Day 14- Epcot & Last Day of Frozen Fireworks at Hollywood Studios

It was pouring as we headed out for Epcot. Then, it stopped, poured, and stopped again as we neared the park. We parked on aisle 50 once again! How do we keep being directed to that parking aisle? No problem, I looked over the top of the trees for Spaceship Earth. Found it. Now, what’s the quickest path from point A (us) to point B (Spaceship Earth)? We found a new walking path and headed in. As we entered the park gate, there was a lady from South Africa that loved the kids’ Frozen shirts! As we talked, she was so nice that we asked if we could have a picture with her, and her son jumped into the pic too! Fun!

Off to the America Pavilion to watch Hanson, but the line was amazingly long. We waited for a little while and realized that the number of people in line already exceeded the number of seats in the theatre. We ducked out of the rain to sit in Italy for a few minutes. While we were there, we met a really nice couple with two beautiful daughters. It was fun talking and visiting with them!

This reminds me about the other night at Epcot. As we were leaving, I saw a little girl with a frown and tears rolling down her face. “Are they putting up your ‘carriage’? Oh! You’re a little princess and they are putting up your ‘carriage’.” She smiled and hugged the little railing near her and nodded. I had overheard her grandparents telling her to stop crying as they pushed the stroller away, but I knew that in her little heart she saw the stroller as her “carriage.” Thank you, Molly A., for letting me learn that little treasure from you and your family!

After Epcot, we planned to head to Hollywood Studios for the final Frozen Fireworks of the season! Frozen Fireworks it is.

We made it to Hollywood Studios and enjoyed the bustle of people waiting for the show to start. While we were waiting, we met another really nice family. The mom mentioned that the kids didn’t want to stay, but she was hoping the fireworks would be worth it. I told her they are absolutely worth it! When my kids were little, they would tell me, “I don’t want to do something,” and I would tell them, “That’s just fine, but I want to!” She laughed! They did stay and it was so worth it!

As the fireworks came to an end, it was snowing! All the way from Mickey’s sorcerers’ hat to the front gates it is snowing! I love meeting so many people.

Heading home, we realized we had six minutes before the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party fireworks started; we could make it to the parking lot, catch the ferryboat over to Magic Kingdom, and see the Not So Scary Fireworks from the Ferry! It took me eight minutes; my kids can walk faster than fast. They made it to the entrance of the ferry and they were going to wait for me. I hollered, “See if they can wait for me!” I was a little ways back, but the deckhand teased me and said that my kids had told me to shut the gate; don’t let mom in! Funny guy!

We hurried onto the ramp and up the stairs to the front of the ferry and watched the Not So Scary fireworks from the stem of the boat!!! WOW! This show even has panoramic fireworks! It is so beautiful!

 

Three parks and two fireworks shows! I love Disney!

Day 11- Disney Character Outlet & Epcot

It is a beautiful, cool, cloudy day and the Disney Character Warehouse Outlet is in sight!  I love going to the outlet.  There are so many fun items and it is always changing!  The clothing, beach towels, figurines, trading pins, shoes, jewelry, and other items are a very good value.  There are two locations in Orlando- one at the Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland Avenue (our usual stop!), only a few minutes from Downtown Disney, and another at the Orlando Premium Outlets on International Drive.

Now, off to Epcot to enjoy the beautiful day.  Epcot is busy and the tram is quick to pick us up and take us to the gate.  I enjoy the faces of those who are arriving for the first time.  The excitement and anticipation is in the air, the music is lively, and everyone is trying to get a picture as they enter Epcot.

As we get into the park, we head for the Terra booth for watermelon juice.  Patagonia has two gluten free dishes, the roasted Verlasso Salmon with Quinoa, and the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri sauce and Boniato puree.  They were both delicious.  Somehow the clouds have moved; it is 87 degrees today, and of course the humidity is high!  Shade!  Lunch is pretty busy and the crowds are pretty thick today.  Australia was next and we enjoyed the Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies!

Mexico has a Rib-Eye Taco that is really tasty.  Now we are off to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour ride.  There you will find The Three Caballeros leading the way through the ride!  It is really fun and the line moves so fast!  I love this ride!  Located inside the Mexico pyramid, which is a good place to explore, the ride is nice and cool.  After the ride, as we leave Mexico, we see the mariachi band!  They asked where I was from, and I replied, “Texas! I saw the Mariachis when we traveled and visited Mexico City when I was 12!”  Pretty funny, that was 44 years ago.

