Day 1 - Arrival Day. The weather was perfect and traffic very light, so we made it to Baltimore in good time. We were amazed at how low the crowds were at the airport; baggage check and security took almost no time at all. At baggage check, an employee asked if we were going to WDW for ourselves or "for the kids." We said for us, of course, and I added, "Do you see any kids?" He was one of those people who don't get it - said he'd been once years ago and that was enough for him. At security, I got lucky; I was pulled from the regular line and given the TSA equivalent of a FastPass, allowed to skip the hassle of removing stuff from my carry-on, taking off my shoes, etc. This was especially convenient since I'd brought our laptop along, and repacking it in my backpack along with sundry items like underwear might have been a tad embarrassing. Hubby, unfortunately, was not so lucky, so I had to wait while he did the whole shoes and small bag of liquids check.
Once past security, we found our gate and then went looking for lunch. A Chipotle recently opened close to home, the first in our area, so when we noticed there was one among the several fast-food choices at the airport, there was no question where we would get lunch. Hubby got his favorite, a chicken burrito with loads of toppings, while I got mine, chicken tacos with just mild salsa and lettuce. By the time we'd finished eating, we realized we only had 15 minutes until boarding for our flight was due to begin. There were no adjoining vacant seats left near our gate, and since we were in the "A" boarding group, we figured we might as well just stand in our place in the boarding line. (For those who've never flown with Southwest, they don't assign seats, but you can pay a little extra for online check-in 24 hours before your flight, and the sooner you check in, the earlier you get to board.) As it turned out, though, our flight was delayed a bit and we didn't board until after the plane was supposed to have taken off, so we ended up standing in line rather longer than we'd anticipated. The flight itself was mostly smooth and completely uneventful, and the pilot put the pedal to the metal, so to speak, and got us to Orlando close to on time in spite of our late start.
We got our first taste of Florida summer weather upon landing. By the time we arrived at the Magical Express, the daily afternoon thunderstorm had started, and we drove to WDW with sheets of water cascading from the roof of the bus. Our bus was scheduled to stop at Old Key West, both Port Orleans resorts, and our resort, Saratoga Springs, and I was torn between hoping we'd be one of the earlier stops and wanting to check out POR and POFQ in person for the first time. Well, I got the first wish - we went to Saratoga Springs after OKW - so we'll have to check out the Port Orleanses some other time. The rain was still pouring after we checked in. I suggested waiting in the lobby for the rain to subside, but hubby wanted to catch a bus and get to our unit ASAP. Well, no problem for me - I had an umbrella - but he'd put his in his checked luggage, so ONE of us got soaked. (And before anyone says I should've shared my umbrella, that would've been useless for me - he's a good foot taller than I am, so when we share an umbrella, he gets all the benefit and I get wet.)
This is my first stay at Saratoga Springs. I know some people aren't overly fond of the resort, but I share hubby's opinion from his solo stay last November. I love it. The proximity to Downtown Disney is a real benefit since construction has made getting in and out by car or bus a lot harder than it used to be. We're staying in Congress Park, so it's just a short walk to the Marketplace shops and a boat ride to the West Side. (And we have a view slightly obstructed view from our balcony, blocked a bit by the tops of some trees but still pretty awesome.) Anyway, once the rain let up, we walked to Earl of Sandwich and got dinner. I had the holiday turkey, my very first time, and I agree with those who love it. I'm very glad it's not only on the menu during the holidays anymore. Hubby got the chipotle chicken avocado, which he's had before and says is his favorite. Since we're so close, I imagine we'll eat there again before this trip is over; my short list of other sandwiches to try includes the chipotle chicken avocado and the Hawaiian barbecue. We might also try the Wolfgang Puck Express, since it's also close and so many of you recommend it.
