On the Floor and Out the Door!: a 17 day HalloChristmas, RunDisney, MNSSHP, HHN, MVMCP adventure! new 2/8!

[Clarf]

Okay, I'm joining this one now!

Holy cow you can function on such little sleep! And now I'm mad that they stopped Extra Extra Magic Hours. Lame.

You got so much done in those early morning hours!

That BBQ looked yum! We may have to search out that place.

I LOVE the souvenier ghost cup! I'm so jealous of that! HM is my favorite ride of all time anywhere. Now I have a mission for our September trip. Just one problem. I don't drink. My husband does though, so guess what he's getting!

 

[Clarf]

Okay, also, I just remembered that you said you just turned 30. Happy belated!

But you were born in 1990. Holy moly that makes me feel REALLY old. People born in the 90's are turning 30!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Your meal at Polite Pig sounded good! I love bbq so definitely a place I'll need to try at some point!

It was so delicious! I can't wait to go back.

Love the Hatbox ghost mug!! I feel like you need to show us your full collection of mugs and popcorn buckets hahah

They're all over the place because there's just too many lol but one day I'll collect them all together for a picture!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I've driven farther for less.

Good point.

Good thing you didn't. 2.5 hours unconscious in the sun and you'd both look like lobsters.

Yes that's very true! Would've been very painful.

I'm surprised you got it right! Usually when I do that. "Oh, I think it's this way"... it isn't.

Me too lol

Really! How very... un-Disney!

He was very surprised (and so was I when he said this is too strong to drink lol)

Good to hear! This place has been on my radar for a while too.

You have to go ASAP!

Then next time you guys go, I'll tag along and eat yours.

Perfect!

Your face! "What? Why should I slouch? Are you nuts?"

Well, the baby was sleeping. You wouldn't want to wake it would you?

Definitely not. THAT would be ridiculous.

My only complaint about TS. All their drinks seem to come with rum.

That's a fair complaint. Trader Sam's is definitely mostly rum based drinks as a tiki bar but other places should have more variety.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Sounds like a great idea. Probably a better meal than you could have gotten at the pool bar anyway.

True!

I like bourbon. And I like sweet tea. But the 2 together just isn't something I've ever considered. Now I almost want to try it.

Mike liked it (after he diluted it lol). I would say try it if you like both things!

Looks like it was a great meal and a good compromise from your original plans.

It was so delicious!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Adorable mug!!

Thanks! I was so excited to get it!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I loved the Mac and cheese and brisket at Polite Pig, very good!

So delicious!!

How lucky to get the Hatbox ghost mug, we couldn’t even get the pearl one when we went, they were out of all of them!

That's what happened to us in June-they were out of almost all of them!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I am dying to try Polite Pig!

I can't wait to go back! So delicious!

Every time I have walked by there the lines up have been crazy!

That's what I've heard! I think the rain and it being an off meal time really worked in our favor.

Yum! I am in the mac'n'cheese club with you. Could eat it daily as well!

Yes! It's soo good.

I love that terrace...so peaceful and relaxing!

Agreed!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Boo for the rain postponing your pool trip, but Polite Pig sounds delicious.

It really was delicious. It worked out well.

That ghost mug is awesome, glad they still had them in stock for you.

Me too!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Happy Birthday! You don't look a day over 29!

Thank you

I am sooooo jealous of your EEMH. I wish they were having those when we go in March, or even EMM. I am already sad that it will be a looonnnnnggggg time before we see an empty-fish DHS like that again

I wish they would too! They have AM EMH posted for DHS for May and changed them to PM EMH which I feel like are insanely crowded and useless. I'm scared for the crowds in DHS honestly!

Rude. Was he trying to be funny??

I don't think so. I'm pretty good with sarcasm and dry humor and didn't pick up a hint of it at all.

It's the new Beverly! I'll have to try that with Mike in March!

I didn't think of that! You're right!

