We’re Still Awake! An August MNSSHP Trip Report (Complete 4/10/21)

Enjoyed your last TR and here to read along! Hilarious that hubby forgot dress shoes...but so so easy to do, especially when you thought it was just the two of you doing a quick trip and packing would be so easy without worrying about the kids lol!!

The food at Homecomin' looks so good!!
 
A QS order is supposed to come with three ribs but the CM gave us four, “so you won’t fight over them.”

What a great person! Those ribs really are amazing.

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:rotfl: :rotfl:

He would be presenting in front of his company’s senior leadership the next morning and had his choice of beach sandals or sneakers.

Oh no. This is funny to think about now but I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time!

When enterer indignantly spit out an, “Excuse me!” exiter escalated with, “Uh, yeah, excuse you!” and we hustled through another door before we could be held as material witnesses to whatever nonsense was about to ensue

:eek::eek: Who knew things could get so hardcore at Walmart.

In the store, we seemed to be the only people who knew why we were there or where we were going. Everyone else was looking one way while walking the other, stopping dead without warning or apparent purpose.

This is 100% why I hate grocery shopping lol. I refer to it as the land of the walking dead because it seems like everyone has just seen a store for the first time in their lives and don't know what to do.

We eventually managed to escape and, at 6:19pm, were excited to get our Disney date back on track.

You made good time despite the chaos!
 


I loved Homecomin' and was so sad we didn't get to eat there on our recent trip! It would be my first choice if we ever get an adult-only trip. I'm glad you had a great meal!

Forgetting dress shoes is something my husband or I would do too... glad it didn't sidetrack your evening too much. Looking forward to reading more!
 
I had heard the portions at Homecomin' were massive, but that entree was nuts. It's really mindblowing to think that was only a half portion.

It's crazy how big that meal was. Splitting an app and an entree was way too much food for us!

Good thing he remembered the night before and you had time to make a store run.

I have no idea what he would have done otherwise. I guess just wear sneakers and hope no one noticed.

Sounds like a fun time at Disney Springs! A great way to start your epic date!

Oh no that stinks about DH's shoes! But even worse that Walmart was such a mad house! Glad you made it out of there with a suitable pair!

Disney Springs was great, Walmart not so much. But, we got it done quickly and got out of there before the crazy could get too far under our skin.

Awww, that's a super sweet tradition!

It's really fun, although a little crazy. Some trips, he's working 70+ hours in 5 days and really only sees his hotel room, the job site, and the airport. Those are the ones where the kids' "gifts" are whatever interesting looking maps are in the display at the hotel front desk. :-)

This made me laugh. I understand.

Sounds like a great date night to be had! I don't blame you for joining your husband. I mean, he can't go to Disney without you!

He shouldn't go to Disney without me, although he's in Tampa this week and has it in his head that maybe, if he can get things done early on Friday, he can go have dinner at Sebastian's and ride the gondolas. Life is totally crazy for us right now, so there's no way I could have tacked myself onto that trip, but I'm going to be pretty salty if he has too much fun without me. :P

Following along for another great read!

Welcome! Thanks for joining.

omg

Your excitement and enthusiasm are contagious. I have a work trip to disney but the family cannot join, so I feel weird going by myself. It is great you could coordinate your trips with friends. I want to go to Homecoming to eat!

Go by yourself! Even if you just do one after hours / party type event, it'll be fun. Homecomin' was excellent, certainly worth a visit.
 
A little late to the party but joining in for the fun!

Thanks for joining along!

I love it.......sounds like a great choice of hotel.

It was perfect for what we needed. If we ever needed to do a night by the airport, I'd stay there again without hesitation.

Oh my gosh, those look amazing!!! You are giving me ideas for my Christmas weekend trip!

They were great!

I also get frustrated when my flights are not cooperating... you're cutting into my Disney time! I'm glad they made up time in the air.

Mmmm… the more I read about Homecomin' the more I want to figure out a way to work it in on our trip next year. Everyone seems to say such wonderful things about eating there! Also, thanks for the tip about the Morimoto Asia ribs. I had no idea they were available outside of eating at the restaurant!

