Getting into the groove

We were up pretty early as our inner clocks were still on European time, so we started to unpack a bit more, took showers and around 7.30am we were ready to walk over to the food court for some breakfast. Walking in we were stunned at how crowded the place was. We did expect crowds, but that was overwhelming. Since we had not wanted to have a full breakfast, we just picked up a tray and went to the bakery case, where Tom decided on a 

Cinnamon Roll and I picked a 

Chocolate Croissant. 

Items on the tray we walked over to the cash desks and got in line. 

And waited, and waited some more and then waited even more. 

There were two CastMembers at the till and one was very visibly new as she took a very long time to ring up purchases. 

And our two simple bakery items were no exception. She needed three tries and a few minutes to ring it up and then I needed to scan my band and she had pressed the wrong button and we started from the beginning. 

I felt really bad for the people who had hot items on their trays but finally we were good to leave and found a table, where I sat down and took photos of the bakery goods, while Tom went to get some coffee and hot chocolate for me. 

He soon returned with his coffee and told me that two of the Hot Chocolate machines were out of order and one was just filled again. A few minutes later he came back with the beverage and just told me that he had been lucky as there was quite the line right now. 

We tried our breakfast and both items were fresh and yummy and we had some of the hot beverages, but neither Tom’s coffee, nor the Hot Chocolate were really what we had hoped for, so about half of it got dumped, the mug got washed and we filled it with Diet Soda for our way back to our room. 

Shortly before 9am we were out the door again and drove over to Disney Springs. 

We arrived about ten to nine and found that both the ticket office and Guest Services only opened at nine, so we decided to do a bit of window shopping. It was pretty sunny already and I usually have a bit of trouble with my eyes those first few days, so we took out our sunglasses and put them on. Funnily enough I just could not make mine stay in place. 

They were new prescription progressive sunglasses and this was only the second time I wore them. So, when we found a bench we sat down in the shade and I started to find out why those glasses would not fit me any more. 

Turns out that one of the little plastic pieces that sit on your nose was missing. 

Yikes, what to do, what to do? 

But by that time it was 9am and we were right next to the ticket store, so we walked inside and asked if we could upgrade our tickets to Gold APs there. Yes, no problem, so we showed our DVC cards and paid the upcharge and were now proud owners of new APs. 

Next we needed to find somewhere that sold sunglasses. 

Luckily enough we had picked up a map and there was a store, so we headed there, they were not sure they would be able to help, but in the end found the plastic pieces that fit and put them on, gave me 8 more in case another one would fall off and that was it. 

We were very thankful and glasses fitting again, we did more window shopping at Disney Springs until we knew it was time to do some more grocery shopping. 

We hopped into the car and off we went to Publix.

We always love to spend time in the store as they are so different to the ones we have at home. And therefore we took our sweet time and got some snacks and drinks and a few savoury breakfast items. About an hour after we had arrived we were back in our car and on our way back to Pop Century Resort. There we headed up to our room, which had not been serviced yet, put everything away and then hurried back down to take the bus to the Magic Kingdom. 

Lines were long and when we arrived a Magic Kingdom bus was just pulling out. So, that meant that we would have to wait a little longer and we were cutting it close to our reservation. But there was distraction in line ahead of us. A family of five was pulling their wagon in line and I was wondering if they would be allowed on the bus. Turns out there was a CastMember, who approached them and told them that wagons were not allowed in the parks. It was interesting to follow their conversation as the family insisted that their travel agent had told them to get the wagon and they had had to pay for it to get it on the plane and now they were not allowed to use it. 

They argued for quite some time, but in the end the father took it back to the room, not without some not so kid friendly comments. And some people were now commenting and telling the family to complain about the misinformation and ask for compensation. 

We were pretty stunned as the information was out there and it was definitely not Disney's fault. 

By then a bus was pulling in and the family stepped aside, as their dad was not back yet, but in the end they got on the same bus as us. 

The bus took quite a while to make it to Magic Kingdom, then unloaded all of us at one of the furthest away spots and we had to hike all the way to the security check and finally we made it through the turnstiles. But now we were late for our reservation at Be Our Guest. 

We still took in the first view of the town square and the first glimpse of the castle, but then had to really make a move on to the restaurant. 

Wasn’t too easy as the park was pretty packed. 

