1450 – Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando | Ray on a Balcony

Episode 1450 – Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando | Ray on a Balcony

 

SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time for the podcaster who’s recording a intro looking out a window, because why not, right? I’m here to…oh, welcome to Sleep With Me, the podcast that’s here to put you to sleep. I’m Scoots, truest Scooter. I’m here to help you out. If you're new to the show, welcome. If you're coming back, I’m glad you're here. Everybody’s welcome here. Even if you don't fall asleep, even if you don't like this show, I’m here to try to help out, and the way I’m gonna do it is just be here talking to you, or tonight we’ll have Ray here, my neighbor Ray, talking in a little while. We’ll be on a resort balcony. Is it a resort? I don't know, a hotel balcony, I guess, talking about a day of walking. We didn't hit 30,000 steps, but we came close, Ray and I, and there’s…when you walk that many steps, there’s…this doesn't go on any signs or across…when you walk that many steps, there’s a lot of meanders.

 

But…oh, this is just the very beginning of the show. So, if you're new, I’m glad you're here. I’m just here to just see how it goes. It takes a couple tries to get used to the show. It’s just someone to hang out with you while you fall asleep, to be here for you, that you don't really need to pay attention to. So, just see how it goes. What we got coming up is support so that paying for the show is optional if you're new. If you don't listen to the show three, four, five, six, seven nights a week, if you're not in a position to support the show, you only listen from time to time, do not worry about that unless you really want something without ads. This show is here for you. It’s supported by the people who benefit the most, by the people who do listen almost every night, and that enables us to be around for them and for everybody else. Maybe that’s you or maybe you're one of the people that supports the show. You could feel…you could breathe in a sense of pride of all the people that get to benefit because you work hard. Then you say, well, yeah, I want to support this thing that enables me…or whatever it is, you know? So, yeah, I’m really glad you're here. If you are one of those people that benefit the most, these are the ways you could support the show back. If not, don't worry about it, and we’ll be right back.

 

Intro: Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do is create a safe place where you could set aside whatever’s keeping you awake. It could be thoughts you're thinking about, thoughts about the past, the present, the future, things that are…thoughts that are just on your mind, it could be feelings, anything coming up for you emotionally related to those thoughts or feelings that are just there, it could be changes…physical sensations, changes in time, temperature, routine, you could be going through something, you could be getting over something, you could be in the middle of something. Whatever it is, I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep, which is a little bit different.

 

But I’m really just here to help out so you could get the rest you need, because I’ve been there. The reason I love making the show and helping people out who can't sleep is because I know what it’s like tossing, turning, mind racing, trouble getting to sleep, trouble staying asleep, trouble waking up early, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, changes in time, temp…you know, a lot of stuff gets in the way. The only reason I list that stuff is so that maybe you get the sense you're not alone, that there’s other people out there like me that get it and that feel for you, and that maybe I want to try to offer some relief if I can. But that, yeah, it’s like, I might not know exactly what brought you here or what exactly you struggle with with sleep. Or maybe it’s not a struggle; maybe it’s just something else. But I want to help.

 

If any of the underlying feelings are similar or just if they're unpleasant, I’d like to help you out if I can, and the other good thing is that there’s enough people listening that there’s someone listening right now around…somewhere in the world there’s someone listening right now who really does get whatever it is what you're dealing with right now or whatever it is that brought you here, and they're really hoping the podcast can help you like it helps them on a regular basis, and they're rooting for you. Even if it’s not this podcast…even if this podcast introduces you to another sleep podcast that helps you out or some other audio or some other thing, the people listening right now that really know where you're at, they're just hopeful for you. They don't even know you, but they're hopeful for you, and I think that’s a pretty cool thing to be a part of. You say, okay, but…yeah, don't root for me too much, 'cause…and I say, don't worry, they’ll root for you in a gentle, soft way.

 

Because they're like, yeah, I hope this podcast can help you like it helped me. The other thing is that they hope you get the experience that they have right now where you're trying to get ready for bed, you're listening to this podcast, but you're also thinking fondly of somebody that’s dealt with something that you've dealt with or something similar, right? You're like, wow, I really hope…I really know what that’s like, and I really hope you can get some relief from that. They're sending you well wishes. They're rooting for you across the deep, dark night, and they hope you get that experience, too, 'cause it’s a nice one, thinking fondly of somebody and wishing them well. In some sense it’s almost counter…it’s almost rebellious. I don't just mean counter-culturally. In my internal culture, who would frown upon that? I don't know what your internal culture is like, and I don't even know…you say, is that a workplace culture?

 

Well, I don't think so, 'cause there’s a lot of people in charge in my internal culture, but there’s…and there’s a lot of people that would call themselves bosses. There’s a lot of demands, but there’s not a lot of…you know what I’m saying? so…but my internal culture brushes stuff like that off; positivity, kind…oh, whatever…both receiving it and giving it out, especially in this kinda indirect way. But all that said is that I’m glad you're here. So are a bunch of other listeners…you're here, and they really hope you can get the rest you need so your life is more manageable tomorrow and the rest you need on a regular basis so your life is better, so you don't have to dread going to bed. It can be something you look forward to or feel neutral about, and that one day you could be getting the rest you need on a regular basis so you could be out there in the world flourishing, 'cause that’ll make our world a better place. I think we're all in agreement that that’s…would be a pretty nice thing.

 

So, the way the show works is I send my voice across the deep, dark night. I use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents. I go off topic, I get mixed up, I kinda forget what I was talking about, I use filler words, I repeat myself, I pronounce…I do a lot of uttering or utterances, and stuff pops in my head like my internal culture. That must be a thing, right? Or is that a misuse of the word? Even people I know that are a little bit different like me, sometimes when I talk about them…talk about them, the people that live within me…I say, well, it can't be called a committee 'cause no one is working together. So, I say, the committee that works within me, that would be…it’s more of a disarray, but that’s okay. I am in acceptance of it and I can be the loving caretaker cleaning up knowingly. They're all sitting around a conference table, and I say, okay, can I get that for you? I’ll just put it over here. Would you like me to refill your water? Oh, that would be great.

 

Maybe that’s where I…I get them all in a conference room. Okay, can everyone…? You stay in this conference room, and you are in charge of all the big stuff and the little stuff, right? Everyone in here is essential, and of course your opinions are essential to all this, and your expertise. I’ll be in here as your assistant cleaning up, bringing you whatever beverages you need and stuff like that, listening to…if you need to express yourself strongly, go ahead and do that. But every once in a while I will have to leave to restock everything. It could take me a while. Those are the hours I could start living my life, I guess. This could be a whole new way. Where’s…? People would be like, Scoots, what’s going on with you? You seem like a new person. Well, it turned out, there wasn't a committee within me, but I called them, and they…right now they're debating various things about committees and the word ‘committee’ and committing to be in…so, yeah, I’m doing great. I’m at the beach. I’m looking at clouds.

 

I’m talking to people. Holy moly. Yeah, I gotta go back in there every once in a while, pick up, clean up. They want to tell me that the…you know, this…you call this water? Barely even wet. I say, you're right about that. I could bring you another…I’ll go to a different water source. You tell me how wet you want your water, and I’ll provide it. It’s my job. But…oh yeah, I send my voice across the deep, dark night. Lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, all to take your mind off of stuff and keep you company so you could fall asleep. The thing is — and I alluded to this earlier — this is a podcast that does take some getting used to. Regular listeners, people that supported the show and still support it, they say, hey, it took me two or three tries to get used to the show. At first I didn't like it, the second time I wasn't so sure about it, and then the third time I fell asleep. So, just give it a few tries and see how it goes. You really got nothing to lose. Alls I want to do is help you out.

 

Now, if you discover that you already know the show is not for you, or after two or three tries or four tries you say, this show is just not for me, don't worry. I got a website set up, sleepwithmepodcast.com/nothankyou, where you could find other sleepy stuff like other sleep podcasts and stuff to help you out, 'cause everything I said up to this point is still true. But you don't need to like me, right? You still deserve a good night's sleep. You don't need to like the show. But I do hope it can help you. But when you get here, you're gonna be skeptical, you're gonna be doubtful. Those are just normal ways…you're gonna have expectations, and this show is a little bit different than expected. That is the one thing I pride myself on, is being different than expected. Or, whatever, expected…probably…they say, if we were running the inspections, you would have never even got in here. Well, I’m just the assistant to the…I'm the assistant to the possible…the committee.