I'm glad you were able to find some passable shoes, but my goodness, what an adventure to acquire them! :scared:

This flight delay just got right under my skin. I was really glad they made it up in the air.

Homecomin' was great. If you can't fit a whole meal, an app and a drink at the bar would be good, too. Honestly, if we had each gotten an app, that pretty much would have been a whole meal.

The shoe detour was... not fun. At least it was short.

Yum to both the ribs and chicken biscuits. I have had both and would do so again!

Walmart sounds like a crazy busy place, yuck! I hate going to Walmart and avoid it as much as I can!

Yay to AK DAH, excited to hear all about it!

Yup, I'd put both of those foods on any DS food crawl in the future.

I also hate Walmart, but sometimes it's the right choice. We needed quick and cheap and there it was.

Which discount parking to you use? This last trip the long term parking was full!!!

We use Park n Fly. They have a corporate program that gave us 3 free days when we signed up, plus you earn points on each trip towards future parking. Hubby is starting to use them for all of his work travel and banking the points for us to use on personal trips. It's one of the further ones from PHL, but it's inexpensive and the shuttle was quick.

I always feel so weird the first night that the girls are gone. Like I should enjoy it more but oddly don't.

:rotfl2: I do not have that problem. The minute I shut that door behind me, it's like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.

Ribs and drink from Morimoto, drinks from Homecomin'...

A great way to do DS!

Soooo, a not so magical trip to Walmart... Yikes!

There are several ways to describe that trip, mostly involving words blocked on this site. "Magical" is not one of them. :rotfl:
 


Enjoyed your last TR and here to read along! Hilarious that hubby forgot dress shoes...but so so easy to do, especially when you thought it was just the two of you doing a quick trip and packing would be so easy without worrying about the kids lol!!

The food at Homecomin' looks so good!!

Glad to have you reading along! While somewhat frustrating, the forgotten shoes are understandable. It's very unusual for him to need dressy clothes on travel. It's much more common for him to need steel toes boots and a hard hat because he'll be working in an active construction area!

:eek::eek: Who knew things could get so hardcore at Walmart.

Right? I'm pretty sure the entirety of the "People of Walmart" blog is actually people at this exact Walmart.

This is 100% why I hate grocery shopping lol. I refer to it as the land of the walking dead because it seems like everyone has just seen a store for the first time in their lives and don't know what to do.

I'm used to getting road rage in grocery stores because people don't know how to shop, but this was next level bad. I'm assuming it was a lot of tourists who legitimately didn't know the layout of the store, although that doesn't excuse just pushing your cart forward without looking where you're going!

LOVE the thigh high chicken biscuits! I agree though, they are VERY filling!

Next time, I think we'd just do these and another app to call it a meal.

Looking forward to following along.

Thanks for joining in.

I loved Homecomin' and was so sad we didn't get to eat there on our recent trip! It would be my first choice if we ever get an adult-only trip. I'm glad you had a great meal!

Forgetting dress shoes is something my husband or I would do too... glad it didn't sidetrack your evening too much. Looking forward to reading more!

I was very glad that Homecomin' lived up to the hype, because it has quite the reputation.

The whole dress shoes incident was incredibly frustrating, but thankfully resolved quickly.
 
Adults Only Trip (cont’d)

Having never driven into the parks before, we got ourselves a little bit turned around. We tried to get as close to the park as possible and found ourselves in a row surrounded by other cars that all seemed to have a special ticket on the dash. I assume we drove through into the preferred parking, which we had not paid for. Given our late arrival and the fact that there weren’t any parking attendants out and about, I can’t imagine we would have gotten into much trouble for inadvertently jumping ahead. However, we opted to move back a couple of rows to the first section that was dashboard-ticket free, just to be safe.

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While it wasn’t actively raining, the sky was still threatening and our first FP for Kali River Rapids had already gone anytime. Since we were running early, we had time for a quick picture. At least, we thought it would be quick. Right when we made it to the front of the line, they started switching out PP photographers which proved to be a surprisingly time consuming process.

