The ABC's of a FALL Trip with Friends, Food, Wine, and a Conference- A is for: A Very Long Day Begins & B is for: Blissful Morning at Beautiful EPCOT

[Steppesister]

I am in awe of your greatness I mean seriously, 1 hour from airport to EPCOT is pretty amazing!
Can’t wait to hear all about your trip

I was actually fairly impressed myself. I’ve done pretty well in the past after those red eyes because it’s still so early and things aren’t busy yet. But this may have been a record even for me.

 

[Steppesister]

Oh no!! That's terrible!



Sooooo gorgeous!

I guess we’re all bound to have a crappy security experience now and then. I generally keep a permanently packed bag and just keep the detergent in there. But I think from now on I’ll replace it with some detergent pods rather than the powder.

 

[Steppesister]

I’m here, excited to hear all about it and when you took your computer out in the room, yikes. I heard the cracking noise and knew something was wrong!
I hope it all gets resolved soon!
Nice to be at Epcot early in the day, even without sleep

That sickening crunch was definitely very disconcerting. When I flipped it over my tummy did a little flip-flop. And then the anxiety hit the roof when I tried to plug it in to charge, but couldn’t.

I absolutely love walking around Epcot with a mostly empty park. World showcase is just absolutely amazing when you can go and explore in the back of those pavilions and get people-free pictures.

 

[Steppesister]

We take the first flight out most of the time. But we don't do a full park day. We like our naps.

With Lori only having three Park days I really wanted to make the most of it for her. It just didn’t make sense to not go there right away or stay until 4:00, as we had evening plans also.

My sister has global entry and she has had trouble getting TSA pre-check. I think she finally straightened it out.

I really need to get busy on my global entry since I have an international trip coming up, hopefully. I really need to research how to get it done and apply.

It was the most fantastic weather ever and we felt really lucky to have it.

You are right! The weather was incredibly amazing. It did take a turn for the worst on one of our days, but it really didn’t slow us down much. The temperatures were nearly perfect!!

 

[Steppesister]

Hey Look! You channeled my inner Lassie. Tartans McLeod and McLaren here!!!

This appears to not be the case, as is evidenced by the chapter you posted... photos and all.

It took me forever. Not only that but the DIS is a ridiculous crashing mess right now. Especially on the phone. It seems like every 30 seconds it’s completely crashing or skipping to a new area of the page you’re on. Ridiculous!

Oh, come now... nothing is that slow.

LOL! AS I LITERALLY TYPE THIS FROM THE TREADMILL AT THE GYM.

To a Mayfly, it is several lifetimes...

Well, you do have a good point.

You consider getting up at 2:30am "a good night's sleep"????

I guess what I meant to type was that I wanted the entire day Saturday to rest and put the finishing touches on my packing and do whatever last-minute stuff I needed to before having to leave basically that night after working all day.

Very nice of him.
I would've just rolled over and mumbled something like "Don't slam the door on the way out."

Maybe that's why I'm not married anymore....

Well, I guess it’s a little different if your airport’s in the city you’re departing from. For me to get a taxi or a shuttle would cost about $100. Ouch.

Nothing like a good night's sleep!

I don’t know about you, but when I pack, I start with a completely empty bag, taking out the things that are kind of semi permanently packed and add the clothes and stuff specific to the trip I’m packing for.

(also the worst last ride... but let's not jump ahead of ourselves.)

Oh no! Let’s definitely not skip too far ahead here.

Really! Huh. I'd think if they took off because you took 6 or 7 minutes that they'd risk getting a bad review.

To be fair, the lift app literally gives you a countdown timer, so you don’t tempt fate. I don’t think the passenger would have much leeway in this. For the drivers time is money.

Fast!

We want quiche! We want quiche! We wa... okay, I'll stop.

It was actually very very good. Even at room temperature. I think it was a feta and spinach. Variety and the crust was still crispy and everything. Yummy!

