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Topiaries Two, the EPCOT Barbecue

Walt Disney World Trip

EPCOT Again

Friday, March 8, 2013

We finished packing in the morning -- well, I tried to, but hadn't received my package express stuff from Animal Kingdom.  Their services weren't open yet, so I decided to just go with Linda to EPCOT for free time before going home.

At the entrance, we saw that the topiaries had been updated so that Mickey and friends were at a barbecue.  They added a string of hot dogs in Pluto's mouth.  Cute.

Dog with Dogs

 We were hungry and had one last dining plan credit to use, so we ate at Sunshine Seasons Food Court, and watched everyone hurry to get fast passes for Soarin'.  We didn't feel like going on that, even though it would be a slightly different ride.  So we went to Journey Into Imagination with Figment.  We made our own Figments, and conducted music with invisible instruments.  

The Flower & Garden Festival wasn't open quite yet, so we hung out in Future World and watched the JAMMitors for a bit.  

JAMM on it!

Lawn Flamingo

Then we went back to the Festival, and learned about the trees planted at Disneyland, and saw some cute merchandise.  They also displayed the new Disney collection for Vera Bradley, which is probably going to make Linda finally buy a VB purse for herself.  

Vera Bradley Disney Collection 

We went back to the hotel, and I took pictures of Ariel and her friends by the pool.  We still had no packages.  So I called again, and they told me to check with the front desk.  Um, DUH, Sherry!  I was supposed to pick up my package in the hotel gift shop this whole time.  So when I was buying something earlier in the week, and I happened to be underneath the sign that said Package Express, I guess I didn't think that the sign pertained to me.  I'm such an idiot sometimes.

Ariel, poolside

We got our stuff together and took a shuttle bus back to MCO.   We sat by the window to watch the planes come and go, and our flight home was fairly uneventful, but it still looked cool inside. I didn't choose as much music to play this time, but went backward from what I had chosen before, so that I could hear the artists that were at the end of the alphabet.  

When we got back to LAX, Linda was amazed at my ability to flag down the shuttle driver.  I made sure to leave our luggage with Linda by the elevator, so that we didn't have to haul them up a flight of stairs, and picked her up.  I brought Linda home, and we said our goodbyes.

Thank you, Linda, for such a fun trip!  I'm glad that I was able to celebrate your birthday with you in such a grand way.  :)

Oh, and in case you're wondering...I never found any highlighter pens.  I'll bring my own next time.

It's Like Home, But Big

Walt Disney World

Magic Kingdom

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Linda and I made use of the previous evening's leftovers from Sanaa, and fixed breakfast for ourselves.  I made mine into a Naan Tandoori sandwich and wrapped it up for later.  It was still cold outside, so we bundled up and waited for the shuttle bus to the Magic Kingdom.  The bus was quite crowded due to the Magic Morning for the hotels, and I'm pretty sure that I almost fell asleep during the ride.  I may have been standing at the time, too.

We made it there in time to see the big production number as they opened the gates and welcomed us.  I was still kinda sleepy, so I wasn't as excited as I should have been, but that changed once we got inside.  Even though we'd both been to MK before, we're so used to The Original that this park just overwhelms us.  Everything is just so darn big!  We took lots of pictures of the castle and the Partners Statue, and I just stared at the castle for awhile because it is really big.  Yeah, that's the theme of the day.  Hence the title of this post, if you hadn't already noticed.

HUGE Cinderella Castle

Of course, the goal for the day was to see the new Fantasyland.  Wow.  They have fast passes for everything!  They even have sandwich boards showing you where to get the fast passes, at least for The Little Mermaid.  So we decided to take advantage of our Magic Hour and go to that first since, to us, a need for Fast Pass means that the line gets very long during normal hours, so we wanted to avoid that.  

On the way to my ride, we passed Belle's village, and I giggled at Gaston's plaque in front of his statue.  (It's a gift from him to the village.  He's so sweet.  To himself).

Gaston's Fountain and Plaque

The village is nicely done, and I like seeing the Beast's castle up on the hill.  The Little Mermaid attraction was nearby, and I immediately did a pouty face because WOW.  Their queue is amazing!  I believe my words were, "That is NOT FAIR!"  I mean, it's gorgeous.  And they have a ship with Ariel on it.  And a plaque. And a whole meet and greet dedicated to her.  And I'm jealous.  I made sure to get a Disney photographer to take my picture, and he made it a "magic" one.  See how happy I am in all of my jealousy?