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At 6:40pm we hopped into the short line of folks waiting for After Hours and took turns using the restrooms. We were let into the park at 6:50pm and stopped for a quick selfie on the way to our first ride.

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We got to Kali River Rapids right at 7:00pm but the ride shut down while we were getting a locker. The CMs said it closed for lightening in the area so they didn’t have an ETA on when it may re-open. KRR was scheduled to close an hour before the rest of the park, so we didn’t want to wander too far and miss our chance to ride it. Instead, we headed over to see It’s Tough To Be A Bug. While this would also be open during After Hours, we didn’t want to waste our low-crowd time on it.

Because we had skipped this one when the girls were in tow, neither Hubby nor I had seen it. As is my MO, I was squealing and ducking with every dumb 3d gag, much to Hubby’s delight. At the end when it feels like the bugs are crawling under your legs, I leapt out of my seat and gave everyone in our row a good chuckle.

There was a backup exiting as everyone stopped in the doorway at the sight of steady rain. Not to be deterred, we donned our ponchos and turned back toward Asia. KRR still wasn’t posting a wait in the app but we wanted to see it with our own eyes. It was already 7:30 and next on the agenda was supposed to be our safari FP. We wanted to ride the safari before it started getting dark, but there was no way to ride that and get back to KRR before 8pm. The radar was showing storms on and off for the next couple of hours, so we didn’t have high hopes. Instead, we put the final nail in that coffin by going to Africa and using our safari FP.

We tapped in at 7:33pm and, despite short lines, things were moving slowly with them only using one side of the loading platform. The rain started tapering while we waited and had mostly stopped when we were on our truck at 7:41pm.

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The rain had cooled things down significantly and the animals were very active: even the lions were awake and walking around a bit. Being a sucker for punishment, I pulled up MDE and saw that KRR had in fact started posting a wait time about 10 minutes to 8. Our safari had included a few stops for passing herds, so there was no chance we’d be off in time to zip over to Kali and hop in line just before it closed. On a more positive note, we got to see a rainbow on our trip.

We were off of the safari at 8:05 and opted to wander a bit.

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We decided to use our anytime FP to visit Mickey and Minnie to save a little more time during the official After Hours. Minnie was quite scandalized to hear that we came to Disney without our kids.

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At about 8:20 we went over to grab some pictures in front of the Tree of Life before it got too dark. We were next in line when, once again, the PP photographers had to switch out. The new one was having trouble getting set up, and we weren’t planning on buying any pics from Disney, so we had the next family in line grab some quick shots for us.

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We also went to check out the patio behind Flametree BBQ of all places because Josh at easywdw always says it’s one of the prettiest spots in the park.

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I couldn’t get any good pictures because of the way some of the lights were pointing toward the patio, but it was gorgeous back there. I could definitely see grabbing a late dinner and then listening to the music from RoL if you didn’t want to see the full show.

Our plan for After Hours was to get our fill of Dinoland and Everest, see the 10pm Rivers of Light, and then go to Pandora for the rest of the night. We were running a little early but figured we might as well go get a standby ride in on Dinosaur to start things off. We got there at 8:43 and were loading into our time rover at 8:53.

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By the time we were off the ride, the after hours had officially started. We made sure to use our time wisely and hit a top priority.

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It started raining again while we were grabbing our drinks so, instead of moving on to Everest, we decided to head back and get a second ride on Dinosaur. We got there at 9:10 to find the line several twists back, at least three times as long as it was when the park was still open. I’m sure we weren’t the only ones planning on using Dinosaur as a chance to stay dry, but we weren’t going to waste out time waiting for a ride that should have been a walk-on. Instead, we donned our ponchos and grabbed ice cream bars on the way to Everest.

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Everest also wasn’t quite true walk on, but we only had one train to wait before boarding. Hubby and I decided we were going to ride three times, once each in the front, middle, and back.

