Tuesday, December 20th (the conclusion)
Our captain was a friendly young lady with a gentle, relaxed demeanor; she was so unbelievably sweet that we all instantly liked her
. It turns out (as we learned over the course of the next short while) that her full-time job is in the accounting department at Gaylord Palms; her stint as a Disney boat captain is what she does in her leisure time. She enjoyed her job at Disney, and it showed in the way she related to us as guests. She was excited to hear that we had been to Gaylord Palms before, and even happier to learn that we would be visiting there again this trip to take in the ICE! holiday events.
Once we all got settled, our captain went about getting us ready to push off from the dock. As the motor whirred to life, she offered us beverages (water and soft drinks) and snacks from the large basket which featured chips, cheezies, pretzels, brownies, and an assortment of cookies. I think David, the only one of us who hadn’t partaken in the Kitchen Sink, was the only one not to let out an audible groan when the snack basket made its appearance
.
We recounted our over-indulgent dinner adventures to our captain, who nodded and smiled knowingly
. We were not the first to roll our bloated post-Beaches-and-Cream tummies onto her boat, and we would not be the last. She encouraged us to help ourselves at our leisure, and steered the pontoon boat out into Crescent Lake
.
The initial part of the cruise took us in and around the Epcot resorts area; with the lights from each property shining brightly in inky darkness of the December night, it was wonderfully pretty and quietly serene
. Our captain chatted away here and there with a few little tidbits of interesting information about the parks and the properties: neat little nuggets of trivia and fun details without overdoing the conversation. We passed the Swan and Dolphin hotels.....and may I say, that fish on the roof looks WAY more like a salmon to me than it does a dolphin?
We coasted past the beautiful Boardwalk:
……and we chugged past the ESPN Club. That made Steve and I both a little lonely for our sports-lovin’ boy, to be honest. Not only would he have loved this cruise, he would have thought it was cool to see the ESPN Club up close and in person.
After our tour around the Epcot properties, we began to make our way toward the park. Our captain steered the pontoon into the World Showcase, finally coming to rest near the International Gateway. We were the second or third boat to arrive; after securing the boat in place, several other Disney pontoons pulled up alongside us. Each boat faced the lagoon, while the bridge was immediately behind us. The captain offered us all beverages once again, and this time, we grown-ups all graciously accepted cold bottles of water while David had a can of Coke
. The view of the lagoon was incredible.
We were snapping photos with our phones and cameras when the captain asked if we wanted a group shot; of course, we both happily accepted that offer. It was tough to get a good photo with the flash going off in the dark of the night (makes us all blinky and squinty-eyed) but we managed a semi-decent one of us all:
We were offered light blankets to use if any of us were feeling a little chilly, but we were all pretty comfy in our jackets and sweaters……well, Kerry, Steve and I were, anyway. David still didn’t even don his fleece hoodie, opting to remain in just his light cotton t-shirt. He emphatically repeated, No coat! Not even his buddy Steve could convince him otherwise.
Once we were ‘parked’ and took a few pictures, we didn’t have to wait very long until the show began: by this time, the bridge behind us was jammed with people
and we felt like VIP’s as we laid back on the soft seats of the boat. The pontoons beside us were alive with excited guests: virtually all of them had a full 10 passengers (plus the driver), and several were decorated for special occasions [we saw at least one birthday and one anniversary]. Everyone…..from the cruise patrons to the day guests on the bridge….grew quiet, though, when audio track began to stream from the speakers and the first of the fireworks, lasers and videos lit up the dark lagoon.
While Kerry and David are both seasoned Epcot vets, Steve and I had only been to the park once before: WAY back in January 2009 (our very first trip to Florida), and we took a pass on Illuminations on that visit as we had an ADR at a Disney resort which conflicted with the timing. We had seen the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom several times over the years (thanks to the Halloween parties) but we weren’t too sure what to expect from Illuminations. Surely, we both thought, it couldn’t compare with the quality of Wishes.
Man, were we wrong
.
From the first burst of colour to the final notes of the music, we were captivated. It was, in a word…………mesmerizing
.
From our place in the boat, we had the most incredible view of the show: we could see perfectly, we could hear perfectly, and we couldn’t take our eyes off the centre of the lagoon. I wanted to steal a look at Steve to see if he, too, was enjoying the presentation as much as I was, but I didn’t want to miss a single second. I struggled with wanting to capture every single moment of the show with my camera and yet wanting to just soak it all in without peering through a lens. I did, at one point, just sit the camera on the seat behind me. I wanted to “feel” the moment because I think the true experience deserved that
.
My favourite part of the entire show was the spectacular conclusion for the Christmas season: it radiated peace, love and light, and was simply spectacular to watch
.
I’m generally not one to get wrapped up in the whole “magic” thing, but Disney nailed that feeling with the special seasonal ending. It evoked emotion, and I’m not ashamed to say I had more than one tear spring into my eyes. Of course, those that know me would say I'm a bit of a sap
.
I hated to see it end. I really, really did.
Once the show concluded, each boat was untied by its respective captain, and each Illuminations Cruise began their return to the Yacht & Beach Club dock. We were all gushing and chattering with excitement as we coasted along under the moon and the stars: Kerry, David, Steve and I had all loved every second of this super special evening. To have these cool new experiences together, with friends, just embodied everything pure and right about the Christmas season…..
Peace on earth, goodwill to men
.
Family
.
Friends
.
Joy
.
Arriving back at the dock, our captain encouraged us to take as many of the snacks and beverages with us that we wished to: perhaps, she suggested, we could enjoy a sweet treat for breakfast in the morning or indulge in a late-night snack back in our villas at our respective resorts. We each handed her a well-earned gratuity, wished her a Merry Christmas, and began to make our way back toward the Beach Club. Rather than take a taxi back to Portofino, we said we would whisk David and Kerry back to their hotel: we didn’t mind the drive, and that would give us all a few extra minutes to hang out with them before bidding each other goodnight.
As we passed by the Yacht Club, we decided to pop into their lobby to check out their Christmas décor…..after being wowed by the chocolate carousel at the Beach Club, I was interested to see how the sister resort compared, and Kerry (bless her heart) was kind enough to indulge my curiosity. We stopped off first at their rest rooms, then headed into the lobby area, which was bustling with people.
While it turned out that the Yacht Club’s displays were not nearly as grand as the Beach Club’s offerings, it was a lovely resort regardless. Super classy but in an elegant way….. “fancy”, but in a completely different way from the “fanciness” of, say, the Grand Floridian. Their Christmas tree was so charming: all decked out in a nautical theme in soft colours that blended perfectly with the resort’s décor
.
The giant globe was super cool, and Steve’s favourite feature of the lobby.
Their big feature, though, was a large model train village that was completely encircled by red poinsettias and a white picket fence. While Steve was fascinated by the globe, David was drawn to the train display. My pictures turned out terrible in the low light, so this is the best one I got:
You’ll have to take my word for how charming it was. When it comes to Christmas, I’m a sucker for tradition, and this display just oozed that very sentiment .
We stayed for a bit and watched the train go around and around the little track, then decided it was time to call it a day. We headed to the parking lot to collect the rental SUV, shuttled Kerry and David back to the front door of the Portofino, then returned to our villa at the Grande Vista.
Sleep came easy to both of us
.
Coming up: an unexpected change of plans , And, another Disney bucket-list item conquered . Yee haw!