Sebastian and Sher

So back to the queue.  One of the great things about Florida is that they have so much space to use that they can really do cool stuff with the theme of their queues.  For this one, you go through caverns, and there is interactive stuff.  In different places of the queue, you can watch a crab choose different types of treasure, and you tell the crab if it's OK to keep or if he should discard it.  The crab reacts to your movements.  Also, Scuttle is there to talk about stuff.  When you get to the loading area, the caverns around you make it seem like you're underground, which is another cool effect.  The ride itself is the same as the one at Disney California Adventure, except that on one wall, there is a mural/painting of Triton's castle.  Also, Florida does not have The Incredible Mr. Limpet.  The mural in the loading area is also different.  Also, their moving walkway has mantas on it, whereas ours (I'll be using "us vs them" lingo) has seashells.  

Crab with trumpet (he actually has 2 eyes, not 4)

After disembarking the ride, you can go to the entrance of Ariel's Grotto.  While we were in line, some kid showed his folks that the CM had given him a card, and said that he was supposed to give it to the next people in line, which happened to be us.  I read the card and told him that I didn't think we were supposed to pass it down, as he was instructing us.  So the kid went back to the CM at the entrance and was told that yes, he was supposed to keep it until he got to the front of the line.  The card was a tool for the CMs to measure the length of the line.  So if we all passed it down, it would make the wait time, like, 24 hours or whatever.  Maybe 12 hours.  I don't know, everything's too big there for proper math.  Anyway, I brushed my hair with my Ariel brush and got all excited about meeting Ariel, like I was 6 years old again, which doesn't make sense because Ariel was not Ariel until I was way past 6 years old.  I watched as the family in front of us took pictures, and it was really nice that she took the time to talk to them a little bit.  I didn't know if she'd give me the same amount of time being that I'm my age, but she did!  I said hi to her, and she pointed to my shirt, saying, "That's ME!"  I told her that I got it at the ride in California, and told her a little bit about it.  I'm pretty sure that I told her to come over and visit.  I also told her that she's my favorite princess because she sings the best, and she said, "We won't tell the other princesses."  In order to get people to smile for the camera, she says, "GUPPIES!"  So cute.  

GUPPIES!

So I was happy and ready to go home.  Oh, yeah, there's the whole rest of the park to see.  We returned to Belle's village, and the shop had some really cool Beauty and The Beast stuff that I haven't seen anywhere else.  I purchased a set of ceramic coasters that had very simple icons on them.  One of them is a fleur-de-lis, of course, and another one is a rose.  I also bought something cool for Bro, but can't type it here in case he reads this before I give it to him.  Since his gift was a bit large and heavy for my luggage, I opted to ship it home and included my coasters with the package.  

We were hungry, so we sat down at some tables and ate the breakfast that we had prepared.  Afterward, we went to Philharmagic, which neither one of us had ever experienced before.  But oh, goodness, it was right up our alley!  There were a lot of musical symbols in the details, and we just loved it!  I took way too many pictures of fixtures, especially in the gift shop.  I basically just want the gift shop shelves to be in my house.  Not the merchandise, just all of the cool decor.  I also really liked the show, which incorporated Ariel and Aladdin/Jasmine, as well as The Lion King, among others.  

Want.

We walked to the Haunted Mansion, which is BIG.  We opted for the longer queue so that we could look at the graveyard.  I'm really glad that we did that because I loved the tribute to Thurl Ravenscroft and yes, there was more musical stuff.  Also, Francis Xavier had a tombstone there.  So did Leota, and when I look at the pictures that I took, they kind of freak me out.  The way that the light hits, one of the pictures of her makes it look like her eyes are open, and in the other one, her eyes are closed.  I don't think that this was on purpose, or I just got lucky because I wanted to make sure to get a good shot of the headstone.  I'm still partial to our HM because of the elevator.  Also, ours kicks major ass during the Halloween/Christmas holiday season.  :)  

Interactive Tomb

If you don't already know by now, I was really happy when Barack Obama was elected to be the President of the United States.  So I was excited to see his likeness in the Hall of Presidents, as was Linda.  We waited for the next show, and I saw a porch with a rocking chair and couldn't resist sitting on it.  Then we went in and I was annoyed by the dude that didn't want to go into the  show because he realized that Obama was added.  Did you think that they would just skip him because you don't like him?  I think that this attraction is quite reverent of all of our nation's leaders, and I was happy to hear the current president's speech.  (Not a surprise, right?).  I looked at all of the presidents and thought of the Disney exhibit at the Reagan Library, where they had the different maquettes of the presidents' heads.  These were moving, though, and talking.  I don't think I would have been happy if the heads had been talking at the library, because it would creep me out that they didn't have bodies.  

Chip & Dale look really cute in their Western outifts.  I love their vests!

