on the bench outside to wait for my boarding group to come up. I dug out the smallest of the “bites” and ate some of that while waiting since lunch
isn’t until 2pm. It went faster than scheduled, and I had my magnet before 10:30. I wasn’t able to get SB’s although if I’d had one of his magic bands with me she probably would have let me have it. They just need to be able to scan something
so the system knows that passholder got the magnet – seems trivial but I imagine local passholders would go every day and then sell them on ebay!

I walked back to the garage, got my car, and was in the studio before 11. After taking a quick few minutes to update the report I changed into a swimsuit and headed down to the quiet pool. When I came out my door I was shocked to see bell services
there loading LOTS of big hard-side luggage from the villa next door. I guess last night they weren’t new neighbors – it was just the first time there was noise. The cast member had at least 4 of the large suitcases stacked up, with many more
smaller ones to be added. This is a 1-bedroom villa. Sleeps 4. Who are these people, lol???

Out at the pool it was lovely – nice warm weather, decent amount of people & they were all pretty much quiet. One family (pregnant wife, husband, son & younger daughter) came by but smartly decided the kids would have more fun at Stormalong Bay. The
little girl was actually whining, saying nooooooo, lol. My guess is she doesn’t even know what Stormalong Bay is – she just sees a pool right now and doesn’t want to be led away <g>.

I did some reading and stayed at the pool for about 1.5 hours before heading back upstairs. After changing and getting some ice I took the laptop and a glass of wine out to the balcony to update the report. I was out there a little before 1, so I had
some time before needing to head to Epcot for my 2pm lunch. Staying at Beach Club Villas (or Boardwalk) is so much more convenient than places like Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, or any of the Magic Kingdom resorts.

When I get back later I’ll need to pack, which really depresses me because this trip has been so incredibly wonderful. I don’t want it to end! I can’t remember the last time I had a trip where I felt so strongly about not wanting it to end. I
honestly think the difference is mostly not bothering with the parks. For me they’re more of a negative (without fastpass), so spending part of my day in the parks for someone else means I’m not doing what I really want to do. That’s the beauty
of solo trips!

I left for Epcot around 1:30 and once again bag check and entry were very quick. This time they had cast members stationed out front checking your magic band, which I assume is because park hopping would be starting in 30 minutes and they need to see
what you’ve got before letting you to the entrance.

I made it over to Space 220 in plenty of time, checking in outside about 10 minutes early. It’s a process to get in here. First, I stood outside until it was my turn to go to the desk to check in. Once there I was told they’re wiping down my table
and to go inside to the lobby and wait. I did that and was told to sit down. Eventually they called my name and I was given a boarding pass and told to stand in one of the lines waiting for a space ship. They have two and as one load comes down they
load guests to go up – it seems to be 2 parties per ship. The other one had a party of 6 and party of 4. Mine had a party of 3 and me.

When it was finally our turn (this was the longest wait – a bit annoying really) we boarded and stood around the railing facing the middle. Screens in the floor and ceiling show our journey, so when we “took off” looking at the floor had us
lifting off and flying away from Epcot. Looking up we were arriving to the space station. Once up there I checked in with the hostess and was taken to my table. I’d expected to be seated at the bar since I booked the lounge, but I was given a table
for 2 next to the bar.

My server was terrific – great service, nice personality, etc. She explained I had the choice of the lounge menu or the lunch menu, but I was here for the lounge menu. Lunch would be too much food. The room is not that big, and has what appears to
be a huge window looking down at earth. The planet doesn’t move at all, but there are astronauts and spaceships that fly by from time to time. Pretty much any table has a decent view, although closer to the window may be better.

Looking at the menu I noticed a glass of wine was $15. Are you kidding me??? Most likely it was wine that wouldn’t cost $15/bottle in the stores either <g>. The cocktail list included a Cosmic Cosmopolitan for $15 so I ordered that and the short rib
sliders. The cosmo was outstanding – I drink them sometimes on HAL ships but this one was so much better. The glass was really chilled, too – and there was an orange slice floating. Yum!

When the sliders came I was shocked – they were bigger than expected and came with French fries. They cost $18. The fries and the sliders were both very good. The sliders were moist and tender – could have used some horse radish to spice it up but
still very good with just the lettuce & tomato. After settling the check I returned to wait for a spaceship back to Epcot, then headed out. I’m glad I ate here, and would definitely consider doing it again on a solo trip.

I headed out to World Showcase, starting on the Mexico side. Like yesterday, it was a busy afternoon. In Germany the line at the caramel store wasn’t long so I stopped there to get SB a caramel apple oatmeal cookie. While there I confirmed that if I�
��d done mobile ordering it would have picked up my passholder or dvc discount. That’s good to know for the future!

When I got back outside I noticed it was 3:25 and with 2 HAL ships scheduled to sail at 4 and 4:15 I decided to head back to the resort. I got there about 10 minutes before 4 and packed up most of my clothes, then settled down on the couch with the
laptop. Celebrity Edge was the first to pull away (get out of the way) at 4. The front and sides of that ship are just hideous to me! As it began going through the channel I could see the much prettier HAL Nieuw Statendam pulling forward. Fran & I
will be back on her in March of next year.

Once Nieuw Statendam was out of the channel HAL’s Rotterdam (my ship last December) was on the move. These two ships are identical on the outside – only the interior décor is somewhat different. How nice it would be to be onboard! Once the
Rotterdam was gone, so was I – back to walk around Epcot on this gorgeous afternoon.