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We made it two rides (front and middle) but neither of us felt ready to handle a third ride in a row. It turns out we’re officially old! Instead, we went back to Dinosaur which was a true walk on when we got there at 9:40pm. The one bummer was that they wouldn’t let us skip the preshow. I get the point of the preshow when you’re just going to be waiting in the loading room anyway. However, in our case, there was literally no one ahead of us in the loading room. We could see on the ride photos that empty cars had been running while we were standing around watching the same video a second time. Not a huge deal, but kind of annoying given the high cost-per-minute for the event.

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After overdoing it on Everest, even the little bumps on Dinosaur were messing with me a bit. Hubby and I were both ready for a break, just in time for the AH exclusive showing of Rivers of Light. We got some drinks and popcorn and settled in to a mostly empty stadium to enjoy the show.

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This was the new version of the show, which just meant incorporating some Disney animals and music into the projections. Being a child of the Disney Renaissance, I’m always going to have a strong emotional response to Lion King music, and this was no exception. RoL is certainly the weakest of the parks’ nighttime shows, but it’s still beautiful and worth taking the time to see.

Having rested and snacked, Hubby and I felt ready for our last ride on Everest.

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The ride was a true walk on and, if not for our old, weary bodies, we could have ridden repeatedly to our hearts’ content. Instead, we both agreed that we were done with roller coasters for the night, grabbed another round of popcorn and ice cream, and headed across the park to Pandora. On the way, we walked at a leisurely pace and watched a bit of the tree of life awakening on our way to FoP. When we arrived at 10:42, the posted wait was 20 minutes. They were operating both sides, so we were able to walk through the FP line past the merge point and found this wait ahead of us.

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We were in the first preshow being decontaminated at 10:53pm and enjoyed our flight with the banshees soon thereafter. The ride was as gorgeous as ever, but, after all of the roller coasters, neither of us was up for back-to-back rides. Instead, we walked over to Navi River Journey and walked on at 11:19pm. The snack cart in Pandora had frozen fruit bars instead of just the standard offering, so we both grabbed our third iced treat of the evening and walked back to FoP. We got in line at 11:30pm and I thought, if we were lucky, we might be off in time to catch a third ride right at 11:59. Unfortunately, they were only running one side and the line was backed up a couple dozen people behind the merge point. This time, it took us 20 minutes to get to the first preshow and After Hours officially ended during our second flight through Pandora. Really, even if we had made it out in time, I’m not sure we would have been up for another ride. It just seems, for the cost of the special event ticket, they could at least keep their highest priority attraction running at full capacity if lines are exceeding 15 minutes.

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It was empty by the time we were walking out at 12:20pm. The park was so gorgeous and peaceful. I finished off our leftover chicken biscuits (still delicious, even after sitting in a car for hours) and we both crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel.

The next morning was largely uneventful. We had the complimentary breakfast buffet together before I caught the shuttle to the airport and Hubby headed to his presentation. This trip was my first time ever flying along- I had never traveled for business, only pleasure, and always with companions. Thankfully, the security line was short, the flights were on time, and my parking shuttle quickly got me back to our car. I got home and immediately crashed, a privilege in its own right as the grandparents had the girls for another two days.

This trip goes down as our craziest date night ever and I’m so glad we were able to make it happen. We had an awesome time hanging out just the two of us and AK was a great park to do it in, since there were so many attractions (FoP, EE, Dinosaur, Bug) that our girls either couldn’t or wouldn’t do when we visited as a family. The After Hours event was perfect for us to maximize a very limited amount of time. As part of a longer trip, or for a larger family, I’d be more hesitant about the value. I would think a full day in AK, planned strategically, would allow you to accomplish all of the rides (if not the rerides) plus a show or an animal trail, too. For a quick trip to Orlando, or as an add on to business travel like we did, After Hours is a great way to experience most of a park in a very short window. Fingers crossed that Hubby ends up out that way again, maybe if/when HS resumes After Hours events in a post-SWGE world, because I would definitely be finding the child care to piggy back onto that trip!
 
I'm sorry you missed out on KRR. But that is an awesome rainbow pic from the safari!

Love the selfie with Mickey & Minnie!!

Wow that really is a great photo spot behind Flame Tree!

