Trip Report COMPLETED: "What is Mickey hiding from anyway?" ACE GANG REUNION

abzoo · Feb 6, 2015

StephK said:
Great trip report! I loved the detail on MNSSHP, am planning to go this year and cannot wait.
Following along

Thank you! You'll have a blast at MNSSHP!! All of the little things from the lighting around Magic Kingdom to the special Halloween soundtrack make it so much fun. And dressing up was awesome too

!!

SeaweedCupcake said:
Just caught up to your trip report! It's awesome! I love your costumes but I think your Megara was the best! The painted toms are awesome I bought some frozen themed ones from a local artist and I wore them when I met Anna and Elsa. They also loved the shoes. Following along!

Thanks!! I absolutely loved being Meg for the night. I wish there would have been some Hercules characters out for me to meet that night though!

I need to paint a pair of toms for myself. I'll be looking for a picture of your Frozen ones in your TR! It's great to see the characters react to things like that!

abzoo · Feb 12, 2015

Alright, more Italy pics!

Gotta get every last drop!

Next up: Japan

We got sucked into the store in Japan and spent much more time there than we should have (which always happens there).

Val got the Sparkling Peach Sake Gell from the Japan kiosk and it ended up being quite the entertaining beverage. She shook the can at least 20 times before opening it but then tried to pour it into the cup they gave her. 20 TIMES IS NOT ENOUGH. haha. It was super gloopy when she tried to pour it-- it looked kind of gross. It tasted good though, once you get past the consistency!

abzoo · Feb 16, 2015

So we had made it through a little more than half of the World Showcase and decided to take a break. We had fastpasses for The Seas so we headed that way. Obviously those FP+s were unnecessary though.

I hadn't been in The Seas for years, so it was good that we got to ride the Nemo ride and say hello to the fishies. Plus manatees are awesome.

Cute rays snuggling. ha.

There were a few interesting things happening in The Seas while we were there-- this diver came out for a quick presentation.

And then there was also a dolphin presentation, something relatively new at that point I think. They were trying to track the sound the dolphin would make to recognize this Maleficent doll. Then they would play back the sound to see if the dolphin would associate the same rhythm with the doll.

The whole thing was a little long so we left Val to stay (@ValVal loves dolphins) and the rest of us headed down to see Turtle Talk.

abzoo · Feb 16, 2015

Val wasn't too interested in Turtle Talk since she can see it at DCA but it ended up being quite entertaining for us. I'm sure that some variation of this has happened many times before but when Crush asked the audience for questions, one little kid said "Um. I like turtles." and then the question of the next child was "Umm... I LOVE turtles." and Crush was laughing. We would repeat this quote many times for the rest of our trip. Crush then asked if anyone else had any other questions "OR statements, since apparently we're taking those too." Cute.

Had to fight back the children to get this pic... I really like it though. Abby's are friends, not food!

Then we left The Seas and headed to The Land

To ride Living with the Land! Love this ride.

Really cute photos, I know

. Val is showing appropriate enthusiasm pointing out some plant. Cassie and Megan don't feel the same.

The only gators Val got to see in Florida. They all look happy!

So much excitement for Living with the Land.

Up next: More F&W fest

abzoo · Feb 24, 2015

We stopped for a photoshoot outside of The Land with a great PhotoPass CM and chatted with him for a while (I think he was from New Hampshire like Cassie).

a little bit sassy...

We're slightly surprised by the appearance of Tinker Bell.

Okay. Now back to the World Showcase. First we stopped at Scotland. Megan had the Seared Sea Scallop with Spinach-Cheddar Gratin and Crispy Bacon and Kelsey got the Fresh Potato Pancake with Smoked Scottish Salmon and Herb Sour Cream.

Then we went to get some food from Puerto Rico. Which was a pretty marketplace for sure.

Val and I both got the Carne Guisada con Arroz Blanco and Kelsey got the Ensalada de Carrucho (Caribbean Conch Salad with Onion, Tomato, and Cilantro). All good. I ended up spilling part of my arroz when I was almost done with it and I had a moment of sadness. But we carried on!

Then we went to Greece. Spanakopita and Chicken Gyros were enjoyed.

Val and I then grabbed a cronut and split it. We didn't take any photos of it though. Sorry. But yum.

ItlngrlBella · Feb 24, 2015

Wow! Great trip report! I know you girls all have at least an undergrad since you went to college together but that report is a thesis - it deserves a Master's!

Love the costumes!!! So cute!

abzoo · Feb 24, 2015

ItlngrlBella said:
Wow! Great trip report! I know you girls all have at least an undergrad since you went to college together but that report is a thesis - it deserves a Master's!

Love the costumes!!! So cute!

Hahah thanks!! I would gladly get my Master's in Trip Reporting. It's taking me a long time to finish this thesis!

ValVal · Feb 25, 2015

abzoo said:
I worked half a day on Thursday and Friday was St. Augustine day. Val finally got to see the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. We had some beautiful weather! If you haven’t been to St. Augustine before, I definitely recommend it. There’s a lot of construction now, as the city is preparing for its 450th anniversary next year, but it’s a lovely place.

random comment- I've actually seen the Atlantic Ocean before (in Boston back in 09) but this was the first i EVER set FOOT IN the Atlantic Ocean, which is pretty cool.

abzoo · Feb 25, 2015

ValVal said:
random comment- I've actually seen the Atlantic Ocean before (in Boston back in 09) but this was the first i EVER set FOOT IN the Atlantic Ocean, which is pretty cool.

