GregD

Sir…… for the love of god, put some f{*{^{%ing shoes on!!! This isn’t Carnival!! I can hear @asquared17 yelling from here !!

OMG!!! I know them!!!!

@Lovetocruise2002 Beat you to it!!!! Drinks are on me when you get here!

Don’t worry, @TheBoss518 is monitoring, but may also be encouraging further intake since she knows that one I’m sufficiently lubricated, it usually results in me spending money on her I do understand your draw to this location. It was lovely.

What she said…

Not to be outdone by @Lovetocruise2002, we too are onboard. Lunch for us was some snacks from Johnny Rockets. Helia is great so far. Our room was decorated for Lydia’s birthday and we also had a large collection of snacks. We are all unpacked and headed out to explore the ship. I am working on my espresso martini intake. I’ve decided that I shall live here now. So far my quest for beverages with caffeine have been thwarted by Helia though, because I drank the glass of wine and the two bourbons waiting for us in the room. Espresso Martini count is currently at 2, but fear not, there is still plenty of time.

First ranger cookies while waiting for Helia!

Noted!!

@Ampurp85 found the limit PREMIUM fares include access to our PREMIUM Lounge as well as complimentary snacks and drinks before boarding. Onboard perks include one snack pack per trip, unlimited sweet and savory a la carte snacks throughout your trip, unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, and one alcoholic drink per segment of your trip (e.g. Miami to Fort Lauderdale) as well as one checked bag per premium ticket (dependent on availability). PREMIUM coaches also offer wider seats and extra legroom for an even more comfortable ride, and complimentary Uber connectivity in South Florida to your departure station or your destination.

Oh great….there is now a vintage on board who’s phone just rang at full blast….her ring tone was Let it go from frozen. Now she is on speaker phone getting instructions how to get off the train at the next stop.

Sorry, my earlier post wasn’t very clear. With Smart fares, you purchase your food and drink. Premium includes food and beverages at no additional cost. I don’t think there is a limit. (At least I have not found a published limit) We spent $40 on some snacks and beverages. Had we booked premium, I would have paid $400 for those snacks and a little bit bigger of a seat. I’m sure sometimes the premium fares aren’t that much more. I think I remember @Matt did an article about riding in premium, and the fare difference was minimal. But for this trip, the value wasn’t there.

Good morning everyone!!! It’s cruise day. Ang and her girls left very early in the AM, which woke me up at about 3:30, and unfortunately I really couldn’t get back to sleep so it’s going to be an espresso martini kind of day. The caffeine will counteract the alcohol right? At least that’s what I am telling myself. We left the resort at 6:30 this morning and got to the station with plenty of time to spare. It was a very easy process. We returned the rental car to Terminal C. You take the elevator to level 5 and the station is right there. Our elevator happened to be next to the door to the building, so that was easy. I did see lines painted on the floor that direct you to the places you need to go, whether it was terminals A-C or the Brightline station. You scan your ticket into the terminal area and all bags go through a scanner. The agent watching the screen looked like he was bored with his job, and we didn’t have a repeat experience with Johnnys magnet toys. Once through, there is some lounge space with a bar and other snacks. I didn’t take too many pictures due to all the people. There are separate lounges based on what level of ticket you purchased. We went with Smart. When we booked, the premium fares were over $100 more than the smart fares, so the value wasn’t there. Boarding was quick and easy and we settled into our seats. We chose a 4 top table. There is no need to check your luggage unless you don’t want to deal with it yourself. #selfassistforthewin Bags go above your seat. There is also this area that is technically for checked baggage and wheelchairs, but they will let you put oversized luggage here if needed. Smart and premium passengers can order food etc via a QR code to your seat. Here are your options. They even have some medications and other travel necessities if you forgot something. So far the ride has been nice. The seats are comfortable, the train itself isn’t very noisy, except for the screaming toddler at the other end of the car, excuse me while I grab my noise canceling headphones Our genie, Helia, has reached out via WhatsApp already this morning to verify phone numbers and provide arrival information again as well. We should be pulling into the Miami station right around 11.

So, now that I am dry... Today was Animal Kingdom, and we had a great time. We got to do just about everything that we wanted to do. We utilized @TheBoss518 and Ang as "pre-vintage" and they held a spot in line for Avatar, while us kids went and rode Expedition Everest. This worked out well for us as we were able to get those two rides in relatively quickly. We even got the front car for the Everest ride. This is Jas, and Kira (L to R) Ang's daughters. Sadly the ride photo was not as good as the other day. We reunited in the VERY long ride for Avatar, but we all agree that it was worth it. We got our dole whip!!! Mine had rum in it. Gotta get ready for that drink package1 We then hit the Safari. I won't bore you with a bunch of animal pictures, but we saw many of them. After this we were ready for lunch. We were able to get a reservation for all of us at the Rainforest Cafe. The door wasn't bad. We got to embarrass Lydia by letting our server know it was her birthday, so of course they sang for her, which she clearly loved.. After lunch we listened to little kids getting terrified in the bugs life show, and this is where our day went off the rails a bit. Most of us wanted to do the river rapids ride, so we headed in that direction. While in line, we noticed the skies getting dark, and we knew rain was coming, but thought maybe it will just skirt us. Meanwhile it was bright and sunny 5 minutes ago. We thought about turning back, but for some reason we were committed......this was the wrong choice. As soon as we sat in the tube for the ride...the rain started.....then got worse.....and worse.....and.....worse..... By the time the ride was done, we were thoroughly drenched, and pretty far from the parking lot. Nothing to do but suck it up buttercup and make the long walk back....with it still pouring. Meanwhile, @TheBoss518 who does not like that kind of ride, made it to one of the shops and was completely dry.... Here is our different kind of walk of shame. All in all, it was still a great day. We had lots of laughs over the rain and getting soaked. Tonight will be spent in the room hanging out together, finishing off any snacks and leftovers we have. Ang and her girls have early flights tomorrow, so their uber is arriving to 3:30 in the morning. We will be OTD around 6:30 to make the train. Next stop Miami!!

Mistakes were made…..more to come when we wring ourselves out…

Ugh……Jealous

Another gloomy start to the day. Braving Animal Kingdom today.

Some good news on the Brightline incident, all injured passengers and firefighters have been deemed to have non-life threatening injuries. There are still some delays on the rails today. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Medieval Times was what you would expect. Goofy, campy boisterous with somewhat palatable food. The freeloaders enjoyed themselves so us parents are happy. In the end the Knight for the section we were in “won” the tournament. Lydia even got a flower from the Knight…..”He’s now my husband” she says Her husband….. It was sold out tonight. People even came in a limo

Somehow they had video of me during dinner

No turning back now….we didn’t tell the freeloaders that there isn’t silverware

If you get in a fight with a train, you will always lose.

Me too. As a firefighter, I get related news emails and such, so I learned of this via an email. Sounds like most of the injured were treated and released. Two of the firefighters sadly are in critical but stable condition. The Brightline website has delay notices, and today’s schedule is certainly messed up with cancellations etc. I’m sure there will be NTSB inspections of the tracks and everything to make sure they are safe. Worst case, I change the rental car reservation and drive.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14232363/brightline-train-collides-florida-fire-truck-palm-beach.html Well this could be interesting.... TLDR: Soon to be unemployed firefighter drove the truck around lowered train crossing gates and was struck by a brightline train. 12 people injured, truck destroyed, train locomotive severely damaged. This is how we are supposed to get to Miami on Monday.