Such an empty viewing of RoL! With the snacks includes, it sounds like a nice perk of AH!

Sounds like you guys really enjoyed the event! I'm glad you were able to make it happen!
 
Sounds like an awesome night! The sickness you were both feeling after the rides in DAK is the main reason I haven't done the party there! But is does sound like a super fun date night that you will remember forever!
 
You had a full night of fun at the After Hours event! So many rides, character meets, pictures... so fun! That's one heck of an awesome date night! (Plus, it includes free popcorn. I LOVE Disney popcorn!)

Although I am still able to handle multiple rides on ToT or EE in a row (at least I could in 2016), rougher coasters are getting tougher for me, too. I'm just fine with riding RNRC once per day now. Aging is not fun. :sad2:

I agree that the HS AH would be awesome and I'm also crossing my fingers it comes back! Multiple rides on ToT and TSMM - yes, please!
 
Following! I wonder if the Walmart you visited was the one on N. Old Lake Wilson Rd. It was the Walmart of Nightmares on our off-site trip in February. Every day looked like Walmart on Black Friday. It was total insanity!

Love the safari rainbow picture!!!
 
At the end when it feels like the bugs are crawling under your legs, I leapt out of my seat and gave everyone in our row a good chuckle.

I watched this for the first time on our recent trip and thought that if I was leaning forward, I wouldn’t feel any bugs. Oh how I hated that show.

The rain had cooled things down significantly and the animals were very active: even the lions were awake and walking around a bit.

Your pictures are beautiful! I’ve never seen the Lions awake.

We got some drinks and popcorn and settled in to a mostly empty stadium to enjoy the show.

I can’t believe how empty it looks! Your post has convinced me that I need to try an After Hours event at least once. AK really does seem like a good park for it.
 
After that I went home and did three trial suitcase packs to get my PR time down for the Contemporary day, refreshed fastpasses just in case and sang “It’s a Small World” to the cats, which seems to make them *RECORD SCRATCHES*

*TV TURNS TO SNOW, THEN A SUITED MAN STANDING IN FRONT OF A ROOM AT THE HYATT PLACE APPEARS*
*LIGHTNING CRASHES DRAMATICALLY*

"Orlando, July 2019. Amidst the glitz and the glitter of a bustling theme park town at the height of its golden age, the Hyatt Place was a perfectly acceptable hotel one dollar under government per diem. Now, something is about to happen that will definitely not change that at all."

*A MAN IN CHEAP BLACK SHOES PASSES THROUGH THE DOOR, TRIPS, LANDS ON THE BED FULLY CLOTHED, AND BEGINS SNORING*

"The time is now, on an evening very much like the one we have just witnessed. Tonight's story on The Husband Zone is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a GMC Terrain, still in operation, waiting for you. We invite you, if you dare, to step aboard because in tonight's post, Hubby is the star. And this mediocre SUV travels directly to . . . The Husband Zone."

With all apologies and complements to Wifey’s storytelling skill, I’m going to borrow the mic for a few minutes, as over the next couple days after she left I decided to have as much fun as I could at Disney without a park ticket or resort stay or… family. This post originally had pictures, but the spam filter requires 10 posts for picture posting. So just imagine every paragraph is accompanied by a grainy, out of focus gem and you'll get the intended experience.

The first day after our AK DAH, I decided to do what we lovingly refer to as an “expense account relief day”. By going low cost on one day, you can even out peaks on other days and make your overall expense report look less obscene. With hotel breakfast, conference-provided lunch, and tacos for dinner, I was ready for some Signature Dining later on. The late night and early morning made the bed look incredibly inviting. I like Hyatt Places. It’s a newer chain so the rooms are less beat up, breakfast is free to rewards members, and you can funnel your points to American Airlines for maximum efficiency. Definitely worth a look if you’re staying off site.

After my conference concluded on the following day, I was ready for my big night out. I transferred to the LBV Hyatt Place and got ready for a night on one of my favorite places ever, Crescent Lake.

