Flowers, Segways & DIS Meets, Oh My! - Updated 10/26, Final Thoughts-FINALLY!

[stace208]

I would've never thought to eat in Norway! I liked the school bread...what is the filling inside the horn like?

I love your pins, especially the Tinkerbell one. I could kick myself because I saw it at Epcot but didn't get it because we were going to DTD...then they didn't have it at that pin store. Needless to say, I learned my lesson: buy your pin when you see it!!

 

[byoung]

Good report!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Norway never even enters my mind as a lunch choice. I may have to add it to my list. Your sandwiches look good!!!

So many gorgeous pictures. Thanks for sharing. It was fun to start my day with a nice stroll around Epcot!

 

[kschafer]

I totally missed the Fantasia topiaries so I'm glad to see your pics!

thanks for the fairy tutorial because I don't know them either and my time in their garden was pretty crowded so I didn't stop to read the signs.

I'm going to have to remember the Norway bakery. We did one small meal in Epcot and chose France but your lunch looks better and the addition of a soup or salad makes it a great deal. Since we burned a deluxe credit on a tiny meal (in comparison at least!), it felt like a rip-off but it was one of those credits that would have gone to waste otherwise so I considered it bonus food

I'm totally bummed I missed that cinco de mayo pin!! I got a F&G pin to mark this trip but I would have gotten one of those too if I had seen it!

 

[disneydusted]

Another great update! The photos of the flowers and topiaries are making me wish I was there right now! The two times we have gone it has been in May with all of the beautiful flowers everywhere! I love that they change the pattern around the lake area... kind of a quilt look.
I've never tried the school bread... it was heavy? Is it a cream filling? What exactly is it?

 

[BippityBoo]

WOWZA!!! What an update girl Your pictures are AMAZING!! All of the plants, flowers and butterflies Just wonderful!! I am dying to try school bread. Also, loving your pins! Can't wait for a new update!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Oh I'm first!!!!!! That stinks about your future being messed up.
I agree about Norways film....they need to update it badly. Have you never seen Impressions de France? It's beautiful & makes me want to jump on a plane to France every time I watch it.
Wonderful flower pics & I love the fairy & butterfly gardens.
Such cute Fantasia topiaries....those mushrooms are adorable.
Oh no.........hope you didn't get a wacky bus driver & end up in an accident.

We did see the films in Canada and France later in the week and they were much better. Very beautiful, makes you almost feel like you've been transported there!

Nothing so bad as that with the bus - our adventure was simply trying to get where we needed to be by the time we needed to get there.......

What a gorgeous morning!!!!! Those pictures in the Fairies garden are simply stunning!!! What a great place to walk through!! I just love Flower and Garden time at EPCOT...they have some great toparies!!

What a shame about SSE being down..the end part is one of my favorite parts of it....although I love that entire ride!!

About the movies, Canada and France are the two I found the most enjoyable so if you have the time sometime see those they are good...China and Norway are just not my cup of tea LOL!!!

I think Epcot will feel almost naked to me next I visit. I'm so glad that I was able to visit during the F&GF to see all those amazing topiaries and beautiful displays!

I do love SSE even without the ending, but that part is so fun I wanted Mom to see it. Now that I think back I'm not sure why we never rode it again during the trip, we were certainly in Epcot enough!

We saw the films in Canada and France later in the week and thought those were much more enjoyable.

One of these days we really have to get there for the F&G Show--absolutely beautiful. Like you, I have no girls so I'm glad they post the names of the fairies. I'm sorry Spaceship Earth was having issues and your mom didn't get to see your "future."

We always stay for the Norway film (I feel so bad just walking through), but it is very outdated and needs to be redone. China's is beautiful at times and then boring at times; love the France and Canada films.

Yes, you should try and go once for the F&GF, it's beautiful!

I feel a little bad just walking through after riding Maelstrom too, but not bad enough that I'll be inclinded to stay.......

Would you believe that the same thing happened to us on SE on this past tripl. I had my camera all ready to take a picture of the screen, and then there were two strangers there!

Your lunch at Norway looks yummy!

How funny that that happened to you too! I had my camera ready as well, and was so bummed when we weren't there!

I was very happy with our lunch at Norway

My parents and sister ate at the Norway place in Jan. and said it was good so we decided to go there in April too. The sandwich was really good (we got the Norwegian Club too).

Love the F&GF pictures! And I got that Tink pin too. So cute.

Wasn't the Club yummy?!