 

I’m everybody in this room’s assistant. I mean, I’m here to assist everyone in this room. So, yeah. So, that’s one thing to know; just give the show a few tries. See what happens. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. You got other options out there, and I’ll help introduce you to them. This is also a podcast you kinda just barely listen to, like background noise, like TV on in the other room, a show streaming under your pillow, an out-of-focus picture. So, that also…it’s like a friend talking to you about almost nothing, but you say, I could listen to you. I just want you to talk to me for a while and see if I can fall asleep, take my mind off of stuff, be here for me. That’s the essence of the show. It’s something you could pay attention to but you don't need to. It’s also a sleep podcast, but I’m not here to put you to sleep. I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep, but there’s no pressure to fall asleep with this show. That’s why the episodes are over an hour.

 

That’s why we put out so many different styles of shows. Like, every other…every episode is a little bit different style. We put them out consistently over month after month after month, but yeah, we put out a different…different episodes. So you say, oh yeah, I didn't know about this one with Ray, and maybe you're gonna be on a balcony. But don't worry, the next episode will be there. But some people listen to every episode; some people don't. There’s over 600 episodes ready to go for you, so you don't have to feel any pressure to fall asleep. I’m gonna be here, 'cause my job is to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your neighbore, your borebie, your boreman, your Boris Borelaf, your chairman of the boreds, your best bore-friend f’eva, to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep. That’s my job, is to be here for you instead of putting you to sleep directly. It’s a little bit different, right? It’s a indirect thing.

 

So, yeah, that’s what I’m here to do, is keep you company and take your mind off of stuff and hang out with you, and then you fall asleep. So, it’s a little bit different, the idea of being…making a sleep podcast. The other thing is…I like to tell people about when they get here is the structure of the show. This show is structured in a very specific way just to benefit the maximum amount of people it can, and it is adjustable. So, I’ll just kinda tell you how adjust…to adjust it and why we structure it the way we do. All our shows start off with a greeting; friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, then I say something silly so you feel seen and welcomed in and you say, okay, I might check that show out. Then there’s support so, like I said earlier, paying for the show is optional. Best idea is to pay for the show if it changes your life and you say, wow, I don't know if anything’s ever done this for me. But otherwise don't worry about it.

 

If the show is just there for you…eh, or you're new or you're just in a place where you support stuff, that’s totally fine, or you can support stuff. We do it together. Then after the support, totally separate from the support, is a show within a show, which we're…is ten to twenty minutes long that I’m just almost finished with, which…it’s…introduces the podcast, right? It takes me fifteen to twenty minutes and I follow a familiar structure every time, but every intro is a little bit different. The reason for that is that, I don't know, the…introducing the podcast…I’ll kinda talk about the hang-out time. But I’ve always found if the intro is repetitive and short, I just wouldn't be able to fall asleep, right? I would figure it out, whatever part of me keeps me awake, that committee or future committee, and they point out all the repetition, and then I would wake up. I want something that’s fresh and new and familiar and reassuring. So, that’s what I strive to make, and the intro is a part of that.

 

It’s also…I take forever getting to the point. That’s why I make a sleep podcast. But the intro also serves another purpose, which is to ease you into bedtime. Instead of putting you to sleep it gives you a wind-down time. So, you could listen while you're getting ready for bed, you're in bed getting comfortable, or you're chilling out doing some sort of relaxing wind-down activity, whether it’s staring out the window or petting your pets or whatever it is. It helps set the mood for bedtime. It helps give you a buffer between nighttime and the sleep time, and it can be part of your wind down, which is what works for me personally most of the time and what most studies say works. It’s just nice to get eased into bedtime, and this is the kinda time where we all hang out, and you get sent off into dreamland. So, just kinda see how it goes. Then after the intros will be support, and then after the support we’ll have our bedtime story.

 

Tonight it’ll be Ray kinda just talking about walking and meandering. So, what could be more…? I don't know, people tend to like those style of episodes. But if not, don't worry. We got two other episodes coming out this week for you. If you find you prefer story-only episodes, you can get those on Sleep With Me+, or we have another podcast, Bedtime Stories from Sleep With Me. So, there’s plenty of ways to listen to the show and use your podcast app to build playlists and stuff like that or set a sleep timer. Whatever ends up working for you, I just want to try to help you out. So, I’m glad you're here. Myself and a team of people, we work really hard on the show. We all yearn and strive to help you fall asleep. So, thanks again for coming by, and if this podcast has changed your life and you would miss it if it was gone, if it’s a regular part of your life and it regularly makes your life better, you're who we're talking to and trying to get your attention about. So, please consider supporting one of these sponsors or supporting the show directly so we can keep doing that for you and for all these other people I was talking to, too. Thanks so much.

 

Hello, hello, hello everybody. This is your friend Ray, your neighbor Ray, and I forgot to get some area tones, so now I’m gonna stop and then you'll hear the area tone, and that…it’s not called area tone, Scooter said. So, you didn't hear a break there, but there was a break where I recorded some area tone so we could fade in to me talking here, 'cause…now, there is some music going on. I think that’s the pool music. Last night there was a party. Oh, by the way, hello. I’m Scooter's neighbor Ray, and sometimes I’m a guest here on the podcast. It’s so good to be here in your ears and to be with you. I’m here on a balcony. It is a cool…it’s not balmy. I’m in Florida here with Scooter. Scooter, we're getting a lot of echo here. This is a interesting balcony. This is one of our balcony episodes. We're looking from a balcony across a lake retention basin to another hotel with balconies that hopefully we’ll be doing another episode from. But we're here in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, technically, and it is cool.

 

We're getting a breeze right onto our balcony, not strong enough for the mic to pick up, luckily, 'cause I’ve been doing this a little while. Did I say it’s so good to be here in your ears? I’m here to…Ray to just talk to you and put you to sleep just like Scooter does. Our plan here is to record a bit of a podcast, a podcast episode, and put you to sleep from this balcony. What I was gonna do was talk about the history of this hotel and then our day yesterday and why we chose this hotel, and just walk you through things and see if that’s enough for a old bedtime story. But I don't have…the history of the hotel is on a device that we're using to record a video of just our view from the hotel, which is of another hotel, and we brought binoculars and…but there’s not too much to see. Maybe I’ll get out the…oh yeah, but the tripod there, Scooter, is on the thing. So, I don't have the history of the hotel in front of me, but that’s fine 'cause we’ll make do.

 

I remember what I read a little bit, and that’s what Scooter's taught me. It’s about the meanders. So, who, what, where, when, why, how? Scooter's also producing behind the scenes. But these are the things…he says, okay, Ray, remember; this is people’s first time listening, even though some people are resting, getting comfortable, drifting off. So, I did introduce myself. I go on trips with Scooter, particularly to Florida. We're not going to any theme parks. Well, we're not going to any Disney theme parks right now. I’m in the middle of having a break with them. I just said, eh, I need a little break from…and we may go to Universal 'cause we have the Universal season pass, but Scooter said we gotta make sure that it’s seasonal. So, there’s a lot of dates you're not allowed to go. But just because we're having a break doesn't mean we can't come close. So, it’s like some…yeah, it’s a break.

 

We say, hey, we’ll see each other, things…so, we're here on the outskirts of Disney property — this may be their property — on Hotel Plaza Boulevard. I believe we're at 2000 Hotel Plaza Boulevard. I do have to also note that this is not a sponsored episode. We're paying full price for everything. So, this isn't an advertisement or anything for this company, or an endorsement, though it’s hard for me not to express appreciation when things are going well. It is cold. It’s cold; it’s not cool. Yesterday was very cold, but today it’s supposed to warm up. The sun’s out, there’s no clouds, but there’s…it’s November. Early November, Scooter? Towards mid. Late-early November. So, we haven't hit the 15th yet. Yeah, we were just here. We're going to see…Scooter's father is performing in a little musical play thing, and so, Scooter said, okay, let’s get a couple balcony episodes done, maybe a walking episode.