I'm really not sure if I will continue reading. This is almost unforgiveable.

Oh dear, steppesister, losing readers left, and right!

 

[pkondz]

Hey Look! You channeled my inner Lassie. Tartans McLeod and McLaren here!!!

Absolutely. That's why I posted that. Yep. Absolutely. 100%.

Not only that but the DIS is a ridiculous crashing mess right now.

Not for me, but... I've definitely been hearing that. I've had my share of it in the past, though.

It seems like every 30 seconds it’s completely crashing or skipping to a new area of the page you’re on. Ridiculous!

LOL! AS I LITERALLY TYPE THIS FROM THE TREADMILL AT THE GYM.

One... Letter... At... A... Time...

Well, you do have a good point.

I do??

A first! Woot!

I guess what I meant to type was that I wanted the entire day Saturday to rest and put the finishing touches on my packing and do whatever last-minute stuff I needed to before having to leave basically that night after working all day.

Ah. I get that.

I don’t know about you, but when I pack, I start with a completely empty bag, taking out the things that are kind of semi permanently packed and add the clothes and stuff specific to the trip I’m packing for.

To be fair, the lift app literally gives you a countdown timer, so you don’t tempt fate.

Ah! Did not know that. Seems fair, then.

For the drivers time is money.

For sure.

 

[rndmr2]

WORST security experience in a super long time. Not one but BOTH my bags were selected for further pillaging.

Ugh! sorry you had that happen!. In 2018 My DH and I went on an Alaska cruise with his mother (thankfully I did luck out in the MIL department, we get along great). Well on all our flights my poor MIL got pulled aside at every security checkpoint. We sort of laughed it off but we wondered why. Well on the last flight on the way home from the cruise one of the agents finally told her what was triggering the checks. She had a little drawstring pouch that opened up and had all these little pockets for jewelry but on the xray scanner it just looked like a lump of coiled wires.

Great first day, awesome that you got to Epcot so quick.

 

[Steppesister]

****The Laptop Saga continues…. I got my estimate back from the repair shop and it came in about $75 less than what the new Laptop/HARDWARE (laptop itself with NO extras like the Microsoft Suite, added protection, etc…) came in at. I’m hoping that Disney at least gives me that!!! I sent in photos of the damage, my original receipt for the old laptop, a receipt for the new one, the printed estimate, and a note saying that I sincerely hoped Disney could reimburse for the entire amount of the new laptop… We shall see… Meanwhile, apparently, the repair shop cut away the bent portion around the charging port so I can get the jack in now. That will allow me to get all of my files, photos, data… off of it for which I am VERY, VERY thankful!****

B is for: Blissful Morning at Beautiful EPCOT​

Lori and I tapped into EPCOT at 9:30 and she was given her physical ticket card. She didn’t want to spend money on a Magic Band, and I don’t blame her. She doesn’t go often, and I’ve heard rumors that those are going the way of the Dodo anyway. I could be wrong. I often am.

My first order of business was to head to Creations (the old Mousegears) to get a new park bag. If you remember, in my PTR I’d talked about how the Loungefly I’d bought on my last trip was starting to wear on the “metallic” straps; not cool and I wasn’t happy. BUT! I do love, love, love the size, shape, and configuration of these bags… They really are the perfect park bag size and fits my rolled-up rain shell, charging brick(s), all the stuff… We browsed the store for a while, and it took me about 15 minutes to finally choose one from the probably 20? designs available. I like that it’s bright and colorful and has some vintage EPCOT things as well as some of the newer elements. I especially love that it has Figment. Silly little dragon.

It was marked at $80 but I used my Disney Visa discount which took care of 10%. Heh, I’ll take what I can get. I emptied out the plastic grocery store bag of park bag goodies into my new tote and off we went to explore Future World. (Why did they ditch a collective term for this side of the park?! Is there even one word now for Worlds of Blah, Blah, Blah…?)

