NOOSHKIN & NIFFERS EXCELLENT VACATION Sep 27 – Oct 4, POP/AKL

[MovienutNiffer]

Hey there! I just followed the link in your signature over and I am happy to have done so. What fun to vacation with your sister! I want to hear more (nudge, nudge). I know what you mean about sleeping well at AKL...I just adore it there. I am also thinking that our next trip will be to the Poly too.

Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hello and that I am here and reading. Hope to see another update soon! I really am enjoying reading about your time at WDW!

Oh and which one of you is that holding the dole whip?

Thanks for stopping by! The thread is mainly Nooshkin's - I just comment along the way. That's her picture with the Dole Whip. I am VERY VERY VERY camera shy. I think the only time I actually had mu picture taken this trip was when we were with Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore (MY FAVORITE!!!!) in the UK pavillion at Epcot. I think no one knew they were in the back of the toy store posing for pictures and there were only 2 or 3 adults in front of us. Those pictures might be coming later. Anyway thanks again!

You should check out Nooshkin's other TR's. She did a real short one recently and another one with her boyfriend from about a year ago I think.

 

[Nooshkin]

Sorry for the "brief" (ahem) delay. In addition to being silly-crazy-busy lately, I also lost/misplaced my travel journal. My brain is like an old towel that doesn’t actually absorb anything anymore. You keep it around because it’s really soft or you like the color but it can really only hold a limited amout. That’s my brain. So without my journal, I may remember what we did but not the when or any significant details. (But ask me something useless to my daily life- like the names of Henry the VIII’s wives, and I can pluck those out of head without a problem!) But the journal has been recovered and I’m ready to proceed!

When last we visited, Niffer and I had arrived in our lovely AKL room. I took some time to watch the animals from the balcony and listen to the Zebras chew, all the while trying to block out the ugly construction going on for the new DVC villas.

You can even hear the zebras chewing...


Then we unpacked, freshened up and got ready for the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! We’ve been to it before. I’ve gone in a costume before but this time we decided to skip the costumes. (With the new charges for checked baggage, luggage space is at a premium!) We arrived at the Magic Kingdom just before 5pm.

There were a number of people already heading out so we were able to get quite a few rides in before the party officially started. We also ate at Cosmic Rays. I had the 1/2 rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans ($9.49). Niff had the chicken sandwich and fries ($7.19). I only have a pic of mine:

Crowd levels for the party were really light. We rode more rides plus watched the parade and the fireworks. I do love this parade. The music worms it’s way into your head and doesn’t leave! I only have a few pics. If you want to see more, check out my TR from last year.

And of course we trick-or-treated! We also took the time to wait for the Villains show in front of the castle. It was something we’d never seen before. It was kind of a waste of time. Not one of the better shows and really kind of short. I highly recommend the dance parties. They’re geared towards the kids but if you don’t have kids, the party’s are still fun to watch for a few minutes!

We lugged our tired carcasses back to the hotel at 11:30 and fell into bed VERY tired!

Remember when you were a kid- what's the first thing you'd do when you got home from trick-or-treating? You'd dump out your bag and take inventory! Some things never change...

 

[Nooshkin]

Next up:

The Keys to the Kingdom Tour, a headful of PIXIE DUST and Spectro Magic!

 

[jaycns]

So true about dumping out the trick-or-treat loot!

Looking forward to hearing about the tour!

 

[Nooshkin]

Speaking for myself, it felt like I had just fallen asleep when it was time to get up the next morning! We are not a “wake-up-early and get to the park before it opens” kind of family. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been to a park for early Extra Morning Hours! (And I’d have fingers left over.) When the phone started ringing at 6:30 am, I was awake but waiting for the phone to ring. I’m one of those (freaks) people who can tell themselves what time to wake up. I just think about it the night before. It even works in other time zones! I never use alarm clocks or wake-up calls but I had heard about the Stitch wake-up call. Jenny didn’t know that I had set it up so the phone rang and rang and rang. She was awake but not picking it up! So finally I said, “Are you going to pick that up?” Any annoyance she had with me was quickly gone as she started to laugh! I could hear Stitch yelling for her to “WAKE-UP”!