 

So, it works out that these are…I wouldn't say that this current balcony is a bucket-list balcony, but I think if we didn't record this episode, then Scooter’d say, one, I would like to record from this hotel where we are now one day, just to see what the balconies are. Now that we’ve seen the balconies, we can…I can tell you what I appreciate from the hotel. The balconies…for a family that wants to see stuff or you want to sit outside, if it was nicer it’d be a perfect balcony. For recording a balcony-based episode, we don't have a ton of details to view, though there are some connections to other podcast episodes. So, I guess first I’ll…who…who; I’m Ray. Who, what; I'm here making a podcast from a balcony to help you relax and put you to sleep. Who, what, where…where; we're in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Where specifically? We're at the Drury…I believe it’s called the Drury Plaza Hotel.

 

It’s on Hotel Plaza Boulevard, which I did say, right outside of Downtown Disney and very close…well, very close by Scooter and I’s terminology, 'cause we did walk about 28,000 steps yesterday without setting foot into a theme park. We get our steps in, Scooter and I. Scooter even said, okay, Ray, we're gonna have to alternate days. Today will be a lower walking day. I said, Scooter, you're the boss. Oh, by the way, speaking of bosses, Koa, Scooter's dog…we moved, and so, she had to change some of her TV viewing habits, because she…the room she’s…she has a big living room where she stays and watches TV and kinda hangs out during the day, and it has a different TV from where we moved, 'cause we moved into…anyway, it’s not too…but so, it has its own…now, we do have access to The Addams Family, which she does like to watch. Oh, by the way, speaking of appreciation of a possible endorsements, if you do live in the Central New York Area, we have a dog-sitter or walker that we could always refer you to.

 

But that’s…but anyway, so, what was I saying? Oh, so, Koa watch…she still watches Addams Family, especially…but that we use an app for. But there’s another app built into this TV that automatically comes on, and I think Scooter's talked about it before. So, he’s had…he’s tested out some shows, and this is…holy meander. I’m getting good at these meanders, 'cause I just said Scooter's the boss, and now I’m on a meander that will meander back to that statement. But so, some shows we’ve tested out on Koa, or channels, were Bob Ross, which I think…and Koa kinda got tired of it, I think, though we still put it on from time to time. Johnny Carson and David Letterman, though I think Dave…one of them is on an app and another one’s built into the TV. I think David Letterman is built into the TV, which is always nice. If he was there, he’d say, what, I’m built into the TV? Top 10 meanders Ray could go on. Number one…so, Bob Ross…Mystery Science Theatre has their own channel.

 

Now, that’s kinda when Scooter's working with Koa. He likes to put that on, though he thinks that Koa is getting used to the voices, and so…and Scooter's theory is, okay, maybe some of the voices of everybody is more consistent anyway. But it is an intangible…Addams Family has an intangible…'cause Koa took to Addams Family immediately. So…but so, Mystery Science Theatre, she’s…I think she’s on the same level as Bob Ross. Then Scooter tried recently within the last couple weeks, Who’s the Boss?, which has a channel. This was a show that was on a lot in Scooter's life. I don't know if it was on on reruns or original or both. Scooter's like…I mean, as we…as Koa’s been watching it, there’s only been…Scooter did not see every episode of Who’s the Boss? 'cause he’s like, oh, interesting. So, Koa said, eh, Who’s the Boss?…there was one good one where we saw one that…they were introducing a new series where I think…anyway, then we…so, Who’s the Boss?; I should have said that last.

 

But the most recent test was Facts…not Facts of Life. That’s a show Scooter likes. But, no, no, not Facts of Life. But what’s the name of the show? Family Ties. It starts with an S…F. that’s why I was confused. But Family Ties is…Koa’s been watching a lot of that. Now, Scooter does have a bit of a thing, 'cause he says, okay, so this channel’s on twenty-four hours a day. That’s about twenty-eight, thirty, forty, thirty episodes of Family Ties. We don't know how many seasons there are, but we're guessing somewhere between five and eight. Scooter's already seen…Scooter has seen the same episode come up within a twenty-four hour period, he claims. I said, are you sure it couldn't be forty-eight? He says, this episode was just on. So, that’s a bit of…I mean, with The Addams Family, what we do is we start it at Season 1, Episode 1, and then kinda…Scooter lets…the app remembers where we left off, and then we get in late to Season 2, like in the high 20s, Scooter will make a decision; should I keep letting this run?

 

Will I be back in two-and-a-half episodes? ‘Cause he doesn't want the show to run out for Koa, 'cause it comforts her. That’s the main thing. She sleeps, mostly. Maybe she’s listening to it, but it’s a bit like a version of Sleep With Me for Koa. She doesn't…she said, I don't need to hear my human companion’s voice all the time. I get enough of it when he’s saying, could you please go to the bathroom? So, that’s about Scooter being the boss. But what about here in Florida, right? I mean, Ray, come on, what was that…? I said, well, I’m here to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff. So, we're here…oh, I was about…was I about to say the name of the hotel and I didn't, or did I say it? We're here at the Drury Plaza Hotel. I did say that. Now, this hotel has had a interesting history, or a varied history, as I think most of these hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard do. But it’s one you do see…so, it only became a Drury Plaza Hotel…it was a Best Western, it’s been a Travelodge, and I think one or two other chains in the history of this building, but there’s two buildings.

 

So, when Drury took it over, they…originally they kept it as a Best Western. Then during the time where they didn't have guests, I think they probably had plans to build a second tower. But they went through with those plans, and what’s interesting is…and it’s interesting 'cause Scooter's alma mater did this in a different way, is they built a building attached to a building, or so close to the other building that then the two buildings could almost become one. I guess in a sense it’s a very romantic construction technique, as long as the buildings get along, I guess. You say, well, this is your new life partner I want you to meet. Now…so, we’ve seen this hotel in our days of the…going here, and we’ve walked by it. I don't think we’ve…it’s a bit off the road, so we’ve just never had the wherewithal to walk and take a look at its lobby or anything. These Hotel Plaza Boulevards are not known for their lobbies. They're more…these hotels have more utility, and that’s kinda one of the things that kinda pushed us over.

 

One, we knew it had…the older building had…has balconies facing, I don't know, maybe three different directions? ‘Cause this building’s kinda like a curved triangle type thing. But we're facing…we could see the Epcot Ball, which…it’s Spaceship Earth. We could see the triangle top of the trees of the Dolphin Hotel, we could see the building for Guardians of the Galaxy, we could see the…maybe the convention center and the entire tower for the…Scooter, what’s the name of that hotel? Hotel Plaza…he doesn't know the name of the hotel that he always wants to stay at that has balconies as well. It’s the Hilton downtown…Buena Vista Palace is…I think is what it’s called, Scooter. Thank you for your help. We could definitely see the Buena Vista Palace Hotel, and maybe it’s service in construction, or…what do you call that thing? There’s a large utility building to the right of it.

 

Then on our far right we have the hotel pool which is playing music, which I think we can consistently talk over in a way. Last night there was a party. Now, this is funny; here on Hotel Boulevard there’s a convention going on of…a pool convention of companies…we did think about sneaking into the hotel…the conventions. Not at this hotel, but there was a party last night that one of the things was putting on. It was too windy to record, but Scooter was like, this is kinda like a rave at a distance, 'cause the party was happening right under our room…I mean, the convention center and flex rooms or whatever for this hotel. We look over that, the air conditioners for that and beyond, 'cause we're on the fourth floor. Now, at first Scooter was like, I don't know, but I don't think the higher floors’ views…oh boy, there’s a heron, Scooter. No, that’s a crane. Oh my goodness, a crane just flew right by us. How beautiful. It had black-tipped wings. That’s what I was gonna talk about.

 

So, we didn't get any recordings of a rave at a distance, but we probably could get a little recordings of whatever this music at a distance…the pool music, and then you can kinda hear a little bit of white noise in the background. That’s one of the retention basins here at the hotel, or pond, and it has a fountain to keep it…keep the water from getting tepid. But to our right are swampy trees, and what’s exciting about those swampy trees…now, we haven't looked on a map, but we do know that right in the back gardens, so separated by a canal and things that Scooter did check at one point, is our favorite hotel here in Orlando. I don't think we can…I think that’s fine to say, 'cause it’s true, the Cypress Regency or whatever it’s called, which we did think about staying at, but Scooter said, no, we…as much as I would love to, Ray, I don't think…the podcast has gotta come first.