I've never tried this…I guess I don't get over to the Boardwalk much. I'm looking forward to trying it in DS. Did it open yet?

I don't think so. I think I heard winter 2020 for it to open but that's what they said for Space 220 too so who knows lol

I am so all about anything Orange Bird

Me too! I'm dying over the flower and garden ears!

I'm pretty sure that's how my face looks all the time when my DH starts making suggestions!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I don't like bourbon or sweet tea either but bourbon is now Steve's go-to so I think he'd love this.

I think he'd definitely like it as a bourbon fan because the bourbon taste was very strong! They have a ton of types of bourbon at the bar too which were also lost on me but would be right up Steve's alley!

I'm also not a bbq fan so haven't had any interest in trying Polite Pig but the rest of the family would most likely enjoy it. I may suck it up and see if they want to try it in July because I do try to do lots of "new" things with the kids since they've been so much and just eating at different places suffices as "good-new" to them. They're teenage boys after all!

It definitely seems like a place teenage boys will like lol. They have a large drink menu even if the food doesn't appeal to you lol

Um I hope they didn't think they were fooling anyone?
"Hey you think that's a stroller under there?"
"NO! Can't be............."

100% definitely NOT a stroller!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Andy did the same thing! But not terrible since they had Sweet Tea over by the sodas.

That's funny! We were surprised how strong it was.

I had this too. Very tasty.

Great minds think alike!

This is seriously one of our new favorite places. Loved it! And now dreaming of eating there again.

Ours too! I can't wait to go back!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! A a little late but i really really mean it

Thank you

UGH i am still kinda mad we didnt make it here this Morning!! I also wish they would bring this back...

Me too! It seems like DHS has been SO crowded recently.

BOOO no Woody but Bo Peep is so cute in her new outfit!

She is! She looked so creepy initially but she really is adorable lol.

So nice, its great to have a pretty empty park and all you had to do was get no sleep!

I cant, this is ridiculous! - the CM on the time who does that!

I know! I was like are we forreal!

hahah! I have seen the first 3 movies, and the first new one,... no idea of the names... Rob hasn't seen any... so i am not judging but i feel like i should probably watch them...

I do want to try to sit down and watch them all but I know it's gonna take a while and Mike and I very rarely have the same days off without something to do lol

Agreed! I am so happy we tried this, and we did it with out the girls but i am kinda like ok no need to rush back!

Exactly!

but i love that you go the mugs and left Trader Sams haha! We haven;t gone yet its on list maybe next time...

The indoors bar is so much fun but I didn't wanna wait any more lol.

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Okay, I'm joining this one now!

Thanks for joining!

Holy cow you can function on such little sleep!

I usually can't lol- I swear it's some kinda Disney magic lol

That BBQ looked yum! We may have to search out that place.

It was SO delicious! I definitely recommend it especially if you're on a dining plan!

I LOVE the souvenier ghost cup! I'm so jealous of that! HM is my favorite ride of all time anywhere. Now I have a mission for our September trip. Just one problem. I don't drink. My husband does though, so guess what he's getting!

They had an non-alcoholic drink option for it also! HM is one of my favorites too!

Okay, also, I just remembered that you said you just turned 30. Happy belated!

But you were born in 1990. Holy moly that makes me feel REALLY old. People born in the 90's are turning 30!

Thank you It makes me feel old too lol. My baby brother was born in 2002 and the fact that he's driving and turning 18 this year blows my mind.

 

[pkondz]

Yes that's very true! Would've been very painful.

Always come to me for overstated, extremely obvious advice.

He was very surprised (and so was I when he said this is too strong to drink lol)

You have to go ASAP!

Okay! Just... no idea when that will be!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

A Food and Wine Night at Epcot

We left the Polynesian and drove over to spend the rest of the night at Epcot.

We made it into the park around 5:50 and entered the land of construction walls.





There was a photopass over to the side so that was our first stop.