Thanks! I love that Tink pin too

 

[SoonerGirl]

Fantastic photos in your update! It just takes me right back there. I thought the same thing about the Princess and the frog display, especially since we had just come out of the Fairy garden. I loved the pixie houses too! The detail in that area was fantastic. what a great shot of the caterpillar! I don't think we saw a caterpillar in there, but then again, it was so hot, I couldn't bear to stay in the butterfly house for too long.

I'm glad we saw the Princess and the Frog display before we went through the Fairy Garden - I really would have been disappointed in it if we'd seen it after! It was hot in that butterfly garden, but it felt almost as hot outside so we toughed it out.

I had the same thing happen to me once on SSE.

Your pics are great and I really enjoyed them. As you know - I missed most of the topiaries in Epcot. I love looking at all the things I missed. (Well, actually I hate it - you know what I mean )

It was so blazing hot, wasn't it?

Oh...edited to add....lunch looks great! That was a great CS choice!

I guess that happens on SSE more than I thought! I had never had it happen prior to this time.

I'm sorry you had to miss so much of Epcot! You were just being a good hostess - darn that good upbringing!

Lunch was perfect for such a hot day. We saw other people sitting on the patio with us eating Mexican food and while I love Mexican, it was just way too hot to enjoy it on that day!

You're photos are just fantastic! What type of camera do you own? I loved the feathers on the ostriches. Were they actually some type of flowering plant or just stuck-on feathers?

Thanks! I have a DSLR, Cannon Rebel xsi. I don't know a whole lot about it and shoot most of my pictures in 'auto' mode. I'm really happy with it!

That was some kind of plant on the ostriches, I love how they made it look like feathers. Disney has so many talented people working for them!

Why have I never read about the Kringla Bakeri og Cafe? That looks yummy!!! It's a CS place, correct Michelle? Yum!!

Is the Butterfly House just a seasonal thing? That's not there all year round, is it? What pretty, pretty pictures you took!! Gorgeous!

I had never read anything about the bakery either, other than people writing about the school bread, but when I was reading through menus on allears I saw that they had sandwiches and decided to give it a try. It is CS and the menu is limited, I think they had 3 or 4 different kinds of sandwiches, soup, salad, and of course desserts. It was really good though, I'll be going back for sure!

I think the butterfly house was just there for the F&GF, I've never seen it on past trips.

Your pictures in the butterfly house are wonderful. My daughter would love that pavilion.

The butterfly house was nice, as was the entire area - so pretty!

 

[SoonerGirl]

What an absolutely gorgeous update! Your pictures are making me want to go during F&G!

Oh, you should! I'm so glad we went, it's beautiful!

I feel like I have just seen almost all of this!

Your pictures are so good. The sandwiches from the bakery look like a perfect lunch. I will have to try the ham and apple. I almost always go for a schoolbread or a pretzel, but I need to branch out, so a cloudberry horn could be my next Norwegian sweet treat.

Maybe by next year they will have had time to do something a little more exciting to Tiana's area. Brooklynn enjoyed the kids' activities. The cardboard cutouts were a little weak for a Disney display. Maybe they'll have some cool topiaries next year.

Thanks MeMom!

The sandwiches were really good, and I think you could actually split a meal here, if Mom and I had known that we could get a salad as part of the meal we probably would have. The sandwiches are really big, so half a sandwich and half a salad would be plenty for lunch, then top it off with yummy treat!

I can see where a little one would enjoy the things to do in the Princess and the Frog area. I know they start working on the next year's festival almost as soon as the current one is over so I think they decided late in the game to add something for Tiana and this was the best they could do on short notice - at least that is the excuse I'm giving them

You would really like it!

We also had the same thing happen to us on SSE! I was excited for my parents and brother to see themselves in their future--uggh!! It was working later that night but my parents had gone back to the Poly for the night--but my brother did get to see it.

WOW!! The Fairies garden is just beautiful!! And you're right about the Tiana display looking like an afterthought--weird!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe that happened to you too. I guess it happens alot, it just never had for me!

Isn't the fairy garden great? I loved it, probably one of my favorite parts of the whole festival!

Welcome back!! Nice to see your pics of the Epcot Flowers. Yes - I wasn't impressed with the Frog Princess either but loved the fairies.

The sandwiches at Norway look great. I wandered over with the intention of buying the school bread but it didn't appeal to me when I finally got to see it "live"...

I'm sorry I didn't take a closer look for the Cinco de Mayo pin now! Great pick up!

The fairies more than made up for the lack of attention given to the Princess and the Frog, that area was gorgeous!

The school bread does almost look better in pictures than it does in real life doesn't it? I'm glad I tried it, but probably won't ever get it again.

As soon as I saw that pin I knew I had to have it, especially with us planning our DISmeet to celebrate the occassion!