 

Because they were doing…the last time we stayed there, which was quite…a little bit a while ago, that was when they were doing construction. So, we will have to…and they had closed down all the tennis courts. Then across the street from there is this new resort, the Evermore Resort, which we were positing they own that property. ‘Cause when we asked at the hotel, they said, oh, that’s not the hotel’s property, technically, where you go ride your bike. We have episodes there that you could listen to me…me and Scooter…I don't know if we’ve ever walked there; we’ve just ridden bikes there. I think we did at least one episode from the balcony there. So, that’s somewhere to our right, though we can't see it right now. I can only see the trees. I would love to go wandering in those woods. It’s just that it’s probably a lot of water. We could also see the Cirque du Soleil building, which is so large it looks very close, even though it’s quite far away.

 

So, that’s a distortion of reality or something, because it’s quite close, or looks quite close. We can see Saratoga Springs Hotel and a couple other Hotel Plaza…the Hotel Plaza Boulevard hotels, as well as more of Downtown Disney and the Bonnet Creek Resorts, which are also pretty close. As we were shopping prices for this trip, we were looking at the Bonnet Creek Resorts, but we couldn't get a balcony room. I think there’s a lot of conventions in the area, 'cause the prices were very different day to day and night to night, and Scooter really had to lean in and do his planning. But so, this Drury Plaza Hotel, yeah, we looked at it…oh, its construction…so, I don't have…so, they built this new tower connected to the current tower, and it’s a stucco building. I don't know if it’s always been stucco, but at a distance it always looked like it was a cement tower. It just had a interesting look, kinda like a non-glamorous contemporary hotel. But now that I’m standing…well, it’s…it looked like gray cement, but I guess it’s more of a tan stucco, the walls.

 

Has it always been that way? We don't know. Then they built a second tower attached to this tower so it kinda looks the same. Now, when you're in the stairwells, you notice…oh, okay…you could access both towers from the stairwells. But it’s like, there’s two fourth floors, two third floors, and when you're with Scooter, that can be confusing, which I’ll explain, because some of the positives of staying here…one, it’s walking distance to Downtown Disney. It’s closer than our first…the Hyatt Grand Cypress and our favorite…one of our favorite Hyatt Places, the Hyatt Place, right on Lake Buena Vista. Those are a bit further away. So, at the end of the night or if it’s warm out, that extra mile or whatever…I'd say it’s probably a mile away, right, Scooter? He shrugs. Possibly. He said, door to door it may be a mile. You don't think it’s gonna be a mile, but it may be a mile. So, that’s nice, being a little bit closer, even though last night when we were walking back, we said, oh man, that’s…oh, I’m seeing the Disney character balloon.

 

Oh, it’s going up slowly, very slowly. So, there is no wind. There was a breeze earlier, but the balloon is going up perfectly, calmly. Scooter…oh, the Drury Plaza Hotel…so, some of the perks here that are really nice, one — you better sit down for this one — there’s no resort fee. So, it’s…nowadays a lot of the places are saying…they give you the full price with the fee, but this place there’s no resort fee. So, when you're looking at the price, you say, oh, okay…but…well, here’s the thing; there’s no resort fee, but they do have a place to work out, 'cause Scooter worked out yesterday. They have a pool and a hot tub, and the pool looks pretty nice. It’s too cold to swim. They got chairs around there. It looks like they may even have a snack bar. Now, they probably charge for parking. We don't…I don't know, but Scooter's guessing that they probably charge for parking. But that’s standard practice, so we can't…it doesn't say, well, we don't have resort fees or charge for parking.

 

I say, okay, okay, well…oh, where did that come from? I’m looking at the lake between us and the Buena Vista Palace, and I’m really enjoying the view of the lake as the sun comes up, 'cause it’s somewhat…it’s about 10:00 a.m. when we're recording this. We got up, we had a little breakfast…oh, 'cause…okay, so, that’s the next perk. Breakfast…they don't just have breakfast; they have a kick-back hour, and if you drink beverages, adult beverages, you're allowed to have three beverages — I’m sure it’s not unlimited — top shelf. But we saw people with glasses of wine and stuff when we were coming back here, which I think must have been at the…and it’s an hour or two-hour thing. Then they have tacos or chili, some almost-dinner…or something you could have for dinner. I don't think they call it dinner because it’s probably like, oh, you make your own, you know, walk-in taco or something. But…and then they have popcorn and soda hour later after that.

 

Now, we did not check either of those out, but we did check out the breakfast, which is similar to a hotel breakfast but a little bit better. I think maybe they used powdered eggs. We don't know, but they have Mickey waffles, pancakes, oatmeals. We had oatmeal and yogurt, and then today they had biscuits and gravy. So, we made a sausage, egg, biscuit, and gravy sandwich there. So, that was a nice thing we had for breakfast, and coffee, of course. So, the other thing is…so, we were on the fourth floor, so we were just able to go down two floors on the stairs. I don't know if I said this earlier, but because of the two towers, the stairs…so, there’s two third floors, two fourth floors, two second floors, 'cause the towers aren't aligned perfectly even though the staircase is in between them. So, it’s…so, when we left after breakfast the first day, Scooter was like, which of the two floors are we on? I said, I have no idea, Scooter. At least he remembered what the flooring looked like.

 

So, we checked one. He’s like, no, this isn't the right flooring. So, then we went to the second and then we said, okay, we found our room. They also have shuttles to the parks. Now, we're not going to the parks, but they have Drury buses, not shuttles. I don't know if they go…stop at any other hotel or what the scheduling is, but the fact that they have dedicated buses is really nice for families, 'cause this is a very family-friendly room. Then we’ve had two excellent nights of sleep. So, the beds and the…they have nice, flat pillows, which Scooter says…compares to a quality Hyatt Place pillow. Different construction, but not over-puffy. The beds are comfortable, the room temperature was comfortable. Scooter likes to keep it little cool, and he was even pushing it last night even though it’s very cold outside. It wasn't that cold; it was in the room. So, a lot of locals from…people at breakfast yesterday, 'cause there was a little one-day holiday.

 

They were talking about coming…driving in from Tampa or other parts of Florida, and that just makes sense. I mean, I guess this place is just a great value. So, if you're gonna come from Florida and stay for a night or two, yeah, there’s plenty of room. I think they have different sized rooms, a lot of different layouts. So, a lot of good options. ‘Cause I don't know if the other…the newer rooms…they remodelled everything, so our room is perfectly nice. But I think the newer rooms…I don't know if they have balconies. We don't know. Oh, the construction, too…so, this was a very interesting construction when we were doing our research. The new tower was built with these foam…concrete, cement forms, which is a very innovative way. It’s the first kind of building in this area to be built that way. I wish I had more info. But it just sounded really interesting and exciting. So, yeah, a great place to stay. So, yeah. So…okay, so let’s talk about who, what, where. We got where we are.

 

So, what…where, what, when; that’s not…so, let’s talk about our day yesterday and see how long that takes us, if I can take you on a day walking with Ray off to dreamland, right? Okay, this is Ray. I had to take a little break there 'cause there was so much joy happening outside on the…you didn't hear my break, actually, but there was so much joy happening out on the balconies with the children having to wait…I don't know. They say, are we going to a park? What are we doing? They were playing music and singing. So, the balconies here, the metal, they do make a great musical instrument. It also let me lean forward and see the construction of the newer building. I don't know if they put something over the cement blocks or…these concrete forms are a full story, each one. I have no idea. That makes me even more…I was picturing much smaller concrete foam block construction. But it looks like the foam blocks could have actually been entire floor size. So, I don't know.

