Day 1
January 17th Early AM flight on Frontier (New experience for us)
DTD; Activating APs; Lunch
Check in at BWV; Epcot
On the airport shuttle
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Early dawn came and we were ready to go all within 30 minutes! You can get ready pretty quick when there is so much excitement and anticipation I suppose. The shuttle only has to take you about ¼ of a mile to the airport and no surprise we were the only ones up at this time. The Frontier ticketing line was longish, but it moved quickly. I think it was our clerks first day though as she seemed frazzled-all I need to see are our bags tagged with that MCO sticker and the pressure is off. The security line was rather slow, but it’s not like you have any other options and we had plenty of time to grab a snack after we made it through.
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It was a bit of a surprise that we would need to use the walk up gate outside to board, but the Ft. Lauderdale flight was occupying the other Frontier wing. Needless to say it was a mad dash up the ramp to board and luckily we were among the first few people on so no back up! Immediately as we boarded there was a sense of urgency with the pilot and mechanic-apparently someone didn’t prepare the plane properly the night before and the water lines were frozen! They attempted to fix it a few times while the plane was boarding and about after an hour of waiting, the pilot announced that she was taking us to the other gate so we could de plane and use the restroom since they didn’t know how long it would take.
Lots of grumbling and frustration, but I will say she handled it like a champ. There were no lies to be given, just honesty. She also desperately lobbied with corporate on the phone to see if she could give us some sort of appeasement, but she was denied the ability to offer us any type of reimbursement. We were seated in the second row, so I was privy to all of the ongoing conversations J
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It didn’t take long after we exited the plane that we were called to re board. I grabbed some almonds and a quick charge for my phone since I forgot my power tube! Dummy. Finally we were off and in the air and we landed just before 11 AM. To top off the delay we had to bank around and approach the airport from the south, which is actually kind of cool because you can see most of the land marks on WDW property and why not we are already 3 hours late, what’s another 20 minutes?! I can only laugh about it now.
The original plan was stopping for breakfast at IHOP, but now it was more like lunchtime now. There are plenty of places to grab a bite on International Drive from fancy steakhouses to all u can eat buffets, but the hidden gem for us is Miller’s Ale House. They have a large menu and a huge beer and drink menu to wet your whistle. A round of fresh caught blackened mahi mahi sandwiches was just what I wanted! We may have missed going to Key West this year, but this really hit the spot. I also took the opportunity to change into my shorts and boy it felt good.
Next we headed to Goodings for some provisions like bottled water, laundry detergent, fabric softener, snacks, beer, paper towels, tissues and a few other goodies. I needed some small shampoos since my travel bottle broke when we arrived in Cleveland so instead of having a big mess I ditched the little fellow.
I had made some FP+ reservations for today knowing that the room wouldn’t be ready immediately upon our arrival. It also made it easier to decide what to do having already made plans. There was quite a back up at the security check point at the Boardwalk Inn & Villas, but the fellas were just being extra friendly at the booth! We drove up to the lobby area and parked near the taxi lane, I really wish they made some space for people to come into the lobby quick and check on their room. I realize that people will park everywhere, but why not a 15 minute or less lot close to the building so you don’t have to walk forever to and fro just to see if your room is ready and such?! We don’t really like to leave our things with luggage service because you may need something in your bag etc.
Our room wasn’t ready as expected, so we found a spot to park, way in the back, and made way for Epcot Guest Services. The line was a couple people deep, but eventually we were able to activate our Annual Passes and purchase a new Tables in Wonderland card! Off to enjoy Soarin!
We wandered back through Canada and The United Kingdom, grabbing some green tea from the Tea Caddy, checking out which other goodies we would be buying the next day. Still heartbroken there is no Liverpool merchandise at the Sportsman Shoppe due to their sponsorship deal, but now there is the soccer shop at Westside too! We got as far as France and it was past 4 when I received the text that our room was ready! Woohoo let’s head back to the Boardwalk!
Coming up the room at BWV