Western Dale and Chip

One of the things of which I'm most envious about the Florida version of our park is the fact that they still have the Country Bear Jamboree.  Have I told you that I can't stand the bear that replaced them in Disneyland?  I was happy to see all of the bears!  I've really missed seeing them.  I still don't remember all of their names, though.

I heart them muchly

Then it was lunch time.  We had planned on having lunch at Be Our Guest because we couldn't get dinner reservations.  They run out of those as soon as they're available 6 months ahead of time, so if you want to have dinner there, plan early!  I would love to go there for dinner someday.   The line was quite long, and I heard CMs telling people different wait times for the exact same place in line.  So no, they really have no idea how long you're going to wait for the new stuff.  Everything about the building is themed quite well, from the different beast sculptures to the tapestries and even the place where you order your food (in the library -- with books!).  For each order, you are given a rose to place at your table, so that they can find you when your order is ready.  So I guess there's some kind of GPS device in it.   

One of several different Beast details

Our servers were Andrew and Kathryn.  I asked Andrew if I could get ice from the beverage station to go with the milk he brought me.  He jokingly said that I could only get ice WITH water.  Kathryn told him that she looks like Belle and therefore outranks him, and yes, I could just get a cup of ice.  The beverages are self-service, and when I went to the drink station, a bunch of cups just started dispensing themselves on to the floor. The dude behind me said that perhaps they were Magic Cups and did whatever they wanted.   I advised a CM nearby that it was happening, and also asked if that was part of the Disney Magic.  I mean, we were in an enchanted castle.  How did I know that the cups weren't supposed to dispense themselves....20 at a time...onto the floor?  Perhaps they were rebelling against their master.   I ordered the Vegetable quiche with mixed greens salad, and a lemon meringue cupcake.  Linda ordered the Tuna Nicoise Salad and a Raspberry Lemon Cream Puff.  The food was quite good.  We enjoyed the atmosphere, as the dining room looks like the ballroom from the movie.  I hope that I get to have dinner there some day, because I'm sure that it's incredible with the added stuff.

Just like in the movie!

As we were leaving, I wanted to get a picture with the stained glass window of Belle and Prince Adam.  She had gone out ahead of me because I was taking pictures in the restroom (of the decor!), and so I went out to get her.  So she left her stuff where she had been sitting in order to come inside.  I yelled at her for leaving her stuff out there unattended.  She told me that a CM was there.  The CM was watching the crowd control, not her belongings.  Just because it's Disney property doesn't mean that people won't steal stuff!  Yeah, I was Mom for a few minutes.

We went to look at the Double Dumbo action, and Linda went crazy taking pictures of all of the circus themed stuff while I continued my quest for highlighter pens.  I didn't know that she liked circuses so much until that day.  My favorite picture that she took during that time was, yes, of a hippo.  No, no pens.

Then it was time to go to Tomorrowland.  We rode the Peoplemover.  I had forgotten that it changes speed throughout the ride.  Nice and relaxing.

At the Carousel of Progress, I noticed that they fixed Future Dad's hand since the last time that I was there.  Well, it's been 11 years, so I guess they had plenty of time.  

We went to the Monsters, Inc Laugh Factory.  My favorite portion was during Sam N Ella's time on stage.  They asked someone's name.  He said, "Kitty".  They asked for his wife's name.  He said, "She's Kitty, too."  So Ella said, "Okayyyy, Kitty Kitty".  I don't know what was up with that guy and his name, but we were all laughing hysterically.

Next up was Stitch's Great Escape (the former Alien Encounter).  Eeeewww, chili dog breath.  Then Stitch, whispered, "Did you miss me?"  I swear, Stitch was modeled after Ferdie.

On A Magic Carpet Ride

We were hungry, and I had a snack credit from our dining plan, so I got some yummy cinnamon covered almonds to enjoy before getting in line for The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.  It's Dumbo, but with carpets.  I just wanted to get on the ride and sing "A Whole New World", and really wished that Rudy had been there to do that with me.  The song they play is different with every group of riders, so I didn't hear that song, but I sang it anyway.  





We wanted to see Magic Kingdom's version of Flag Retreat.  Linda noticed that even the Dapper Dans are bigger in Florida than in California.  I mean, dude was tall!  The ceremony, though, was short.  And lame, at least compared to ours.  This was when we actually noticed the hugeness of the WDW Railroad station.  There was a lot to see downstairs.  We rode the train around, but they don't have Primeval World, so we really didn't care about it much, even though they had cool things to look at it between the stops.  