We had to get up and hustle to be ready and down in the lobby by 7:30. The plan was to do the Keys to the Kingdom tour early that day, then go back to the room for an afternoon rest before returning to the MK for SpectroMagic and Wishes. I had been on this tour before and knew how much walking was involved. I felt it would be best to schedule it at the beginning of the trip since by the end of the week, there was a chance we’d be too exhausted! The park was opening at 9am but our tour started at 8:30 and they wanted us there but 8:10. The cast members at the hotel told me that the buses would not be running yet and that we should schedule a cab. The cab was waiting for us at 7:30 and it whisked us off to the transportation center. The first thing I noticed as we waited for the Monorail to the MK was the humidity that day. My glasses kept fogging up! It would turn out to be the hottest and most humid day during our visit. The second thing I noticed, as we pulled up to the MK, were all the busses that were arriving from resorts. Hmmmm. Maybe I didn’t have to spend a small fortune on a cab after all!

The Keys To the Kingdom Tour is a lot of fun. Each tour guide tells different anecdotes and shows different things. Even though I did the tour last year, it was familiar yet different enough to be interesting. I used to work for the Disney company years ago. I’ve been through the old school 3 day traditions classes and competed in the trivia contests. I’ve heard most of the stories and legends and I’m pretty well versed on my Disney knowledge. I wouldn’t say that I learn many new things on the tour but I still find them enjoyable. There’s always some detail that I’ve overlooked or maybe one new bit of trivia. And I like getting to see some of the attractions from a different perspective. If you are the sort of person who would loose some of the “MAGIC” if you saw behind the scenes, then this tour is probably not for you. The tour is about 5 hours long. We started on Main Street, went down to the hub then worked our way through Adventureland. We went back stage behind Splash Mountain, then worked our way to Liberty Square. We had lunch at the Columbia Harbor House then made it back to Main Street. At this point we were led down under Main Street into the utilidors, surfacing in a backstage area on the other side of Main Street. During the tour we rode the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and the Haunted Mansion and learned a number of things about each ride, found a hidden Mickey or two and learned how some of the effects were achieved. When we went backstage behind Splash Mountain, We saw the hangars for the float vehicles and had the pleasure of smelling the trash being sorted for recycling. (Those poor workers. I’ll never complain again that it’s too much work for me to recycle at home!) And of course the utilidors are cool because it’s something so unique to the MK.

After the tour, we were both pretty tired. The humidity was zapping our energy so we really just wanted to get some snacks and head back to the hotel. Poor Niffer was having a hard time with her hair. She didn’t have a chance to get it cut before we left. She has the thickest hair- it’s like she has enough hair for 3 heads! She had it in a ponytail but it was still making her head overheat. We had talked about her maybe getting a haircut at the MK barbershop but she wasn’t sure if she’d feel funny going in there with all the kids! As our tour ended, I looked over at the barbershop and it didn’t look very busy so I asked her if she wanted to do it. She just gets a simple bob so it’s not like she needs a lot of styling. She hesitated then said yes! There were a few people ahead of her. (It’s a first come, first served kind of thing.) When her turn came up, Michal gave her one of the best haircuts she’s ever had! It also ends up that Michal has been a barber there on Main Street since 1997 but prior to that he owned a shop for many years one town over from ours. Niffer is kind of camera shy so I only got this one picture when she first sat down.

Of course, the finished off the haircut with a liberal dusting of “pixie dust”, aka Mickey confetti! What a mess- we gave mousekeeping an extra tip the next day! But what a fun experience! There was a little girl getting her first haircut. She was too young for the confetti so they topped her off with pink mouse ears. And there were a number of boys getting haircuts or just the colored gels. It was cute to see the barbers cut the normal haircut then the kid would pick a color or three and they’d gel up a little faux-hawk or use a Mickey shaped stencil. I strongly recommend this! I think the kid’s cuts were $12 and adults were $15.

