A Guide to Taking it Easy at WDW. Oct 2014 Mother/Daughter Trip Updated 3/6x2 The End!

[Chicago Mo]

How FUN!!! So glad you mom got to meet the MUNKS! LOL
you know i am a huge fan of everything poly. the breakfast is also the BEST.. I still do not like ANYTHING about the refurb, not one thing.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

The only thing better than meeting a character is meeting multiple characters. I always enjoy multi-character meets like Chip & Dale. More bang for your buck!

For me it's always a special treat to meet Mickey. I think this might be the only place to meet him in his "traditional" outfit too.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I've never spotted that HM in The Land.

Great character pictures.

 

[Pluto0809]

I'm glad you got to meet Chip & Dale for your mom!

I was too. She had mentioned wanted to meet them more than once.

Cute character spot pictures!

I love how they have each area decorated. It does make for some cute pictures.

Yay Soarin!

That one is a favorite of both me and Mom so we were happy to ride.

How FUN!!! So glad you mom got to meet the MUNKS! LOL
you know i am a huge fan of everything poly. the breakfast is also the BEST.. I still do not like ANYTHING about the refurb, not one thing.

Mom and I were definitely fans of the breakfast, it was so good. I wasn't impressed with the pictures of the new lobby I saw online. I'm going to hold my judgement though till I see it in person.

The only thing better than meeting a character is meeting multiple characters. I always enjoy multi-character meets like Chip & Dale. More bang for your buck!

Yep, and they are so fun to meet since they play off of each other.

For me it's always a special treat to meet Mickey. I think this might be the only place to meet him in his "traditional" outfit too.

I think you are right. I can't think of one other spot where he is in his traditional cloths.

I've never spotted that HM in The Land.

We hadn't either so we weren't sure what we were looking for.

Great character pictures.

Thanks! I was happy with how those turned out.

 

[Pluto0809]

Mom and I can both look at animals for hours at a time. We had plenty of time before our next FP+ so we walked over to the Seas to look at some fish. Well, we were really interested in looking for the sea turtles as they are our favorite but the fish were nice too. So be prepared for a ton of aquarium photos.

The line for the Nemo ride was 30 minutes and neither of us are huge fans of that one. We skipped over it and went straight into the building. It was super crowded so we headed upstairs instead of checking out the tanks on the first floor. Here come the photos.



They were feeding some of the turtles when we got there so we were able to watch them for a while.







We continued on looking at all the windows. I named the fish in the middle of this next picture “Eddie”. If you look closely at his eye, you might figure out why.



Yep, he was missing an eye just like my schnauzer Eddie.













We watched the Dolphins swim around for a while too.



And the Manatees.







We probably spent about 45 minutes in the Seas building so it was time for our next FP+ when we left.





Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Continued from Previous Post

You probably know by now how much I love taking pictures on this ride so here we go.















Mom spotted a Hidden Mickey I had never noticed before. It’s right in front of the white bottle on this guy’s table.









Time to visit our future! I can’t remember which one of us answered the questions this time. I think it was a group effort.





We both had ill-fitting necks this time.







Up Next: Step 9: Drool Over the Chocolate Sculptures

 

[Chicago Mo]

Love this one!!! Great pictures of the fishies too!!!

 

[missangelalexis]

I love the Seas building and always wish I had more time to look around. We didn't even get to go in on this past trip! You got some great pictures, love them.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I think you got a picture of the HM on the balloon--it's to the bottom left of South America and it's upside down in the swirls of the water The other one you spotted on Spaceship Earth is one of my favorites, too! I just love how they sneak them in everywhere!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, 45 minutes at the aquariums is about 45 longer that me last trip. Which is weird because I do like them.

Definitely a fan of Spaceship Earth. I like pretty much anything with animatronics.

 

[Pluto0809]

Love this one!!! Great pictures of the fishies too!!!

SE pictures are always good for a laugh! I love taking pictures of the fish but it sure is hard in there with the lighting.

I love the Seas building and always wish I had more time to look around. We didn't even get to go in on this past trip! You got some great pictures, love them.

I always feel like I don't spend enough time in there either. I really want to look longer but the pull of other stuff at Epcot usually wins.

