Let The Memories Continue! – Day 14
The day started off with surprising news. The Hot air balloon ride that we have booked with Thompson Aire had been cancelled due to bad weather, and we were unable to take the ride today. However, we rescheduled it to another day, in hopes that the weather would be kinder to us. Instead, we decided to tuck into another quick breakfast at Drury Hotels, before we set off to the second activity of the day, a tour round Ridge Island Groves, a Orange fruit plantation hosted in Polk City, Florida. It was outside of Orange County, where Orlando is located, and is a 30 minute trip away from the comfort of the hotel. We climbed aboard the car, and set off for the Orange farm!
And even that did not go as planned, as we entered Polk County, 30 minutes outside Orlando, dark clouds loomed and it started to pour down with rain. We continued on to the farm, keeping our fingers crossed for a tour even when it was raining. However, this was not to be, as the manager of the store told us that no tours would run in the rain. Despite our disappointment, we looked around the store, and tasted their samples of Tangerine, Page Oranges and Red Naval. I specifically liked the tangerine juice, but decided against purchasing it as it was only available in amounts of 1/2 a gallon (or 2 liters.) We left with a bag full of Page Oranges that Ashley loved. The store also sold many local produce, including pickled sausages and other exotic fair. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and decided to hopefully come back for the tour around the Orange farms another day.
At this point of time, it was time for lunch. Lacking any further ideas, we decided to head back to Downtown Disney for lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. Even this would not end as expected. Downtown Disney had a major restructure, and we were ushered to park in a huge multi-story car park, the first that we have encountered on our trip to the United States. However, due to some time constraints, we were unable to visit the Wolfgang Puck at the East Side of Downtown Disney, and visited the same (but different!) offering on the west side. As complicated as it sounds, there are two Wolfgang Pucks in Downtown Disney.
We ordered two pizzas, BBQ Chicken and Pepperoni to share between the three of us, and Ashley ordered a kids Mac’N Cheese. The pizzas tasted the same as the offerings on the other side of Downtown Disney, with a thin crust and a flavour packed cheese and tomato base. But before we could even finish savoring the pizzas, it started to rain extremely heavily. We even had to move tables as the rain was pouring into our food.
Running out of time to our next activity, we waited the rain to calm down slightly, put Ashley into the stroller and ran towards the car park. Unfortunately, all of us got really wet, even Ashley, as the stroller’s cover does not cover the entire length of her body. We hurried off to the Grand Floridian Resort for our next activity.
Our next activity would be one for Ashley. It was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and she thoroughly enjoyed all the activities that were conducted, from decorating tea cups to playing crochet, and she came out with a big smile on her face. On the other hand, the three of us wondered mindlessly throughout the vast Grand Floridian resort for an hour. Luckily for us, the resort was very well decorated, with chandeliers and a humongous Christmas tree that required 4 steel wires to hold up. Even the ceiling had really pretty paintings on them. It was total eye candy.
Having some time between dinner and the end of the tea party, we decided to head to the Mall at Millenia to do even more shopping. The last time we visited, I had developed rashes from my allergic reaction to Romano cheese, and we had to leave the mall early. We decided it was a wise idea to explore the mall a second time, just in case we missed anything amazing from the last trip. We visited shops from all kinds of brands such as Kate Spade, Guess and GAP. The mall was also well decorated for Christmas, also having a gigantic Christmas tree at the entrance of the mall. It was a sight to behold. To our dismay, there wasn’t anything that we really fancied. We also made a quick trip to a nearby Target to buy stuff that Ashley wanted, and also a photo frame so that we could get an autograph from the characters aboard the Disney Dream cruise ship. After this, we headed off to dinner.
Since we were tired at this point of time, we wanted to grab a quick dinner and go back to the hotel for an early night. We headed to Five Guys Burgers and Fries for our hunger fix. This fast food bistro is something of dreams. The burgers are grilled to perfection and the buns are crispy yet fluffy. My favourite part of it all is that the fries that you ordered come with extra fries as standard. The fries are cut whole, and fried immediately after cut. Being high grade Idaho potatoes, there were extremely tasty and addictive. We also could add many toppings to our burgers, ranging from mayo to BBQ sauce. Just from changing the toppings, the whole family made very different burgers. I added bacon and BBQ sauce for an authentic ranch taste, while my mom went for a classic mayo and lettuce. Ashley also ordered a hot dog as she commented that she was very hungry. I simply love Five Guys, as they serve all their food wrapped in aluminium foil and served inside a paper bag. We left satisfied and full, and honestly craving for more. What a day!