 

That’s another interesting thing to learn. But I was gonna talk about our day yesterday. So, we did…Scooter said, okay, let’s…with the weather, we were going back and forth, and we got a late start because we had quite the journey. Just from Central New York, it took us the longest it’s ever taken us to fly to Orlando, and it was just unlucky. Well, we learned, hey, maybe now we gotta make sure to try to book or pay a little bit extra, especially if it’s only $20, $30, $40, to fly direct, 'cause it just will lower the odds, because we got unlucky. We would have ran into one delay inevitably, non-related to weather, after our layover, but we also got into quite a delay just from the things that just happen. We stayed…Scooter stayed very calm, 'cause he was like, okay…but the hardest thing was we didn't get into our hotel ‘til about…we didn't actually get in bed ‘til 2:00 in the morning, which is fine, but so, that threw our day off yesterday.

 

But so, Scoot…and then the cold…so, Scooter said, okay, what if we get moving? Once we got moving it was like, noon, after we ate something. We woke up in time…oh, we woke up at like 9:30, so we had time to eat the breakfast, and then Scooter needed to work on the podcast stuff. So, we left the room at noon, and Scooter said, okay, let’s…we weren't committed to leaving the hotel all day, but we were open to it. We had brought proper gear, 'cause Scooter's just been shopping…thrifting, and he got these wonderful coats, packable coats, for us, thrifting at a third of the price. The one he has has…the zipper’s imperfect, but the coat is…I think it’s a brand-new coat with a imperfect zipper, and the zipper still works 70% of the time. In Florida…in Central New York you'll need a full zipper, but here, having a nice coat with a partial zipper still works. So, we did have enough stuff. Then once we got out…the sun was out yesterday as well.

 

Living in Central New York now, Scooter's like, okay, well, I think we need to be out in the sunshine even though it’s cold, because we might as well enjoy it. Then after we left the room, Scooter's like, maybe we should just stay out all day, 'cause we were gonna go right back to the room, maybe. Scooter's…and then just come back when it gets dark, 'cause it’s gonna be very cold. Even with our gear, you don't want to be just outside. So, what we did was…Scooter's like, okay, let’s…we just…we didn't do any recording 'cause Scooter's like, okay, we’ll look at it…this like a location-scouting day, gathering information for this podcast here. So, we did go in the lobbies of the hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard we never went into before, just to check them out. So, the first one we went to was the DoubleTree. Now, they weren't serving cookies. Scooter was like, huh, maybe they’ll have a plate of cookies out somewhere. I think they're famous for their cookies.

 

That’s a DoubleTree Inn and Suites or just DoubleTree Suites. It was nice, nice enough. Normal lobby. Then we passed what used to be the B Hotel, which is something else now. Now, we’ve never stayed there, but we have gone in there to return cars twice, I believe, and we’ve also used the restroom in there when we’ve been recording and when we were walking, doing one of these styles of episodes, 'cause Scooter knew where the restroom was. So, we didn't go in there. Then there’s a nice retention basin you pass, then there’s a Holiday Inn, which we have stayed at for one night, not as part of recording; part of vacation, 'cause Scooter got…gets one free night a year at those hotels 'cause of something. So, we may stay there again. Scooter said, oh, I forgot about that. It’s such a convenient one-night stay, one of the best redemptions for convenience, in his opinion, because…especially if you're coming from California, you're not gonna be…or if we would have known this one, getting in at 2:00 in the morning…you say, okay, that’s just a place for me to sleep for the night.

 

But we liked it enough. Then after that is another Hilton, and it’s a interesting building. I don't know if it’s been here, the Hotel Plaza Boulevard. It does look like a…almost like an apartment building. I don't know. When Scooter…we were looking at it last night. Scooter said, this looks like it would be right outside of Washington DC as a hotel or office building. It’s just very straightforward, I would say. No adornment, very utility. But we did go in that lobby, and that’s where the pool convention was going on. So, it was a hive of activity. There’s supposedly a Benihana. We wanted to look at the Benihana and just look in to see if anybody was lunching, but there was no…we couldn't find the Benihana. But a nice enough hotel. Then I think that was it, 'cause there’s a Wyndham, which we’ve also been in the lobby…oh, Scooter wanted me to note…now, we forget…he thinks it was at the first…at the DoubleTree they had a dirty soda in their…I think it was there, yeah.

 

We couldn't get it just 'cause it was just not the right time of day. I think they use sugar-free syrups, too, or maybe you could get sugar-free syrups. Yeah. Oh, 'cause they didn't have Coke Zero listed; they only had Diet Coke and Coke. But so, dirty soda, if you haven't heard of it, it’s kinda like soda mixed with syrups and creamer. It sounds strange, but we’ve had…we’ve made our own at home, and actually mostly sugar-free or totally sugar-free, sometimes without syrup. It’s been a while. Since we’ve moved we haven't done it, but Scooter would do…you could do a root beer with vanilla creamer, kinda like a root beer float, or a Coke float. His daughter made some. Then Scooter even tried making…I guess he saw it on TikTok or something. You do a protein…he would say, okay, I could have a zero root beer with…and protein powder and some sort of cream thing mixed together. He said it’s not bad. I think in TikTok and things people do it with…they go to the 7Eleven; they’ll get a protein drink, a protein shake, and mix it with a soda.

 

So, that’s not dirty…that’s like a homemade dirty soda. It sounds dirtier than it is. But I just saw it…and they weren't advertising it as dirty soda, either, 'cause maybe that’s a brand or something. But it was just…I said, wow, cool. At the coffee shop, at their little cafe coffee shop. Okay, so after that we crossed over into the Downtown Disney bridges, which…where we once tried to record traffic. We were driving through the rain and we were remembering all the times…such a pleasant time to walk even though it was cold…all the times where it was raining, about to rain, or incredibly warm. So, that kinda put a skip in our step there. Then we walked into Saratoga Springs just to pace. Scooter said, let’s just walk into Saratoga Springs. We just did a small loop. Scooter was also working, so he was on the phone. That was the other reason he’s like, I can't go into Downtown Disney. I’m on this call I’m listening into. I have to learn something.

 

So, we just did a little loop there, and then Scooter finished up, and then we went into Downtown Disney. We were trying to figure out lunch. We had a couple ideas. First we checked the sandwiches at the sandwich place, which is called Royal Sandwiches or something. I can't remember. It has a name. It escapes me at this moment, but that place has been around for quite some time. Always known for its value. I don't know if it’s still known for its value. But Scooter was still on a call, so he said, okay, yeah, I’m not seeing anything anyway. ‘Cause he was like, if they have a patty melt, we’ll eat here. Then we wanted to check out — if Scooter was gonna be done with his call — Jock Lindsey’s Bar. ‘Cause Scooter said, huh, I wonder if we could eat there for lunch. We went there and she said, oh, it’s open seating right now, but there was no open seating when we went in on the inside. There was outside. Scooter was like, well, let’s see the food menu. It was mostly appetizers.

 

Scooter said, well, I kinda wanted to eat on the inside to get the je ne sais quoi or whatever you call it. So, we’ll just do this another time. Then Scooter said, well, once we said Jock Lindsey's Bar, I was thinking about a burger. Isn't there a burger spot? Is that a fast serve or a long serve? Believe it or not, I’ve never seen this behavior in Scooter; Scooter was like, I think I know where it is. Now, I didn't ask for help, but he did say, I think it’s in this general direction. Then he found a sign and looked it up on the sign, and it was quick service. You could mobile order. It’s called Deluxe Burger. So, we went there, and we got in line at first 'cause we didn't have any apps or anything 'cause we weren't planning on going to any parks. Then we got the app downloaded. Scooter mobile-ordered. We got a beef Wellington burger and fries, and the fries were excellent. The beef Wellington burger was…yeah, it was gimmicky, I guess. Scooter was like, yeah, you could say that.

 

So, we ate there, then we walked around a little bit more, then we were at a turning point. Scooter said, okay, let’s do this; let’s keep location-scouting. We’ll take a boat to one of the hotels. I said, well, which hotel? Scooter said, probably not the Port Orleans one just 'cause they're a little bit better at nighttime. Let’s go to Old Key West, 'cause I don't know if we’ve been on that boat ride other than a long, long time ago. Then, that boat was full. We just happened to be at the end of the line. So, then the Saratoga Springs boat was there. No one was on it except for one couple. Scooter said, okay, let’s just go there. This is…again, I think this was the second time — I can't remember what happened the first time — that Scooter talked to somebody, 'cause the boat driver was in a very good mood, but he was talking about how the songs on the boat are always repetitive. So, when we got to the dock, Scooter said, oh, can you tell me more about how the songs on the boat work?