 

[SoonerGirl]

hey michelle! Great update as always!! Great pics of all of the F&G displays...especially those fairies! Aren't they super cute?! I have to agree, when I saw the Princess & The Frog display I was like..."that's it?!?!" i was looking forward to seeing topiaries of the characters but no...yes, very disappointing. Anyway, can't wait for the next update!

p.s. love those pins you got! Especially the F&G one! So cute!

I love Disney pins and they have so many cute ones! Even Mom commented on how easy it would be to become addicted to buying them!

Yum! Lunch looks delicious -- especially the ham and apple sandwich! That looks really good as does the cloudberry horn. I would never have thought of eating in Norway.

Don't judge the other World Showcase films by the Norway one. The one in France is quite lovely.

All of the Flower and Garden Festival pictures are so pretty! I really like the Fantasia ostriches!

Oh, that Cinco de Mayo pin is cool! A great reminder of your trip!

I hadn't ever thought about eating in Norway before either, but I was looking for something different and when I read their menu on allears and saw that they actually had food instead of just treats I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did!

I was able to see the films in France and Canada later in the week and was much more impressed with those

The Fantasia ostriches were so cute! I loved their bows and 'feathers'

Since we had our big DISmeet on Cinco de Mayo, I thought that was the perfect pin to remember it by.

I would've never thought to eat in Norway! I liked the school bread...what is the filling inside the horn like?

I love your pins, especially the Tinkerbell one. I could kick myself because I saw it at Epcot but didn't get it because we were going to DTD...then they didn't have it at that pin store. Needless to say, I learned my lesson: buy your pin when you see it!!

A lot of people like the school bread, it was just not quite what I thought it would be, not sure what I was expecting

The filling inside the horn is like a berry flavored cream, it's pretty tasty.

Oh man, I'm sorry you missed out on the Tink pin! I was afraid that they wouldn't have F&G specific pins outside of Epcot so I made sure and picked it up while we were there.

Good report!

Thank you!

Norway never even enters my mind as a lunch choice. I may have to add it to my list. Your sandwiches look good!!!

So many gorgeous pictures. Thanks for sharing. It was fun to start my day with a nice stroll around Epcot!

Something new to try! The sandwiches were really good

Glad you enjoyed strolling around Epcot with me, not quite as good as being there though!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I totally missed the Fantasia topiaries so I'm glad to see your pics!

thanks for the fairy tutorial because I don't know them either and my time in their garden was pretty crowded so I didn't stop to read the signs.

I'm going to have to remember the Norway bakery. We did one small meal in Epcot and chose France but your lunch looks better and the addition of a soup or salad makes it a great deal. Since we burned a deluxe credit on a tiny meal (in comparison at least!), it felt like a rip-off but it was one of those credits that would have gone to waste otherwise so I considered it bonus food

I'm totally bummed I missed that cinco de mayo pin!! I got a F&G pin to mark this trip but I would have gotten one of those too if I had seen it!

I had my trusty F&G map to make sure that I saw each and every topiary that they had - I didn't want to miss anything!

It was somewhat crowded when we walked through the fairy garden too, but I snapped a quick picture of each of the signs so that I could read them later

I think I would have cringed using a deluxe credit on a small CS meal, but it's better than it going to waste I guess.

I'm sorry you missed the Cinco de Mayo pin! I thought it a perfect reminder of our DISmeet!

Another great update! The photos of the flowers and topiaries are making me wish I was there right now! The two times we have gone it has been in May with all of the beautiful flowers everywhere! I love that they change the pattern around the lake area... kind of a quilt look.
I've never tried the school bread... it was heavy? Is it a cream filling? What exactly is it?

Epcot was so pretty with all of the flower and topiaries out. I'm afraid it will feel empty next I go!

Almost everyone loves the school bread, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I think I expected the bread part to be lighter, more pastery like, but it was a thick, heavy bread. It had a vanilla type creme in the very center of it, then a light icing that was sprinkled with coconut on top.

WOWZA!!! What an update girl Your pictures are AMAZING!! All of the plants, flowers and butterflies Just wonderful!! I am dying to try school bread. Also, loving your pins! Can't wait for a new update!!

Thanks Katie! It was such a pretty area and so much fun to photograph!

Most people that try the school bread love it, it just wasn't for me.

Hopefully I'll get another update up in the next day or two

 

[cdotla]

Great update Michelle!

So glad you took my suggestion about trying the cloudberry horn at Kringla Bakery, and even more glad that you liked it!!!

