Have airline credit, Must travel: a mostly non-Disney park August 2019 adventure (11/29/19 update)

[kittylady1972]

DAY 3: Toledo Continued!

DH got this:

• Manhattan Filet - olive oil-potato purée, grilled onions, dates, sherry vinaigrette - $36.00

He loved this one also. And DS19 chose this one:

• Red Wine-braised Chicken - grapes, sherry vinegar, roasted tomato 'bomba' rice - $28.00

He really enjoyed this also. I tasted some of his chicken and some of the filet and agree...they were both great.

I forgot my daughter got something from the kids menu as she likes to do...love the 16yo. It was some kind of steak and rice.



She seemed to enjoy it and it was the right portion for her. She had some of the appetizers also.

Now you would think...being full...we wouldn't need dessert but they all sounded so good that we just had to try some of them.

So I think I asked the waiter between two of them, or maybe before he handed us the menus he suggested their signature dessert:

• 'The Toledo Tapas Bar' - A progressive dessert tasting with the flavors of Spanish coffee, crunchy chocolate, raspberry mousse, and lemon curd - $12.00

And yep...I got this. And yes it was small but delicious. The perfect amount.

DH got what I was originally going to get:

• Chocolate-Avocado Mousse, A Plant-based Dessert - strawberry-basil sorbet, coconut crumble - $10.00

I'm glad I chose what I did. He enjoyed this but it was a small portion of the actual mousse.

My FIL chose this:



Looking at the menu I'm not sure what this was, but it was like a Creme Brulee and he really enjoyed it. Pretty sure DS also got something that I can't recall...but I know he enjoyed.

Daughter got this from the kids menu:



She enjoyed this.

My DH and FIL also got this:



They loved it.

So bottom line is...everything we had was good. The views were fantastic. We would LOVE to return and we've all agreed it is on our future restaurant agenda for sure.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

So bottom line is...everything we had was good. The views were fantastic. We would LOVE to return and we've all agreed it is on our future restaurant agenda for sure.

This is soooo good to hear!!!

 

[camper06]

Found your trip report!
The meal looks delicious! Glad you all enjoyed it!

 

[kittylady1972]

This is soooo good to hear!!!

HIGHLY recommend it...so good I might have to return there much sooner than I had planned....like say NEXT MONTH!

Found your trip report!
The meal looks delicious! Glad you all enjoyed it!

Yay....and yes it was!

 

[kittylady1972]

So what do you do when you spend your afternoon looking up Disney cruises and contemplating them but realizing...no you really shouldn't, time to buckle down and stop spending money...and then you come home from playing tennis and your husband informs you that he's been directed to attend a conference at the end of October.

In Florida....Walt Disney World actually.

Well sounds like somebody is trying to tell me I need to go to to Florida then right?

The bigger question is this: do I spring for some Disney tickets while there...since after all he'll be attending a conference all day anyway...and I need to keep myself entertained right?

Time to start looking into flights...again...and doing some planning.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

The bigger question is this: do I spring for some Disney tickets while there..

Umm, YAY!!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

So...this ain't my first rodeo (obviously) and I am also familiar with booking last minute Disney trips for myself and others but this one...is proving particularly challenging.

Rooms....ha there really aren't any that are in any decent price range. Why does THIS scare me? Just how busy are the parks going to be?

On the somewhat positive side...we aren't quite within the 30 day FP window so if I decide to do a park I have a day or two to get tickets and book some FPs maybe. It's likely we'll have to stay offsite somewhere, but just not sure where yet.

At least I do have a rental car booked...for myself...because I plan to try to get in some volunteer shifts at GKTW while I'm there. Maybe DH will be able to join me for one or two of them also. He first has to work out all of his conference details and making it more difficult for him is he isn't in his office much this week.

Flights...HA! Well there is a challenge in that we WANTED to maybe leave early Saturday...however we are already committed to something called OctoBEARFest...a beerfest at the local zoo...for which we just bought tickets...MONDAY. SIGH. So finding flights to take place after that or early enough Sunday morning for DH to get to the conference...a challenge. I'll most likely not be flying on the same flight as him down...and maybe back too. We will see. This might be my very first time to fly that airline that rhymed with "hear it".

So yeah I did some looking around last night but I'll have to dig into things again tonight and see what I can come up with for us. We will probably try to do a night at HHN now as well. Other than that, I need to figure out how to fill my days while there. MAYBE a Disney park? Maybe I'll just ride the new Skyliner around for a while?