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Being that we had such short times to be in each of our 3 days’ parks, I chose to get us LL’s so we could pack more in. I think you’ll see, we did quite well!

Our first LL was LwtL which was a sort of “burner” (I’d hoped to get a Remy for later) but since we’d arrived so super quick, we had plenty of time to hang out in Moana’s Water Garden, or whatever it’s called- Journey of Water or something. As you can tell, this is a highly accurate and technical TR. Yes, I got my silly on and yes, I marveled at the Backside of Water. It’s the 8th Wonder of the World, ya know! Oddly, there are about 20 of them at WDW- let’s see how many I collect during this trip…

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With still a bit of time left, we decided to take a spin through the EAC in a Clamobile and said “Hi” to Bruce. He’s a nice guy with pure intentions. Misunderstood, really, like most Villains, or so they say. If we hadn’t been so rushed (sadly, the day felt a bit that way) I’d have suggested we spend some time in the aquarium exhibits; it just doesn’t feel like a thorough visit to The Seas without saying hello to the Eels, Clownfish, and Seahorses. We did, however, pass by the Manatees and got to watch them for a few minutes during their feeding time. Lettuce for everyone!!!

(No, this isn't Bruce)


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Our LL for Living with the Land came up so we headed to The Land. This area has one of best music loops in all of Disney, IMHO. Such Americana! It’s a Small Garden wasn’t busy at all, so I asked for the front row. Heh, who am I kidding? I really don’t care how busy it is, I’m always happy to ask for the front row. It just must be done on this ride. It became a bit of a challenge at that point to get front rows; some worked out, some didn’t. But all in all, we had pretty good luck. I was so anxious to see this year’s displays for Food and Wine/Fall. They are always so creative! I’m going to be honest here: I’m not sure how I felt about the signs that tell you which food booth uses whatever plant… “Mint, used for Australia’s Lamp Chop”, “Parsley used in Canada’s Cheddar Cheese Soup”. I dunno, for me it smacks as more “advertising”. I will say though that the 20-somethings behind me actually found it interesting and were commenting on it. Seemed to clutter it up with the plant labels already in there. And here I am griping about the minutiae and truly irrelevant stuff.

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Now, I HATE criss-crossing the park. Any park. Ever. But unfortunately, LL’s make you do just that, in general. I paid for FancyPa$$es for GoG and wasn’t able to tinker the time in all the hundreds of attempts leading up to the trip. So, heading from The Land over to The Wonders of Xandar (did you know that that’s the Pavilion’s official name?) and then back again after, was what we were left with. UGH. If only there was a jumphole back to The Land. Anyway, we scored ANOTHER Row 1 and loaded into our shuttle and rocked out to I Ran So Far Away as we blazed through the universe. It was nice to finally NOT get September. Which is hilarious as you’ll see later in this TR.

(Even the Xandarians need trashcans)


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Lori declared it “the best ride ever!” but unfortunately, she felt a little rummy for a bit afterwards. It’s definitely a one-and-done for me as well. I absolutely LOVE it but can do it exactly once a day. There was food to be eaten, and I didn’t want to jeopardize one moment of Food and Wine. I don’t know about you, but it’s right about the point of the moon slingshot that things get a little dicey.

Trading high speeds through the Galaxy with the Xandarians for a spin through the zany, we boarded one of Figment’s shuttles and experienced all of his goofy imagination through his Open House including his whacky Smellitor. Who doesn’t love a face-full of skunk spray? Perfect for tantalizing the appetite for Food and Wine!

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We got off Imagination at exactly noon and by now we were both pretty hungry! But we had one last attraction to do with our LL’s before grazing- Soarin’! Before we headed in, we stopped at Sunshine Seasons for a free cup of ice water. I had never noticed before that they change out the tables seasonally. Who knew?!

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I miss the California version and do love the World version but am pretty happy they’re moving forward with the USA fresh-up. It’s time. I asked for B1 but was told that with LL you cannot request a row. Yes, there is still “bend” when you’re not in B; The Taj Mahal looked rather lazy.

