Trip Report Five Years Flies When You're Having Fun!

WE'RE BACK!
(Did you even know we had left?)​

That's right, M and I just got back from another Disney trip that occurred before I even finished my previous trip report. It's been a busy two months! I didn't even have time to make a PTR!

Who: Me and M (with a quick cameo by my brother, Jay)
What: An extended weekend Disney vacation
Where: WDW Swan
When: October 26-30, 2019
Why: Our five year wedding anniversary

Stay tuned for food, drinks, and lots of FUN!

 

[bee]

Day 2: Sunday, October 27

We were up and out the door shortly after 9:00 because we had a special event to make!

Since we were short on time, we made coffee in the room and took it to go. We knew there would be more caffeine where we were headed.

Epcot hadn't been open for long and bag check was pretty quick. We entered the IG and turned left toward the UK.

Outside the Rose & Crown we checked in with the only CM we could find (who, luckily, was the correct one!) for the Rose & Crown Tea Experience! We joined several other parties who had already checked in, in the seating area outside the restaurant. M and I wondered to each other if they would actually hold the event outside, when we'd assumed it would be inside. Soon our question was answered as the CMs started bringing parties inside one by one to their tables.

We were seated at a four top with another party of two. We were a bit disappointed to be seated with another party as we are both introverts and aren't great at small talk. Not to mention we were here for our anniversary and to spend time with EACH OTHER.

At each place setting was a nice tea setup:

And each person also had a little card with the party name!

They knew I was coming!

Each table also had a tea timer:

Our two hosts introduced themselves: Alice and a guy whose name I CANNOT remember, ugh! I do remember the fake names they told us at the end in case we didn't like the experience and wanted to give Disney feedback.

Alice and Guy talked to us about the general history of tea, the making of tea, and different types of tea, and then instructed us to brew the first two bags of tea.

Before:

After:

After the first two cups (English breakfast and pumpkin spice chai) we were also served iced Lady Grey tea, which is apparently the second most served drink at the R&C besides beer!

Next came the sandwiches! M and I, along with some other special diet people, were served first.

We actually had the same sandwiches as everyone else, except that we were missing a chicken salad sandwich and had two of the cucumber sandwiches instead.

We enjoyed all of these but the cucumber was both of our favorite! Lucky for us that we got two!

Chef Cinderella (yes that's her real name, apparently she had Dutch hippie parents) came out and told us about the sandwiches.

We then had our next two teas: green with ginger and mango, and herbal with turmeric. Everyone at our table enjoyed the green but the turmeric got mixed reviews. I'm an adventurous eater (besides meat, of course) and I did my best but just did not enjoy the turmeric tea.

Then came the scones!

We learned about the two main ways of eating scones (clotted cream over jam vs. jam over clotted cream) and tried both ways. These were sooo good! My favorite was the plain scone but M preferred the raisin.

As the event wrapped up we were given souvenirs!

The event was fun and informative! I recommend it to both tea enthusiasts, and tea novices, and people who are somewhere in between (like me). The food was all very good and I thought overall it was a good value. And as for our tablemates, despite M and I being hesitant to sit with strangers, we ended up having a great time and exchanging contact info in the end! They were two ladies in their 50s (we guessed) who live in central Florida. They had never been to New York and we told them if they ever visit to call us so we can recommend places to go!

Up next: An unexpected family sighting, and our favorite way to get to the MK!

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

Our plans brought us toward the front entrance of Epcot. We had entered the park four times now and wanted to grab our Passholder coasters!

For some reason we thought the pickup was IN Mouse Gear, but we quickly realized we were wrong. At the same time my brother texted me something about the Epcot parking lot but the way he worded his text I thought he was just parking there and taking a bus elsewhere. We use an app called Life360 when we are both at Disney to track each other's location, and I checked the app and according to the map he was also in Future World. So I texted, "Are you in Epcot?" As we exited Mouse Gear M spotted him directly in front of us waiting in the Passholder coaster line!

We joined him on line, and please don't hate us because we did skip a few people, but we were trying to hang out with family and it's not like we were trying to skip a thousand people waiting for Flight of Passage.

HOW CUTE ARE THESE???

Jay was meeting two of his local friends so we said our goodbyes after our quick reunion (which was okay because we hadn't even planned to meet up this day, haha). M and I exited the park to hit the monorail.

At some point that morning while we walked through the Canada pavilion, M remarked that we should go back to Le Cellier soon just for the vegetarianized poutine. Apparently the Mouse heard us...

LISTEN HERE, CREEPER! We already HAVE lunch plans today!!!

The ride to the TTC was quick but HOT. It felt like there was NO AC running whatsoever.

Once at the TTC we boarded a resort line monorail because we weren't in a huge rush.