By then it was almost 3pm. We headed over to the confectionary for some caramel apples and rice crispy treats to enjoy back at the hotel.

Next up...
AKL Culinary Tour and SpectroMagic!

 

[MovienutNiffer]

When we looked outside I wasn't expecting any animals at all! I had read on WDWInfo.com about the construction and how the animals would be moved but I was so happy to see animals! I was mostly excited to see giraffes because I know those are Nooshkin's favorite!

Now going to MK for MNSSHP was great! I've said it before and I'll say it again that that party and parade is my favorite! It is just so amazing how everything is all done up and decorated! Plus it was so empty that night! We were shocked!

I love Cosmic Rays! It is always so fun there! I never get tired of Sonny Eclipse. For me that place is all about the atmosphere! And having Lilo and Stitch's dance party there is so cute! Gotta love Elvis Stitch! Trick or treating is fun too but for some reason we got some candy that made everything else in the bag really sticky!

Now if I could get a Stitch wake-up call every day I would be so happy! He is one of my favorites!!!

Now about the Keys to the Kingdom tour. I knew there would be a lot of walking since my sister had done it before but I really overestimated myself for this. As I have said before I am Pooh shaped but I used to be able to at least do a lot of walking but it's been a long time since I've done muh (especially since I stopped working retail 3 years ago and now work at a desk job). So for me it was a lot of fun but very very VERY hard to keep up. Our tour guide was great and I absolutely loved hearing about Tinkerbell/Tinkerbill and her flight before Wishes. And seeing the utilidors was very cool! I do NOT envy our guides walk to work. Talk about crazy! It was very cool hearing little bits about Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean and the Jungle Cruise. (I love disco! - if you know what that means you get a cookie!) At the end though I was completely pooped and my feet were killing me! But so was my sweaty hair! I do have to thank my awesome sister, Nooshkin, for not really mentioning how I would get grumpy and slow down. Leave all of that to me!

Now for my sweaty head. As Nooshkin said I have very thick hair, and when I sweat it retains that moisture like MAD! I had wanted to get a shor haircut before we left but I just never got around to it. She had mentioned the barber shop before we left but I just wasn't sure I could be able to get a cut there. So looking over I saw there was people there but not a lot of them. I went over and fortunately got a seat inside. Talking to the woman I was sitting next to she said that her husband was the last one so that made me next! (Most of the other people were with others already getting a haircut.) There was this little boy in there who got a cut and some blue gel. The lady in there put a Mickey on the back of his head and when she asked if he wanted some "Pixie Dust" he said "NO!" but she snuck one Mickey head piece of confetti right in the middle of the blue gel Mickey. When he saw that he got mad but then she said it was just the one and he laughed.

While sitting there this lady came in with her daughter and we started talking. She asked about the shirt I was wearing. It was one I got specifically for our trip from Zazzle.com. It has Edna Mode from the Incredibles on it and "NO CAPES!" underneath it. I LOVE that shirt! Then came my turn! I got in the seat and Michael asked what I wanted. I said "Cut it off." Both Michael and the lady I was talking to asked "Are you sure?!" I said "Oh yeah!". So he combed it out (I didn't need any water - my head had enough sweat!) and cut about 6 or 7 inches off. You should have heard the gasp from everyone who was watching (by that time a few more had come in). It was so funny especially after Michael said "I'm not even done cutting yet!" He went and trimmed it some more and at the end he asked if I wanted any "Pixie Dust" and after a second I thought "Why not?" Well he put on a LOT! (It was falling off everywhere! We were finding it for days in our room!) So while going around the rest of the night I just could not stop smiling and with all that "P.D" you should have seen the looks I got. One girl on the bus asked her Dad "Does she know that's on her head?" It is very fun and even if you just get a trim it is very worth it!

Best treat at the Confectionary - Mickey shaped rice crispy treat! Mickey shaped food is the best! That huge Mickey one covered in chocolate looks AWESOME!