We shopped on Main Street for a while, and I bought a sweatshirt of Walt and Mickey.  We then watched the Celebrate A Dream Come True parade before watching the Electrical Parade.  I tried not to get upset, but you know how I am.  They didn't have as many floats as I remembered, so that was weird for me.  

There was some time before fireworks, and we saw that the wait to meet Mickey was only 5 minutes long.  So we decided to meet him.  Linda was excited about the magic stuff.  I was excited about all of the detail about the Band Concert.  We were both excited to take a picture with Mickey!

Arm in Arm with Dapper Mickey

There was a nighttime show that focused on the castle, called "Celebrate the Magic".  I really liked the Wreck-It Ralph segment, because it looked like the castle was made out of the bricks. Then a woman in front of me placed her kid on her shoulder, totally blocking my view.  So I made my way and stood in front of the woman.  I pissed her off, but I could no longer see the show, and she never looked around to see that everyone in back of her child was in the same boat as me.  I was just frustrated enough to do something about it.  I paid to be here too, you know!  BTW, her child was not an infant.  She was at least 6 years old.  So imagine the height of the being that was in front of me all of a sudden.  I think that Linda left me at that point, or she went to sit down earlier than that, I don't know.  Or maybe she didn't want to be seen with me in case a brawl started.  So anyway, all of you parents out there that place your child on your shoulders so that they can see whatever, please be aware of the other people there.  I get that you want your child to be able to see the show, but you and your family are not the only people on Earth.  

I stayed in my place to watch "Wishes".  I've decided that fireworks are better when Tinkerbell flies by the castle.  She did not do so at this show.  

Mushroom Ravioli

Then it was time for me to calm down and enjoy dinner at Tony's, where I found Linda.  I love all of the Lady and the Tramp decor!  Our server was Daniel.  We both had the mushroom ravioli, which we liked.  I had a decaf cappuccino to warm me up, because we were sitting outside on the porch.  It came with a chocolate biscotti.  I was happy.  My dessert was a pistachio creme brulee with strawberries and candied pistachios.  Yum!  Linda had the tiramisu.  





We watched the Electrical Parade again from our vantage point outside the restaurant, and this time, Alice and her entourage were all there.  Still no Blue Fairy, though.  Two sub-pars does not equal par.  

Pete and Elliot, full steam ahead

There was a long line for the buses, as usual, and my package express had not yet arrived at our room.  Dangit.  Now our plans to go to Epcot tomorrow may go away. I'm hoping for the best, though.

WDW Line of the Day: "It's like home, but big." -- Sherry, many times throughout the park

Expedition Kiboko

Walt Disney World

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Animal Kingdom

My leg felt better this morning (yes, even after all of the walking the day before), so I walked around the hotel grounds while listening to "Rhapsody in Blue".  This was an appropriate soundtrack to all of the musically-themed decor.  Then I got ready for the day, and Linda and I went to the food court.  I had a Mickey waffle and bacon.  Linda laughed because I ate the ears first.  She probably doesn't remember our friend's consideration of this as "so that he can't hear himself screaming".  

Since this was Magic Morning day for Animal Kingdom, there was a long line for the shuttle.  When we arrived at the park, I saw that we were following a cute little girl with a ladybug backpack.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of her backpack, because I want to show the picture to a friend whose daughter's bedroom is ladybug-themed.  

We wanted to make sure to beat the regular crowds to the most popular attraction, so we high-tailed it over to Expedition Everest.  I honestly couldn't remember anything about what anyone had said about this ride before I got there, except that they loved it, and there's a yeti.  Well, ohmygoodnessgracious, if this wasn't the best ride of my entire week at WDW!   The ride was AWESOME!  There's a big yeti.  I wasn't believing the model of the huge footprint until I saw the huge yeti.  But also, we went BACKWARDS!!!!  AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!  That. Was. Amazeballs.  

Yeti Footprint

So, of course, I yelled "AGAIN!!!!" like the baby in "Dinosaurs".  The wait was still only 15 minutes, so we went back into the queue.  The theming of the queue was yeti-ful, and the Mustang Coffee at Expedition Everest is made with Yak Butter.  This fact may not be as funny to you if you don't know about my amusement with yak butter and Tazo Decaf Chai Tea.  I would like to try yak butter some day, by the way.  Not the Urban Dictionary kind.  This is a family website....most of the time.  OK, I'm back.  I somehow got engrossed by all of the internet stuff related to yak butter, like this Tibetan Milking Stool Yak.  I don't know if it's called "Yak" because there's a picture of a yak on it, or if it would actually be of use while milking a yak.  I've typed "yak" far too many times already for the day/week/lifetime.  I've lost my mind.  Anyway....the ride.  A teenager said the Line of The Day (see the end of this post).  I can't remember if this was on the first ride or the second one of the day, but it applies to both.  The second ride didn't disappoint, and I thought of going back many times that day, but calmed the heck down and did other stuff instead.  I bought a shirt as well as our picture from the 2nd ride from a surly CM.  Linda and I didn't not care about his surly-ness because we were still excited about the ride.