 

[camper06]

Love a last minute trip!

Does the conference he is going to have rooms blocked off for attendees? Maybe you/he can score a room that way?

Good luck with the planning - I am sure you will pull it all together!

By the way, do you have any recommendations for a place to rent a car? We are going down in October and the prices seem so high right now of the ones I've looked at. Thanks!

 

[kittylady1972]

Love a last minute trip!

Does the conference he is going to have rooms blocked off for attendees? Maybe you/he can score a room that way?

Good luck with the planning - I am sure you will pull it all together!

By the way, do you have any recommendations for a place to rent a car? We are going down in October and the prices seem so high right now of the ones I've looked at. Thanks!

There are some blocked rooms but they are still too expensive. We are exploring options though.

I usually rent my cars through either Dollar/Thrifty or Alamo. I've found they usually have the best rates. Join their loyalty programs...and most importantly KEEP CHECKING. You can book a rental car with no penalty if you don't show up or if you cancel for a better rather there or elsewhere. So I tend to book...and then continue to stalk up until before my trip because rental cars rates fluctuate a LOT!

 

[kittylady1972]

So I am still in a slight holding pattern on booking this trip. DH still needs to verify that he should go but after reading about the conference...it is certainly up his alley and I'm pretty sure they will still send him. I've mentioned my thoughts on flights for him and I'll most likely be taking a different flight.

One thing he has already mentioned that we ARE doing: a meal at JIKO. Ok then.

The other thing we've talked about...visiting Galaxy's Edge at HS. We will NEED to book a room that allows us to use EMH because my plan (for now) is to arrive well before 6am, take advantage of the EMH at HS, do as much as we can in a few hours, then DH will leave to go to his conference and I'll spend the rest of my day either at HS or at Food and Wine at EPCOT. Alone but that's okay. I can handle it. PLUS I mentioned that EPCOT will have it's new night show going during our time there...so of course that is a MUST for me as well.

Once DH gets the final go ahead then I'll start booking some of my stuff as well. Part of me says I don't really NEED to go...and then part of me says "why not?" so guess which part is winning?

 

[camper06]

There are some blocked rooms but they are still too expensive. We are exploring options though.

I usually rent my cars through either Dollar/Thrifty or Alamo. I've found they usually have the best rates. Join their loyalty programs...and most importantly KEEP CHECKING. You can book a rental car with no penalty if you don't show up or if you cancel for a better rather there or elsewhere. So I tend to book...and then continue to stalk up until before my trip because rental cars rates fluctuate a LOT!

Thanks for the info! And good luck with the planning!

 

[kittylady1972]

So I'm in the process of trying to sell/give away our event tickets for OktoBEARfest now. While it is a fun event, DH doesn't see the point of enjoying himself completely there and then having to get on a plane. He would rather fly to Florida on that Saturday (morning or afternoon) and spend our time there. Maybe Food and Wine? It is the only day we'll have together where he won't be tied up with conference stuff.

He still needs to get his conference stuff worked out as that is the only thing holding me back from full on planning out this trip. I've got lots of ideas...but can't execute them quite yet. However here are my thoughts so far on a tentative plan:

SAT: Fly out either early morning or afternoon, most likely on different flights. I have my own rental car and he may very well also have his own. Afternoon/evening maybe at Food and Wine Festival. Even though my rule is to avoid EPCOT on weekends during F&W, this may be our only chance to go together.

SUN: DH will have conference stuff to do. I am on my own. I may try to pick up a volunteer shift at GKTW this day, then maybe spend some time at Disney Springs OR maybe even take a short trip over to Universal just to hang out for a while, since I do have an annual pass there.

MON: Maybe more GKTW for me morning/afternoon and maybe some pool time. We'll meet up for dinner that evening and then maybe HHN that night!

TUE: GKTW shift; Universal Studios for a bit; evening dinner with DH

WED: EEMH at HS for both of us, arriving close to 5:30am for the 6am entry. We'll spend a few hours there, then he will head back for conference stuff and I'll explore more on my own...and maybe head over to EPCOT for a bit. Hopefully DH can return with me for a few hours that evening at EPCOT.

THU: GKTW shift; Disney Springs; flight back home

This is VERY tentative and just my current thoughts. I'll most likely get a 2 or 3-day park ticket for myself, probably 2-day for DH and that will determine our plans.