Our plan for Saturday evening was to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios to see some of the Frozen special events. Well, by the time we'd finished dinner and caught a bus, it was 8:15 p.m. and much to our dismay, half the parks' attractions had closed for the evening! There was a Frozen dance party going on, but we weren't really interested. We'd already missed FastPasses we had for Toy Story Mania (bummer!) and Star Tours (hubby only, so not a bummer for me). We tried to get over to Toy Story Mania, but a cast member wouldn't let us, and this is when we found out TSM was closed. How about the Great Movie Ride? Also closed, he said. Well, what IS open? I asked. Not much, as it turned out. Fantasmic was about to start, and we thought perhaps we could sneak into a back row seat, but before we reached the entrance we heard an announcement saying Fantasmic was at standing room only. No, thank you - we'd just started our vacation and would have other chances to see the show. So we headed over to Tower of Terror for our last FastPass of the evening, which was actually just for hubby because I can't handle anything like that due to motion sickness issues. He reported that the FP was no use at all; the standby line was as short as the FP line was. We killed a little time before the Frozen fireworks by hitting Hollywood Scoops for some ice cream. Amazingly, it was a disappointment. We usually get the butter pecan, but this time we mixed it up and got vanilla (hubby) and strawberry (me), and neither flavor measured up to the equivalent at a dairy back home that makes its own ice cream. Next time we'll have to go back to butter pecan.
As we ate our ice cream, we saw the Fantasmic crowds exiting the amphitheater and knew it was time to find a spot to watch the Frozen fireworks. Well, we were a bit late and had to stand over by Min and Bill's with trees and umbrellas in our way. And we couldn't see the stage show live and could barely see it on one of the video screens. The fireworks were excellent, fortunately, but beyond that we thought going to DHS that late was a waste of time since all the other Frozen events were done for the day by the time we arrived.
Well, so much for that. We caught a bus back to Saratoga Springs and started to unpack and get settled in. I'd already changed from my travel clothes to my "bum around the unit" clothes when hubby suggested walking back to DTD and getting a drink. It was past 11:00 by then, and I wasn't much in the mood, but he really wanted to go, and this is our anniversary trip, so I threw my clothes back on and out we went. Most shops and such were closed by then, although we did cruise through the Ghirardelli shop and picked out what kinds of chocolate we wanted to buy later in the trip. The first watering hole we encountered was Raglan Road, so we went inside, found a table, and perused the beverage menu. Hubby started with a Scottish beer, I think it was called Innis & Gunn, and I ordered a glass of riesling. The wine was okay; I like a dry to off-dry riesling, and this one was especially sweet. Hubby's beer, on the other hand, was awesome. I'm not a beer drinker, but I had a sip of his and then had a few more. I could order a glass of this stuff for myself. Hubby also ordered the scallops "pub grub," the one where you get six nice-sized sea scallops on forks with two dipping sauces. He let me have one, and I ended up having two, they were so tasty! A Celtic band was playing, and they were really good, so pretty soon I was quite glad I'd let hubby talk me into going, and we ended up staying a while. We even made plans to go back later in the week. Once hubby finished his beer, he ordered another (and I had another sip or three) while I got a glass of water (I'm a liquor lightweight, one glass is enough for me, aside from the occasional extra sip). Halfway through beer number two, hubby decided to try some good Irish whiskey and settled on a whiskey flight, with a "regular" whiskey, a 10-year-old whiskey, and a 16-year old all from the same distillery, Bushkill. He downed the least pricey in one shot while I took a sip of the 16-year-old variety. I am not a whiskey drinker, either, but OMG this stuff was awesome. Incredibly smooth and such an amazing flavor. I told hubby not to chug this one, to sip it slow and really savor it. He did and agreed that it was amazing. I could get a glass of this, also. So, thanks to Raglan Road, a disappointing Disney evening turned into an awesome one.
Around 1:30 in the morning the band ended their set and we headed out, only to discover that we weren't allowed to walk through DTD anymore. And the resort boats had stopped running, so we had to take the long way around to Saratoga Springs. We didn't get to bed till past 2:00 a.m. and had an alarm set for 7:30 so we could make it to the Magic Kingdom as close to rope drop as possible. But heck - we can sleep at home!
Next up: MK, Kona Cafe, and more liquid sunshine.
I hope you make it to Wolfgang puck express as that was a total winner for me over EoS. What a bummer you couldn't walk back through DTD, but least you could take a nice stroll together on your anniversary 