Now off to Farm Fresh for Griddled Yard Bird with Braised Greens and House Made Habanero Sauce.  Tasty!

It was a fun day!

Day 9- Epcot

Yay, we are headed for Epcot!  When going to Disney, remember, no matter what day it is, there is a possible rain shower waiting to fall!  Be prepared with rain gear, we choose shoes that can get wet, umbrellas or ponchos.  It is just a way of life here, it rains, it usually clears off and it is sunny again. It is just the way Florida is.

We headed for Epcot in a full-blown gully washer.  Texas way of saying it was a monsoon!  I was told that it rains every day in the summer, but now?  It is hurricane season, so it rains a lot!  We parked in the first parking lot and walked right up to the bag check and right into Epcot.  The rain is still heavy as we get close to the Festival Center.

We looked around at the Ghirardelli Chocolate area while waiting for class to start. They had the most amazing displays (made of chocolate!) that different bakeries around Disney made. It was fascinating!  We had our class and headed out, it was once again raining cats and dogs!

No problem for me, we just headed over to Mexico for dinner. We decided to go to San Angel Inn for dinner and were seated by the water. The food was fabulous! Oh, it is nice to have a light sweater for inside dining, it can get a little chilly.  I loved watching the Gran Fiesta Tour boats glide through the water.  The kids and I got to meet an Imagineer in July for Tooti’s birthday lunch and she called us the “The Three Caballeros”.  If you get to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour ride, be sure to look for Donald Duck, Panchito and Jose’ Cariocas!

We decided to get dessert to go so we could see the fireworks!  Even with the light rain, the fireworks were beautiful.

Day 8- Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom!  Yes, it is a beautiful afternoon at Magic Kingdom.  Oh!  There is Marie, she is just coming out and going to take pictures.  We stopped for our Starbucks on Main Street and then started for the Little Mermaid ride.  As we got closer to Cinderella’s Castle, a man hollered, “Obviously there must be a Starbucks here!”  I said, “Yes, they are located in the Bakery on Main Street.”  Laughter and a shout of thanks and we continued on our way.

I took a minute to enjoy all of the flowers in the Rose Garden. If you are a flower lover, it is a nice spot to rest your eyes and take in the picturesque moment.

We stopped to see the clowns performing near Storybook Circus, then, we scanned our fast passes for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid!  I love this ride.  You sit in a huge seashell and are taken through the most magical ride; you feel as if you are seeing the whole movie in living color.

Next stop is to meet Elsa and Anna in Princess Fairytale Hall.  We got in line and in a few minutes we met the ladies behind us.  Seems we met some fellow Texans!!  The mom shared that they come to the parks several times a year and her daughter runs in the Disney races!  How fun!! I know Tooti has wanted to do a runDisney race for a while. Her daughter-in-law was with them and she had the coolest book that she brought with her for the characters to sign.  I love these ladies!  It as a storybook, and she showed us where Cinderella’s stepsisters had rewritten their part of the story and autographed their page.  I have to find that book…  New project!

 We saw some of the Citizens of Main Street, including the lovely Victorian ladies, Victoria Trumpetto and Beatrice Starr, as well as Fire Chief Smokey Miller!  They are truly a delight to get to talk to!  Mary Poppins was holding a little girl’s hand and walking near the entrance. Beautiful.

God just seems to put the right people in my path. I loved today, even on the way back to the parking lot.  On the monorail, a lady kept kind of peeking around at my kids and me; she looked like she wanted to say something.  So, I said, “Hi, how are you?”  “Fine, thank you!”  Still, she looked like she wanted to talk, so I continued, “Where are you from?”  “Canada!”  “Oh, cool, we have a friend that is from there.  When we take pictures of Canada in Epcot, he always comments!”  That made her laugh and tell me the wonderful blessing her son is.  He and her daughter-in-law are renewing their vows for their 20th anniversary and he brought everyone with them.  Also, her daughter, who is 49, just got married for the first time on Friday, and then Sunday after the wedding they came to Disney!  We got to celebrate the wonderful things that are happening in her life and it is so fun to hear people’s stories!  I love this most of all!

