Flowers & Gardens for Everyone - a WDW Trip Report

Hi ho, everyone. I just got back yesterday evening from a long weekend in the World. Other than the rain when I arrived (which tapered off in a couple of hours), the weather this trip was probably the best I've ever experienced - sunny, upper 70's to low 80's, and (here's the biggie) LOW HUMIDITY! You could stand in the shade at 2pm and enjoy a nice cool breeze. It really made a difference.

Unfortunately the crowds were MUCH larger than I had anticipated. I think even Disney was caught by surprise - they thought the crowds would be gone by Monday, but it was still wall to wall people by Tuesday afternoon. They even used the DAK park-wide PA system (something they never ever do unless there's a hurricane or a child is lost) to announce that the park was closing at 7pm instead of the published 6pm. But of course your humble park stormer is no stranger to manipulating the situation to his benefit, and I still managed to ride via FP+ or save the people eaters like the Carousel of Progress or the PeopleMover for afternoon hours.

A word about me (once again totally skippable). I think I'm finally going to have to admit that I can't continue to tour like I've been doing. Whether it's age or weight or a combination of the two, I was really fighting my own bod at times, and struggling to get done what I wanted to get done. My damaged foot (the result of an old broken leg that never healed right) was a large part of the problem. On my arrival night I drank it up royally at the Rose & Crown, watched IllumiNations, and then did my traditional walk around the World Showcase Lagoon. I had no problems doing this, but I had HUGE problems the next day, as my poor foot was locked up and painful, and my energy level was just way too low. The same thing happened after I did the Epcot thing again a couple days later on Monday night. I had booked my flight out of Orlando for Tuesday at 7pm, so I didn't have to leave for the airport till around 4pm or so. Some of that time I was just a zombie, shuffling around and trying to stay awake while I battled the huge crowds. It just wasn't fun at times, and I need to adjust that on my next visit. My first option would be to continue to lose weight - a drop of 20 pounds or so would make a gigantic difference in my ability to park storm. Or maybe I need to schedule slightly longer visits, with more recovery time built in. Ah well, gives me something to think about between now and the end of September.

Enough of that. Departure from DFW was around 9am Saturday morning. Breakfast at the airport was steak & eggs (I think I had 5 or 6 different steak meals this trip!). A cheap upgrade and I was flying first class - always nice! I used a new (or new to me) car rental company - E-Z. They had the best price, and the only slightly bad thing about them was that they were located down at the end of the parking garage. So with a little extra walking I scored a great price on a Kia Soul (their version of the SUV) - a very nice car. And now I'm off to the World, heading for the Coronado Springs Resort and Epcot!