 

[kittylady1972]

Day 3: EVENING

I thought I'd finish off at least my DAY 3 report with what we did after dinner. I don't know what the rest of the family did, since we dropped them back off at the treehouse and then headed out. We had the 8pm-10pm shift at GKTW working the evening delivery shift.

We actually left early with a bit of time to kill and right before GKTW is a WalMart store. We decided to drop in there first and just browse the Disney merchandise there for a little bit. Not finding anything we had to have, we then headed out to GKTW.

This would be our 4th shift at GKTW, but a new one to us. We have worked the attractions there (so fun) as well as two morning shifts at the cafeteria bussing tables, carrying trays, etc. but this shift was most exciting for my DD16 because she would have the chance to drive around in a golf cart.

Yeah...she has her license and drives a REAL car all the time now...and having a license is required to work this shift.

Now previously we've had some great trainers for our shifts. This time around...not so much. First it took us a while to locate where we even had to be, but we did eventually find it. It is a small room that holds a few ordering screens, phones and a refrigerator for drinks. The evening is spent doing one of several things: answering phones and taking orders, submitting the orders to the kitchen, pulling the drinks to go with the food orders, pulling the food orders together, and then driving out via golf cart to deliver the food. Food choices are pizza or a few hot food items. Having never done anything with an ordering screen I mostly watched the people who have done this shift before and just followed their lead. Sounds easy enough...except it wasn't when people asked for things we didn't have, then I had to make changes, and then...yeah it got crazy.

Oh and the trainer for this shift bascially told us a few things about the golf cart, took DD16 out just to see how she would do, and then left...with very little instruction. This would end up being the CRAZIEST two hours we have ever volunteered for, with mostly DD doing the golf cart driving and me working phones, pulling orders, etc but that two hours went by quickly...and we were done afterwards for sure.

Gofl cart:


I managed to ride with her for one of the last deliveries of the night since it ended up being a HUGE order though.





Now this shift didn't give me, at least, much of a chance to really connect with the guests since I was mostly behind the scenes. DD had the opportunity to connect with people as she delivered their orders though. Overall I think this was one of the most exciting shifts we have had that kept us busy...though bussing tables during Easter weekend wasn't exactly slow. I would love to have this shift on a less busy day though just for comparison. I think they do deliveries on a regular basis.

I'm not sure what shifts I'll sign up for next time around. I don't think this one is an option for the time I'll be there as of now. You never know though.

We finished our shift then drove back home to our treehouse where everybody was already asleep. We would get the chance to sleep in the next morning at least.

 

[kittylady1972]

So it's somewhat official now...we have a room booked for Florida for next month. Shades of Green opened up for the first time last week for all week...and I snagged a room there. I really love staying there as it's so close to the Polynesian and makes it easy to get around to the parks. The shuttles there are really great too. Food is reasonable and DH is looking forward to spending some time at Evergreens. We'll need to find someplace to watch football on Sunday too.

Rental car has been rebooked for new dates and I have two people interested in our OktoBEARfest tickets which we need to sell.

I need to figure out flights. Pretty sure I'm going to fly that airline that won't be named but rhymes with hear it. This will be my first experience with them. I may try to take a carry on so I'm looking for a bag that will work for me. I may need to take a trip to the airport to try out a few bags because if mine don't work I found one last night that I might buy. This will be a good lesson for me to truly pack lightly which I am not good at at all.

Everything else will be worked out in time but at least I have a little more of a plan. And I can book some rides if and when I purchase my passes which I still need to do.

 

[DLo]

Hopping aboard rather late .

GKTW - I have volunteered twice before . Both times in the cafeteria- once bussing tables and the other helping carry trays to tables . I’m Nov . , I have on shift that sounds like I will be packing the food you delivered ( Katie’s kitchen 8-10 pm ) and another as castle attendant ( in the morning ) . Have you done either of those ? Originally , the first one I was assigned shuttle driver at night . I need glasses to drive at night and I have no idea where anything is besides where you sign in and the cafeteria so asked to be switched .

To lazy to go back and quote . Dinner at Toledo looked great . Discovery Cove is something I want to go to eventually- I think DH would like it . I am going to Universal in Nov ( with one night at Disney for MVMCP ) and hope to ride Hagrids. ( fingers crossed )

 

[suse66]

So bottom line is...everything we had was good. The views were fantastic. We would LOVE to return and we've all agreed it is on our future restaurant agenda for sure.

