Day 1 continued: Thursday, October 11:
So where was I? Yes, I just left the World's Smallest Check-in Desk at the Beach Club Villas, and I was ready to officially begin my trip! But before I do that, I forgot to mention that I had an observation that hit me like a ton of bricks while watching the welcome video on the Magical Express bus:
Donald is no longer the Disney Poster Child for narcissism. Stitch is.
[soapbox rant]
I've seen the signs for a long time. Ever since Stitch toilet-papered Cinderella Castle, he's everywhere. He's got to be plastered on tshirts with the Fab Five, and he's
still the most annoying part of waking up at WDW. But when I saw the video, I noticed that Stitch seemed to be a huge part of it. I used to enjoy Stitch a lot more before they Pooh-i-fied him and put him everywhere. [/soapbox rant]
Ok, now that I did that, I feel so much better! Now I can tell you what I did once I left my stuff at the Beach Club Villas lobby. I had to activate my annual pass and pick up my Disney Dining Experience, so my plan of action was to go to the ticket booth just outside of the International Gateway. So I headed left when I exited the lobby, taking the "secret path" that winds around the Beach Club resort towards the bridge that leads to Epcot.
What was going through my mind as my steps quickened towards the gate to the bridge? Glad you asked. I had Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" going through my head, mainly the chorus:
Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)
I don't want to stop at all
Yes, I'm certifiable.
It was my lucky day, as nobody was waiting for cast member Sally to help them. I handed over my AP voucher (pre-purchased a couple months ago), along with my driver's license, and soon I had my freshly fresh AP in my hands. But, I stopped to chat with Sally, as she was a very nice lady who was probably bored out of her skull with nobody needing help at her kiosk. So I chatted with her about the festival and food options at WDW in general. I made sure I didn't monopolize her in case someone was tapping their toes behind me, but nobody was.
So in the few minutes I talked to Sally, I actually imparted some wisdom I picked up here on the DIS about Victoria and Albert's. She said she couldn't get the Chef's Table when she called and booked the main dining room, and I told her that she could arrange to have the Chef's Table menu in the main dining room if she arranged it in advance. I didn't know we could do this until I read about it on the Restaurants board, and she didn't know, either! She thanked me and I was soon on my way into Epcot's turnstiles...I was hungry for some festival food!
It's 11:45 and I walk towards the UK and Canada. I stop and get the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup and the Maple Custard with Almond Crumble:
As you can see, they don't believe in full cups of soup, but if I had pushed the issue, I'm sure I could have had the cast member top it off for me. It was slightly too thick from sitting around too long, and saltier than I would have wished, but it still had the same Canadian goodness I remembered from Le Cellier. As for the maple custard, I would have liked 4 more of those babies and I would have gone to town all over that action.
I stopped at Peru next. I ordered the Causa de Cangrejo (potato patty covered in a crab salad) and Arroz con Pato (Rice with Duck). They gave me the hot item first, the duck:
This was delicious. Sure, there was some liquid on the bottom of the plate, but the duck and rice were hot and flavorful. Yum.
Next was the potato with crab:
This dish was not so good. The crab had tasted like an entire bottle of vinegar was dumped on it, overpowering it for me, and the potato cake was pretty hard to cut into. I did manage to eat a good bit of it, but I found this to be a big disappointment for me.
Turned off by the crab dish, I picked up a Festival Guide on the way to World Showcase Plaza. I looked at my watch and noticed it was 12:35pm, and the next Odyssey cooking demo was at 1pm. I thought I was getting The Flavors of the Levy Restaurants, but instead, I got Neil Connolly, of Doc's Restaurant in Orlando.
Here's Neil and Pam Smith, the MC for the event:
Neil told us some stories about working for the Kennedys, of course to promote his book about working in the Kennedy kitchen. We also found the recipe in front of us for what he was making:
Lobster Stew!
Jackpot, baby! Oh, you want a photo of the stew? Certainly...
This was not only fabulous and rich, but there were huge chunks o' lobster throughout. I can imagine paying $12 for this as an appetizer in a restaurant, but it was FREE! This is why going to the cooking demos can be rewarding. It certainly made up for the pungent crab I had at Peru! Instead of a too-bright overexposed shot of the lobster, I have a slightly blurry shot of a chunk on my spoon to give you an idea.
I was a bit thirsty so I stepped into Club Cool for free drinks.
