Steppesister
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- Dec 27, 2013
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J is for: A Jingle Bell-Style Jaunt Around WS
Finding a start to some sustenance, it was time to take that first jaunt around WS. We had no particular goals other than soaking in all the lovely Holiday Ambiance throughout the Pavlions. First impression: It was so fantastic! I was particularly struck by the creativity put into the swags and garlands.
I used to have strong opinions on which way to stroll… I’ve come to learn in my advanced age and recent onset of fickle attitudes that mood often drives the bus rather than obstinate, arbitrary rule-following. Although, at the time, when starting in Mexico was THE only way to circumnavigate WS for this stubborn old gal, a lot of effort went into justifying why the Counter-clockwisers were just… wrong.
That day, however, Kari’s need to replenish her Disney card dictated the direction we headed. The place to get that done was the IG, so I joined the Counter-Clockwisers who, for some unidentifiable reason, choose to forestall a delicious empanada and marg, for a random, less mouth-watering snack. Well, except for maybe France. Where you’ll wait in line for about a year for anything at all including the overly-hyped Festival Kiosk where one year I had the only dish I’ve ever taken one bite of and was so horrified I literally threw up in my mouth. #theescargotpastrymademevomit
Okay, off we go. First up, Canada: I gotta say, of the 11 Pavilions, this one had some lovely swags that were in my Top 3. Very wintry and classy! Too bad the mostly, non-existent gift shops can’t offer some wintry goodies aside from pucks and crass soap. Yes, Worstentile, I will always mock you.
However, I did get a Letter ‘J’ for Steppe’s Holiday Alphabet Hunt.
(J is for: JINGLE BELLS!)
Being that this was a quickie stroll through WS, we didn’t dig into the Pavilions very deeply. We mostly breezed on by and snapped a few photos as we went. In fact, we didn’t even stop at France at all. I will later in the week, but today we cruised on by only to stop for one very quick picture of the Holiday display in Morocco. Voila! One is all you get.
When we hit Japan, Kari stopped for something on her list- The Mochi Donut Wrap: A soft, chewy fusion pastry served with strawberry, whipped cream, strawberry sauce, and sweet red beans wrapped with “gyuhi” rice cake sheet- $6.50 I *think* @Malia78 liked it. I tried a bite and thought it was pretty tasty- what’s not to love about sweet red bean?!
The next photo I have is from Germany where I worked hard to overcome Karamell Kuche’s tantalizing temptation. In hindsight, it’d been wise to succumb to a choco-covered pineapple spear rather then get what I did next.
We found ourselves in China where once upon a time, many years ago, I got one of the most delicious Festival snacks I’ve ever had- something with noodles and shrimp in which I dropped not one, but two in succession, of the shrimp because getting a one-handed photo for a trip report was more important than preserving a $7 snack and my sense of dignity. Yes, a couple saw me do it (both times). Yes, they laughed at me. Twice.
This year, the offerings were decidedly meh. I can’t remember what Kari got, but I opted for the very bland, very unexciting, very over-priced spring rolls. After 1 ½ of them, I gave up and tossed the last bit. Perhaps the smoke from the woman who thought her own private smoking section behind the Joy of Tea would go unnoticed. It didn’t. It took everything in me to keep a lid on it. She’s lucky; I’m not always very successful at not calling out bad behavior anymore. Rudeness irks me the older I get.
While in the China Pavilion, we happened to catch the musical trio playing some traditional Chinese music often played during Chinese New Year. There isn’t much in the way of live music that Steppe doesn’t enjoy. As such, I really liked being able to sit and rest while they played a few numbers.
The last photo I have of WS was from Norway where I snagged Olaf #2.
To count: Canada- CHECK; Norway- CHECK!
And that was that… one turn around WS; there would be several more to be had during the trip. It had been a long day and since Kari was going to up in the middle of the night for her departure, we needed to make our way back to the room.
On the way out we stopped for a couple of photo opportunities in a new-to-me (and relatively new area of the park!) area. We made sure to snicker at Disney’s new attempt at clandestine naughty bits- perhaps an Imagineering response to having to remove its counterpart from Morocco. And that’s all I’ll say about that; feel free to Google at your own risk or PM me.
Next up: Steppe was far from done that night…. Follow me to Disney Springs for some nighttime merriment.
J is also for: Jesus- fairly central to one of the Holidays
(this little ornament was given as part of our ornament exchange)
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) They live in the Olympia, WA area and come out here about once a year.