I think you got a picture of the HM on the balloon--it's to the bottom left of South America and it's upside down in the swirls of the water The other one you spotted on Spaceship Earth is one of my favorites, too! I just love how they sneak them in everywhere!!

Ah, OK, I think I see it now. I still think the Island is a Hidden Steamboat Willie. Mom and I had a great time searching for Hidden Mickey's this trip.

Wow, 45 minutes at the aquariums is about 45 longer that me last trip. Which is weird because I do like them.

That was nothing for Mom and I. When we go to a zoo they usually have to kick us out at closing time.

Definitely a fan of Spaceship Earth. I like pretty much anything with animatronics.

Me too, I can ride SE over and over, there's always something new to notice each ride.

 

[Pluto0809]

After we finished with our third FP+ at Spaceship Earth, we stopped at a kiosk to see if we could get another one for Test Track. Of course there weren’t any available for the 1st tier rides and there was nothing we wanted to do in the 2nd tier. We ended up not getting a 4th FP+. We also walked through the Innovations on the side by Test Track (I can never remember which is East and which is West) because we had never been in there. We watched Sum of All Thrills for a few minutes but I knew I could never ride with my motion sickness issues. Mom wasn’t interested either so we moved on.

We were done at that point with everything we wanted to do in Future World except one thing. I wanted to stop in at the Food and Wine Festival Center to see the merchandise and chocolate sculptures. I wanted one of the limited edition pins but of course they were all sold out. Some pretty flowers along the way.



The chocolate sculptures were very interesting to see. The first one was Villains.



Seven Dwarfs Mine:



Toy Story:



Maleficent, this one was our favorite.



Avatar:



This last one was for the nature movie “Bears”.



We walked around the festival center and checked everything out but I didn’t take any more pictures. We left and cut through Mouse Gears where we looked at Dooney purses again and I did some pin trading on their big board which happened to be out.

It was after 1 pm at this point and we were finally starting to get hungry so it was time to hit up Food and Wine! My Great Aunt had given us each a $50 gift card to use so we were all set to try a lot of different dishes. We started on the Mexico side. Mom headed to the New Zealand booth where she got Steamed Green Lip Mussels with Garlic butter and toasted bread crumbs.



I went across the way to the Australia booth and got a Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies.



We found a garbage can to use as a table and dug in. Mom loved the Mussels but I was not impressed with the lamb chop. It was about 90% fat. I got about two tiny bites of meat and that was it. Considering that was one of the more expensive items at Food and Wine, I was pretty disappointed.

At this point in the day it was getting super hot so we ducked into Mexico to cool down. We decided to go visit Donald just to get off of our feet for a few minutes.















Hidden Mickey alert! Check out the drums in the bottom right corner of the boat.





Mom wanted a frozen margarita so we headed out of the Mexico pavilion and got in line at the margarita stand. I got a strawberry one and I think Mom’s was Mango.



We walked slowly along, continuing to check out all the menus at the different booths. Mom had never been in the Norway bakery so we stopped in there but nothing caught our eye so we moved on. Norway was looking very sad without Maelstrom.





Up Next: Step 10: Spend an Afternoon Eating Around World Showcase

 

[missangelalexis]

Loved those chocolate sculptures!

That was nice of your Great Aunt. Great way to spend them too!

I'm not a huge fan of margaritas but those sure do look refreshing.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Wow. What amazing chocolate sculptures!
All your pictures are amazing!!! love fiesta ride.. I really do.

Well the food Looked good?!?! Sorry it wasn't! i want to do food and wine again.

wine..

its a way of life.. I am going to have a glass when i get home.

 

[missjackiemcg]

How awesome were those statues!?! I love the Seven Dwarfs one with little chocolate dwarves riding!! I
I have never seen the Hidden Mickey on the boat ride through Mexico! Now I have to go back and check it out Too bad I have to wait til 2016. I love how you and your Mom are finding a great balance between riding everything and seeing what you want to while "taking it easy". My Mom and I are great travel partners, too! This TR is making me sentimental since the last WDW trip I took with just my Mom was all the way back in 2005!!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Wow, I've never seen those sculptures before. That is impressive stuff, my goodness.

Avatar. Can you even imagine such a thing?

Haha, it seems the trash cans are a very popular table for food and wine.

Ooh nice catch on the hidden Mickey drums.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Fantastic chocolate sculptures!

