From Newsgroup: rec.arts.disney.parks

DAY 1 rCo Monday 10/24/22
Who: Sue (63), DVC Member
SB (65), my husband

Plan: Drive to OKW, Epcot, Billy Ocean
Actual: Our bad luck with guests this trip continues. Last night Tiana texted to say sherCOd felt sick yesterday and has covid. Jonell is starting to feel sick but was still negative (for now) as of Sunday. So, theyrCOre not coming. SB had bought alcohol & mixers he was planning to bring for him & Jonell. IrCOd bought snack stuff (cheese/charcuterie) and planned to bring a bottle of sweet white wine (Tiana likes sweet). With them not coming SB will switch over to bringing beer, I swapped out the wine, and werCOll bring the snack stuff in case we want to eat it. WerCOll have plenty of room to spread out in the villa, and most significantly we wonrCOt have to share a bathroom!
Today I went into work for the morning. With the villa not likely to be ready until mid or late afternoon it didnrCOt make sense to arrive too early. When I did online check in I stated an arrival time of 1pm, although we wouldnrCOt actually arrive until at least 2. Around 1 I got a room not ready notification, then again just before 2 another notification saying it wasnrCOt quite ready yet. We pulled into Old Key West and the parking lots were full rCo luckily we saw one of the 30-minute spaces was empty and pulled in there. I didnrCOt know that werCOd be out of there in 30 minutes and frankly didnrCOt care. If my room had been ready I wouldnrCOt have even had to be there in the parking lot.
We decided to stop by the lobby to see if by chance there was a 2br villa that was already ready, and walked in to find a ridiculous mess! There was a long line of guests snaked around, and 2 cast members working. One was helping the same party almost the entire time rCo not sure what that was about. The lobby does look nice, but it clearly calls for fewer cast members working. Eventually a couple more came out from the back room and things started moving.
My cast member was a very nice, clean-cut young man. There werenrCOt any other villas ready but he searched and found me one that was rCLfurther alongrCY in the cleaning process. He told me IrCOd be in building 20 rather than 17, which was fine with me. I only wanted to NOT be on the ground floor and not in a handicapped unit. We decided to go have a drink at Gurgling Suitcase, hoping werCOd get the notification while there that the villa was ready (ha ha).
As we walked into the bar the seats were all occupied except one on the end, and next to that seat was dvc member Marcia Gloppe. Hubby Bob was there too. She saw me and yelled out rCLSue HollandrCY rCo we go back a ways, lol. It was nice running into her and chatting for a while. She tried one of the 3 special Halloween cocktails and really liked it. I got the Turtle Crawl, since that was the signature drink of this resort back from the beginning. SB got a beer rCo not sure why. When he tried my drink he really liked it so after his beer he ordered a Turtle Crawl.
We kept checking for the room to be ready, but of course nothing was happening. Finally a little after 3 we gave up and drove over to Boardwalk. The guard waved us in and we parked rCo parking here was more plentiful than at Old Key West! As we came out on the other side of the resort the boat was there so we rode over to Epcot.
Entering the park was quick & easy, and we turned left as we came up the hill at International Gateway. It was pretty warm in the sun rCo enough to cause sweating. In the shade though it was beautiful rCo and later on as the sun got lower it was really nice out!
SB was hungry, so we stopped in Canada and shared the filet mignon and the cheese soup with pretzel roll. Both were very good, as usual. World Showcase was very busy for a Monday afternoon, but surprisingly almost every Food & Wine booth had little to no line. The exception was Germany rCo that was insane! Shockingly Mexico & China only had a few people in line. By 6pm lines were getting a bit longer, but still not terrible.
After eating in Canada we continued on, stopping in Australia this time. SB got a double portion of the shrimp there and said it was very good. Continuing on to Mexico the margarita standrCOs line extended outside of the queue so he went into the cantina to get a margarita and also got a taco meal. I tried a bite of a taco but didnrCOt really care for it.
Just past China was India, where I got the chicken tika masala and a glass of the Sula chenin blanc. SB tried the chicken and really liked it rCo it was pretty spicy but very good, and a big portion. I just wish the naan bread was soft and warm rCo it was almost crunchy, which is weird. I think at this point we were both full so we continued to America and saw the theater was almost full already! It was just about 4:45 and the first Billy Ocean show was at 5:30 so we went inside and got seats.
As always, he put on a good show, and seems like a very nice man. The crowd loved it, and the guy sitting next to me had no idea about the concert until he saw the sign earlier today rCo he was thrilled to get to see Billy. Oh, the room ready text came around 4:25. So much for finding me one rCLfurther along in the cleaning processrCY at 2pm.
WerCOd decided to pick up a couple desserts after the concert and head back to the resort, and the 2 we chose were Lamington from Australia and the apple crumble tart from Appleseed Orchard (Canada). Leaving the theater we turned left to pass both of those locations. We got the Lamington and both tried it rCo it was good but not something either of us felt was something to be repeated.
SB waited for me while I went down to get the apple thing, and when I came back up and gave him a bite he thought it was dry. ThatrCOs good rCo more for me <g>. I tried a bite and thought it was fine, but took it back to the villa since I wasnrCOt hungry at this point.
SB asked if IrCOd get the car and pick him up, so I did that and picked him up at the top of the hill outside Boardwalk. We were back at Old Key West by 7 and got moved into the villa. The villas here are very spacious, and look nice. If I was spending time here and my plans were just spending time by the pool and going to the occasional bar or restaurant it would be a great choice. But, for going to the parks this resort is not where I want to be. That said, werCOll make the best of it rCo itrCOs only 4 nights.
Tomorrow werCOre going to head to Epcot early, so werCOll give the bus a try. Hopefully werCOll have time at the pool then decide whether to return for more Food & Wine or do something else.
Sue/WDW1972
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