If you’ve ever had breakfast coffee in your resort mug, bought that Yacht Club scented candle, or used you MNSSHP trick or treat bag to carry your lunch in everyday( that’s not weird, right? Right? Anyone?) you know theres a certain joy in nostalgia. Our previous stay at BWV was one of the best times I’ve had with my family, and “late” night on Crescent Lake was my time to decompress and reflect while everyone else slept. Just being back and hearing the Friendships honking put a huge smile on my face.

I had a 5:30 ADR at Flying Fish, and after parking free in the Boardwalk lot by showing my reservation, walked through the front door exactly one minute late. If it is possible to be fashionably late in wrinkled khakis and a polo with only small holes in it, I had nailed it. I was shown to a corner table with great positioning for some discreet people/theming watching. Flying Fish is a wonderful space with all the little design extras you would expect from a signature restaurant. The blue marble reminiscent of water, the crystal school of fish hanging from the ceiling. I especially liked that the silverware were shaped as fish, that put the experience over the top for me.

Having checked a couple blogs for recommendations, I was excited to see that the Blood Orange Margarita was on the paper menu despite being absent on the Disney website. I’m one of those guys who hates to order off menu. This drink is out of this world and nothing like the pre-prepared BOMs I’ve had elsewhere on property. I didn’t see it made but I’m sure the juice was fresh. Between that and the warm seaweed bread and salted butter I was happy as a clam. At least, one not being prepared next door in the kitchen.

My server was awesome, giving me time to savor the bread and drink, but stopping by frequently to make small talk since I was alone. I know she had plenty of tables to attend to so that little extra was really appreciated by me. I heard it said that if you had a really great experience at Disney, its because a CM went above and beyond what they were required for you, and I think that’s quite true.

I had the Filet Mignon for an entrée and it was cooked and prepared perfectly. The risotto was on spot and the asparagus was… asparagus. I ate every morsel without a single regret. I take that back. I regret not licking the plate. So it goes.

At this point I was at the Rubicon. I should stop here. Dessert would be a mistake. I was full. I was at my expense limit. I was going to stop. Definitely walking away. So much to do, so little time. Then I saw the chocolate-hazelnut “Cocoa Breach” cake, and that was that. Willpower destroyed. There’s a bit of a show to this dish. I was warned by the server to take a video. However, I was once told life looks better if you’re not seeing it from behind a viewfinder, so I opted not to. This was a huge mistake. The desert has a hollow middle covered by a hard chocolate “roof”. They pour warm chocolate over the item and it melts into a pool. It was a fun experience only rivaled by the taste, which I do not have adequate words to describe. I will anyway. It was rich, creamy and the hot sauce contrasted the cold cake. I couldn’t finish it, so its definitely perfect for two or three or seven. Probably seven.

The server asked how I liked everything and noted that was their most popular drink, entrée and dessert. I gushed and started apologizing that I would be paying with a variety of credit and gift cards. I wrote it all out, explaining slowly and she laughed saying: “Don’t worry, we know all about per diem here.” Right. Convention resort. Oops.

Dining alone can be hard, especially if you’re used to hyper-talkative kids and a smart, funny wife. I’ve gotten used to it over years of business travel, but even then I find myself occasionally returning from the restroom disappointed to find an empty second chair.. But enough of that Meloncollie business. We’ve got explosions to talk about.

My next goal was one more Illuminations from the International Gateway bridge. A quick word about fireworks. If you ask my father what his favorite holiday is, he will begrudgingly say Christmas. This is a lie. Its really the 4th of July, and the reason is fireworks. As a child, my father would list out a schedule of every fireworks display in our area and plan out how to see as many as possible. To say I inherited this gene is an understatement. I love fireworks, and Disney does great spectaculars. Illuminations will always hold a special place in my heart. Over 600 shells, so much show, pyro and great music. Its one of the best.. I was not missing this.

After a quick jaunt around Crescent Lake and a change into shorts in the Boardwalk bathroom, I was ready for a nighttime spectacular. I had forgotten a bag for my pants, so I just carried them under my arm the rest of the night. Not weird at all. If you position yourself just right on the bridge, you can see all the aerials and a bit of the show. The music carries really well. A wonderful nightcap, and where I thought my adventure would end.

