Saturday dawned dull and overcast. I knew the Orlando area was in for some rain, and I couldn't help but take it just a bit personally. But I got up and went through my morning routine anyway, hoping to get some good Disney time before the skies opened up. On this particular morning, I made a pretty pleasant discovery, one of those tiny details that often fall into place during a vacation to make the experience more memorable. I went down to the little gifts and sundries shop just off the hotel lobby and picked up a pastry and some chocolate milk for breakfast. The pastry turned out to be awful, but the chocolate milk, of a brand I'd never heard of before, was excellent. I grew up drinking chocolate milk for lunch every day, and a really good bottle is always a treat.
After I got out of Star Tours, I made my way back to the front of the park to hit the Great Movie Ride. As I did, the rain started, slowly at first, then building. I headed back to MuppetVision 3D afterward, but the rain continued, and when I got out of MuppetVision, it was raining pretty hard. Still hoping for a reprieve, I bought one of those omnipresent Mickey Mouse rain slickers, and started wandering the various shopping districts in the park. But the rain just wasn't letting up.
I eventually found myself near the Backlot Caterers, and since I was hungry, I decided to get myself a late lunch. My burger and fries were as good as ever, but I found myself shivering in my summer clothes, so after I finished eating, I left the park and went back to my hotel, where I changed into long pants and a sweatshirt before setting forth once more.
One of my favorite activities at Walt Disney World is resort hopping. This is when you visit the various resorts and explore their lobbies, grounds, gift shops, and restaurants. My destination this day was Disney's Yacht & Beach Club resorts, and later the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin. I usually take the wonderful boat from International Gateway to get to these resorts, but today I was in the mood to walk a little, so I walked the entire distance around Crescent Lake, from Epcot to Disney's Boardwalk, stopping to explore the 4 resorts on the way. The whole trip took a couple of hours, and when I got to the Boardwalk, I was a little tired but feeling more in the Disney spirit now that the rain was gone. I was still a bit apprehensive about the weather, though, because the sky was still gray and foreboding.
Disney's Boardwalk is a wonderful place, although I do wish it were a little larger and had a few more things to do. Since the rain had ended, several of the cart vendors scattered about the boards were open for business. I saw one that I particularly wanted to patronize: the caricature artist.
I have a collection of caricatures of myself going back to 1989, but to make them a little more interesting, I always have the artist draw me in some character. The first drawing was done on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland during the summer of 1989, which is when the first Batman film was released, so I had the guy draw me as Batman. In following years, I have been drawn as The Terminator, Indiana Jones, and Star Trek: The Next Generation's Commander Riker (his name is Will, after all). Today, I wanted something Disney-esque, and I had just the thing in mind.
Those familiar with Disney-MGM studios have probably taken the animation tour, in which Robin Williams, with park guests in tow, is given an overview of how Disney creates an animated feature film. In the beginning of the tour, Robin is seen wearing a very loud tropical shirt and a Goofy hat. What could be better? I had the artist draw me in that outfit; she thought it was charming and did a great job.
I took the boat back to International Gateway, enjoying the ride and the magnificent view of the various resorts reflected on the surface of Crescent Lake, and made my way back to Future World. Disney had opened a new attraction since my last visit, Test Track, which I had been eagerly awaiting for about three years. It had been, in fact, opened over a year late. I hadn't bothered trying it out earlier in the day because the line was over an hour. But I figured that at 8:00, so close to Illuminations, the line would be shorter. Wrong! The wait was listed as 95 minutes, and a Cast Member I spoke to outside said that the wait was, indeed, over an hour still. Disappointed, I kept on going for the front of the park.
The rain had dampened my usually perky Disney spirits, and I was beginning to get a little tired (probably from not seeing the sun all day), so I decided to pack it in and head back to the hotel. When I arrived, I found that I was hungry, so I walked over to the Crossroads and picked up a Quarter-Pounder with cheese from McDonalds, then walked back and watched a little TV before hitting the sack. Some people think of watching TV while on vacation as a waste of valuable time, but for me it's a form of relaxation, and vacations are all about relaxing!
I noted a news story that Church Street Station, an entertainment and shopping complex in Orlando that I had visited in the past, had been sold to a British firm. I noted it mainly because it's previous owner, unbeknownst to me, had been Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE), the big power company from my own home town! I even have relatives who work for BGE, and I never knew that the company had been the owner of Church Street Station for several years.
Most notably on the evening news was the weather report, which forecasted clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s and 80s for the rest of the week. The cynic in me said "Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it!", but I tried to stay hopeful. I was asleep by 11:45pm.
Walk miles: 14.2
Drive miles: 52