We arrived at the restaurant about 15 minutes late and found a huge line to check in, but fortunately it moved fast and they did not mind our late arrival. We needed to wait in front of the gates again, but within 90 seconds we were asked inside and got in the pre-order line, which only had 2 parties ahead of us. And again, it only took a few minutes and we had paid for our food with credits and walked inside to find a table. 

The place was packed and only when we walked through the main room for a second time we saw a family get up and leave and we finally had a table.

 Now during former visits we had been given a plastic rose for the servers to find the table, but this time we got no such thing. Instead a CastMember came by and matched our bill with a table number and soon enough our lunch was served. 

Tom had gone to get some ice-water for both of us while I took some photos of our food and then we were able to taste our food. Tom had ordered a 

French Dip Sandwich, on a Baguette with Au Jus and Pommes Frites and a 

Kronenbourg 1664. I had ordered the 

Croque Monsieur, a Grilled Sandwich of Carved Ham, Gruyere Cheese and Bechamel with Pommes Frites as well and a glass of the 

Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley. We shared our food 

and were both pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. 

Around 1am we left the restaurant and went to use the first of our Fast Passes. So off to the Haunted Mansion we went. 

Having a Fast Pass really helped, as the regular line was pretty long. Once we got off we slowly walked over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad 

for our second Fast Pass of the day. Another fun ride in the bag we discussed staying for our third Fast Pass, but then decided to miss Peter Pan and so we released the Fast Pass and instead booked one for the evening in Epcot.

And with that we walked towards the exit and then hiked to the furthest bus stop there was to get on a bus back to the resort. The stop was completely empty so we were pretty sure a bus had just left and we waited and waited and waited some more. It took more than half an hour for another bus to come and by that time the line had grown. 

No scooters to load we were soon on board and found a seat. 

A few minutes later the bus started moving and off we went back to Pop Century. By then the early morning had caught up with both of us and we decided to take a nap. Back in our room Mousekeeping had done perfect work and so we just put down the bed for Tom and lay down for a short nap. Well, it was not so short, as about half an hour later there was a knock at the door. I got out of bed and opened the door and there was a Cast Member who handed us some chocolates and a card from Mickey and another one welcoming us to the resort. 

What a nice surprise. But then it was back to resting. 

Around 5.30 we got ready for our next reservation. Again, we made it just in time to the Beach Club and our reservation at Beaches and Cream. In the early stages of our planning we had been sad to see that Beaches and Cream would be closed for refurb, but they had decided to open for just a few more days and we were lucky to snag a reservation. 

When we finally arrived we were told that there would be a short wait, so we just sat at one of the outside tables and waited. Well, it was a short wait, as, as soon as we had sat down we were called as our table was now ready. We got a table close to the bar and had one of the nicest servers and once we had decided on what we wanted to share it didn’t take long until we were served our Diet Cokes shortly followed by the 

Cheese & Bacon Fries, French Fries, topped with cheese sauce, bacon, red onions, garlic peppercorn Ranch. And we were so happy we had decided to share, as this was quite the helping and we were getting full fast. But there was still ice-cream to come. You cannot visit Beaches and Cream and not have ice-cream. And once our plate was removed it didn’t take long for the 

Classic Banana Split, ripe Banana, three Scoops of Ice Cream, Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry, Pineapple, Strawberry, and Marshmallow Topping finished off with Hot Fudge, Caramel, Toasted Almonds, Whipped Cream, and a Cherry to be served. 

We worked hard to put a dent into the sundae, but we had to give up about two thirds in. 

And after we had paid the bill, we strolled through the resort, looked at the shops and finally walked over to Epcot. It was interesting to see all the changes that are on the way with the new Skyliner. Quite soon we had made it through bag check and were scanning our bands and walking into the park. We headed towards England as we had a FastPasses and then right over to The Land Pavillion for our ride on Soarin’. 

Once we arrived we were at the tail end of our FastPass, but still in time. So we joined one of the lines and without even asking we were assigned the middle glider. Win! After the ride we thought about walking over to Mission Space, checked the app and it had quite the wait. 

By then the time change had caught up with us and we just decided to make our way back to Pop Century. And about half an hour later we had made it and were back in our room. 

We had a drink and watched a little TV and soon enough we fell asleep.