Again there was no wait to enter the park and once inside it was definitely less busier than it had been earlier. I’ve always liked Sunday nights for this reason, although since the reopening Sundays have been just as crazy as Friday or Saturday. As
far as the festival booths, some had big lines but many did not. I could have gotten arepas with pretty much no wait at all, but getting anything in France was still nuts! I wasn’t hungry anyways, so even if I had wanted to get something I had no
room. I stopped in a couple of shops briefly and when I came around to International Gateway I turned around and did another loop going in the opposite direction. I stopped in America and listened to the first song of the first Orchestra concert, since
I really liked that one.

This time around I exited and walked back to the resort. After taking something out to the car (to not have to carry it tomorrow) I settled down on the balcony to wrap up the report and enjoy the outdoors until the show I watch Sunday night comes on at
8.

Today was another lovely day – pretty much perfect in every way. Gideon’s worked out very well, and I loved getting more pool time. Lunch was better than I expected it would be – that was a big plus! I also enjoyed wandering around Epcot some
more and sitting out on my balcony. Tomorrow it’s back to the real world, and a pretty hectic week. Looking ahead to Flower & Garden next year I’ll be booking 2 nights here before a HAL cruise in mid March but if there’s a way I can squeeze in a
little more time on a separate trip I will.

One thing I really loved about this trip (besides not bothering with the other parks) is having the mask requirement lifted. They’re only required still on enclosed transportation, which I imagine will be the case until the federal transportation
mandate is lifted. It didn’t affect me, as I wasn’t going anywhere that I needed to take enclosed transportation. It was nice to see the cast members’ faces after all this time, and the ones I spoke to were also happy to be mask free. A small
percentage of guests still wore them, even walking around outside, but that’s their choice.

The weather was fabulous this trip – not too cold, not too hot. After this my upcoming trips will be uncomfortably hot, until perhaps November. I don’t have any trips booked in April, but have three in May. First SB & I will be going to Hilton
Head in early May. This trip was planned with Pete & Judy but sadly neither of them will be there. Chris, Amanda & Ari can’t be there either now that Ari’s in school. So, it’ll be a low-key trip for SB & me. Then May 20th I’m at Boardwalk for
2 nights in order to spend that Saturday with my 2 nieces, ex sister-in-law and her sister. They’ve got Genie+ so I’ll buy it for that day and let Renay include me in the party as she makes the lightning lane plans. I come home from that trip on
Sunday and a few days later on Wednesday come back for a nice Jambo House club level stay – can’t wait for that one! It’s been far too long!

Sue/WDW1972

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 5:27:01 PM UTC-5, Sue/WDW1972 wrote:

DAY 4 – Sunday 3/27/22
Who: Sue (63), DVC Member

Plan: Pool/Beach, Epcot, Space 220 Lounge

I left for Epcot around 1:30 and once again bag check and entry were very quick. This time they had cast members stationed out front checking your magic band, which I assume is because park hopping would be starting in 30 minutes and they need to see

what you’ve got before letting you to the entrance.

I made it over to Space 220 in plenty of time, checking in outside about 10 minutes early. It’s a process to get in here. First, I stood outside until it was my turn to go to the desk to check in. Once there I was told they’re wiping down my table

and to go inside to the lobby and wait. I did that and was told to sit down. Eventually they called my name and I was given a boarding pass and told to stand in one of the lines waiting for a space ship. They have two and as one load comes down they load
guests to go up – it seems to be 2 parties per ship. The other one had a party of 6 and party of 4. Mine had a party of 3 and me.

When it was finally our turn (this was the longest wait – a bit annoying really) we boarded and stood around the railing facing the middle. Screens in the floor and ceiling show our journey, so when we “took off” looking at the floor had us

lifting off and flying away from Epcot. Looking up we were arriving to the space station. Once up there I checked in with the hostess and was taken to my table. I’d expected to be seated at the bar since I booked the lounge, but I was given a table for
2 next to the bar.

My server was terrific – great service, nice personality, etc. She explained I had the choice of the lounge menu or the lunch menu, but I was here for the lounge menu. Lunch would be too much food. The room is not that big, and has what appears to be

a huge window looking down at earth. The planet doesn’t move at all, but there are astronauts and spaceships that fly by from time to time. Pretty much any table has a decent view, although closer to the window may be better.

Looking at the menu I noticed a glass of wine was $15. Are you kidding me??? Most likely it was wine that wouldn’t cost $15/bottle in the stores either <g>. The cocktail list included a Cosmic Cosmopolitan for $15 so I ordered that and the short rib

sliders. The cosmo was outstanding – I drink them sometimes on HAL ships but this one was so much better. The glass was really chilled, too – and there was an orange slice floating. Yum!

The Mouse doesn't kid about Wine. The bag check prevents any personal spirits from lowering Reedy Creek profits. My preference is the Heinekein tall boy can from Publix. Seems a parking lot cocktail would be
pleasant when driving into the Epcot lot at park hopping time.

When the sliders came I was shocked – they were bigger than expected and came with French fries. They cost $18. The fries and the sliders were both very good. The sliders were moist and tender – could have used some horse radish to spice it up but

still very good with just the lettuce & tomato. After settling the check I returned to wait for a spaceship back to Epcot, then headed out. I’m glad I ate here, and would definitely consider doing it again on a solo trip.

One thing I really loved about this trip (besides not bothering with the other parks) is having the mask requirement lifted. They’re only required still on enclosed transportation, which I imagine will be the case until the federal transportation

mandate is lifted. It didn’t affect me, as I wasn’t going anywhere that I needed to take enclosed transportation. It was nice to see the cast members’ faces after all this time, and the ones I spoke to were also happy to be mask free. A small
percentage of guests still wore them, even walking around outside, but that’s their choice.

Yeah, I spun the covid roulette wheel during multiple line waits in WDW and USF.

Did I mention that the Disney Springs Guest Relations office screwed me on my one day left on a year 2000 "no expiration" ticket. Only a week after I got home did mouse email confirm I had days left for water parks too.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)