We then had time to stroll, so we got a locker.  Their lockers are so totally old school that I felt like I was also supposed to be renting ice skates.  I meant, they use keys!  Those ones with the orange top!   If you don't know already about Linda and her obsession with dinosaurs, you know now.  I knew already because my family and I helped her fulfill her dream of seeing the dinosarus at Cabazon this past November.  So, of course, we headed off for Dinoland.  On the way there, we saw the Meet and Greet for the characters from the 100-Acre Wood, so it was Tigger Time for Linda!  He was hilarious because he was trying to get other people to jump up due to the fitness logo on the gal's shirt.  They didn't get it.  They need to learn character mime, I guess.  We showed him a picture of his topiary at Epcot.  He was quite proud.  He loved Linda because she seemed to understand him, plus she was wearing him on her sweatshirt.  

Tigger & Linda

Our next stop was Dinosaur.  I remember this ride last time as being not-as-exciting-as-Indiana Jones-at-Disneyland, but I didn't want to harsh Linda's buzz, so I didn't say anything.  I thought o Michele from EPCOT being scared of the Carnotaurus.  Our picture reflects that we were a bit frightened, too.  

Yikes!

We didn't do much else in Dinoland, and on our way to our next destination, I saw a group of girls dressed kind of like Disney characters.  They were totally cute, and I told them so.  They are from Japan, and allowed me to take a picture of their cuteness.  Seriously, I would have hung out with them all day if 1) I didn't have other stuff to do; and 2) it wouldn't be so creepy to have me there because I wasn't as cute as them.  

Cute Strangers

We marveled at our favorite ride again, then watched some Siamang apes hang out at the nearby shrine, and ate lunch at Yak and Yeti Anandpour Cafe with our dining plan.  I had the honey chicken, and for dessert, I had banana pudding.  We listened to the black birds near us, which had interesting calls, almost like whistles.  

Best Ride at WDW

Then Linda did a very uncharacteristic thing and agreed to go on Kali River Rapids.  Seriously.  Linda does not do rides in which there is a possibility of getting wet.  Yet she agreed to this one because she figured that she doesn't know if she'd be back anytime soon.  OK, then.  We subsequently got very, very wet.  I was drenched.  I thought of buying clothes from the very well-placed kiosk nearby, but they were expensive and I figured that I could deal with the wet everything somehow.  They did have underwear to purchase, which I very seriously considered, but no.  

We went to the Maharajah Jungle Trek, wherein we were advised that we'd be seeing tigers and bats and birds.  Linda was excited about the tigers.  I was excited about the bats.  This is actually the very first place that I saw bats in real life, back in 2003.  They're so damn cool with the way they hang from their feet and spread their wings and stuff.  I mean, their faces can be so menacingly ugly, but the rest of their bodies fascinate me.  

Bat, Hanging Out in the Sun

Then we saw a tiger napping, but he or she (I don't know) put up his or her head, and posed real pretty-like.  See?

Purrrrr

We did see some pretty birds, but the guide card that they gave us didn't seem to have any of the birds that we actually saw.  Or I just don't know how to translate drawings to real life.  Both could be true.

I had my name written in Thai by a CM named Saskimol.  She said that my name is a common one for girls in Thailand (the nickname, not the real name).  We encountered the plant woman and I laughed at the guy that swore that she was not a real person.  He was scared out of his wits before she moved.  I took pictures of the Tree of Life at this point, mostly because this was the hippo side of the tree.

Can you see the hippo?

We went to Harambe station to take the train to the Wildlife Conservation Station.  We didn't much feel like seeing whatever was inside, so we rested and I dried myself in the sunlight.  When we got back, we went to the Kilimanjaro Safari.  Kiboko!!!  (That's "hippo" in Swahili).  We saw Okapi, Rhinos, Kiboko, Crocodiles, Elephants, a Lioness, Wildebeests, a big cattle-looking-thing, Giraffes, Ibex and Ostriches.  That was a fun jeep ride, and our guide stopped for a short time at the different animals, so that we could take pictures.  

Okapi

Wildebeests

Giraffes

BabyElephant

Then we walked the Pangani Trail so that I could see the kiboko up close.  Hippos in water!  With fish!

