Trip Report Spoiler Alert. No Pandora, but Flowers and Gardens and Waves Galore.

Time for my first trip report!!! Exciting! First off going to tag some people in no particular order. @21stamps , @figmentfan423 , @Gabe1 , @betty rose , @littleroo, @Tony the Tigger , @donaldtoo, @Mr Ferret 88 , @Tuvalu , @TheMouseFan , @blgauger , @bee , @Cesar R M , @Songbird76 , @StarWarsGirl , @MinnieM123 , @MOXOMUMD , @ajrwdwgirl , @93boomer , @Courtney6682 , @amjt660 , @Doc Disney , @Goofyernmost @everybody

If you haven't read the ptr here is a link to it.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/our-hopefully-pandora-thrown-in-f-g-trip-2017.925406/

The planning for this trip May 19-27 started in November last year after I received a precious pin code in my email. I couldn't say no to that.

Eventually I ended up getting a better rate when the AP discounts came out(dh had an AP at the time), so I rebooked for the same resort, The Cabins at Fort Wilderness.

Who was going: me, dh, and the 4 kiddos(dd15, ds13, dd9, dd6). Who we were leaving at home(3 dogs, 3 cats, 1 cockatiel, and a dear SIL who was housesitting for a price. )

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

A few last pics of POFQ.

The last 2 pics of the trip as we passed DS.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

I loved this trip. We were not stressed. We kind of went with the flow. We gave the kids downtime without feeling we needed to do everything. The water parks were amazing! Those were some of our funnest days. We didn't need to worry about lines or crowds.
We did just get back this past Saturday from a trip to our happy place celebrating dd15's Sweet 16, which was why we upgraded to AP's. We will definitely try and avoid going back in the middle of summer. It was incredibly crowded and we were done with the parks by noon at the latest. I was also bummed that there was no Sounds of Summer concert series. I will get to a tr on this trip at some point. I still have loads of others tr's to catch up on. Thanks to everyone who followed along!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thanks so much for sharing! Your pictures at Epcot remind me why I want to go to Flower and Garden eventually! Can't wait to hear about your latest trip!

 

[MinnieM123]

I loved this trip. We were not stressed. We kind of went with the flow. We gave the kids downtime without feeling we needed to do everything. The water parks were amazing! Those were some of our funnest days. We didn't need to worry about lines or crowds.
We did just get back this past Saturday from a trip to our happy place celebrating dd15's Sweet 16, which was why we upgraded to AP's. We will definitely try and avoid going back in the middle of summer. It was incredibly crowded and we were done with the parks by noon at the latest. I was also bummed that there was no Sounds of Summer concert series. I will get to a tr on this trip at some point. I still have loads of others tr's to catch up on. Thanks to everyone who followed along!

Enjoyed your TR. I like how you went with the flow sometimes, and just toned back the mad dash to see everything. Quality, not quantity, is usually more satisfactory. Glad you and the family enjoyed your vacation, and also happy that everyone made it home safely. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Thanks so much for sharing! Your pictures at Epcot remind me why I want to go to Flower and Garden eventually! Can't wait to hear about your latest trip!

Thanks so much! Now maybe I can find some time to finish yours.

Enjoyed your TR. I like how you went with the flow sometimes, and just toned back the mad dash to see everything. Quality, not quantity, is usually more satisfactory. Glad you and the family enjoyed your vacation, and also happy that everyone made it home safely. Thanks for sharing!!

We definitely went with quality on this trip. It totally makes a difference when you aren't running around dragging kids to and fro.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thanks so much! Now maybe I can find some time to finish yours.

Well, that would require me to finish mine! I'm a bit slower this year than I usually am at getting them up.

 

[blreinsel]

Thanks for sharing! Making me super anxious for Flower and Garden next year. It's been too long since I've been there! Looking forward to your next report.

 

[12in12]

I really enjoyed your TR, thank you for taking the time to write it. Looking forward to the next one.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Well, that would require me to finish mine! I'm a bit slower this year than I usually am at getting them up.

I feel like I took forever finishing this one!

Thanks for sharing! Making me super anxious for Flower and Garden next year. It's been too long since I've been there! Looking forward to your next report.

F&G is my favorite time to go. Epcot is so gorgeous! Have you made your final move to FL yet? If so you will have plenty of F&G days ahead!

I really enjoyed your TR, thank you for taking the time to write it. Looking forward to the next one.

Thank you so much!