 

[Nooshkin]

When I got back to the hotel, I wasn’t really tired- I just felt really gross. I freshened up then headed down to Jiko for the free culinary tour.

I believe this is offered every day, or at least most days. Check the board of resort activities in the lobby or watch you resort information channel on TV for the exact time. On this day it was at 4pm. We met in the bar area of Jiko and watched with envy as the Culinary Safari people headed out on their expedition. (That tour is not free! That tour takes a small group out on the savannah in an open jeep-type. They tour the savannahs and enjoy a Jiko meal packed in a basket.)

We had a pretty good sized group for our tour- about 20 people. (I was so worried I would be the only one!) Our guide first walked us through Jiko, then through Boma, pointing out hidden Mickeys and different architectural details that we may not notice on our own. In Jiko, we sat down and one of the chefs put out baskets with 3 different breads and 3 different dips. She explained what each one was and what African spices were used. They were all delicious and I’m not sure I would’ve tried them on my own.

The chef who guided us through Boma didn’t seem as happy to be showing us around but then again it was almost time for the restaurant to open so I’m sure she had other things on her mind! As we were leaving, some of the Boma cast members were preparing to open and were all lined up with drums and other instruments. We lingered awhile and listed to them play and sing. This little tour was only about 30-40 minutes long and was a nice diversion from all the things I normally do at WDW. The point of it is to get you to come back and dine in Jiko or Boma. From what I understand, they don’t always serve you samples but you may luck out like I did! I enjoyed learning some trivia about the restaurants and having a chance to learn a little something about African cuisine.

When I got back to the room, Jenny informed me that she was more tired than she realized and that she preferred to take it easy and stay in the hotel that night. No worries. I headed back to the MK around 6:30pm. SpectroMagic is my favorite of all the night time entertainment options in the parks. I found a great spot in front of the Hall of Presidents.

As it got closer to parade time, the area really started to fill in. There was a tiny sliver of space between me and the woman on my left. An older woman and a little girl came up and asked it anyone was sitting there. We both said no, and proceeded to scoot over as much as we could, thinking we were being nice making room for Grandma and her little granddaughter. Then came the rest of the family. They proceeded to cram in FIVE girls between 3 and 8 years old, 2 grandparents. 2 parents PLUS a stroller! Obviously, the people behind us were now having to re-adjust and make room for these people too. We were all just looking at each other like, “Can you believe this?” And once they had taken over all this space, did they sit quietly and wait for the parade? Of course not. One adult went off in search of pizza, another took one of the girls to buy an autograph book because she just had to have it right that minute. Another adult was running back and forth with popcorn, sodas, waters, ice cream. I had popcorn spilled on my head, soda spilled down my back and I was poked, prodded and stepped on every time someone had to leave or return to the area. (And not one apology or excuse me.) The nice lady next to me saw what was happening and had one of her kids sit in her lap so that I’d have more room- but that just made the lunatic family think they could surge forward and crowd me some more. So I did what any mature adult would do. I reached into my backpack and took out my tube containing 15 glow stick bracelets. I methodically cracked them, activating all the pretty colors. I put on a couple bracelets. Then I took the rest of them and turned to people on my right and behind me and gave all the kids one (with their parent’s permission!) Did the horrible family on my left notice? You bet! Now before you feel bad for the 5 girls on my left and think that I purposely made them feel bad, consider what I heard for 20-30 minutes since they sat down. “Mommy! I want a blinking flower!” “Mommy- Get me one of those light up princesses!” “Gramma- get me one of those light up Tinkerbells!” Daddy- I don’t like my flower. I want a blinking necklace.” Gimme, I want, I want, I want…..And they got every one of those things! They had to spend over $140 at the cart with all the light-up toys! And the kids were never satisfied. I kind of felt sorry for them. They'd beg and whine for something, get it, play with it for ten minutes then not want it anymore.