At the GF station we noticed some kind of Floridian "growth."

Up next: Back to the MK, and we're actually riding stuff this time!

 

[Rista1313]

I think that's what @Darstarr 's trip reports are for apparently!

LISTEN HERE, CREEPER! We already HAVE lunch plans today!!!

I got this same message 2 or 3 times while in epcot a couple of days... but only for Le Cellier... not for any other restaurant.... seems like business might be down?

 

[PacNWTigger]

Day 1, cont.

After all the cheese and drinks we decided it was time for some real food!

The IMPOSSIBLE™ Burger Slider with Wasabi Cream and spicy Asian Slaw on a Sesame Seed Bun (V) – $5.25

They were even better than when we tried them on Day 1! The spice of the wasabi cream really came through this time.

And a beautiful BEE appeared in the flowers near where we were eating, so I HAD to have a photoshoot!

Next stop: MORE CHEESE

Black Pepper Boursin® Soufflé with Fig Marmalade (V) – $5.00
AND
Maple Bourbon Cheesecake with Maple Bourbon Cream, Caramel and Pecan Crunch (V) – $4.50

The CMs at this booth were extra great and we had a nice conversation about the various Disney celebration buttons.

Meanwhile, my brother was texting me because he decided to drive down to Disney (from northeast Florida, where he lives) for the night and the next day, even though he is "allegedly" trying to spend less time and money at Disney... He was in World Showcase so we walked that way and eventually met on the bridge between France and the UK. The crowds were getting to be too much though, so we all decided to leave the park in search of a quieter location to enjoy a drink and catch up.

The Skyliner cabins were moving veeeeeeery slowly and as we walked past we realized the station was closed.

We walked along the Boardwalk toward the Swan.

I have always enjoyed taking photos of things out place. This flosser was on the sidewalk between the IG and the Boardwalk.

We ended up at Chill, the little bar in the Swan lobby.

Jay had the Cold Fashioned (GEDDIT??? COLD!!!) and M and I shared a Piña Colada

The CM at Chill asked if we wanted to-go cups or reusable cups. The reusable cups are free AND if you bring them back you get a discount off of a signature frozen drink. Yes, please!

As we enjoyed our beverages Jay noticed a little critter friend on the carpet...

We thought it might have been dead, until...

It was some kind of cricket, we think. Side note: at work I am known as the person who's not afraid of bugs. I have been asked multiple times to get rid of spiders and I always get them outside without killing them. Having lived in Florida for 18 years with all kinds of bugs and snakes and alligators I'm just like:

M and I were pretty tired after our travel day so we headed up to bed, and Jay took a Lyft back to his hotel offsite.

Up next: Day 2! A special breakfast! We make friends! Anniversary surprises!

At least your CriKee was running around on the floor, and not in your drink...

I'm late as usual, but I always enjoy your adventures Happy anniversary to you both too.

 

[bee]

I got this same message 2 or 3 times while in epcot a couple of days... but only for Le Cellier... not for any other restaurant.... seems like business might be down?

That must be it!

At least your CriKee was running around on the floor, and not in your drink...

I'm late as usual, but I always enjoy your adventures Happy anniversary to you both too.

LOL! And thank you!

 

[Swissmiss]

Cinderella’s parents could have given her an even more embarrassing name. I once knew a girl called Mignonne (which in French means cute) because they liked how it sounded, and they lived in the Netherlands so who cares, right? Only problem was that the girl grew up and got an internship in a French speaking city... she was always really embarrassed to introduce herself to French speakers “Hi, I’m Cute”.

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

The last time we were at the MK, we were in the park for about thirty minutes and all we did was eat some veggie dogs from Casey's. This time we had PLANS and we weren't going to miss them!

But first, we WALK THROUGH THE STORE!

Our first FP was for Space Mountain. We have ridden both the Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland versions of SM (which are basically identical) somewhat recently but it's been a few years since we rode the MK one. Today's ride was a little rough and I preferred the Cali/Tokyo versions! M said she likes both but likes the seats of Cali/Tokyo so that version gets a slight edge for her.

Next we decided to get a snack since we had a late lunch reservation. Did you know if you get fries and cheese sauce from Cosmic Ray's and hit the toppings bar you can have DIY nachos fries?

Fries with lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, and crunchy onions. And cheese sauce!

We had a FP in Adventureland so we crossed to the other side of the park.

Up next: Solving a mystery

 

[bee]

Cinderella’s parents could have given her an even more embarrassing name. I once knew a girl called Mignonne (which in French means cute) because they liked how it sounded, and they lived in the Netherlands so who cares, right? Only problem was that the girl grew up and got an internship in a French speaking city... she was always really embarrassed to introduce herself to French speakers “Hi, I’m Cute”.