Can you see this hippo?

They don't have nearly as many meerkats at AK as they do at Safari Park, much less on that carnivorous island in "Life of Pi".  But the one we saw was cute and posed happily.

What?

We also saw silver-backed gorillas, and while we were observing we saw that one of them was not getting along with the others.  They were clearly angry at him, although I don't know the reason.  But all of the power of animal of that magnitude was overwhelming, and I was really glad that there was a moat between us and them.  Not that they were angry at us, but I do remember a sign at Safari Park that said not to look straight into the gorilla's eyes, so I avoided eye contact.  They are beautiful animals, but wow, they were scary.  Also, they have a distinct odor, because it was the same odor that I smelled at Safari Park, and that's over here on a different coast.

Their Side

We wanted to make sure to catch the Festival of The Lion King, so we made our way to Camp Mickey & Minnie.  The snack I ordered there (from our dining plan) was the strawberry shortcake.  I received the last one for the day, and was happy to share it with Linda because it was kinda big.  The show was fun (we were Team Simba, which made us happy because we got to ROAR).  I pictured Steven and George from Rockapella in the roles the whole time.  

Go, Team Simba!

It was finally time to really shop, and I finally found a little hippo which was made in Kenya.  I also saw the pretty Ariel bag that I spied at DHS.  CM Barbie helped us, and she happily let me take a picture of the hippo on her apron.  She was really fun and also took a picture with us to commemorate the moment.  She package expressed our purchases to our hotel, and even wrote a little note on the receipt, which I discovered when I finally unpacked my luggage at home.  

With Barbie -- see the hippo on her uniform?

We were done for the day at this park, and got in line for the shuttle to Animal Kingdom Lodge.  While in line, I saw a guy with a t-shirt that had the words "Little Jerry" on it, and a picture of a rooster.  As a huge Seinfeld fan, I immediately got the reference, and told him that I love his shirt.  He was happy that I understood it and let me take a picture of him.  I took a lot of pictures of strangers that day.

We arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and saw the animals on the hotel grounds.  Coooolll.  Our dinner reservations were at Sanaa.  We had to wait a long time to be seated even though we were there before our reservation time, but it was worth the wait.  It wasn't Flying-Fish-worth-the-wait, but still, it was yummy.  The Bread Service, which I ordered outside of the dining plan, was YUM.  Naan and chutney!  Chutney and naan!  Happiness.  I was able to order a Mango Lahsi as part of the dining plan, so you know I had to do that.  It was delicious.  I ordered the tandoori chicken.  Linda ordered the same, and we couldn't finish our food (we were full of naan and chutney), so we had the leftovers boxed up by server Michele.  For dessert, I had the Banana Kulfi Sundae, which was like a deconstructed banana split.  The ice cream was in a square shape!  Neato.  Also, Yummy.

Mango Lahsi -- aaahhh, refreshing!

Bread Service

Banana Kulfi Sundae

After dinner, we thought that the shuttle would be able to take us back to Animal Kingdom so that we could take another shuttle to our hotel, but since the park was closed, the bus driver hadn't planned on going there.  We were the only ones on the bus after everyone else got off at some other stop, so the driver kindly took us back to our hotel.  THANK YOU!!!  I had told Linda that we could probably walk home, but she looked at me like I had grown 3 heads.  She was right to look at me like that, because we were really not that close to the All-Star at that point.  It is now a running gag between us: "We can walk it."

What a lovely day at Animal Kingdom and the lodge!  Tomorrow:  people dressed as animals.

Line of the Day: "This is my most favorite ride in all of Walt Disney World!" -- Dude on Expedition Everest, screaming at the top of his lungs

Out Of This World In Many Ways

Walt Disney World

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

EPCOT

My foot felt better in the morning, but I didn't go for a walk as I had planned when I packed for the trip (I had planned to walk every morning because I had a 10K to walk on Sunday and didn't want to slack off).  Linda and I went to the All-Star Food Court for breakfast, and I got a cinnamon roll.

We took the shuttle to EPCOT for our Magic Morning day.  There were a lot of topiaries all over the place because of the HGTV Flower & Garden Festival opening the next day.  Test Track was down, but we got fast passes for later in the day.

Topiary at Entrance -- Time for BBQ!

Our first ride of the day was Mission: Space.  Hello, Gary Sinise!  We chose the Spinning option, although it didn't spin nearly as much as I remember from my first time (I was there for a soft opening in August 2003, and there were many people getting sick then).  I did feel like my face was peeling off, though.  We sent video to each other and to Bro from a program that looked like we were running from aliens on the moon or Mars or whatever.  

