Day 1 - Around the World (Part 3)
Wow this day was pretty jammed, I had to separate it into 3 parts!
Last we left off we were leaving Epcot to go back to the Boardwalk for a much needed nap. Unfortunately my worst fears came true and I could hear the kid(s) in the next room screaming as we approached our room. I tried to will myself to sleep, but it was no good. Mum wanted a room change but I didn't think it was possible so I asked for some advice from these boards. I stuffed some Kleenex in my ears and tried to wait it out. Results were pouring in that I should speak with the front desk so I gave in and went down to the lobby with mum.
I feel pretty dumb about this part because honestly I was such a basket case at that point that I think mum did most of the talking. The concierge suggested someone could go up and yell at the family rofl but we begged him not to do that. He said they didn't have any other accessible rooms and I definitely spoke up here and said I'd take any room he had if it was quiet and I could sleep in it aha. He did some checking and asked "did we have any experience with concierge level?". This is where I feel really dumb because I got confused and just said "uhhhh?" lol. I'd heard about club level after the new thing came out where you can get extra fastpasses for staying on that level. But I'd never heard of "concierge level". I feel like I should have at least asked "is that the same as club level?" instead of just gaping. My mum answered him "no" and he hurried off somewhere else before I could make words come out of my mouth.
When he came back, he had good news, a room on the 4th floor! It had a tub instead of a roll in shower but was still apparently one of the accessible rooms. I didn't even care at that point, we thanked him profusely for his help and dashed off to pack up again. My mum must put all of her clothes in the dressers, hanging in the closet etc at hotels which I don't understand lol. My clothes never leave my luggage bag ahaha which makes her twitch rofl.
The phone rang while mum was packing up, someone from the concierge was going to meet us at the room. We were kind of worried, had there been a mistake and we couldn't move? We headed up to the 4th floor in a tentative mood. There was a room with an ornate desk at the end of the hall, and I remember just thinking this is so weird, something is up. I thought maybe they were making us like do an incident report or something lol. An older man named Pete jumped out from behind the desk and welcomed us enthusiastically. He'd printed out our itinerary, had a new birthday pin for me, and was telling us to check out the lounge. We were very, very confused lol. He explained that he knew we'd had a stressful time and was now very concerned with "making things right" and everything would be fine and taken care of at no cost to us. My mum started to cry a bit, he was really so kind, he reminded me strangely of Jiminy Cricket lol, except obviously a person lol.
At this point we were getting tight for our Via Napoli reservation so we thanked Pete and dashed to our new room, just inside this ornate door that said "Innkeeper's Club". At this point I had pieced together that the concierge must have actually upgraded us to "concierge level" even though he hadn't said. We maybe did this dance upon entering the room lol.
https://giphy.com/gifs/love-actually-NK1PGVS338OQg
The room was very similar to our room on the first floor, except I'm guessing a bit bigger, mainly from the bigger bathroom I think. There was a balcony that we hadn't had before, and I was pleased to see it was "barrier-free", I could roll right out onto it. Usually people's balconies have these huge ledges to get in and out that I can never get over. The bathroom also had tons of counter space which made me happy. One annoying thing about accessible hotel rooms is they often remove the bathroom counter so that a wheelchair can get under the sink. Except then there's nowhere to put all your stuff! And I always have loads of toiletries bahaha. The tub was a bit of a bummer because I'd been so happy to score a roll in shower room originally (these seem like they book up fastest, at least when I was booking). But my mum was here and she could help me so I wasn't too worried.
I noticed this beautiful painting on the wall and I'm not sure it was in our original room? In any case I loved waking up to it each morning!
We hastily changed and thanked Pete again on the way out and dashed to the lobby. The concierge who had helped us earlier was no longer there sadly. His co-workers informed us his name was Jim and they would pass along our thanks for the upgrade. Don't worry, we came across him another day and were able to properly thank him!
We headed back to the boats and this time there were no training vessels lol and we made good time to International Gateway. On our way to Italy we came across the Illuminations globe right at the shore... near the US pavilion I want to say? Ah I geeked out majorly over this aha. Illuminations (was) at that time my favourite fireworks show and I think it's pretty cool how the globe has all these different effects. I'd never seen it up close before like this.
After much fussing over the globe aha, we made it to Via Napoli a little after 6, a little early for our reservation. I was a little apprehensive because it was absolutely jammed in there, the waiting area and restaurant and I was kind of wondering what I'd gotten myself into aha. I'd heard Be Our Guest can be a very loud place so I was prepared for that, but Via Napoli was probably the busiest place we ate at all trip. Thankfully we were seated way at the back, in what our server told us was the new addition. I was super glad it was done because I panicked in the spring, shortly after I booked this they went down to a reduced menu to build the addition. But now the addition was done and I could order some calamari and a tiramisu martini (obsessed with tiramisu much lol??). It was much more peaceful back here than in the main room.
I'll skip a full dining review as I think I'll do separate ones later aha. I thought the calamari was the best we had all trip, and when I first tasted the carciofi pizza it tasted divine. However the leftovers didn't really hold up, they tasted very burnt, but I also had to eat them cold. And it was the most expensive non-buffet meal of our trip. So I'm kind of torn because I find myself dreaming about the food sometimes, or at least that first bite of pizza lol. But I think the price was high for what we got, even though it was good food.