 

He said, who is this man asking questions of people? This is not my Scooter. But the guy said, oh yeah, they’re GPS-related, but…there’s supposed to be ninety songs, but it just resets every time it connects to the GPSs, which are at the docks or right outside the docks. So, it just restarts. So, I only hear this song on the way in and that song on the way out. So, that was interesting that Scooter talked to somebody and learned more. He said, yeah, yeah, so, I hear…and it was…they had already started the holiday tunes. Not everything’s…now, not everything’s decorated for the holidays. I guess the parks are, but the hotels are in…they're not in full decoration. So, then we went to the lobby of the Saratoga Springs to see if it was decorated. They do have merchandise. Now, Scooter…we already gave up because Scooter was…a little around a year ago we were at Disneyland, and Scooter wanted to buy a women’s sweater that was a pink mini holiday sweater.

 

But it was sold out anyway 'cause…and it was a women’s sweater but Scooter said, I don't care. I want it. I like the pink, and I like it better than the Mickey sweater. Even if…he couldn't have found it…even if he could have found it, it was sold out. So, he said, well, I’ll just get it…see if they have it in my size. I’m comfortable wearing it, as long as the cut doesn't pinch me anywhere. But they didn't have it anywhere in his size, and I think that was Disneyland specific, though we did see one person wearing it. So, he was looking for that one. Then he saw another sweater, which we haven't had a chance to dive deep on to see if it’s a men’s or women’s sweater. So, stay tuned on that one. But I think either way Scooter will probably try to get it, 'cause he was like, oh, wow, it’s somewhat reasonably priced for…it was a real sweater, not a sweatshirt printed as a sweater. So, he’s interested in that.

 

So, let’s see, so then we thought about getting a soda, or…but Scooter had said, okay, well, we had a couple with lunch, and we didn't…also Scooter realized since we're not staying, we didn't have a Disney cup, which…stay tuned, right? Then Scooter said, okay…and we were talking to the boat driver about…Scooter said, let’s do our walk that we recorded and see what it’s like without recording. We’ll walk to Old Key West. So, we walked from Saratoga Springs to Old Key West, which is a episode at least in the Sleep With Me+ feed. I’m not sure, honestly, if it was releasable to the public feed. But we walked from Sara…I think it was one of those days…we had biked as well. We did the walk and Scooter said…and I said to myself as well and to Scooter, wow, what a walk, especially when it’s not hot. Scooter was like, you're really able to look at the…how beautiful it is. Scooter said, maybe this is one of those great Orlando within-a-theme-park walks.

 

So, that was also very exciting, where…I don't know, there was a couple times it was canopy overhead, and the boats are going by, and there’s birds and squirrels. So, then we walked, and we couldn't…now, remember…I don't know, Scooter was like, I remember this walk differently, but this could be one of the many other walks we’ve been in all getting amalgamated, or maybe we took a different turn somewhere…somewheres. But so, Scooter said, let’s stay right. Again, the layout of the resort is always confusing to us just in our memories, 'cause we imagine that on both sides of the Sassagoula River, which has many tributaries, or maybe…and…'cause it’s…oh, that was the boat. When we got off of Saratoga Springs, it was SSC, Sassagoula Steamboat Company. We laughed about that, 'cause that’s how I got the first job on the podcast, was where I say Sassagoular when it’s Sassagoula, Scooter would say. But so, we walked and then we got to the lobby of Old Key West.

 

Scooter did want to check if the sauna was still operating, but we forgot to do…we saw that the building that the sauna…'cause they had a sauna at the pool. This is…Old Key West is different on our wishlist for a balcony episode, like a actual chilling balcony episode, 'cause they have a lot of balconies. Most of them only have views of a golf course. That would be good; we could just sit and comment on the golfers. So, there’s an idea for you, Scooter, a free idea from your friend Ray. Then we went and played…well, first we were…we were like, oh, we could just take a bus anywhere. Then Scooter said, well, it’s gonna be night. Let’s take the bus to MGM Studios, take the Skyliner. I said, okay, Scooter, whatever you wish. Then Scooter said, we’ll walk around the Epcot Resorts and then take a bus back to Disney Springs. Then Scooter said, well, we're on this walk; we might as well keep walking. So, we…so, whatever, we got off the bus and then we took the Skyliner to the Caribbean Beach Resort.

 

Scooter said, let’s get off here and let’s walk to the lobby of the Caribbean Beach Resort. Let’s just keep this walking going. We’ll go there, then we’ll go to the Riviera, then we’ll catch another Skyliner. Then…so, we went to the Caribbean Beach and Scooter said, I think it’s time for a snack break, and by that he meant a soda break. So, he did a quick cost calculation and he said, I might as well buy a Disney Resort soda mug, because we're planning on doing another day…we're staying at another non-Disney hotel, but we're planning on doing another day of walking, probably location-scouting, 'cause it really is nice when you're not recording. You're able to observe a lot of stuff that you can't observe. So, we…so, what was I saying? So, where were we? Okay, so, we took the Skyliner, we went to the Caribbean Beach, Scooter bought a mug. Also the deciding factor was that they had a freestyle machine like Stan the soda machine.

 

The freestyle machine has zero-sugar root beer, which is Scooter's drink during the day on vacation 'cause it’s no caffeine, no sugar. So, he was like, okay. So, we had one of those, and we had a little snacky-poo that we had had left over from lunch, then we walked to the Riviera and topped Scooter's root beer off. Then Scooter said, wait a second, later we could get hot cocoa because of this mug. Oh, and the break-even analysis — if you say, ha, ha, ha — at Disney prices is about five mugs of soda. So, that’s where you break even if you’re processing it in that way. So, we…then we went to the Riviera, topped the soda off, 'cause we didn't really need it. They hadn't had the decorations up, but it was a nice walk. Then we caught the Skyliner again, and then we took that to the Skyliner Station, and then we walked through the boardwalk. We didn't really go into the hotel or anything. Scooter thought about refilling his mug there, but he didn't need it. Then we walked to the Swan lobby.

 

They were getting ready for some food-and-wine event, it looked like. There was also other conventioneers, but we couldn't quite read their badges. Then we walked by the Dolphin. We didn't go into the Dolphin. But Scooter was also appreciating the autumn light on these buildings and some things. He said, Ray, I don't know if we’ve really walked around here at magic hour in the autumn light. Everything looks a little bit different, or maybe we're just different. I said, yeah, Scooter, of course, and I patted him on the head. But it was nice. Then we walked to the Yacht and Beach Club, and that’s where we got hot cocoa, and then we went and got a bus back to Disney Springs, where we had a slice of pizza from Pizza Point or Ponte, which Scooter…and then we had that on a outside table on the bridge in Disney Springs. Still a great value. Great pizza. That or Cooks of Dublin are probably the two best places to eat quick service, in our opinion, quickly, reliably, and well priced.

 

So, we had that slice of pizza and then we finished our walk back to the hotel and got ready for bed. We got snuggled in bed. We got comfortable, and then we drift off…drifted off. It’s time for us to drift out of this hotel, everybody. So, thanks for joining us, and goodnight from your friend Ray and your friend Scooter and the Drury Hotel here in Orlando. Goodnight, everybody.

 

[End of recording]

Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes

On Location / Balcony / Ray

 

“The Counterculture”

https://www.washington.edu/news/2015/08/17/uw-historian-william-rorabaugh-explores-60s-counterculture-in-american-hippies/

https://www.thecollector.com/hippie-counterculture-movement-1960s-1970s/

https://www.theculturecrush.com/feature/whatever-happened-to-the-counter-culture

 

Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando

https://www.frommers.com/destinations/walt-disney-world/hotels/drury-plaza-hotel-orlando-disney-springs/

https://www.druryhotels.com/about/pressreleases/drury-plaza-hotel-orlando-officially-opens

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/drury-hotels-is-developing-its-first-property-in-the-disney-springs-resort-area-in-orlando-florida-300971113.html

 

New Building Materials

https://www.planradar.com/gb/top-15-innovative-construction-materials/

https://www.giatecscientific.com/education/top-10-building-materials/

https://www.accoya.com/sustainable-building-materials-for-2025/

 

Disney Merchandise

https://thedisinsider.com/2024/08/08/the-evolution-of-disney-merchandise-from-classic-toys-to-modern-collectibles/

https://www.waltdisney.org/blog/selling-mickey-rise-disney-marketing

https://www.remindmagazine.com/article/7144/collecting-disneyana-walt-disney-100/

 

DOWN TO BUSINESS

I’m recording the intro looking out a window

My neighbor Ray will be here on a resort balcony

Is this a resort?

