Summer at Saratoga Springs

Day 8 - Departure day

Our original plans were to spend a little time Saturday morning at DHS so we could ride Toy Story Mania one more time and hubby could ride Tower of Terror. We even had FastPasses. But even before our late Friday night at the movies and Raglan Road, we had decided we'd rather take it easy, sleep in a bit, and have a leisurely day around Downtown Disney before catching the Magical Express at 1:30 that afternoon. At least, we intended to sleep in, but I woke up around 8:00 and after lying in bed half-awake and half-asleep for a while finally got up for good around 9:00. We packed our last-minute things, got the few dishes we used into the dishwasher and turned it on, left our large suitcases with the airline check-in people and our backpacks with bell services, and checked out around 10:00. And now we had over three hours to do whatever we wanted, so since we were fairly close to the resort boat dock we decided to hop onto the first boat to Treehouse Villas to check them out. And those villas look awesome, at least based on what we could see from outside. The whole area is thick with trees and there's a very different atmosphere than at most Disney resorts we've visited, almost more like a campground. I'm sure the villas require a lot of DVC points, what with having three bedrooms, but even so I would love to stay there someday. Maybe if we buy more points (assuming we even get the ones that are going through right of first refusal), sometime when my sister and her family come along we could try to get in there.

Once we'd prowled a bit we took the next resort boat to Downtown Disney by way of Saratoga Springs (the boat stopped there but we didn't get off) and caught a water taxi over to the Marketplace area. We got our last WDW lunch of the trip at, you guessed it, Earl of Sandwich, both of us getting hubby's favorite, the chicken chipotle avocado (mine without the cheese). We had talked about catching the Port Orleans boat and checking out those resorts, which we've never visited and I'd only seen for the first time this trip riding past in Disney buses, but by the time we'd made it through the long EOS line and finished our lunch, there wasn't enough time. Instead we walked over to the Ghirardelli shop to buy some chocolate and then happened upon two of the new food trucks while searching for the restrooms.

And then it was time to get our butts back to Saratoga Springs to catch the Magical Express. We barely made the "at least 15 minutes before your departure time" window, not that it was an issue since the bus didn't arrive until the exact time it was supposed to arrive. Our trip home was uneventful aside from some minor turbulence when we crossed the cold front that was bringing storms to much of the East Coast last Saturday - well, that and the whiny toddler across the aisle, I think I mentioned her elsewhere? It wasn't until we reached the long-term parking lot that I realized...it's not hot and sticky! It's actually cool outside. Oh, joy! And it's been like that ever since - highs mostly in the low to mid-70s, lows mostly in the low to mid-50s, and not a drop of rain - absolutely perfect not-quite-autumn weather. And then a couple of hours later, we were home and being eagerly greeted by our eight cats. Funny thing is, Saturday morning I didn't want to leave WDW, but once I was back with my kitties I was happy to be home.

The photos below are of Treetops Villas and the two food trucks we spotted at DTD.

And that's the story of our September stay at Saratoga Springs. Next up, Animal Kingdom Lodge in November!

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Thanks, folks, I'm glad you enjoyed the trip report.

I actually had "Boat to Port Orleans" in my trip plans (okay, it actually read, "Boat to Port Orleans French Quarter to get beignets"), but it never worked out. We'd run to a park in the morning, retreat to Saratoga Springs once the heat got really nasty, and then run back out to a park once the sun got low and the heat became bearable again. So the only good time to visit the Port Orleanses was during the afternoon, and no way I was hopping a boat and wandering around a resort in the afternoon heat. Maybe during our fall or winter trip. A bus to Port Orleans would be a good way to get from a park to Downtown Disney, and hubby loves taking the boats anywhere. (Of course, taking the Saratoga Springs bus, getting off at the Congress Park stop, and just walking to DTD would be the fastest way - but not as much fun.)

I also had "Visit the DTD food trucks" in my trip plans, but as you can see I only got photos. We just never felt the urge to go searching for them when Earl of Sandwich was so conveniently located near our rooms.

Hubby got a chocolate martini when he went without me last year. I don't recall whether or not he liked it, but based on the description in the drinks menu, it doesn't really appeal to me. Now, spike some hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps and that is a whole different story - yum! And this is just me ranting away, so feel free to ignore, but I don't think you should be able to call any old concoction a martini just because you happen to pour it into a martini glass. It should have at least some of the ingredients in a proper martini, and that means gin and/or vermouth. End rant.

Sadly, no, the folks at Earl of Sandwich did not start to recognize us. Perhaps if we'd eaten there at the same time of day all week long, but we stopped in anywhere from before noon to after 6:00 p.m. as well as varying times in the afternoon, so we probably didn't encounter the same employees every visit. It would be cool, though, if we could walk in and they'd say, "Hello, crazycatperson! Getting your regular order today or trying something different?" Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came....