Side note for Canadians or those not from the US, I had a bit of a confusion here when I ordered my martini. I look very young even though I'm close to 30 lol, so the server asked for ID. I'd read on these boards that Cdn drivers licenses are not adequate sources of ID, so you have to use a passport. Except who wants to carry their passport to a theme park? Ours went into the safe at the hotel, though we'd had them that morning to activate the tickets. The suggestion on the boards was that a photo of your passport was accepted for drinks, which is what I'd done. However the server said neither my Cdn drivers license nor the photo of my passport were acceptable but she'd let me off the hook "this one time". Left me wondering what IS acceptable ID for non-Americans at the parks, other than carrying your passport all day? Guess I should have looked it up on the Disney site. I'm not a big drinker though so I don't know that I had many more alcoholic drinks after this, and if I did I never got carded again!
Mum and I debated what to do afterwards while we ate. The simple version was to watch Illuminations and head back to the hotel. The crazy version was watch Illuminations and then go ride Test Track at night lol. My goal for this trip was to ride as many outdoor rides at night as possible lol. We kind of went back and forth on whether we were tired or not aha. We hadn't slept the night before, and hadn't had a nap, so we knew we SHOULD be tired. But we were also kind of hyped up by the whole upgrade experience and our sugary drinks lol.
Ultimately we decided we weren't tired and to use the fastpass I'd made for Illuminations, at the Future World boundary, rather than staying and watching in Italy. This would get us closer to Test Track after the show. We'd realized we hadn't ridden a ride yet so now we HAD to ride Test Track lest we spend a day at Disney without riding a ride lol (my dad would have a heart attack lol, all that money for no rides?? LOL).
I honestly think a huge part of my love for Illuminations is the torches lit up, and the guy telling you how the show will start in "just 10/5mins" lol. Also the part where he's saying that we're gathered around the fire just like people have been doing for thousands of years... and then you can hear like someone blowing out a candle and all the torches go out? Ahhh goosebumps!!!
The show was great as usual and the fastpass area was a really good spot in terms of being closest to the globe and seeing the projections on it. Not sure though if it was just the wind that day but a ton of ash was blowing our way from the fireworks. It was all over our clothes lol and made our eyes water. Granted I also cried like a baby because it was my first full day in Disney, watching my favourite fireworks show, and so much cool stuff had happened already, and just ugh, all of the feelings.
https://gifrific.com/troy-saying-my-emotions-my-emotions-community/ So at least my actual tears were hidden by ash tears lol.
We waited for the masses to exit as I think the park was technically closed after the show, extra magic hours were 9-11 that night. Once things cleared we made it to Test Track and there was a really long line! Ah but it was mostly just so people could get their magic bands scanned to prove they were staying onsite. The actual line for the ride was not nearly so bad. And part of me was just glad it was a clear night and the ride was running, since I feel like this one has shut down a lot on our past trips.
Once we had done all the car designing and were about to board the actual ride, the CM's offered to let me board at the exit as the car would be level with my chair rather than sunken in at the regular loading spot. I'd never done this before but decided to take them up on it. It was kind of neat, there were catwalks all around and it felt like going backstage at a concert lol. I think it was easier for me to get in the car which helped. Though the downside is we never scanned our bands so our car design did not display on the ride. Oh well, I did not have high hopes for the poor car anyways LOL, I am an accountant not an engineer!
After our initial ride, the CM saw my birthday button and asked if we'd like to go again! Yes please!
I do miss the (90's?) version of this ride, where you were a crash test dummy lol. It felt more... dangerous bahaha. The car designing part just seems really hard to me rofl so that doesn't really make up for the lowered stakes. But that part where you're going really fast outside is still my favourite lol. I think my parents rented a convertible once and I got to ride in it but it didn't feel like Test Track! I will say though that I think it's better in daytime. Something about bursting into the sunlight aha. There wasn't really anything lit up to see from the track in the dark, except maybe Spaceship Earth, but you're going super fast anyways so it's not the best view aha.
The park was super empty when we got off Test Track, it was about 10:30 I think? We decided we didn't want to trek all the way back to the boat in World Showcase so we headed to the front exit to take a bus "home" lol. Except there is no bus that goes to Boardwalk, not anymore anyways. A CM that was directing people advised us to take the Hollywood Studios bus and ask the driver to drop us off at the Boardwalk. I was a bit concerned that we could even do that but the driver was happy to oblige and also we were "queens of the bus" LOL so no one could object.
I'm not sure what time we got back but we were very tired after a busy but amazing day! We fell fast asleep in our new
quiet 
room lolol
Yes back to Disney we went! This time I was in Disney World for my birthday in July! Alas my precious Beach Club was out of reach. We stayed for a couple days at Port Orleans French Quarter. A birthday in Disney was truly the best! Wearing the birthday pin, all the cast-members wishing you happy birthday, and sometimes a sweet treat for free! Truly Disney World was my favourite place to be.
The buildings of the Canada pavilion are meant to evoke the Chateau and Parliament (which is just across the Rideau Canal from the hotel) so it was interesting seeing the "Disney" version when we'd just seen the real ones. I heard some tourists telling their kids that this was a replica of "Canada's National Hotel" which we couldn't stop laughing about all trip.
And I wasn't interested in riding the ride as such lol. However Facebook reminded me that I'd taken a picture next to the Viking statue 4 years ago on this day! So I had to follow it up with another photo lol. Also I'd seen there was a museum inside one of the wooden buildings, so we walked around until we found it. There were indeed artifacts in there that had to do with Viking gods. The weapons were the things that impressed us most. They were about 1,000 years old but still looked incredibly lethal! I'm glad we stopped in here but the downside was it was a small space that was very dark. Hard to read the explanations.