Looks like a fantastic meal!

The bigger question is this: do I spring for some Disney tickets while there...since after all he'll be attending a conference all day anyway...and I need to keep myself entertained right?

Definitely!

On the somewhat positive side...we aren't quite within the 30 day FP window so if I decide to do a park I have a day or two to get tickets and book some FPs maybe. It's likely we'll have to stay offsite somewhere, but just not sure where yet.

So exciting!

The other thing we've talked about...visiting Galaxy's Edge at HS. We will NEED to book a room that allows us to use EMH because my plan (for now) is to arrive well before 6am, take advantage of the EMH at HS, do as much as we can in a few hours, then DH will leave to go to his conference and I'll spend the rest of my day either at HS or at Food and Wine at EPCOT. Alone but that's okay. I can handle it. PLUS I mentioned that EPCOT will have it's new night show going during our time there...so of course that is a MUST for me as well.

Once DH gets the final go ahead then I'll start booking some of my stuff as well. Part of me says I don't really NEED to go...and then part of me says "why not?" so guess which part is winning?

The why not part!

This is VERY tentative and just my current thoughts. I'll most likely get a 2 or 3-day park ticket for myself, probably 2-day for DH and that will determine our plans.

Good idea....

Now previously we've had some great trainers for our shifts. This time around...not so much. First it took us a while to locate where we even had to be, but we did eventually find it. It is a small room that holds a few ordering screens, phones and a refrigerator for drinks. The evening is spent doing one of several things: answering phones and taking orders, submitting the orders to the kitchen, pulling the drinks to go with the food orders, pulling the food orders together, and then driving out via golf cart to deliver the food. Food choices are pizza or a few hot food items. Having never done anything with an ordering screen I mostly watched the people who have done this shift before and just followed their lead. Sounds easy enough...except it wasn't when people asked for things we didn't have, then I had to make changes, and then...yeah it got crazy.

I love that you volunteer during your trips.

So it's somewhat official now...we have a room booked for Florida for next month. Shades of Green opened up for the first time last week for all week...and I snagged a room there. I really love staying there as it's so close to the Polynesian and makes it easy to get around to the parks. The shuttles there are really great too. Food is reasonable and DH is looking forward to spending some time at Evergreens. We'll need to find someplace to watch football on Sunday too.

Yay!!!!

 

[kittylady1972]

Hopping aboard rather late .

GKTW - I have volunteered twice before . Both times in the cafeteria- once bussing tables and the other helping carry trays to tables . I’m Nov . , I have on shift that sounds like I will be packing the food you delivered ( Katie’s kitchen 8-10 pm ) and another as castle attendant ( in the morning ) . Have you done either of those ? Originally , the first one I was assigned shuttle driver at night . I need glasses to drive at night and I have no idea where anything is besides where you sign in and the cafeteria so asked to be switched .

To lazy to go back and quote . Dinner at Toledo looked great . Discovery Cove is something I want to go to eventually- I think DH would like it . I am going to Universal in Nov ( with one night at Disney for MVMCP ) and hope to ride Hagrids. ( fingers crossed )

Sounds like you have done the same two GKTW Nancy's Kitchen shifts as I have...bussing tables and carrying trays. So when I did Katie's Kitchen it was the delivery part only...well actually you could either answer phones and take orders, help gather up the food, or drive the golf cart and deliver it. There was a person who packed up the hot food orders but I haven't done just that. I also haven't done Castle Attendant yet. I'm really up for trying out lots of different shifts and do enjoy my time there.

Looks like a fantastic meal!
Definitely!
So exciting!
The why not part!
Good idea....
I love that you volunteer during your trips.
Yay!!!!

Yes the meal was fantastic and don't worry...it is looking pretty likely I'll be getting some tickets and joining my husband for this trip. Just sad that he really will be tied up with conference events most of the week so I'll be on my own, but not like I can't figure out ways to keep myself occupied. Might even have plenty of time to stand in line for Hagrids for another 2-3 hours to try to ride it finally.

I really do enjoy volunteering as well. I've picked up a few tenative shifts for now but may change them as I work out a schedule once I know for sure what DH will be doing since me may try to volunteer with me at least once.