Test Track was up when we were done, so we got in the Fast Pass line, but the screen we were using froze when we were designing our car.  We ended up with a default red one instead.  The ride was fun, and there was a lot of interactive stuff available afterward, like using your car to race others on a digital track, and taking pictures which I never actually saw because I'm lame.  Our car reached a speed of 64.9 mph.

Designing Our Car

Yay!  The Jammitors!  They are EPCOT's answer to our Trash Can Trio, and they're fun, too.  I got a sticker.  I was happy.

Jammin'!

Linda needed to see dinosaurs, so we went to the Universe of Energy.  I was thankful for the long-ish ride because we were sitting down after standing up for a while in the morning.  Ellen DeGeneres makes me giggle.  A dinosaur snorted at us.

Pluto and Linda

We shopped around World Showcase, and marveled at the menus showing the special food for the Festival, but none of it was available yet, so that was a bummer.  Or maybe that was a good thing, because we were preparing ourselves for a wonderful dinner that night already.  Anyway, around World Showcase....in Africa, there was a wood carver, but his name was not Andrew, as the sign told us.  He was actually Andrew's brother, named Justus.  He was carving an elephant figurine.  I had my eye on the hippos, and decided to come back later.  By the time we came back, though, Justus was gone, and I decided to wait until Animal Kingdom for hippo stuff.  I also wanted a wall hanging of 4 cool animal masks, but refrained from getting those. We took a lot of pictures of topiaries.  Here are just a few more of them.

My Favorite Topiary

The Longest Topiary

The Coolest Topiary

The fancy restaurant in France had a long wait, so we bought our lunch at Les Halles De Boulangerie et Patisserie.  Yum!  Yes, it was all baked goods, and everything looked divine.  We stuck to our Dining Plan, which is really cool because it includes a drink, an entree, and dessert.  Not everything is on the dining plan, but you can always add stuff if you'd like.  I bought a Croissant Du Jamon (ham croissant), a Frangiopone (almond pastry), and a decaf cappuccino.  The CMs at the counter (most of them) were actually from France, so I made sure to say "Merci!"  Yes, folks, I took 3 years of high school French so that I could thank people in Orlando, Florida.  We sat outside when someone offered us a table because they were leaving.  Merci beaucoup!  Linda had a Napoleon for dessert and it was nice and flaky, like my croissant.  If I lived in France, I'd be fat on croissants and food made with lots of butter.  

Japanese people took this picture for us.  I'm not kidding.

We walked around World Showcase some more, and took pictures of more topiaries.  I heard drums again, so we stopped in Japan and listened to Matsuriza.  They play Taiko!

TAIKO!!!

 I was happy again.  Then, of course, more drums were playing when we arrived at America.  We stopped to watch the full show of the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps.  It was really neat to see them gather a bunch of kids and have them recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  We then went inside to see The American Adventure, and who should be performing in the lobby but the Voices of Liberty!  Drums and a cappella in one day?  Heaven!  I was tired and fell asleep during the actual show.  As we were leaving, one guy said that one of the American Spirits looked like Burt Reynolds.  

Feeling Patriotic

Smokey the Dragon in China

Back to walking around World Showcase....we bought some jewelry made of beads, which themselves were made of recycled Disney paper.  Even the "bag" that Thais used was actually a Disney map, taped up into a little paper bag.  So neat!  Thais was very nice, and said that everyone thought that the beads were Brazilian because her name tag shows that she's from Brazil.  She wants to come to Los Angeles some day in the next year or so.  Yeah, come on over and visit!

In Germany, we bought our Dining Plan snacks at the Caramel shop.  I bought a Werther Chewy Caramel.  Danke!  (That's pretty much all the German I know.  That and "Schadenfreude").Then I decided it was time for me to have some alcohol, so I got a mango margarita in Mexico.  When we sat down to have our snack, I also downloaded a panorama app and took this lovely picture.

View of the World

We then went to The Seas, which I hadn't seen since they added the Finding Nemo effects.  They're pretty much the same ones that were added to Disneyland's submarines, but on this ride, we ride in clam shells.  We checked out the animals in the aquarium, and saw that a dolphin exhibit was about to start, so we watched Rainier match figures of Atlas, Wall-E, and a ferris wheel to whatever the trainer taught him.  Rainier loved showing off for everyone.

Then we walked back to the entrance, and couldn't figure out how to get to the Boardwalk.  We talked to a security guard, then after walking a little bit, decided to go back into the park to catch the boat to our destination.  Oy, if I had just planned this better, we would have done much less walking, but I guess I got my exercise in for the day after all.  We found a restroom at the Boardwalk Inn and changed into more appropriate clothing for dinner, then went to the restaurant.