The angle of the pictures did a decent job of hiding the construction.



Plus an adorable Food and Wine magic shot!



I had scheduled some FPs ahead of time but since we came to Epcot later than planned, they'd all expired except our Test Track FP had turned to any anytime FP (I assume because of the rain). So we made our way that way.



The magnet and coaster pickup for APs was in the breezeway en route to Test Track so we stopped to grab our magnets. Plus, we lucked out and they still had both festival magnets (one was supposed to be for the first half of dates and the other for the second half)!



When we got to Test Track, the posted wait time was 95 minutes and even single rider was listed at 60 minutes !

With our FP, it only took us 10 minutes to get into the car design room where we came up with this beauty.



Not sure what my hand is doing in the ride photo but my hair is certainly a hot mess!



After our ride, we headed to the World Showcase to burn some snack credits at the festival booths.



There was a random photopass by a railing with no line so we took advantage.



This magic shot makes me laugh



I did some research before our trip on the best festival dishes to use snack credits on and our first stop was Canada!

Here we shared Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle-Butter Sauce (8.25).



This is a returning favorite dish of ours and it didn't disappoint this year. I like the option to sample a signature dish from Le Cellier without an ADR and wish they offered this at more of the festival booths!

We continued to stroll through the World Showcase enjoying the night. We both remarked that we expected it to be much more crowded since it was a Friday during Food and Wine but I think the rain earlier and the looming threat of more rain kept a lot of people away.



Our next stop was in Japan for this sushi roll that I fell in love with the year before!

Spicy Roll: (Tuna and Salmon Sushi topped with Volcano Sauce $5.75)



This is spicy and delicious and I'm pretty sure volcano sauce is a fancy name for spicy mayo but it works for me because I love it.

Mike doesn't eat sushi cause he's nuts so it was all mine! It didn't help that the year before there was a song on the radio with a lyric "I just ordered sushi from Japan" that I sang each time we passed the booth. I did it again this time when we got there and all Mike said is "Don't start ".

We stopped again at the Hops and Barley booth in America where we got two dishes:

Lobster Roll (Warm Lobster with Fresh Herb Mayonnaise and Griddled Roll $8.25)



and New Brunswick Slider (Slow-braised Beef Brisket “Pot Roast Style” with Horseradish Cream and Crispy Fried Onions on a Potato Roll with Pickled Vegetables on the side $6).



The lobster roll is another of my festival favorites. It has a good amount of lobster and is pretty filling. Mike, again, doesn't eat lobster and wanted no part of it so I was stuffed when I finished. The slider was his choice and he said it was good but not a standout but his opinion might have been different if we hadn't just eaten at the Polite Pig lol.

We (mostly I really) were disappointed not to see many photopass CMs out in the WS but there was one in Italy.





Our last festival booth for the night was China where Mike got the Wuxi Spareribs (no additional description provided lol 6.95).



He loved these and forced me to try a bite despite the fact that I thought I'd explode if I ate anything else. They were very good and had I had any stomach room left, I would've enjoyed them more lol.

It started raining again so we walked to Mexico and went into the pyramid.

I took a picture of the adorable Coco display.



I wrote down that we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour but I have not one picture of the ride which is very out of character for me so who knows. It may or may not have happened. You decide.

After our ride (or not), we had about 45 minutes until park closing and the showing of Epcot Forever. I had grabbed a FP for it earlier but when we walked past the FP area, there was a huge mob of people waiting to be let in so I released the FP (which also is what happened when I grabbed one for Illuminations in June so maybe there's a lesson I should learn here ).

We continued walking and there weren't a ton of people holding spots anywhere because of the rain so we walked all the way around to the bridge by the International Gateway which is our favorite firework viewing area. We typically watch from on the bridge but we noticed the area underneath wasn't reserved for an event that night so we took the rare opportunity to go down there to watch.



