Disney World 2015, day 7: Drug store / Magic Kingdom (again)
Walmart (via telephone). They want $118 for the small bottle of ofloxacin!
CentraCare (Lake Buena Vista FL, via telephone). They haven’t restocked on ofloxacin since yesterday. They say that their price is not based on insurance, but on their “actual cost” as a nonprofit organization. They give me the number of the next-closest CentraCare.
CentraCare (Orange Lake FL, via telephone). They have the ofloxacin for $27, but they cannot sell it to me unless Kid #2 is seen by one of their own doctors; a doctor from another office of the same company is not good enough! “We’re not a pharmacy,” they say, but I suspect the problem is that there are only extremely limited situations in which they are allowed to sell drugs without the 300% markup that is otherwise required in the US in order to support the Medical-Industrial Complex. Pet360.com sells otic ofloxacin for $29; they get away with that by claiming it’s only for dogs+cats.
TD/Allianz (via telephone). It’s Saturday. The telephone number they told me to use for “claim in progress” is not staffed on weekends.
Walgreens (Orlando FL, 11:22am). A different Walgreens, just over the city line from Lake Buena Vista, so out of Disney’s clutches. $115.54 for ofloxacin plus some cotton balls that the doctor told us to use with it (only available in bags of 100, which is 10 times the number we actually need). The pharmacist helpfully points out the part of the receipt that I am supposed to submit to my insurance company and tries to reassure me that the cost will definitely be reimbursed (but he didn’t ask who my insurer is, so how would he know?).
Our room. Five drops in the kid’s ear. They feel “weird”. The main reason why Kid #2 needs to take this stuff is because the insurance contract says they won’t cover problems caused by failure to take prescribed medications and these drops were prescribed.
Magic Kingdom Park. This time we take the tram and it’s only about 35 minutes from our room to the entrance booths.
Attractions visited today: Walt Disney World Railroad, Barnstormer (not Wifey), Dumbo, Under the Sea - Little Mermaid, Be Our Guest (lunch, 2:07pm), It’s a Small World (Wifey and Kid #2), Peter Pan, a popcorn cart (snack, 4:45pm), Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (snack, 5:05pm), Mickey’s PhilharMagic (Wifey & Kid #1), Tomorrowland Speedway (not Wifey), 7 Dwarfs Mine Train (not Wifey), Mad Tea Party (not Wifey), and Emporium (just Wifey, souvenirs 5:25pm).
While Wifey & Kid #1 do PhilharMagic again, Kid #2 and I try to go on the Mad Tea Party ride, but it closes down (possibly due to the rain) just as we arrive. Later, Kid #1 joins us for another try and we are successful.
It is interesting to go on Tomorrowland Speedway with my two children, both of whom now possess student-driver licenses. Kid #1 remembers the last time we were here, when she was 11 and was told she could not drive because she was too short. So this time, Kid #1 and Kid #2 each drive their own cars while I act as passenger for Kid #2, who has not begun his driver-training yet so this is his first time “behind the wheel” as it were. Unfortunately, the car has almost no steering control (perhaps due to rain?) and is very frustrating to operate. After the ride, Kid #1 reassures her brother that real cars are much easier to steer.
At the “popcorn” cart, we get Mickey Mouse ice cream bars (only 3 of them because Kid #2 is not feeling well). They are Nestlé-branded but the chocolate is quite dark and unlike Nestlé’s usual crap. It’s great that we can finally try these things without worrying about whether they’re actually worth $4.25 each, because they’re considered “snacks” and are covered by our dining plan.
At Cosmic Ray’s, where we sit to eat the ice cream, I buy some bottled water for Wifey using an additional snack credit - because we have so many of them!
At the Emporium, Wifey buys a Minnie Mouse tote bag ($26.58) for her college roommate/bridesmaid, who will be visiting us tomorrow. She also buys Mickey Mouse earrings ($8.47) for herself.
The Knife (Lake Buena Vista FL, 9:10pm). Argentinian steakhouse buffet. They try to be impressive, but I think Golden Corral is better. $160.37 for dinner, which seems overpriced.
We had planned to eat here because we had heard of the rivalry between Argentina and Brazil, each of which sends large quantities of teenagers to Disneyworld at certain times of the year (supposedly they taunt each other in the parks). I guess I was expecting something more “authentic” that would appeal to actual Argentinians on vacation in Florida. But this restaurant entices with odor what it fails to deliver on taste.
The restaurant claims to be in Orlando FL, but Google suggests they are actualy just inside the city limits of Lake Buena Vista (hence paying rent to Disney). When presenting the bill, the waiter asks me to show him my Disney employee ID so I can get the corporate discount. I am wearing a Disney “Guest of Honor” nametag from 15 years ago; this product is no longer sold and many Disney cast members have asked me about it on this trip. My badge is red (as is Kid #2’s); this meant “male” back in the day - Wifey and Kid #1 have blue badges. One cast member told me that Disney corporate bigwigs wear red badges now. Oddly enough, no one ever asks about my 20+ year old Goofy hat; the same design is still sold today and mine doesn’t look that old because I haven’t used it much.
Our room. Five more drops in the kid’s ear.