You and I are completely alike then - School Bread doesn't really do much for me, but, oh boy, that cloudberry horn!!! It is my absolute FAVOURITE snack in all of WDW. And can you believe I didn't even get one this trip!

Great photos of the topiaries and fairies at Epcot. Again, I didn't see as much of that as I would have liked. It was nice to see it from your pictures.

That poolside cocktail after being out in the heat all day sounded like a great way to end the afternoon!

 

[kcandbella]

GREAT pics! I felt like we didn't get to enjoy the F&G festival as much as I'd have liked...too rushed. We breezed through the fairies and the butterfly house. I'm slightly disappointed about that, but at least I can see it better through your pics!! I knew all that about the Fairies already...I think I know more about them than I've ever wanted to know!

 

[RachelNinja]

How cute! I didn't pay much attention to the Flower & Garden stuff, so I missed the gardens! Love the Pinocchio's Radiccio sign and all the other character veggie signs!

I was too scared to go in the butterfly house. I think that if something flew around me, my automatic reaction would be to whack it. If I did that, the people working there would whack me out right away!

 

[klacey1]

Beautiful F+G pictures-- the fairy area is just gorgeous!

 

[marsa1969]

So, any flooding problems? I hope not since you just finshed up with tornado damage.

 

[SoonerGirl]

Great update Michelle!

So glad you took my suggestion about trying the cloudberry horn at Kringla Bakery, and even more glad that you liked it!!!

You and I are completely alike then - School Bread doesn't really do much for me, but, oh boy, that cloudberry horn!!! It is my absolute FAVOURITE snack in all of WDW. And can you believe I didn't even get one this trip!

Great photos of the topiaries and fairies at Epcot. Again, I didn't see as much of that as I would have liked. It was nice to see it from your pictures.

That poolside cocktail after being out in the heat all day sounded like a great way to end the afternoon!

Thanks for the suggestion. The cloudberry horn was quite tasty! I can't believe you didn't even get ONE! How sad!

The fairy garden was one of my favorite parts of the F&GF, it was so pretty!

It was so hot that a short break by the pool was almost a must!

GREAT pics! I felt like we didn't get to enjoy the F&G festival as much as I'd have liked...too rushed. We breezed through the fairies and the butterfly house. I'm slightly disappointed about that, but at least I can see it better through your pics!! I knew all that about the Fairies already...I think I know more about them than I've ever wanted to know!

Thanks Kayce! That was one good thing about going kidless, Mom and I were able to wander the gardens and not feel rushed

I'm sure you do know plenty about the fairies! I bet if I had a little girl I would too!

How cute! I didn't pay much attention to the Flower & Garden stuff, so I missed the gardens! Love the Pinocchio's Radiccio sign and all the other character veggie signs!

I was too scared to go in the butterfly house. I think that if something flew around me, my automatic reaction would be to whack it. If I did that, the people working there would whack me out right away!

The Flower and Garden stuff was the biggest reason for our trip so I tried to make sure we caught all of it. The vegetable garden was so cute!

Yeah, the CMs probably wouldn't have been too happy with you if you'd tried to whack a butterfly, good thing you didn't go in!

Beautiful F+G pictures-- the fairy area is just gorgeous!

Thanks, I thought it was too.

So, any flooding problems? I hope not since you just finshed up with tornado damage.

Nope, worst of it was a bit north of us, we just got a couple of inches. Are you getting hit with this storm too, or the one that flooded those campgrounds a few days ago? I sure hope not since your ticker says you leave in just a few days for a beach trip! You'll have to let me know how it is, I'm dying for a trip to the beach but not sure where to go with all this oil spill mess.

 

[SoonerGirl]

As soon as we got back to our room we changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool. We found a couple of chairs, then went over to the bar to grab a drink. Mom got a banana daiquiri and I got a drink called a raspberry crush which was made with Bacardi Razz, pineapple juice, sour & grenadine - it was so good! After securing our drinks we jumped into the pool to cool off then settled in to enjoy our beverages and do a little people watching and reading. While people watching I happened to notice a lady wearing a maroon swimsuit, her skin just happened to be the exact same color as her suit! I felt so bad for her and couldn't believe that she was still out in the sun, I know she had to be miserable later!

We enjoyed our time by the pool, maybe a little too much, because we lingered longer than we should have and had to hustle to get ready for our dinner ADR. With time running out on us we thought about just taking a cab but figured we'd give the buses a shot. I thought if we could get a bus to the MK quickly we could jump on the monorail and make it to the Grand Floridian in plenty of time. As we approached the bus stop there was an MK bus sitting there, we started to run, hoping to catch it, we waved our arms like idiots, but the bus left without us. Darn! So we sat down and thought about our options. We decided to take the next bus that showed up and then take the GF bus from that park.