Talkin’ about a day of walkin’

We almost hit 30,000 steps

When you walk that many steps, there’s a lot of meanders

 

PLUGS

Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

 

SPONSORS

Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; AquaTru

 

INTRO

Setting aside whatever might be on your mind

I’m just here to help out because I’ve been there

I hope you get the sense that you’re not alone

Rooting for you in a gentle, soft way

Thinking fondly in some way

It’s almost rebellious

Counter-Inner-Culturally

My Internal Culture

My internal work culture has a lot of bosses and demands

I’m so glad you’re here

How the show works

A lot of utterances

Am I using “culture” correctly there?

It can’t be called a committee because no one is working together

The loving caretaker, cleaning up knowingly

Debating the uses of committees

But I’m at the beach in my brain, and that’s fine

Tell me how wet you want your water, and I’ll provide it

You don’t need to like me, but I hope this show helps

I pride myself on being different than expected

I’m just here to assist everyone in this room

A friend talking to you about almost nothing

I’m just here to be your bore friend

An Indirect Thing

The Hangout Time

Repetition and Variety

Tonight will be Ray talkin’ about walking’ and meanderin’

Plenty of ways to listen to the show

 

STORY

I forgot to get some area tone

Scooter is telling me it’s not called area tone

Introducing Ray

Cool but not balmy

An echo-y balcony

Looking out a balcony, across a retention basin, to a hotel with balconies

We’re here in Orlando

Talking about the history of this hotel

We brought binoculars, but there’s not too much to see

The history of the hotel is on my phone, which I can’t access right now

But it’s more about the meanders

Scooter reminds me about the 5 Ws

We’re not going to any Disney parks right now

We may go to Universal if our seasonal pass permits

This may still be on Disney property

This is not a sponsored episode

But I do like to express appreciation when things are going well

Late early November

Scooter’s father is performing in a musical play thing

Bucket List Balcony

It’s great for a family but not for a balcony-based episode

We’re in Lake Buena Vista at the Drury Plaza Hotel

Alternating walking days

Koa had to change her viewing habits after we moved

We do have access to The Addams Family

We’ve got a great dogwalker

Ray’s getting pretty good at meanders

We’ve tested out other shows on Koa

She got tired of Bob Ross

Same for Johnny Carson and David Letterman

Top 10 Meanders to Go On

Mystery Science Theater 3000

She’s getting used to it

A recent thing is Who’s the Boss?

Addams Family just has the intangible, y’know?

The most recent test has been Family Ties

Not Facts of Life

Scooter claims he’s seen the same episode pop up within a 24 hour period

The show comforts Koa

It’s her Sleep With Me

She gets enough of Scooter’s voice

Wow, what a meander

History of the Drury Plaza Hotel

This hotel has a varied history

It’s been a couple different chains over the years

Drury built a second tower

Scooter’s alma mater did something similar

A building attached to a building

Two buildings became one

A very romantic construction technique

These hotels have more utility

A curved triangle type thing

We can see EPCOT in the distance

We can see the hotel that Scooter always wants to stay at

I think it’s called the Hilton Buena Vista Palace Hotel

The hotel pool is playing music, but that’s okay

Right now, there’s a convention for pool companies

But last night, there was a party

It was almost a rave in the distance!

Oh my goodness, a beautiful crane just flew by

Retention Basin Background White Noise

To our right are swampy trees

The Cypress Regency is in our backyard

The Evermore Resort is new

We also looked at the Bonnet Creek Resorts, but we coudln’t get a balcony room

I think there’s a lot of conferences going on right now

So they built this new tower connected to the current tower

Cement and stucco

Non-Glamorous Contemporary Hotel

The Hyatt Place is one of our favorite Hyatt places

The Disney Character Balloon is going up very slowly

Back to the hotel

Some perks of this hotel

No resort fee!

A place to work out

A pool and a hot tub

They might charge for parking

I’m really enjoying the view of this lake

Breakfast AND a kickback hour

AND a taco bar

And there’s a popcorn and soda hour

All included!

The breakfast is a little better than a usual hotel breakfast

The two towers are not aligned perfectly

Two 2nd floors, etc.

We almost got lost, but Scooter remembered what our flooring looked like

Dedicated buses to the parks

Nice flat pillows

Comfortable rooms

Scooter likes to keep it cool

A lot of Florida locals are here for a one-day holiday

A lot of different sizes and layouts of rooms

They recently remodeled everything

The new tower was built with foam concrete cement forms

Innovative!

Back to our 5 Ws

Let’s talk about yesterday now

I had to take a break because there was so much noise of joy outside

I could really study the new building’s construction

Are these concrete forms each a story tall?!

Okay, let’s talk about yesterday

We had quite the journey getting here

It’s just easier to fly direct

We didn’t get into bed until 2 in the morning

We left the room at noon

Scooter’s been thrifting and found some great packable coats

A brand new coat with imperfect zippers

A partial zipper works alright in Florida

Maybe it could be a location-scouting day

Checking out hotel lobbies

First up, Double Tree

No cookies anywhere

We passed the former B Hotel (not sure what it’s called now)

A Holiday Inn we stayed at once for free

Redemptions for Convenience

Then another Hilton

This looks like an office building in Washington, D.C.

We couldn’t find the Benihana

A Wyndham

Oh, the Double Tree had a dirty soda stand that wasn’t open

Explaining dirty soda

It’s actually pretty good

Scooter would make his own

He tried to make a protein dirty soda, and it wasn’t too bad

Homemade Dirty Soda

Then we crossed over the Downtown Disney Bridges

Briefly walking into Saratoga Springs for a small loop

Scooter had to be on a call

Then we went into Downtown Disney

Figuring out lunch

We checked out the sandwiches at…Royal Sandwiches?

Scooter wanted to check out Jock Lindsay’s bar

No open seating inside

We wanted a burger

Scooter actually thought he knew where it was

D-Lux Burger

Beef Wellington Burger (gimmicky) and fries (excellent)

Continuing to location scout

Let’s take a boat from Old Key West

But that boat was full

So we left from Saratoga Springs

Scooter was actually talking with strangers? Who is this man?

GPS-connected songs

Decorations are going up

Lobbies have merch but not full decorations

Scooter tried to buy a pink mini holiday sweater at Disneyland for himself

But it was sold out

But there’s another real sweater he’s interested in

We didn’t have a Disney cup, so we didn’t want to get soda

Test-running a walk to Old Key West

One of the great Orlando within-a-park walks

All our past walks get amalgamated in our minds

The many tributaries of the Sassagoula River

I got this podcast job because of how I say “Sassagoula”

Scooter wanted to check the sauna hours

Old Key West is on our list for an actual chilling balcony episode

Free idea: we do commentary on the golfers

Let’s take a bus to MGM Studios and take the Skyliner

As you wish, Scooter

Scooter called for a quick snack break

AKA a soda break

He did the mental math of buying a Disney cup for free soda refills

Scooter bought a mug at Caribbean Resorts

He got sugar-free root beer from a freestyle soda machine

We can get hot cocoa in this mug!

The break-even analysis of these mugs is about 5 cups of soda

Appreciating the autumn magic hour light

Then we got into bed and snuggled up

And we’ll do that right now, goodnight

 

SUMMARY:

Episode: 1450

Title: Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando | Ray on a Balcony

Plugs: Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

Sponsors: Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; AquaTru

Notable Language:

• Counter-Inner-Culturally
• My Internal Culture
• A lot of utterances
• Area Tone
• Bucket List Balcony
• Balcony-Based Episode
• A very romantic construction technique
• A curved triangle type thing
• Swampy Trees
• Non-Glamorous Contemporary Hotel
• Partial Zipper
• Redemptions for Convenience
• Homemade Dirty Soda
• Je Ne Sais Quoi
• Great Orlando within-a-park walks

 

Notable Culture:

• • The Counterculture
  • Ray
  • Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando
  • Disney
  • Universal Studios
  • The Addams Family
  • Bob Ross
  • Johnny Carson
  • David Letterman

• Mystery Science Theater 3000

• Who’s the Boss?