 

[amjt660]

Great report of a great family adventure
Look forward to the next one

Max

 

[Songbird76]

For my meal I had the soup of the day which was a tomato bisque. I also had the heirloom tomato salad. The bisque was the best tomato soup I had ever eaten and dd6 who has never shown any interest at all in tomato soup ate about half of it on me. The tomato salad was just ok.
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Dd6 had the kids mac and cheese with fries.
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She enjoyed her meal. Apparently I do mot have pics of anyone else's meals. I know ds had a plain burger and that dd9 had the chicken strips.

We were all too full and tired for dessert.

So does your DD6 steal your food? My dd did that everywhere...I had some sort of rice at Sanaa...she fell in love with it and ended up eating more than half. We go to a restaurant here and she picks off my plate. Good thing I share well with others. LOL

 

[LisaBelle]

Loved your report. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Songbird76]

After a pleasant cruise through the coolest green houses ever, it was time to try some of the food offerings of the festival. First we passed some beautiful topiaries.
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I had been curious about the vegan crabcake, so that was where we were headed. I had previously tried to make a vegetarian version of a crabcake and let's just say that it did not turn out well. This on the other hand was amazing!!! Dh and dd15 tried it as well and they gave it 2 thumbs up. I wish I could get that recipe. So if anyone knows it, please share.
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After eating the not crabcake, I got the violet lemonade. Sooooo gooood. And sooooo refreshing.
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Sorry...I just started reading this....I've just gotten into TRs a lot lately and I have been reading a TON of them so it's slow going. But loving all the pictures. What is the violet lemonade? Violet as in the flower? I need to try that!!

 

[Songbird76]

After the small snack we went to Mexico and went on a cruise to travel the waters of the beautiful pavilion.
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It seemed there was a bit of a hold up in the line when we got there, but after a minute or 2 it started to move real quick View attachment 210106

San Angel seemed quite busy. We have never eaten there. Too many bad reviews. It's a shame because it is so pretty.View attachment 210107
A light for @Doc Disney .View attachment 210108
I love the fake fireworks. Maybe it was just me, but they seemed much brighter than when we rode last.
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The 3 Caballeros. I like the animatronics but prefer the old cartoon better. View attachment 210113

I had never been on this ride before last Summer and I LOVED it. I wanted to go back and do it again, but the line was always so long, so we never did. 0

 

[Songbird76]

Our bellies were growling so we searched for a place where all would eat without a fuss. Restaurantasaurus fit the bill. The decor inside and out is fun.
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These guys were waiting for handouts.
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I had the black bean burger. It was yummy and so were the pickles.
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Don't fool yourself....those birds are THIEVES! One of them got on our table at TL and stole my DS's fish right off his plate. Handouts indeed!

 

[MouseDreaming]

Looks like it was a great trip! Thank you for the POFQ pics. I miss that place. I wasn't sure how I felt about the decor changes they made to Sassagoula Float Works, but I am glad that they added the beads.

Being the mom of older kids, one being close to the age of the son in the dynamic duo you encountered, I blame Pinterest. Many of my friends, when they are revisiting places, are in to re-enacting pictures from when the kiddo was little. I am guessing this mom probably got it in her head that not only did it have to be on the carousel (which would have been enough for me), but was probably going for the exact same horses. Every time we go, I try and get pics of the kids on the speeder by Star Tours.

 

[blreinsel]

F&G is my favorite time to go. Epcot is so gorgeous! Have you made your final move to FL yet? If so you will have plenty of F&G days ahead!

Yep! We've been here since the 10th. Can't wait to enjoy Epcot in all its glory in the spring!

 

[93boomer]

All finished! Your trip was a good one except for the gobs of people and heat. Plus, the rude lady on the carousel. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I never have gotten around to doing one. Too much going on when we returned so probably skipping it. Also, thanks for showing our fav resort POFQ at the end. Made me smile!!

 

[Songbird76]

This is going to sound horrible, but I almost wish your daughter would have burst out with (fake) crying.lol. Would love to know how the woman would react.

What a jerk.

If my son had picked out that horse and was already sitting on it, the tears wouldn't have been fake. It would have been interesting to see what she did. Perhaps she has some sort of mental illness or something?

 

[Songbird76]

It was still quiet after we were done eating.
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A better picture of the International Gateway area.
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Missed the monorail, but it is a gorgeous view nonetheless.
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We were headed to Imagination to visit Figment. My two younger dd's really love it for whatever reason.
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You can't tell, but dd6 is skipping to Imagination. Dh, dd15, and ds13 sat this one out. They have no fondness for the ride.
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Imagination was one of my kids' favorites last summer. We did it several times. They LOVED it. DD just mentioned it yesterday that she missed it and wished we could go back this year.