What a great gift from your Great Aunt! And I love the frozen margaritas shot. Looking forward to seeing what blissful bites you ate.

 

[Pluto0809]

Loved those chocolate sculptures!

We did too, they were very neat to see.

That was nice of your Great Aunt. Great way to spend them too!

My Great Aunt never had kids and I was the first born of her Great Nieces and Nephew so she spoils me a bit.

I'm not a huge fan of margaritas but those sure do look refreshing.

I'm not either, I'm more of a vodka fan, but it was so hot that day that they went down very easily.

Wow. What amazing chocolate sculptures!
All your pictures are amazing!!! love fiesta ride.. I really do.

Believe me, those sculptures were even better in person. They were behind glass which made them harder to photograph.

Well the food Looked good?!?! Sorry it wasn't! i want to do food and wine again.

wine..

its a way of life.. I am going to have a glass when i get home.

Well, it may have just been my pickiness that was the problem. I can't stand even a tiny bit of fat on my meat so I should have known better than to get lamb. Shockingly, Mom and I did not get one glass of wine the whole time.

How awesome were those statues!?! I love the Seven Dwarfs one with little chocolate dwarves riding!! I
I have never seen the Hidden Mickey on the boat ride through Mexico! Now I have to go back and check it out Too bad I have to wait til 2016. I love how you and your Mom are finding a great balance between riding everything and seeing what you want to while "taking it easy". My Mom and I are great travel partners, too! This TR is making me sentimental since the last WDW trip I took with just my Mom was all the way back in 2005!!

There was so much detail to those chocolate sculptures that the photos don't really capture. That was the first time we had spotted that particular Hidden Mickey. I honestly didn't realize I got a photo of it till I was going through my photos at home. Mom and I do travel well together and you should think about another trip with your Mom!

Wow, I've never seen those sculptures before. That is impressive stuff, my goodness.

I know they've had them during the last two Food and Wine Festivals. You should definitely check them out if you go.

Avatar. Can you even imagine such a thing?

No. But then I haven't seen the movie yet. I keep telling myself I need to see it since a whole land at AK is going to be dedicated to it. I just can't seem to find the motivation.

Haha, it seems the trash cans are a very popular table for food and wine.

It's certainly better than trying to eat while balancing your food!

Ooh nice catch on the hidden Mickey drums.

That's the first time we spotted that one.

Fantastic chocolate sculptures!

I know, the were amazing!

What a great gift from your Great Aunt! And I love the frozen margaritas shot. Looking forward to seeing what blissful bites you ate.

It was a really nice gift but then she spoils me a bit. More food coming right up.

 

[Pluto0809]

We continued to walk around World Showcase sipping our drinks. I took horrible notes and very few pictures on this trip so I’m not sure if we even entered the China pavilion or just keep walking. Mom looked at the menu at China and debated getting the Black pepper shrimp. She decided to skip it because she thought it might be too spicy.

We did make a stop right before Germany because I wanted to check out the recycled jewelry made out of old park maps. I’ve bought several of the necklaces and I really wasn’t going to get more this time. But a black and white necklace caught my eye and bonus, there was a matching bracelet and earrings.



Here’s a close up picture of the bracelet.



We stopped at the Singapore booth next because I wanted to try the Seared Mahi Mahi with Jasmine Rice and “Singa” sauce. The “Singa” sauce scared me a bit because I had no idea what it was but I threw caution to the wind and got it anyway because I love Mahi Mahi.



I was afraid the sauce would be spicy but it actually turned out to be sweet and it was delicious. I really enjoyed the dish. We actually found a table to sit at while we ate and we struck up a conversation with a lonely Photopass photographer. Poor guy had no customers and was a little bored. It was boiling hot that day and both of us felt a little gross at this point. But we also felt sorry for the guy so we gave him some business. The pictures turned out really good despite the fact that we were sweaty messes.







He even had us do a magic shot.



He told us to act cold which was pretty funny considering how hot it was.



We did some shopping in Germany next but I don’t think we bought anything.

The Italy booth was next and there were two dishes we wanted to try. First was Ravioli alla caprese (cheese ravioli, tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan and basil).



The second dish was Filetto di pollo, con funghi al marsala (chicken tenderloin, cremini mushrooms, marsala sauce and ciabatta bread).



