After the parade had passed, I ducked back into a shop for a bit. Then I decided to check out if the villains show was going ahead on the castle stage. It was. I found myself a spot at the back of the area as I wanted to take some photos. I was standing behind the last row of benches. Halfway through, a family arrived and the father told his three kids to stand on the bench right in front of me. After this, I could not see anything. The show was pretty short. Afterwards, about half of the villains came down to mingle with the crowd. Each villain went to a different spot and people formed a circle around their chosen villain. The villain then picked who they wanted to see. I was lucky enough to get to meet Dr Facilier. I had never seen him in any of the parks before. I noticed that Judge Frollo hardly had anybody waiting for him so I headed over there next. Unfortunately when there was just a couple and me, the villains were called backstage. I was not too upset about this, as I had met him at
Disneyland last year.
The next show was due to start shortly after the villains had gone in. Cast members were sweeping up the water that had pooled on the stage. I managed to get a spot quite close to the stage. This show was different. The first show was hosted by the Evil Queen and this one was hosted by Cruella de Ville. The Tremains, Jafar, Captain Hook, Dr Facillier, Gaston and Cruella de Ville featured in both shows, but the Evil Queen was replaced by the Old Hag and Judge Frollo was replaced by the Queen of Hearts. Jafar and Captain Hook met and greeted after both shows, but instead of Judge Frollo and Dr Facillier, Gaston and the Old Hag were out. I headed for where the Old Hag was meeting and she was so much fun. I did get lucky again and was chosen by her as the last person of the set.
The next show was cancelled due to the weather. I decided to head over to Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast. It has kind of become a tradition that this is my last ride. However, the posted waiting time was 15 minutes and the line looked longer than this. I was cold and wet. I also had done this ride plenty of times that day. So I decided to pass and headed for the exit. I picked up a couple of postcards for somebody and then I headed to the bus stop. I did not have long to wait for a bus.
When I got back to the hotel, it had stopped raining. They have a mini farm at the hotel with ponies, donkeys, alpaca, rabbits and guinea pigs and I decided to go and check this out as this was not far from my room. The animals were all sheltering from the weather so I headed to my room. I dried off and snuggled up under the quilt for a bit, reading and catching up online. Once I started to get hungry, I put some extra layers on and headed back to the bus stop.
I had pretty much stuck to counter service all trip and decided I fancied a proper meal. There is one restaurant in Disney Village that I wanted to try for years, but we have never got around to going there. This is La Grange at Billy Bob’s Country Western Saloon, which is a Tex Mex buffet. So I decided to head there for my dinner. I did not have to wait long for my bus once I got to the bus stop. The bus was pretty full. After we had dropped off people at the next hotel, I did get a seat though. By the time I got to Disney Village, it had fortunately stopped raining.
I walked over to Billy Bob’s Country Western Saloon and found quite a long line at the podium. I started to get a bit worried when they turned people away. They were all larger groups and one extended family had missed their reservation by an hour and was having a bit of an attitude. I figured there was only one of me so there was no harm in asking. It did pay off. A manager who had been called for the family kicking off phoned the restaurant and then sent me up. I was quite surprised that they had sent all those people away. Yes, the restaurant was quite busy, but there were still plenty of tables available.
I followed the instructions that I was given. Most of the building is a bar and a concert venue. The restaurant is on the top floor. After navigating staircases that were something out of Harry Potter, I came to another podium where I ordered my drink and paid. A soft drink was included I asked for a Coke. I was then asked to wait to be seated. The host showed up shortly afterwards and gave me and a couple of families a quick tour around the buffet areas. Then he escorted us to our tables. I put the receipt that showed my drink order on the table and headed off to get some food. For my first plate, I had some Chilli Con Carne with guacamole and sour cream, some roast veal with pepper sauce, potato gratin and some cornbread. The cornbread was some of the best I ever had. I then went for a second plate, which consisted of Mexican rice, ribs, fajita meat and meatballs. After this, I decided to have some dessert. I had a mini crepe, marshmallows, chocolate cake and Mousse au Chocolat. I was just getting to leave when they put out rocket ice lollies. I had to have one of those and then I really left.
I wandered back to the bus stop and the bus pulled in shortly afterwards. When i got back to the hotel, I packed, called Graham and then read for a while before getting another early night as I had an early start in the morning.