Flying Fish Cafe is a favorite of our friends, so when we were making our reservations in advance, we planned our days around the available restaurants, as well as the Magic Hours for the resort guests.  Flying Fish was the first reservation we made.  It was the only one on our list that takes up 2 dining plan points, but we didn't plan on using any on the first night, so we saved it for this night.  We were not disappointed at all.  Not during the entire evening. While we were looking at the menu, I was trying to point out the Mac and Cheese.  Linda thought I said "Korean Cheese".  Is there even such a thing?  Our server, Tony, was wonderful to us. The decor was whimsical.  The food -- Oh my goodness, the FOOD!  So here's what we had, and as per our dining plan, we had a drink, an entree, and dessert.  I also added soup because I just couldn't resist it.  

The Fish are Flying with Parachutes!

Sherry's soup:  Soup of the Day:  Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque with Florida Rock Shrimp, Winter Squash, Leeks, 5-spice Creme Fraiche, Prosciutto Cracklins and Mustard-Chive Oil.  So, so worth paying the extra coin.  I now don't want any other butternut squash bisque but this one.  

Bisque of Joy

Entrees:

Linda had Native Rainforest Pepperberry and Wattleseed-crusted Kurobuta Berkshire Pork Tenderloin with Leek, Fontina, and Truffle-laced Trofie Macaroni & Cheese, Grilled Aspargus with Kiln-dried and Fresh Black Mission Fig, Port Wine, Balsamico, Bermuda Onion, and Trumpet Mushroom Compote.  Linda was very happy.  I had a taste of the Mac & Cheese, and it was way yummy.

I had the "Surf and Surf" Oak-grilled Herb-glazed Florida Coast Cobia and Laughing Bird Shrimp "Scampi" with Wilted Greens, Caramelized Cipollini Onions, Young Squash and Carrots, with an Elephant Garlic and Vermont Butter Sauce.  Divine.  I wasn't able to finish all of my vegetables, but I did a pretty good job with it.  I wanted to make sure to save room for dessert.

Surf & Surf

Desserts:

Linda had Caramel-Chocolate-Brioche Bread Pudding with Vanilla-Praline Gelato, Spicy Pecan Brittle, and a Cinnamon Anglaise Sauce.  I did not try it, but she enjoyed it very much.

I had the signature Flying Fish Cafe "Caramelized Banana Napoleon" with Crisp Phyllo Banana Mousse, Creme Caramel, Exotic Fruit Coulis, and Bitter Chocolate.  It was beautiful.  It was delicious.  We were in foodie heaven.

So. Very. Yum.

Tony and Sher

Tony told us that we were the happiest customers he's ever had, so we totally made his day.  I asked him if the Executive Chef was present because I wanted to pay him my compliments, and he didn't think so.  I don't know how Tony missed him, because he's, like, 15 feet tall or something.  Tony opened his eyes and found Chef Tim, and brought him to our table.  We raved about our dinner and told him about our friends recommending the restaurant.  He remembers our friend because our friend doesn't like cilantro.  So he calls our friend "Mr. Cilantro".  Linda and I now call ourselves "Mr. Cilantro's Entourage".  I asked to see the menus again so that I could write down whatever we had, and Tony let me take both the regular and the dessert menus home.  Yay -- free souvenirs!  

One Last Look

After basking in our happiness for a while, we took the Friendship boat back to EPCOT.  While on the boat, we were told several times when the last boat would leave.  As we got off the boat, one of the passengers asked the CM, "What time is the last boat?" just to be funny.  I laughed.  I was happy and full.  

We walked to the area between Japan and USA to wait for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.  If I wasn't already so happy and full, I totally would have bought the pumpkin spice funnel cake that was being sold nearby.  It smelled really good, and the combination of pumpkin and funnel cake was quite tempting, but I couldn't eat any more that night.  We had a great spot for Illuminations, and we enjoyed the show.  Thank you to my friends for the viewing spot recommendation!

Linda, waiting for Illuminations to begin

We were so happy that we didn't care much about our long walk back to the shuttle.  I was on a quest to find highlighters (to highlight where we'd been on our maps), and we stopped in the last store by the park exit.  CM Michele gabbed with us for quite a while about weather and her experience of being terrified on the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom.  She was amusing.  We were tired, and when we got back to our hotel, put our feet up against the wall.  Ah, that felt good.

This was my favorite day of the entire trip.  I heart EPCOT.

Happy Girls on a Happy Day

Line of the Day:  "Her face is kinda messed up."  -- Little Boy at Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Topiary