The kids on my right were well behaved and didn’t beg their parents for anything. They were genuinely thrilled to get the bracelets and they said “Thank You”. I’m sure that little glow bracelet made those kids happier than anything the obnoxious family had purchased. Luckily SpectroMagic soon passed by and I was able to loose myself in the spectacle of color and light!

Afterwards, I was a little frazzled though so I decided to skip Wishes and go on some rides. During Wishes I was able to walk onto HM and Peter Pan! I never go on Peter Pan because the line is always stupid-long. Side note - have you ever been in the Peter Pan ride when the fireworks are going on? The noise is crazy! It startled me at first! I didn't realize what it was - it sounded like bombs going off!

After that, I walked onto Small World- literally. There was not a single person in line. I was the only one in my boat, plus the boats around me were empty! It was like having the ride to myself. (And I actually like Small World! Do I want to hear the song when I'm not on the ride? Not so much. But I do like the ride.)

After Wishes, the park really cleared out. It was an EMH night. They had recently done away with the wristbands and it was my first time having to show my room key to get on rides. What a P.I.T.A! I rode a few rides, shopped a little then started to get a little lonely so I headed “home” to the resort.

When I got back to the hotel, I was a little worried as I approached the room. There was music thumping and 22 year old male underwear models were going in and out of our room. Niffer was obviously having a party. I could barely get in the door! There was even a Zebra in the bathroom!

At least, that's what I recall. Niffer may have a different version...

 

[MovienutNiffer]

When I got back to the hotel, I was a little worried as I approached the room. There was music thumping and 22 year old male underwear models were going in and out of our room. Niffer was obviously having a party. I could barely get in the door! There was even a Zebra in the bathroom!

At least, that's what I recall. Niffer may have a different version...

Ok, I don't know about any of that. If "male models" means me leaving and coming back wth a hamburger and a "zebra in the bathroom" is code for me being online and checking email and watching Chuck and Life on tv then yeah that's exactly what happened!

 

[Nooshkin]

I just remembered one other thing from my night at the Magic Kingdom! This is really more of a warning. A public service announcement, if you will! I stopped at Pecos Bill's for dinner. I chose the taco salad for $7.39. This was almost inedible. There wasn't much to top it with at the fixin's bar. Even so, the eat was horrible. After a few bites, I scrapped the meat off and ate about half of the rest of it. Then I realized that I didn't have to eat this slop! I tossed the rest and vowed to never again have this taco salad and to warn others against it as well. So consider yourself warned!

 

[Nooshkin]

Today's plan was EPCOT and since the park opened at 10am we didn't have to get up with the roosters.
Today was going to be a big eating day so we just had a cereal breakfast in the room then made our way to the park. We arrived at the front gate right at 10 am. Once through the gate, I took our tickets and ran ahead for Soarin' fastpasses and told Niff to meet me at the Seas. As I approached the Seas and found my sister, there was a slight misting of rain. Not enough to really make you wet- just enough to make my hair freak out!
But we couldn't complain. Despite the threat of rain every day that we were there, this ended up being the only daytime precipitation we encountered. And it was over by the time we got out of the Seas pavilion.

Niffer hadn't been in the Seas since the Nemo update. This was never one of my favorite pavilions in the past so I really like what they've done. We walked right through the queue area- no line- and onto our "clamobile" for the ride. I guess everyone else was rushing to Test Track and Soarin'! After the ride, there was only a 5 minute wait for Turtle Talk with Crush. I love that show! It's always so cute.

(click here for a few minutes of the show)

 

[Nooshkin]

When we left the Seas it was just after 11am. Our ADR for Chefs de France was at noon but our goal today was to take it easy, not rush around and not exhaust ourselves too early in the day. So we leisurely started to make our way to France, stopping to browse in the shops along the way.

We got to the restaurant a bit early- they didn't open until noon so the hostess was still setting up her stand. There were a number of people waiting already so I thought maybe the restaurant was going to be full but as people walked up without ADRs the hostess was adding them to the list without a problem. When the restaurant officially opened, we were all sat rather quickly and efficiently. Niff and I were led to a table at the window with a view of the World Showcase.