I was still feeling uncomfortably full so I decided to walk down to HS to burn a few calories and see the skyliner station. By the time I hit the overpass at a slow mosey, I was astounded to see Star Wars fireworks over the Chinese Theater! If I had bothered to look at the times on the website, I would have seen that HS was open late that night and the fireworks were going off late to match. This was a really nice vantage point. The distance put the pyro in perspective and the way it lit up the park like daytime was fun to watch from further back. On the way home, the heavens opened up in the kind of momentary deluge you can only get in Florida in July. Fully soaked, I balanced my pants on head as a poncho and made my way back to the Terrain. A great night, complete.

The next morning was my getaway day. I had a 5PM flight scheduled and pre-check, so still plenty of time to play. After an unremarkable breakfast and checking out of my hotel I moved on to my first stop: The Character Warehouse, A.K.A. the Outlet. For those unfamiliar, Disney operates two stores to liquidate park merchandise (not Disney store merchandise) in Outlet strip malls at Vineland and International Drive. I went to the Vineland shop since it was much larger. All the bad ideas and stuff they couldn’t sell wind up here. Hanukkah items in July? Got you covered. Last year’s Disney Cruise line merch? Absolutely. FoP apparel in sizes that fit kids too short to ride? Racks of it. There are a few gems, but mostly this is for the giggles. And giggle I did. I didn’t wind up buying anything, but did look hard at a lightsaber blueprint mug and Trials of the Temple nametags for the kids before glancing at the e-ticket level checkout line and pulling the eject lever. If you have some time to kill on a non-park day, its worth the ride or Uber. Also the gas station next door is selling unleaded for $6.99 a gallon, so that’s fun to watch too. Some of my favorite items included: light-up avatar banshee flip-flops in adult sizes, a shirt that says “Simba, I am your uncle!” (Why?!), Letter magnets in such popular name starters as X, Q, Z, and J (unlike wheel of fortune, you couldn’t even buy a vowel). There was a Galaxy’s Edge shirt, but it was so thin as to be see through. My assumption is it was a bad run.

My final stop was Disney Springs. I’m more of a buyer than a shopper, so I did my engineer thing for about an hour watching construction at the NBA experience, Cirque, and enjoying random theming bits and balloon launches. After a bit more wandering I shuffled over to my ultimate target, the Boathouse. At 12:30, the place was surprisingly dead so I moved out to the dockside bar which I highly recommend. This gives a great view of the Amphibicars launching and returning, the balloon, the water taxis, and with a great bartending staff and TVs if that’s more your speed. I had my eyes on the Filet sliders, and they did not disappoint. The Boathouse is a Gibson property, which is a fairly impressive Chicago steak chain. It was probably a travesty to put the cuts of meat I got in a sandwich, they were so tender and delicious. The roll was grilled and buttered, just perfect. Coupled with fresh cut fries, it was the ideal amount of food for one hungry dude.

The bartender gave us a wink wink nod nod piece of trivia that there is no gate lock at the OKW pool, which is reachable by boat. I had no intention of trying it, but thought a short jungle cruise might be fun. I took the slow boat out past Saratoga Springs and got off at OKW. We passed the golf course, the treehouses, and some other nice sights. After a couple stressful days of being on my A game for work, it was a relaxing voyage. My kids were very disappointed I did not see a single crocodile. The captain looked mildly suspicious to see me on the immediate return voyage, but kept to himself.

At that point, it was time to get a little something for the kids (Pins! Cinderella Legos! Please don’t hate me for going to Disney without you!), the Wifey (Chocolate!), and the cats (haha forget that, they never get me anything anyway). The weather was looking ready for a mid-afternoon shower, so I asked the Lego Store CM if she could double bag the girls legos. She replied that she always does, just in case. Disney difference, it’s a small thing but made me happy. I enjoyed a little live music before the skies opened up, and then an abandoned kiosk roof when it eventually did. When the rain let up it was time to head back to the car for my flight.