We got one of each to share and found a seat in the shade around one of the pillar statues at the front of the Italy pavilion. The Chicken dish was just ok, nothing really special at all. But the cheese ravioli was out of this world. I’m not even a fan of cheese ravioli but I had read so much good stuff about this dish I needed to try it. And it did not disappoint! I’m drooling now just thinking about it.

It was probably around 3 pm at this point and we were pretty much over the heat. We weren’t enjoying the food as much as we thought we would because it was just too hot to eat. So I suggested a nice relaxing break in the air-conditioned Visa lounge which is on the top floor of the American pavilion.

We didn’t realize there was an elevator so we took the stairs and it was a bit of a climb. But we made it and looked around for a seat. Unfortunately there was not a huge amount of seating but I found a chair for Mom and then I went off in search of some drinks. They had a bar where you could buy alcoholic drinks, I think just beer and wine, and also two of the Coke Freestyle machines that were free to use. I got sodas for both of us and because there were no more seats, sat down on the floor next to Mom. That’s when I took the only photo from our time up there.



We probably spent about a half hour up there relaxing and sipping our drinks. By the time we headed back outside, the sun was starting to go down and it was a bit cooler. We continued on around WS. We stopped in the Japan store where Mom bought a $4 fan to help ward off the heat. I think she bought something else too but I can’t remember at this point. I tell you I was so bad with my notes this trip!

We also continued to check out all the booths but didn’t get anything else till we got to France. That’s where I got my favorite dish from the festival. I had been looking forward to this one for a year. It was the Boeuf Bourguignon (braised short ribs in cabernet with mashed potatoes). Mom decided to go with a dessert and got Crème Brulee. We also got the Passion Martini Slush to share.



My beef short ribs were as good as I remembered and Mom really enjoyed the Crème Brulee. We both thought the Passion Slush was just ok. I think I was a little disappointed because the previous year they had a Cosmo Slush that was so much better.

I hadn’t had anything sweet yet because I was holding out to try something at the France bakery so we headed there next. I thought about something chocolate but there was a dessert here that I had read a lot of raves about on various TRs so I wanted to try it.



If you don’t know what that is, it’s a Napoleon (puff pastry layered with cream). And my verdict? I thought it was just OK. Nothing bad but I think I’m just a chocoholic at heart so this didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed it and ate every bite but next time I’ll get one of the chocolate options.

Our last stop for the Food and Wine as we were getting quite full was for the Lobster and Seafood Fisherman’s Pie at the Ireland booth.



I had gotten this one in 2013 and had raved about it to Mom so we each got one. Unfortunately we were severely disappointed once again. I’m not sure if we got a bad batch or what but there was absolutely no seafood in mine at all. I remember huge chunks of shrimp and lobster when I had it in 2013. The only thing under the mashed potatoes on mine was broth and a lot of vegetables. Mom found one teeny tiny shrimp in hers.

We made one more stop on the way out of WS. I took some pictures of several t-shirt in Canada that were new since the last time we were there. My husband is a big hockey buff and loves the shirts from that pavilion. He’s extremely picky with clothing so I have to send him pictures before I buy for him. He liked one of the shirts so I bought it and we moved on.



We stopped in Mouse Gears too and I bought a keychain, a picture frame and a two of the blind boxes in the Duffy Vinylmation Series. I can’t find a picture of the frame I bought and I’ll show you the Vinyls in a future post as I bought more later in the week and only have a picture of all of them. But here’s the keychain I bought.



We were tired at that point and really didn’t want to stay for Illuminations so we headed towards the exit. That’s when I realized I hadn’t taken any photos of Spaceship Earth so I stopped for a quick photo shoot.







Despite the heat, we really enjoyed Food and Wine and decided right then that we would come back on Thursday night for some more.

Here’s the pins I traded for that day. The 7 Dwarfs one was a rare find. It is part of a set and they all hook together. Mom was determined that we were going to find the rest of the set that week but of course we didn’t have any luck.



Step 11: Head to the Least Crowded Section of the Park at Rope Drop

 

[missangelalexis]

I love your jewelry purchases.

The mahi mahi was super yummy, glad you ended up liking it!

Smart idea heading to the Visa lounge. Free soda is never a bad thing!