The next bus was going to DHS, so we hopped on board. We were let off out in the parking lot in lieu of one of the standard pick up/drop off locations. We asked the driver for the stop number that we needed and then we disembarked. We could see the stop directly across from where we were, so we started walking across the lot instead of going the long way around using the path, well we couldn't get through going that way, it was blocked off by a fence or gate, I can't remember. All I remember is that there was a bus sitting at our stop and I was now terribly afraid we were going to miss it and have to wait another 20 minutes that we did not have for another bus to arrive. Soooooo, we began to jog alllllllll the way around to the stop that we needed, thankfully the driver was waiting for his bus to fill up and he remained there long enough for us to make it in time. Whew! We were one step closer! Of course, the time that we had taken to cool off and get cleaned up for dinner all went to waste. With all our running around trying to catch buses we were hot and sweaty all over again!

The GF shares a bus with the Poly & the Contemporary and I don't remember the order of drop off, but I'm sure the GF wasn't the first one because I was still worried we weren't going to make it. FINALLY, we arrived at the Grand Floridian, and after all that, ended up having about 5 minutes to spare! This taught me a lesson that I won't forget - when traveling to a resort for a dinner ADR, if you don't have a car and aren't already in a park, or don't have an extra hour and half to make it - take a cab. It's not worth the aggravation for the little bit of money it saves!

We snapped a few pics as we headed to our dining destination - the GF is so pretty, I don't think I'll ever stay there, but it's fun to visit!

We checked in for our dinner at

This was another first for me and I really didn't know what to expect. Mom and I both loved it! Our server was fantastic. His name was Geoff and he was from Lawrence, Kansas, so we took some time to talk Big XII sports with him. He was very personable and fun to chat with.

We started off our meal with a couple cocktails, we both ordered the Magical Star, they were quite tasty!

For dinner I had the pork chop, it came with snap peas, cherry tomatoes and roasted corn. Geoff told me that they roasted the corn on the cob and then cut it off right before serving. My meal was so good, especially that corn!

Mom had the salmon with asparagus and mushrooms. She said hers was great as well.

For dessert I had the chocolate fondue, it was advertised as dark chocolate, but it neither looked nor tasted like dark chocolate. I was slightly disappointed in my choice. It was good, just not great.

Mom had the key lime tort.

Even though my dessert could have been better, overall I really liked my meal here. Another new restaurant, another great choice!

After dinner we had some time to kill so we wandered through the gift shops for awhile. About 8:00 we went to catch the monorail over to the MK, I had decided that I really wanted to see SpectroMagic. I hadn't seen it in the past and with the rumors that it may not be returning I wanted to make sure I caught it when I had the chance. We loaded onto the monorail and were in the car with two teenage girls traveling with their father. They were being very LOUD and very silly, almost to the point of being obnoxious, well, maybe more than almost.....

Anyway, I'm using them as an excuse for my inability to pay attention to my surroundings. I'm actually kind of embarrassed to admit this, but I missed our stop!

I know the order of stops on the resort monorail, I've ridden it numerous times, but I guess I was just in another world. We stopped at the MK, people got off, people got on and we went on our way. As we started to leave the station I looked out the window and realized what I had done. Soooo, we had to ride in the car with the LOUD and silly girls until they got off at the TTC. We finally made our way back around to the MK and laughed about our grand circle tour on the resort monorail.

I snapped a pic of the train station

And we went in to see if we could find any place to sit and enjoy the parade. We happened to grab a spot right on the curb right across from the firehouse. I took a couple pics while we waited

Continued in the next post:

 

[SoonerGirl]

The good thing about our spot was that it was at the very beginning of the parade route so we were able to beat most of the crowd leaving the park at the end of the parade. The one bad thing about it was that sometimes our view was partially blocked by the CMs making sure the floats maneuvered out of the gates okay. That was a very small thing though and I was very happy to find a curb seat just 30 minutes before parade time! I took lots of pics, here are some of my favorites

I was so happy that we were able to catch the parade, I loved it, especially the music! After the last float passed us by, we headed for the bus stop and back to our comfy beds at CSR. Tomorrow was our MK day and I wanted to be sure we were up early enough to make it for the opening show!

 

[LilAnn]

Wow, you got such great photos of Spectro! It makes me want to go back so badly! I can just hear the music in my head.

You meal at the GF looks delicious. Just one more place to add to my ever growing lsit of places to eat at WDW.

Wasn't a pool break (with an adult beverage) so nice in the heat?