 

[kittylady1972]

Things are moving slowly on the planning front for October, but I am getting my ducks lined up. I've priced out some tickets and for now I will most likely go ahead and buy a 2-day hopper for my time there. That will give me Saturday and one other day to explore the Disney parks, leaving me 4 other days to find something else to do. I can always add a day while I'm there if I think I need another one of course.

Rental car is confirmed, though I'll continue to look to reduce that rate a little bit. It is okay...but I'd like to do better.

HHN tickets can be purchased at SOG for either of the 2 nights that I think we will attend, so we will wait to see what the weather is like before selecting those.

Flights...yes I'm getting a little bit creative on those in order to maximize my time there. We are thinking of returning late on Thursday now...but the cheapest flights on the airline I planned to book are all earlier flights or require a long layover in Charlotte...like overnight. Now part of me was considering having my brother pick me up at the CLT airport Thursday, take me to his house, then bring me back Friday morning just so I could get in a visit there, but not sure I want to put him through all of that. So now it looks like I may book 2 different one-way flights home on Thursday that will save me a little bit of money.

Anyway hopefully DH is able to get his travel plans a little more solidified this week, but I still may go ahead and book a few of my flights very soon.

And on another note, I got a text from the daughter of a friend of mine asking about a fundraiser for her school to raise money so they can go sing at the Candlelight Processional. What? My friend told me her daughter had some trip to Disney to sing but she wasn't sure in what event. This is HUGE...I'd love to go down just to see that as the CP is so lovely. Wonder if I can convince my friend to do a girls trip down with me to see that? Crazy right?

 

[kittylady1972]

So it's more "official" now...flights have been BOOKED! I actually had DH drive me to the airport last night and drop me off near the Spirit check-in area. I had read that if you book your tickets in person you can save some money so I was curious to give it a try. It was after 7:30pm so nobody was around, I walked right up to the agent, she pulled up the flight I wanted and booked it, and my savings was just over $20 for the flight...not bad for a flight that would have cost me $77 and now cost me $53. This was just one-way, so DH and I will be on different flights on different airlines on the way down, both scheduled to leave around the same time (6am).

For the return trip I realized that for a little more than my plan to book two different hops on the way home I could just book SWA and I had enough points to cover my flight. DH has more points though...and has a lot of upcoming work travel so chances to earn more points coming up. He was willing to book my return flight for me, and while I requested a flight that would leave before his but had a connection that would put me home a bit later than him, he booked me instead on the same flight as him for about 4K more points. So we will get to travel home together I guess.

I also rebooked my rental car last night, saving an additional $20 on that. Every little bit saved is a little bit more for me to spend elsewhere.

Now I just have to determine the park tickets to buy next.

 

[kittylady1972]

And just like that...there's another trip in the works for this year. It is like the universe WANTS me to go to Disney more often.

So this one will be a very short trip...in December...2 nights at the most. And for what reason? Well I think I mentioned before that a good friend's daughter's school is singing in the Candlelight Processional for one night in December. The narrator is Neil Patrick Harris. My friend clearly had NO idea how big of a deal this was, when this school from Maryland sent in an audition tape to be part of this event. Even my husband, upon learning the news, didn't even blink when he realized I wanted to go with my friend and help plan out the trip. We have added a 3rd person so far to the trip also. So 3 girls on a short trip for the sole purpose of seeing a CP performance. My friend with the daughter is totally on board, and DH will be out of town on a business trip elsewhere so he isn't able to go anyway.

This trip right now is in the very early planing stages, just stalking some flight options and room options. The room options are very very slim right now, so I'm hopeful that SOG will open up for our dates at some point as right now it is all booked for that timeframe.

And speaking of flights, wouldn't you know it my flight in 4 weeks on Spirit actually DROPPED another 20 over the weekend. So instead of $53 I could have spent about $33 on that one-way flight. Oh well...I'll hope to get some discounts on some of the other parts of my trip, like the rental car.

Anyway our weekend was jam packed full of activities so I haven't been able to update here. Between binge watching Unbelievable on Netflix, spending all day at Hershey Park on Saturday followed by the evening at a local craft brewery near there, to watching the Ravens lose their game in spectacular form yesterday and then spending time planning out DHs 50th birthday Alaska Cruise next summer, I just had no time to do much of anything this weekend. I'm behind on chores and am schedule to play tennis for 3 hours tonight so I'm not sure when I'll get around to doing things.