And that’s where this story should end. I should be jumping on a flight and home by 8PM. Hoo Boy, did that not happen. As I pulled onto the MCO exit, the American Airlines App informed me my flight was cancelled, and I was automatically rebooked for 11:48 AM tomorrow. Now, there are a lot of things I wish I could say I did at that point. I have some regrets. I wish I had put the Terrain up on two tires and hung a U-turn Lights, Motors, Action!-style, booked a room, and an after five ticket to Epcot. I wish I had driven to Tampa to get on a 5PM flight. I wish I had cancelled and grabbed the last seat on the Frontier flight. In addition to my flight, a Washington flight was also cancelled. There was weather, and the flight crews were out of time on their safety clocks. What I did do, was book a flight to La Guardia (NYC) that would get me in bed by midnight-ish after a decent drive. This is what’s generally referred to in the sporting community as a “bad call”. Long story short, that flight was also delayed, and at 1:30AM I was still trying to get to the LGA Avis lot while the shuttle languished in bumper to bumper traffic. At 1:30 AM. The city that never sleeps is not just some slogan.

At that point, the Subaru Legacy I was supposed to get was long gone. I noticed my paperwork listed the rented category as “Cool cars”, so as I walked out to the lot, I was cautiously optimistic this day might end on a good note. What met me was an overwhelmingly red Dodge Charger with a V-8 Hemi. I wish I had someone to high five at that point, because that level of Detroit muscle is right up my alley. It also had a cracked bumper, which is why I was getting it on a one way rental (repair is now someone else’s problem, in LGA’s mind). I was saddened, but not surprised, to see reports of a blackout the next day in NYC, as I had taken their Charger.

And that is the story of how I broke the land speed record on the NJ Turnpike, and finally hit my bed at 3:30AM. Thanks goodness the kids were still out of town!

So now I return the Microphone to my much more entertaining wife so she can relate our awesome August trip, with all apologies for hijacking her thread. I hope you enjoyed my little intermission.
 
Given our late arrival and the fact that there weren’t any parking attendants out and about, I can’t imagine we would have gotten into much trouble for inadvertently jumping ahead.

We've experienced this going to MK just for evening EMH and we were able to go straight to preferred parking!

At the end when it feels like the bugs are crawling under your legs, I leapt out of my seat and gave everyone in our row a good chuckle.

:rotfl: :rotfl:


Gorgeous shot!


I love this one too!

We decided to use our anytime FP to visit Mickey and Minnie to save a little more time during the official After Hours. Minnie was quite scandalized to hear that we came to Disney without our kids.

:rotfl::rotfl:


Another gorgeous picture! AK at night is my absolute favorite.

By the time we were off the ride, the after hours had officially started. We made sure to use our time wisely and hit a top priority.

That was my first ride during AK after hours too lol and I think the only time I ever rode it.

The one bummer was that they wouldn’t let us skip the preshow. I get the point of the preshow when you’re just going to be waiting in the loading room anyway.

Agreed!

This trip goes down as our craziest date night ever and I’m so glad we were able to make it happen.

Sounds amazing! I'm glad you were too!
 
I love when travel companions comment on their spouse's/significant other's thread! You're as great a writer as your wife and hysterical to boot! Even without the pictures I really enjoyed your additional update.

I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner at Flying Fish and your lunch at the Boathouse! I've yet to dine at either spot but you make both of them sound delicious. Your dessert from Flying Fish sounded particularly awesome - I always find room for dessert even if there is no more room. :laughing:

I hope your girls (all of them, including your wife) enjoyed their gifts! Cinderella Legos sound awesome.
 
Even with the minor slip ups, glad you guys had fun doing After Hours at AK! It's funny because I've seen a lot of comments saying there isn't enough to do at AK to justify AH but you guys filled up the whole night very well ☺

Also, I now see that you and your husband are a match made in heaven, you two are hysterical! :rotfl:I really enjoyed his "hijacking" post.

Can't wait to hear how the MNSSHP trip went!
 
Joining in...early this time...only 3 pages ..instead of 18...can't wait to hear the rest...
 

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