I forgot about that!! I SHALL CHANGE THAT SENTENCE SO I'M NOT POSTING LIES ON THE INTERNET! Apologies.

Mmmm beach. So lovely.

mrdrift · Feb 25, 2015

Great photo shoot, the variety of the pictures done were cute. Keep the food pictures coming, I just love to see all the selections available around the World Showcase. I would have to agree the beach is indeed lovely and not very crowded which makes it even better. Following along.

abzoo · Feb 28, 2015

We continued on through previously-unexplored countries of the World Showcase stopping first at Canada. This marketplace was a must, since Kelsey missed out on our Le Cellier dinner earlier in the week due to sickness. She got the Le Cellier Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce and she and Cassie both got the Neige Premiere Apple Ice Wine. The filet was pretty good, although you obviously can't choose how you want it cooked as you can in the restaurant. And there's no risotto. Still delicious though!

yum!

Next up was Ireland where Megan got the Kerrygold Cheese collection and Kelsey got the Warm Chocolate Pudding with Kerrygold Irish Cream Liqueur Custard.

Next was France.

@ValVal had her eye on the Crème Brûlée Caramel fleur de sel (Sea Salt Caramel). The line was pretty long at this Marketplace but it didn't move too slow. Cassie, Megan, and I left for a photo opp.

Kelsey got the Tartlette aux Escargots (escargot tart with garlic, spinach, bacon, and parmesan). She shared a few tastes with us and there was barely any actual escargot. A little underwhelming. Here's Val tasting that.

We found a great place to sit and enjoy our food!

abzoo · Feb 28, 2015

More France!

Val shared her creme brulee with us and it was definitely yummy. Not quite as good as the maple creme brulee we tried at Le Cellier though.

Backtracking for a minute...

Oops! I forgot that I had pictures of us in the UK pavilion! For some reason, I thought these were from later in the night. We went through all the UK shops and Val bought some Twinings tea. Kelsey and I wandered around a bit and saw that there was no line for Pooh and Tigger... so we went right in to Christopher Robin's bedroom.

We went back to find the rest of the group and I told Val, Cassie, and Megan follow me without telling them where I was talking them. So they got photos with Pooh and Tigger too.

The characters walked away from them and made them take a picture alone haha...

peekaboo!!

Our next stop was Brazil, such a beautiful marketplace!!

abzoo · Mar 2, 2015

Brazil! A delicious marketplace with awesome ambiance! Val got the Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Tomato and Cilantro (one of my favorite items from all of F&W) and Kelsey got the Mocequa de Pescado (Tilapia).

We headed to Belgium where I got the Belgian Waffle with Warm Chocolate Ganache (not very exciting) and Val got the Potato and Leek Waffle with Beer Braised Beef-- which she promptly dropped on the ground. I turned around and explained to the CM who was handing people their orders what had happened and she grabbed a new one for Val. No crying over spilled waffles.

Next, we decided to find a spot for IllumiNations while Kelsey and Val went to Morocco to get Kefta Pockets (Ground Seasoned Beef in a Pita Pocket) and sangría (Kelsey).

While we waited, Kelsey also decided that she wanted to grab a Sparkling Peach Sake Gell that Val had earlier. She made sure to shake it much more than 20 times though! It came out of the can a little bit less gloopy but it's still such a bizarre consistency!

Then Megan decided that she was going to grab one of the funnel cakes she had her eye on and Cassie ran to Mexico to grab one of the normal quick service margaritas since she wasn't overly pleased with the marg. she had earlier.

Our spot for IllumiNations wasn't the greatest since we were behind one of the torches. But we also weren't surrounded by tons of people so it was good to have a little space. It was the first time I had seen IllumiNations in about 6 years...

abzoo · Mar 5, 2015

After IllumiNations, we slowly headed out of the park. Well, Kelsey and I at least moved at a more leisurely pace. The rest of the girls were hoping to get to DtD before the shops closed-- Megan had to get birthday presents for her niece. Before leaving Epcot, we had to take the obligatory photos of Spaceship Earth and a few PhotoPass pics as well.

Kelsey and I made it over to the bus line for AoA and found the rest of the group. They were starting to cut it close to get to Downtown Disney so I told Val she could take my car once we got back to the resort but I ended up being the driver while Val went back to the room.

Here are some Art of Animation pics she took-- more coming up in my next post!

Of course it was a nightmare trying to access DtD with all the construction. I ended up letting Megan and Cassie out at an intersection so they could run to World of Disney and then I parked and met them. But we got out of there with everything we needed.

guitaristemily · Mar 6, 2015

following along

mrdrift · Mar 6, 2015

Great end of the day. All the food looked wonderful. Stress for parking at DTD, do I understand that :banghead:

. Following along.

abzoo · Mar 6, 2015

guitaristemily said:
following along

Welcome!!

mrdrift said:
Great end of the day. All the food looked wonderful.res for parking, do I understand that. Following along.

Yep the food was wonderful. While Thursday was our main Food & Wine day, there will still be more food updates too!

abzoo · Mar 11, 2015

Sorry I've gotten so bad about updating this TR! First thing I have for this post is more pics (taken by @ValVal) of Art of Animation and our beautiful suite.

Mousekeeping didn't want to move the purse I left out and made our bed around it. Oops.

Here's the Murphy bed, table-form, where Kelsey slept all week