• • Family Ties

• Facts of Life

• Hilton Buena Vista Palace Hotel
• Double Tree
• B Hotel
• Holiday Inn
• Benihana
• Dirty Soda
• TikTok

 

Notable Talking Points:

• Setting aside whatever might be on your mind
• I’m just here to help out because I’ve been there
• I hope you get the sense that you’re not alone
• Rooting for you in a gentle, soft way
• Thinking fondly in some way
• It’s almost rebellious
• Counter-Inner-Culturally
• My Internal Culture
• My internal work culture has a lot of bosses and demands
• I’m so glad you’re here
• How the show works
• A lot of utterances
• Am I using “culture” correctly there?
• It can’t be called a committee because no one is working together
• The loving caretaker, cleaning up knowingly
• Debating the uses of committees
• But I’m at the beach in my brain, and that’s fine
• Tell me how wet you want your water, and I’ll provide it
• You don’t need to like me, but I hope this show helps
• I pride myself on being different than expected
• I’m just here to assist everyone in this room
• A friend talking to you about almost nothing
• I’m just here to be your bore friend
• An Indirect Thing
• The Hangout Time
• Repetition and Variety
• Tonight will be Ray talkin’ about walking’ and meanderin’
• Plenty of ways to listen to the show
• I forgot to get some area tone
• Scooter is telling me it’s not called area tone
• Introducing Ray
• Cool but not balmy
• An echo-y balcony
• Looking out a balcony, across a retention basin, to a hotel with balconies
• We’re here in Orlando
• Talking about the history of this hotel
• We brought binoculars, but there’s not too much to see
• The history of the hotel is on my phone, which I can’t access right now
• But it’s more about the meanders
• Scooter reminds me about the 5 Ws
• We’re not going to any Disney parks right now
• We may go to Universal if our seasonal pass permits
• This may still be on Disney property
• This is not a sponsored episode
• But I do like to express appreciation when things are going well
• Late early November
• Scooter’s father is performing in a musical play thing
• Bucket List Balcony
• It’s great for a family but not for a balcony-based episode
• We’re in Lake Buena Vista at the Drury Plaza Hotel
• Alternating walking days
• Koa had to change her viewing habits after we moved
• We do have access to The Addams Family
• We’ve got a great dogwalker
• Ray’s getting pretty good at meanders
• We’ve tested out other shows on Koa
• She got tired of Bob Ross
• Same for Johnny Carson and David Letterman
• Top 10 Meanders to Go On
• Mystery Science Theater 3000
• She’s getting used to it
• A recent thing is Who’s the Boss?
• Addams Family just has the intangible, y’know?
• The most recent test has been Family Ties
• Not Facts of Life
• Scooter claims he’s seen the same episode pop up within a 24 hour period
• The show comforts Koa
• It’s her Sleep With Me
• She gets enough of Scooter’s voice
• Wow, what a meander
• History of the Drury Plaza Hotel
• This hotel has a varied history
• It’s been a couple different chains over the years
• Drury built a second tower
• Scooter’s alma mater did something similar
• A building attached to a building
• Two buildings became one
• A very romantic construction technique
• These hotels have more utility
• A curved triangle type thing
• We can see EPCOT in the distance
• We can see the hotel that Scooter always wants to stay at
• I think it’s called the Hilton Buena Vista Palace Hotel
• The hotel pool is playing music, but that’s okay
• Right now, there’s a convention for pool companies
• But last night, there was a party
• It was almost a rave in the distance!
• Oh my goodness, a beautiful crane just flew by
• Retention Basin Background White Noise
• To our right are swampy trees
• The Cypress Regency is in our backyard
• The Evermore Resort is new
• We also looked at the Bonnet Creek Resorts, but we coudln’t get a balcony room
• I think there’s a lot of conferences going on right now
• So they built this new tower connected to the current tower
• Cement and stucco
• Non-Glamorous Contemporary Hotel
• The Hyatt Place is one of our favorite Hyatt places
• The Disney Character Balloon is going up very slowly
• Back to the hotel
• Some perks of this hotel
• No resort fee!
• A place to work out
• A pool and a hot tub
• They might charge for parking
• I’m really enjoying the view of this lake
• Breakfast AND a kickback hour
• AND a taco bar
• And there’s a popcorn and soda hour
• All included!
• The breakfast is a little better than a usual hotel breakfast
• The two towers are not aligned perfectly
• Two 2nd floors, etc.
• We almost got lost, but Scooter remembered what our flooring looked like
• Dedicated buses to the parks
• Nice flat pillows
• Comfortable rooms
• Scooter likes to keep it cool
• A lot of Florida locals are here for a one-day holiday
• A lot of different sizes and layouts of rooms
• They recently remodeled everything
• The new tower was built with foam concrete cement forms
• Innovative!
• Back to our 5 Ws
• Let’s talk about yesterday now
• I had to take a break because there was so much noise of joy outside
• I could really study the new building’s construction
• Are these concrete forms each a story tall?!
• Okay, let’s talk about yesterday
• We had quite the journey getting here
• It’s just easier to fly direct
• We didn’t get into bed until 2 in the morning
• We left the room at noon
• Scooter’s been thrifting and found some great packable coats
• A brand new coat with imperfect zippers
• A partial zipper works alright in Florida
• Maybe it could be a location-scouting day
• Checking out hotel lobbies
• First up, Double Tree
• No cookies anywhere
• We passed the former B Hotel (not sure what it’s called now)
• A Holiday Inn we stayed at once for free
• Redemptions for Convenience
• Then another Hilton
• This looks like an office building in Washington, D.C.
• We couldn’t find the Benihana
• A Wyndham
• Oh, the Double Tree had a dirty soda stand that wasn’t open
• Explaining dirty soda
• It’s actually pretty good
• Scooter would make his own
• He tried to make a protein dirty soda, and it wasn’t too bad
• Homemade Dirty Soda
• Then we crossed over the Downtown Disney Bridges
• Briefly walking into Saratoga Springs for a small loop
• Scooter had to be on a call
• Then we went into Downtown Disney
• Figuring out lunch
• We checked out the sandwiches at…Royal Sandwiches?
• Scooter wanted to check out Jock Lindsay’s bar
• No open seating inside
• We wanted a burger
• Scooter actually thought he knew where it was
• D-Lux Burger
• Beef Wellington Burger (gimmicky) and fries (excellent)
• Continuing to location scout
• Let’s take a boat from Old Key West
• But that boat was full
• So we left from Saratoga Springs
• Scooter was actually talking with strangers? Who is this man?
• GPS-connected songs
• Decorations are going up
• Lobbies have merch but not full decorations
• Scooter tried to buy a pink mini holiday sweater at Disneyland for himself
• But it was sold out
• But there’s another real sweater he’s interested in
• We didn’t have a Disney cup, so we didn’t want to get soda
• Test-running a walk to Old Key West
• One of the great Orlando within-a-park walks
• All our past walks get amalgamated in our minds
• The many tributaries of the Sassagoula River
• I got this podcast job because of how I say “Sassagoula”
• Scooter wanted to check the sauna hours
• Old Key West is on our list for an actual chilling balcony episode
• Free idea: we do commentary on the golfers
• Let’s take a bus to MGM Studios and take the Skyliner
• As you wish, Scooter
• Scooter called for a quick snack break
• AKA a soda break
• He did the mental math of buying a Disney cup for free soda refills
• Scooter bought a mug at Caribbean Resorts
• He got sugar-free root beer from a freestyle soda machine
• We can get hot cocoa in this mug!
• The break-even analysis of these mugs is about 5 cups of soda
• Appreciating the autumn magic hour light
• Then we got into bed and snuggled up
• And we’ll do that right now, goodnight