Saturday, October 17th:
Despite being up late from the party, we dragged our weary selves out of bed fairly early to allow us lots of time to finalize the packing. It was fairly easy to complete with the exception of those marvellous minions who just would not, could not fit in the suitcases regardless of how we stuffed, squeezed or re-organized
.
We finally opted to waive the white flag and decided to stop trying. The Pirate Minion fit into one of the carry-ons (with some small items stowed in the tiny bit of space left around his legs and the top of his head) but Banana Kevin, Tim and Tie Dye Stuart would have to be bagged separately for the journey home. We grabbed quick showers, enjoyed a speedy cup of coffee, and locked up the suitcases before loading everything in the rental. The Minion Trio rode comfortably in the back seat while we headed to the Welcome Center.
We had hoped that they might have a large clear recycling bag that we could secure the remaining three minions in, but alas, they had nothing readily available that would work. We did, however, give them their laugh for the day at our packing “mayhem”. Even I had to admit that the situation was a little funny
.
Publix didn’t end up having anything that would work for us either, but by a stroke of good luck, we managed to find super big garbage bags at the Dollar Tree across from the Vistana. Without many other options, we purchased a small box of them and a roll of packing tape to keep everything held together. Certainly not the most elegant way to be whisked back to Canada, but hey…..it was better than nothing. With the minions prepped for the journey home (albeit in a rather rudimentary fashion), we headed in search of a hearty breakfast. Steve, by now, was starving so I let him pick where we would dine. Not surprisingly, we ended up here:
This location was the one in the former Wood Grill Buffet suite, near the Sheraton Vistana Villages. Some of the Golden Corrals are really quite chaotic and showing their wear, but this one is sooo clean, bright, and “new” feeling. It also didn’t suffer from the guest pandemonium that afflict many of the others, so we got to enjoy their fantastic selection in peace and quiet…..a perfect ending for our trip
.
Everything was hot and fresh and very well stocked. They have so many options, though, I always find it hard to narrow down what to eat, especially at breakfast. I really don’t have the stomach capacity first thing in the morning to do that buffet justice.
Steve, on the other hand, has a stomach of iron and managed to enjoy all the finer aspects of the meat offerings, including fried chicken
. Yes, for breakfast
.
Despite the early hour, the infamous Chocolate Wonderfall was already operational for anyone who wished to partake in a chocolatey-sweet ending to their morning meal. Both of us took a pass….we would be on a plane later today, and I surely didn’t want THAT coming back to haunt me en route back to Buffalo!!
Our server was excellent throughout the meal. The total bill, with tax, came to $18.94 including beverages. We left a nice tip and rolled ourselves out to the car.
After a meal like that, we needed to get out in that beautiful Florida sun and get some much-needed exercise. We didn’t have to have the car back to Alamo until 3 pm, so we had lots of time to enjoy a couple of last-minute attractions before our day was done. Surprisingly, we were sad that the trip was over but the nasty case of the blues that normally hits me was staying reasonably well controlled. The fact that we would return in just two short months was definitely helping me cope on the much-dreaded departure day.
Also helping keep the blues at bay was the fact that we had things planned to pass the time between now and the journey to the airport, so we weren’t sitting and clock-watching or debating what to do. Just before the trip, we had secured a Groupon for mini golf and gator feeding for two at my beloved Congo River (after a couple of added discounts, credits, and our ebates cash back, it cost us less than a dollar out of pocket!) so that’s where we headed after Golden Corral.
There are multiple locations in the area, but we chose the one on I-Drive near Universal:
The weather was simply perfect that morning: warm, sunny, breezy, gorgeous
. What an awesome day to spend mini golfing!
Surprisingly, aside from one other couple, we were the only ones on the course. It was simply awesome to have the whole place virtually to ourselves…..like a private rental, without the private price!
Those of you who have read my previous reports know it’s no secret that this is my favourite course in all of Orlando. I adore the theming, the lushness, the music, and the courses are just challenging enough to be fun without being so challenging that I want to beat my head in with the club. And to top it all off, they have gators
……so in my world, it just doesn’t get much more perfect than that.
I love, love all the little thematic touches. If you take time to notice them all, it’s really quite impressive!
While I’ve never been a great mini golfer, I am definitely getting better with practice. At the 17th hole, I was just one stroke behind Steve….though unfortunately I couldn’t pull off a hole in one on the 18th to secure the win. It was a competitive, fun and close game nonetheless, and I felt a little victorious even as the loser
.
We weren’t done yet…..gator feeding was next.
but still, I think its a marvelous idea nonetheless!
but definitely worth it for us!
. I am really, really happy with how it turned out.
.
, and that they may be less than eager to snack as a result.
):
. Glad to have you reading along!
.
, so they processed our vouchers, we paid the tax, and the staff advised us that we had about 15 minutes to wait until the next tour. They handed us these “golden tickets”:
. Premium chocolate with a sticker price to match. 
. Making pretty things from solid chocolate...what could be better? 