This was our first time at Chefs de France. Niffer isn't the most adventurous eater so I think she was a little worried that there wouldn't be anything for her. But my sister is one of the most unselfish and accomodating people I know. If I want to go to a restaurant that doesn't appeal to her, she's a good sport even if it means stopping somewhere afterwards for a burger! For example, she doesn't eat seafood. If I want to go to a seafood place, she can usually put together a meal of a salad, a non-fish appetizer like mozzarella sticks and french fries. Not ideal, but she's doing it for me. So when we were planning this trip, I asked her to look at the menus (here on The Dis) so that maybe we could try a few places we hadn't been to before. I was shocked when she said she wanted to go to Chefs de France!

She went with The French Menu option. It was $19.95 for 3 classic French courses. To start with, classic French onion soup and a roll of warm, crusty bread. Then a Croque Monsier, which is a toasted ham and cheese sandwich served with a side salad. The dessert was creme brulee with a madeleine cookie. (She doesn't like creme brulee so the plan was for me order a different dessert and trade with her!)
I also started out with the onion soup ($5.95). My entree was the crepe Basquaise ($12.75) which is a large crepe filled with smoked chicken strips, peppers and onions, grilled and served with a side salad. (Think of it as the French version of a chicken quesadilla!) My dessert that was swapped for creme brulee, was a trio of fresh fruit sorbets. (I wish I had pictures of everything but I kept forgetting! I'd see the food, dig in then remember that I meant to take a picture!)

First of all- our rookie mistake was underestimating how much food this was! Although I don't think I'd do it differently since I wanted to try it all. But I left a lot of food on my plate. It was all very delicious.
Especially the sorbets! I would go just for those sorbets! And Niffer liked it so much that she wants to go again! If you are intimidated by French dining, I encourage you to try it. The restaurant itself is charming. I've been to the county France twice and it definitely evokes the feeling of being there. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Our waiter Michel, said everything in French first then in English which was cute. The service was impeccable. We were not rushed at all. We had a nice leisurely lunch and rolled out of there stuffed!

We left the restaurant then poked around the shops and watched the movie before headed over to the UK.
We walked through the stores and the gardens in the UK and Canada. We also watched the new movie in Canada for the first time. It was cute and nice improvement on the old one.

We even came across some friends of ours in one of the UK stores:

We shopped and pressed pennies on our way to Mexico.

Niffer hadn't seen the update to the ride in Mexico yet. The Mexican pavilion is my favorite as far as the ambiance and feeling I get in there. I just find it so peaceful and pretty in there. Yet the restaurant routinely gets bad reviews. And the ride... On a strange level I enjoy it - and enjoyed the last version. I mean, it's relaxing and cute and it gives you a chance to cool of and rest on a hot day. But couldn't they do a little more with it? One presumes, which the creativity of the Disney company at their disposal, they could do more. But it's still cute and I do like the update.

 

[Nooshkin]

After Mexico, we headed back into Future World. We were still pretty full from lunch a few hours previously so we weren't looking to visit the Food and Wine Festival booths just yet. We visited Figment over on the Journey Into Imagination ride and played around in ImageWorks for awhile.

Next we headed over to the Land to use our Soarin' fastpasses. We both love that ride! I even find the music to be quite stirring. When I'm listening to the various Disney themed stations on Live 365 and the Soarin' music comes on, I find myself reliving the ride at my desk!

At this point it was about 5 pm and we decided to have a treat at Sunshine Seasons in the Land. The good thing about vacation is that you can have dessert whenever you want so I had a piece of butterfinger cheesecake and Niff had a piece of chocolate peanut butter cake. Both were dee-lish!

Niffer was ready for a break back at the hotel so we headed for the gate. But first we stopped at Spaceship Earth.

I'm glad they didn't change much about this ride. The new scenes are a good fit and the fun surprise at the end is so cute!

After the ride, Niffer decided to go back to the hotel. I stayed with the plan to do some pin trading, shopping and then dinner around the world.