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My first photo at a Festival Kiosk is right at 1:00, so we had 3 hours to take a quick spin around the WS Promenade. What will we end up eating? Will I find a new Festival Favorite? And who will join us next on our first day of our Disney adventures?

 

[pkondz]

****The Laptop Saga continues…. I got my estimate back from the repair shop and it came in about $75 less than what the new Laptop/HARDWARE (laptop itself with NO extras like the Microsoft Suite, added protection, etc…) came in at. I’m hoping that Disney at least gives me that!!!

Good luck! Curious to see what will happen. I suspect they'll reimburse for the repair estimate only.

That will allow me to get all of my files, photos, data… off of it for which I am VERY, VERY thankful!****

Phew! That's really good news!

I’ve heard rumors that those are going the way of the Dodo anyway.

They are? Huh. Hadn't heard that... but then again, I'm out of touch.

I especially love that it has Figment. Silly little dragon.

Nice looking bag.

(Why did they ditch a collective term for this side of the park?! Is there even one word now for Worlds of Blah, Blah, Blah…?)

I know that there are names... but no idea for where and what they are.

Moana’s Water Garden, or whatever it’s called- Journey of Water or something.

No idea here either. Toldja... out of touch.

As you can tell, this is a highly accurate and technical TR.

Super accurate!

Yes, I got my silly on and yes, I marveled at the Backside of Water.

It’s the 8th Wonder of the World, ya know! Oddly, there are about 20 of them at WDW- let’s see how many I collect during this trip…

20 wonders of the world?

Fun shot of you.

Misunderstood, really, like most Villains, or so they say.

Uh huh... I ain't gettin' in the water with him!

We did, however, pass by the Manatees and got to watch them for a few minutes during their feeding time. Lettuce for everyone!!!

Caesar salad for everyone! (minus all the ingredients except for the romaine lettuce.)

I’m always happy to ask for the front row. It just must be done on this ride.

I don't know if I've asked for front row on this one, but I know I've been in the front row.

I’m not sure how I felt about the signs that tell you which food booth uses whatever plant… “Mint, used for Australia’s Lamp Chop”, “Parsley used in Canada’s Cheddar Cheese Soup”. I dunno, for me it smacks as more “advertising”.

Hmm... I don't see it as advertising, so much. To me it harkens back to the whole Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow thing... self sufficiency was a part of that.

Now, I HATE criss-crossing the park. Any park. Ever. But unfortunately, LL’s make you do just that, in general.

Helps you get your steps in. 'Cause everyone knows you don't do much walking at Disney...

The Wonders of Xandar (did you know that that’s the Pavilion’s official name?)

Nope!

If only there was a jumphole back to The Land.

I wonder if there is for the CMs?

(Even the Xandarians need trashcans)

Lori declared it “the best ride ever!” but unfortunately, she felt a little rummy for a bit afterwards.

Yeah... that ride will do that. Both feelings.

I absolutely LOVE it but can do it exactly once a day.

Me too. I rode it twice in one day once... and regretted it for a while afterwards.

I don’t know about you, but it’s right about the point of the moon slingshot that things get a little dicey.

I think so?? Not sure. Been a while.

Who doesn’t love a face-full of skunk spray?

I'll leave you to it. Please enjoy.

Perfect for tantalizing the appetite for Food and Wine!

Don't quite get the reason for this shot? What am I missing?

I had never noticed before that they change out the tables seasonally. Who knew?!

Huh. Had no idea. I probably never really looked at the tables at all.

I miss the California version and do love the World version but am pretty happy they’re moving forward with the USA fresh-up. It’s time.

They are?? Well, I'll be. Again, had no idea.

I asked for B1 but was told that with LL you cannot request a row.

That's news to me, too.

Yes, there is still “bend” when you’re not in B; The Taj Mahal looked rather lazy.

Wonder if that'll be better with whatever new version they're doing?