Day 4- Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom!  Wow, love this place.  We parked in the Dinosaur parking lot and caught the tram, a quick trip up to the gates.  First, there is your bag check, as with all parks.  Disney’s security looks through your bag and then lets you in.  Today the young man asked how I was doing, I responded with, “Great!  How are you doing?”  He stopped, almost frozen and said, “If I had called you on the phone, I would have thought you were 15!”  “Wow, thanks!!! Most people that call think I am 5. ‘Is your mom home?’  No!?!”  The people behind me couldn’t help but chuckle!

We scanned our Magic Bands and I honed in on…where is the Vine Lady?  She is beautiful, she is graceful, and she is really tall!  DeVine is my favorite meet and greet in AK!

The Kilimanjaro Safari ride is my other favorite thing to do at Animal Kingdom, but it will have to wait for another day.  We wanted to see the new baby gorilla, born on August 7th.  I love the Africa area of the park. I had to take a minute and really look at Africa, with its cracked streets, the waterway and music.  Then, a hike down the Pangani Forest Expedition Trail and see where the gorillas live and the surroundings are amazingly beautiful… like walking through the jungle.  We found the momma and baby cuddle and hoped to get a glimpse of its little face.  So very sweet!

We found a new place that we haven’t been to: Rafiki’s Planet Watch and the Wildlife Express Train.  Yes, there is a train in Animal Kingdom!  It is so cool to see it with stuff piled on top just like they would in Africa!  It takes you to the Conservation Station.  We looked at the various small monkeys, lizards, bugs, snakes, and petted the Blue-tongued Skink. Fun! They even have a window where you can watch the veterinary staff if they happen to be taking care of animals while you are there.

It was a very nice morning and early afternoon. Before we left, we stopped by the “Gardens Kiosk” where they offer many food allergy friendly treats. Babycakes NYC has a few of our favorites… including donuts! So, we grabbed a gluten-free donut and glass of iced water and hit the trail home.

Tomorrow marks the start of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. It’s going to be so much fun!

Day 3- Epcot

We headed for Epcot today and had a perfectly wonderful afternoon and evening.  The day is cooler with cloud cover and the park was less crowded.

The first ride we went to was Maelstrom in Norway!  So, after passing through Future World, you go past Mexico and before China, you find Norway!  The line was pretty long and with the FastPass+, you just walk up, scan your magic band and walk in to ride the ride.  Best thing ever!  We took pics and enjoyed Twinkie’s favorite ride.  Maelstrom will be closing down for refurbishing and a redesign into a Frozen themed ride that will open in 2016.  We are SO excited to see what it looks like!

On the way to France, I stopped and got a strawberry shaved ice (Kaki Gori) with sweet milk in Japan.  We took pics for couple that asked as we passed by them… just a part of being at Disney.  Fun!

There are the most amazing crème brûlée in many of the restaurants, but if you don’t have a reservation, then Les Halles Boulangerie & Pâtisserie (in the France Pavilion) is a great choice!  The chef came out and made us some freshly torched crème brûlée. There are many beautiful desserts and breads to choose from, so we ask for some that have not been near any of the other bakery treats.  If you are gluten-free or have food allergies, you totally understand… The chef there is wonderful!  After great thanks and appreciation for our special sweets, we headed out!

We took a break and sat by the water fountain in France and a little girl was going to throw pennies when her mom and grandmother said they were out.  “Oh, I have some!”  So, I pulled out my change and found 5 pennies!  She readily took them and had fun throwing them in as her grandmother and I talked, she said that she usually has to give her quarter and dimes.  I told her a story, “when mine were little, we would get a roll of pennies and go to the mall.  Of course, they shared most of them with the other little kids there, but it was a lot of fun!”  She said that that was really a good idea…  we smiled and said our goodbyes.  Cute little kid!

The sun was beginning to set so we started back to Spaceship Earth, i.e. the Epcot ball.  That ride is packed in the mornings, but in the evenings you can just about walk straight up and get on quickly, just a hint if you plan on riding that ride.

We are looking forward to the opening of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival that opens on this Friday, September 19 and runs until November 10, 2014. There will be feasting, festivities and special events, including awesome concerts.

Finally, here are some of the places to eat at around the world…