Coming next- EPCOT Food and Wine Festival! Nooshkin eats her way around the world!

 

[MovienutNiffer]

The things I just wanted to add are:

I said it wouldn't rain while we were there since it was my first trip there in 3 years and gosh darn it it didn't! We had a lot of clouds and I kept saying "It will not rain!" and it didn't. When I headed back to our room on the bus I noticed all the clouds - but NONE were over Epcot. Totally blue skies! It was like the sun was shining out just for us (all of us at Epcot - not just me and Janet! )

I absolutely LOVED the Nemo pavillion. Everything was so well done! I do wish the ride was a bit longer though, but I don't think it was very long before. Turtle Talk with Crush though was awesome!!! I loved how he interacted with everyone!

I was excited and very nervous about Chefs de France. At first I was very sure I wouldn't like anything - even the seats! But once we sat down I relaxed. Michel, our waiter was just too cute! I also liked how he said everything in French then English. It just gave it a very nice touch. Now the food - OH MY GOD! I loved it! The soup was amazing and having the fresh bread there made it even yummier! The toasted cheese and ham sandwich was great too! When I first took a bite the ham just slid out, but that really wasn't a problem. I just ate that separately from the sandwich. So it was like an amazing gilled cheese with a side of ham. WOW! Now I really don't like creme brulee and I wasn't sure what Janet had ordered for "her" dessert since I was in the little girls room (all that cheese - woah! My tummy was not exactly happy!) so when I saw the sorbet I was a touch apprehensive. But I gave each one a shot and I was blown away! They were all amazing and so so fresh! I especially liked the mango sorbet. I almost growled at Nooshkin when she went to have some of it it was that good! I so cannot wait to go again! I think though I might just get the sandwich and maybe the soup to go, or the other way around!

After the meal we saw the French movie which I just love - especially the music!!! What I remember most about this time was the CM making the announcement before we all went in. He also said everything in French first and then when he spoke in English he finished with a "Blah blah blah". And I think he said something along the lines of "You know what to do". And then he said something else in French and made us all repeat it and got us all excited to see the film. It stinks I can't remember what it exactly was. maybe Nooshkin can help me remember.

Afterwards while walking around I had to find the "painter's spot" by the water. I just LOVE that little bit of atmosphere there!

Loved walking though the garden in Great Britain. What I thought were little flowers at one point were little peppers! So cute! While looking for toys for our nephew we saw Eeyore, Tigger and Pooh taking pictures. I was so excited! I NEVER like having my picture taken but I just had to get one with Eeyore! It was very fun. They were very animated (it helped that they weren' in the heat) and lots of fun. When we first walked up Tigger froze in this pose and the photographer said to Niffer "He won't unfreeze until you hug him." Plus they were dancing to the music that was playing andthat just made me and Nooshkin dance a little with them too! Just being around Eeyore (who gave me 3 kisses!) just made me smile like a crazy person!

The Canada movie was so funny! I am just so glad that they redid it! But I still hate that frakkin' song so much! Loved Martin Short but he kinda proved my theory that Canadians are crazy! Is it the cold?

So we got to Mexico and I was so excited to see the updated ride. I absolutely love the Three Caballeros and them essentially having their own ride was very exciting! I just really wish they had more TC merchandise!!! The ride was fun and fit in quite nicely.

I always love the Imagination ride and Figment just rules! Soarin' always blows me away. Love ALL the music - going in, during the ride and coming out - in some part that most of the queue music is from movies. My chocolate peanut butter cake was tasty! I like eating there because it's usually not very crowded and it's very relaxing and a great place to people watch.

I LOVE the updated Spaceship Earth! It was just a blast! Dame Judy Dench is just a great narrator. And the new ending where you choose your own destination was very fun! My only problem is it is a VERY rough ride. You feel every bump and hitch, especially when you go down backwards.