It was about 9:30 at this point and a half-hour til showtime and the area was blissfully empty with only one other couple waiting it out in the rain. It was nice to be able to sit on the wall and relax waiting instead of having to stand on the railing holding spots and we weren't that phased by the rain.

We moved up to the railing just before Epcot Forever started. More people had come down but it still wasn't unpleasantly crowded which was a nice change of pace.

https://imgur.com/cXBWlO2

https://imgur.com/1nCjqr7

https://imgur.com/52Ohi8H

https://imgur.com/f76PITG

Our thoughts on the show? Meh. I liked the use of music from the Epcot attractions and I thought the kites were a cool aspect but it didn't wow me. Some of the lights were out already on some of the kites which seemed very un-Disney and the show wasn't even a month old yet. I won't repeat what Mike said the kites looked like to him since this is a family forum lol. I also didn't like that we randomly went from Epcot attraction music to A Whole New World. I know people have said it symbolizes moving into "a new Epcot" but I just feel like there's a ton of Epcot original songs they could've used instead. We're glad we watched it but felt no need to see it again and I'm hoping the new show will start before we get there in May.

The park was closed after the show and we made our way to the front of the park to exit, saddened by the lack of Promise playing .



We drove back to Coronado and packed up as we'd be checking out the next morning to head over to Universal!​

 

[suse66]

Looks like a fun Epcot evening enjoying the F&W festival. I have not seen Epcot forever....I think I am still in denial that Illuminations ended, lol! Like you, I really hope the new show is up when I am there in July. Looking forward to hearing about your Universal adventures!

 

[pkondz]

We left the Polynesian and drove over to spend the rest of the night at Epcot.

Where did you sleep!?!?!?

entered the land of construction walls.

Plus an adorable Food and Wine magic shot!

Love that! And... your expression!

Plus, we lucked out and they still had both festival magnets (one was supposed to be for the first half of dates and the other for the second half)!

Score.

When we got to Test Track, the posted wait time was 95 minutes and even single rider was listed at 60 minutes !

Yikes! Nope!!
Good thing that FP was still useable.

Not sure what my hand is doing in the ride photo but my hair is certainly a hot mess!

You look like you should be holding a cigarette. Maybe you're channelling Audrey Hepburn or something.

This magic shot makes me laugh

I like the option to sample a signature dish from Le Cellier without an ADR and wish they offered this at more of the festival booths!

You're welcome.

I'm pretty sure volcano sauce is a fancy name for spicy mayo but it works for me because I love it.

Works!

Mike doesn't eat sushi cause he's nuts

It didn't help that the year before there was a song on the radio with a lyric "I just ordered sushi from Japan" that I sang each time we passed the booth. I did it again this time when we got there and all Mike said is "Don't start ".

Don't blame him one bit!

Lobster Roll

Yummm… yes please.

I wrote down that we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour but I have not one picture of the ride which is very out of character for me so who knows. It may or may not have happened. You decide.

You rode it, but it broke down halfway through and you had to be evacuated. But Mike slipped and stepped into the water and had to walk around the rest of the night making squishy sounds with every second step.

Epcot Forever. I had grabbed a FP for it earlier but when we walked past the FP area, there was a huge mob of people waiting to be let in so I released the FP (which also is what happened when I grabbed one for Illuminations in June so maybe there's a lesson I should learn here ).

I've never quite understood the need for a FP there... so many places to watch the show from.

Our thoughts on the show? Meh.

Thought so. I've only seen a video and... that was my reaction too.

I won't repeat what Mike said the kites looked like to him since this is a family forum lol.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Such a nice evening in Epcot
It always a plus to not have massive crowds especially during a festival!
We didn’t even bother to watch the Epcot night show in January to many meh reviews!
I love the Figment magic shot, you two nailed it!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a fun night! Nice getting a quiet spot for Epcot Forever (which I almost typed out as Illuminations lol)! I'm excited to see what the new show will be like.