Oh noooo! There is a famous American mezzo-soprano named Mignon Dunn who I'm sure was given a hard time any time she worked in France.

 

[Swissmiss]

Not to mention mignon is used for masculine nouns and mignonne is for feminine nouns

 

[krisri18]

Oh noooo! There is a famous American mezzo-soprano named Mignon Dunn who I'm sure was given a hard time any time she worked in France.

I was in waiting for food at Pecos Bill's on our last trip and the woman behind me kept telling her daughter to stay in line. Daughter's name: Dulcinea. Which prompted my brain to start singing the Man of La Mancha soundtrack. Lol

 

[bee]

I was in waiting for food at Pecos Bill's on our last trip and the woman behind me kept telling her daughter to stay in line. Daughter's name: Dulcinea. Which prompted my brain to start singing the Man of La Mancha soundtrack. Lol

My real name is quite similar to a couple of popular songs from decades past so on behalf of Dulcinea and others with “interesting” names everywhere, I thank you for singing it in your head and not out loud!

 

[smooch]

The tea event looks so fun and I don't even drink tea. Also your trip reports have gotten me to switch from my previous brick breaker game to BallZ but I can't get anywhere near your scores, I just need to untrain myself from the old game. Also I am enjoying this trip report a lot I can't wait for the rest!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

Omg that tea event seems so fun! I was at F&W in 2007 I think, when Mr. Twining was there. I had him sign a tin of tea! Interestingly, that is one brand I have started, and still, purchasing solely because I saw them in WDW. So clearly their sponsorship works, since I spend at least $2.99 a few times a month in their tea!

 

[bee]

The tea event looks so fun and I don't even drink tea. Also your trip reports have gotten me to switch from my previous brick breaker game to BallZ but I can't get anywhere near your scores, I just need to untrain myself from the old game. Also I am enjoying this trip report a lot I can't wait for the rest!

The tea event was fun!

Do you know the secret for getting really high scores in BallZ?

Spoiler

If you're not happy with how a ball launch went, pause the game and press main menu and it will reset that play. But don't accidentally press restart and go back to the beginning like I've done a few times!

Omg that tea event seems so fun! I was at F&W in 2007 I think, when Mr. Twining was there. I had him sign a tin of tea! Interestingly, that is one brand I have started, and still, purchasing solely because I saw them in WDW. So clearly their sponsorship works, since I spend at least $2.99 a few times a month in their tea!

It was fun! So cool that you met a Twining! You should totally try the tea event.

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

When we met @Tuvalu and @Woodywrkr in August, they told us the story of how they ended up in the wrong part of the Pirates queue because someone before them on line walked past a trash can that was obviously serving as a barrier to keep guests out, and how they had to navigate their way back to the actual line. They can tell the story better than I can of course. Since we had a Pirates FP, we naturally had to look all around and see if we could find the stairs they ended up on!

Along the way I had to take photos of all the cool lamps and lanterns inside the queue.

We are pretty sure we found "the" trash can barrier and stair case.

Another victim of the new live photo selection

We had a nice little voyage and then stopped in the ladies' room nearby.

Up next: More rides

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

After our Pirates adventure we walked over to Liberty Square for our next FP.

Yep, it's Haunted Mansion time!

Trash time?

After our tour of the Mansion we walked over to Fantasyland to check out wait times. We had a lunch ADR coming up but still had some time to kill.

I think I took this because I saw a bee. But now I can't find it in the photo!

Up next: An old favorite

 

[fractal]

Count me in and Happy Anniversary!

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

We tried to get a FP for it's a small world but the app was being glitchy. However, the posted wait time was only 15 minutes so we entered the standby queue.

In actuality we only waited ten!

Behind us in our boat was a family whose first language was not English, but it seemed they all spoke some English and the daughter (maybe 6-7?) was very proficient and excited to use her English skills. She kept pointing out to her parents all the dolls she liked, followed by her assessment that they were "sweet!" At first we thought she meant "sweet" like "nice" but she meant "sweet" like "cool!"

"They're getting married! That's sweet!"

"Look at the elephant! It's sweet!"

"Look at the tiger! It's sweet!" etc.

*cue near Soarin' soundtrack*

Always have to take pics of the giraffes for my MIL!

The penguins always make me laugh.

Up next: More iasw

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

"Dad, why do they have umbrellas? It's not raining!"

But it is!

Up next: Continuing our "sweet" ride

 

[bee]

Day 2, cont.

"They're swinging! Sweet!"

Side note: Does anyone else play Untitled Goose Game? M does (and I like to watch) and every time I see geese I think of it!

No personalized farewells today. Maybe no one in our boat used a FP.

Up next: Castle time!