 

[Nooshkin]

Nooshkin takes on the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

Or at least some of it…

My goal was to leisurely walk around the World Showcase, do a little shopping, press some pennies, and sample a few of the foods along the way. The second part of that goal was to make it out of the park either before or during Illuminations, to beat the crowds. (Sorry all you Illuminations fans- I don’t hate it but it’s not one of my favorites.)

I will visit the F&WF later in this trip as well. But this was to be my first ‘round. As I made my way back towards the World Showcase, I veered left towards Mexico. My first stop was at the booth for Argentina. I had the Grilled Beef with Chimichurri Sauce.

I tried this last year too and it was just as good…but I think even a smaller portion! As I look at the picture now, it looks bigger than I remember it! But it's an illution- it was mostly potatoes. I don’t mind small portions since that means I can try more foods! But the price of this was $4.25 and the portion was basically 2 bites of beef and a spoonful of mashed potatoes. But it was very tasty at least. But I did make a note in my travel journal that everyone working in this booth was very rude! It sort of took me by surprised because that is not the usual experience I have during Food & Wine time. It was not busy- not line at all. And usually the people in the booths are helpful in explaining their dishes if you have questions. Not this time!

I walked on thru Norway and shopped in China. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to move at your own pace and take in the details rather than rush from one thing to another. I wasn’t really super-hungry at this time- my 2 bites of Argentian beef must’ve filled me up! As I look at the list of food booths that I passed up, I can’t believe I didn’t stop at more of them! But I knew there were a few things coming up that I really wanted. And I didn’t try new things on this night! With one exception, everything is something I had last year!

I did stop when I got to the USA booths. I got the crab cake and the lobster roll. I loved both last year and was looking forward to it.

First the crab cake. I think I had this twice last year and while the crab cake was good, what I really loved was the barley and lentil salad served with it. Well, this year it was served with a corn and barley salad instead. I settled down to eat, just as Sheena Easton was finishing her concert. I couldn’t see her but I could hear her and she still sounds pretty good. And since it was the end of the show, she was doing her two most popular songs- probably the only two I would know! (The people next to me were confused. They thought she was Sheila E. and they were arguing about it until someone else set them straight!)

So the crab cake was good. Not the best ever but good. As for the corn and barley salad? Yyyeeecchhh. I’ve had good cold corn salads before but this one was…chewy. Like the corn wasn’t cooked. I actually couldn’t eat more than one bite of it. So that was disappointing. The crab cake was $4 and it was decent serving size, in my opinion.

As for the lobster roll, I really liked it. I’ve seen a lot of criticism of the lobster roll. I believe it’s the most expensive food item in the festival at $6.25 or so. And a lot of people think you don’t get enough lobster. I ended up having this twice. On this night I thought the portion size was good. Later in the week, I thought the portion size was just ok. I live in the Midwest where lobster is pricey. First of all, I’ve never seen a lobster roll on a menu here but if I did, I would expect it to be a bit pricey for a sandwich. So I guess my expectations aren’t the same as someone who lives in a coastal area with something better to compare to! But I enjoyed it and would get it again!

I also noted in my journal that the cast members at this booth were great. Very friendly, polite, talking with everyone and asking if we were having fun. And I was having fun! I wished Niff had stuck around!

My next stop was the booth in Japan. Last year they had this yummy crispy beef sukiyaki roll that I had twice. But sadly, it was not offered this time. So instead I got the California rolls.

They were good, but not great. I get California rolls and other sushi for lunch or dinner almost once a week. And we have a grocery store near my home that makes really good California rolls. I’d say that while these were good, they weren’t as good as what I get at home. So I probably wouldn’t fill up my valuable stomach real estate with them the next time! I’d save the room for something else!

I did some shopping in Japan- I actually spent a lot of time in there! When I came out and headed towards Morocco, I heard the announcement that it was 10 minutes until Illuminations. So I made the tactical decision to start heading out of the park. In the World Showcase, that meant I was like a fish swimming the wrong way up stream! But the rest was smooth sailing and I made it to the bus, that was empty and waiting, by 9:05.