Before you ask, no...I didn't have the Beverly, but that doesn't matter. I'm immune to the allegedly awful effects. Seriously, I'd make a great shill for the unsuspecting, because I don't taste how awful it's supposed to be. And I skipped Mezzo Mix from Germany this time, too. I just wasn't in the mood for it. My favorite has to be the Vegemeatavitamin...er...VegiBeta from Japan. China's is ok, but a little too sweet for me.
As you see, I'm slowwwwwwwly making my way towards the front entrance gate, because I have to pick up my Disney Dining Experience temporary card at the Guest Relations outside of Epcot. Before I do that, I stop at Pin Central to buy the Food and Wine and Epcot's 25th pins. I made sure I got the passholder, the DVC Member, and the Disney Visa cardholder exclusive pins. Once I was done, I discovered a nice photo op of Spaceship Earth and the Ratatouille cut outs for the festival.
Be sure to say a prayer for the Tomb of the Unknown Tourists.
I will dance when the contract for those grave markers ends in what, 2020? If they bring back the lucite "Atari" statue that used to be on the fountain nearby, I'd be a happy camper. I'm also disappointed that there were no food and wine topiaries. I remembered that I've usually seen topiaries in the front entrance plaza and in World Showcase Plaza. This time, non-descript landscaping and a cheese topiary with the rat cutouts.
To give you some perspective, I've found and uploaded photos from my 2003 Food and Wine trip. These were farm themed topiaries in front of World Showcase Plaza 4 years ago:
Now you realize just how underwhelming the cutouts are. Sheesh, I need to get off my soapbox again!
Soon I was at the Guest Relations window outside of Epcot. I felt like saying "Walt Sent Me", because it seemed the cast member went in the back to get the "secret papers", aka the envelope containing my temporary card and a list of participating eateries. While I was down there, I saw Monorail Lemon, I mean Yellow, winding its way around towards the station. Imagine my surprise finding it still in the station! I was on a mission to get to the Magic Kingdom, and I was glad I could start my trip with the Monorail as my first use of Disney transportation!
Just for kicks, I debated using the Ferryboat to the Magic Kingdom instead of the monorail. I wanted to have two forms of Disney transporation done before having to get on a Disney Bus. And again I had good transportation karma, as the boat was just coming into the dock area.
I went on the second level for the open air and a beautiful view of the Magic Kingdom and its resorts. Here's a few of my views:
Polynesian Resort:
Grand Floridian Resort:
And the Magic Kingdom. Hey, there's a monorail going by!
I could tell as we were getting closer that the Magic Kingdom was decked out in Halloween glory. I could see the bunting draped along the train station. Unfortunately, I didn't take photos of any of the Halloween stuff. My goal was to see the Haunted Mansion in it's shiny new glory, as it's my favorite attraction. While I was in line, I was handed this red card attached to a lanyard:
This was the first time I've been the wait time person, so I thought that was pretty cool.
Let me just say that I loved all the changes! I don't miss the giant day-glo spiders at all! And the new bride is creepy! As I was leaving the Mansion area, I saw a beagle as a service dog. Being the nosy Nelly that I am, I asked what the service dog was trained for. She was trained to recognize the signs of a diabetic seizure. I was pretty impressed by that, but the poor dog looked like she needed a big bowl of water. It was a hot and sticky day.
Did I go see some other things new to me since my last trip like the Pirates add-on with Captain Jack or the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor? No. I aimlessly wandered into Fantasyland after riding the Haunted Mansion, and I had a few looks of envy at the chocolate soft serve ice cream I picked up at Mrs. Pott's Cupboard. Apparently these people had tunnel vision and didn't realize they could have gotten a cone ten feet away.
Since most of Fantasyland had ride wait times were well past my comfort level, I made my way to the TTA, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. It's the perfect spot when I feel hot and tired. I did a back-to-back tour of Tomorrowland, then I aimlessly wandered back to Main Street to pass through the shops on the way out to get some air conditioning. It was just after 4pm, and I noticed a lot of the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party guests were arriving. I was glad to be heading back to Beach Club Villas to get my room.
Next: Getting into my villa and my Raglan Road review
for a great meal. And I've heard plenty of stories about tortoise-slow service, but our server was quick and friendly. 
Man, that Lobter Stew looked good. I didn't get to do any free seminars on my trip. 
I'm glad you liked your BCV room. The location looks great. I've got to stay there someday. We always end up at BWV 'cause I'm too lazy to try and switch at 7mos. LOL! 
What a night at Raglan Road & PI!!! 
