Trip Report Flower Power

Hello again!

In my last trip report, Disney (Almost) on Ice, https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/disney-almost-on-ice-completed.987612/ I reported that I rubbed the Genie’s lamp at the Once Upon a Stage exhibit at Communicore Hall at Epcot’s Festival of the Arts and had one wish granted immediately (Behind the Seeds Tour w/my family) but had two wishes left.

It looks like my second wish was granted!

While I enjoy all the trip reports - it’s the next best thing to an actual visit! I have especially pored over everyone’s photos from previous Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festivals and studied all the festival activities posted online. This was the festival I have most wanted to visit.

How lucky I was that it coincided with an upcoming landmark birthday.

DH said let’s go for it! And so we booked a last minute long weekend-ish trip! We wanted quick access to Epcot so we followed @TheMouseFan reviews and booked Caribbean Beach Resort.

Sadly our children, Chip and Dale, couldn’t join us but exploring gardens may not be on their radar anyway.

As I’m bursting w/garden photos I’ll share a few now.

Though the emphasis was on the F&G Festival we also planned this to be a B-side trip and try more non-headlining rides and attractions. DH’s first visit to DW was our family visit in 2018 so he has a lot of original/older Disney to catch up on!

I’m smiling to myself as I relive our trip now. It was a great reminder to stop and smell the flowers!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

As you can see my last entry focused on topiaries and not gardens. We were running short on time as I purchased an ILL for our favorite ride, Guardians of the Galaxy. I checked wait times both days and neither GOG nor Test Track dropped below 50 minutes, most of the time they were higher.

Our song turned out to be our first repeat and from our first ride.

The lyrics from “One Way or Another” were appropriate because I’m a little embarrassed to say the ride almost got me. Fortuitously they were restocking the motion sickness bags at the return command podium and DH got one for me. We sat outside for a little while and I had some water. While I was recovering our oldest, Chip, texted to see how our day was going. DH described the situation and ended with, “But Mom did NOT reverse gears”.

I think the reason I got so quesy was because I was hungry. We decided to head for lunch but I had to stop because the Cars topiaries were so neat! They deserved photos!

The fastest way to World Showcase was by boat (and really shouldn’t you always take a boat at Disney if you have the chance? That should be a rule. ) so we jumped on at Port of Entry to disembark at Germany.

We sat in the back and despite a little exhaust, it was terrific! Boating around the world on a bright and sunny day. Enjoy a view of part of the world from the water!

I am sorely tempted to add a “Go Buffalo Sabres” sign somewhere in this picture for Game 7!

 

[riverside]

I think the reason I got so quesy was because I was hungry

Sorry you didn’t feel good!! That ride has never made me feel that way however that’s how I get normally. If I’m really hungry I become nauseous.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Thanks! Hunger was definitely a major factor along with the cold brew coffee and being in the hot sun. Fortunately I felt fine the rest of the trip!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We arrived at our destination which was new to us.

We split the BBQ Platter and the Sliced Texas Beef Brisket Sandwich. Sadly we did not have room for the S’Mores bar which I’ve looked forward to. Another time!

It was time to take a break from the Flower & Garden Festival and that meant Pool Time! Our past attempts have been a comedy of errors - heavy rains, a problematic hotel safe, cold temperatures, plague of locusts, flying cows, etc… Or at least three of the five.

As we walked to the skyliner I marveled again at the Disney bounding outfits. (@Zipadeelady wrote about in her last trip report.) There were more bounders in the last two days than in all our trips. Many were groups of young women and their outfits were so clever!

We debated whether to go to the feature pool or stay at our quiet pool. We chose the quiet pool to maximize our pool time. No pictures because the pool was somewhat crowded. The air temperature was in the mid 80s but after swimming for a while we actually got cold. Pool staff reported it was 87 degrees Farenheit. We warmed up laying in the sun. Mission accomplished. DH finally got adaquete pool time!

After that we got ready for dinner. It started to rain as we waited for the bus and rained all the way to our dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s Bar and Grill at Disney Springs. This was also a new restaurant for us. There was a crowd waiting to be called under the restaurant awning. To avoid the rain we ordered drinks at the bar and then were seated right away.

I had a White Orchid Margarita. The salt was hot and spicy but the drink itself was good. DH had the Barrel Aged Old-Fashioned. He thought it had a citrusy taste and enjoyed it as well.

We were very hungry so we ordered Calamari as an appetizer. For entrees I ordered the Grilled Chicken Pizza and DH ordered the Viennese Chicken Schnitzel, which according to our server is Wolfgang Puck’s grandmother’s recipe.

We took a few slices of pizza back to our room. (Spyglass Grill had a microwave but we never used it.)

Now for our review - the restaurant was clean and decorated nicely. The staff was excellent. They were dressed smartly in Levis, chambray shirts, and black shoes. The bartenders wore full tan leather aprons as well. There was a large copper pizza oven too. The food was fresh and yet….

I think DH and I had expectations because it was WOLFGANG PUCK’S restaurant. He’s catered the Oscars! To stay in this business for so long he clearly has a well-run business. We just wanted the food to be more. It wasn’t special. I will say the price points were surprisingly reasonable.

Would we eat there again? Sure but I think we’ll continue to try other restaurants first.

Wrapping up we browsed a few stores nearby - Coach, Tommy Bahama and Lululemon for our kids. After that we headed back to Caribbean Beach.

Steps - 14,551
Miles - 6.19

 

[Tuvalu]

Sadly we did not have room for the S’Mores bar which I’ve looked forward to.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Day Three - Sunday, April 26, 2026

We hadn’t spent much time at Magic Kingdom our last few trips so I thought it needed some love. It’s not high on DH’s park list either but he was agreeable to try some new rides and attractions.

We had breakfast from Spyglass Grill in our room and then bussed over to MK, intentionally arriving after early entry.

I purchased LLMP for this day:
- Buzz Lightyear - Early AM
- Jungle Cruise - MidMorning
- Space Mountain - Noon

Good Morning Main Street USA!

Apparently I’m in Pisa, Italy.

Nothing lasts forever but just look at how the castle gleamed in the sun!

I’ll get used to it.

After checkin I snagged a LL for Haunted Mansion.

Buzz is much better but…. there aren’t enough targets in some areas and it seems to take a second or two between hits for the target to readjust so you lose time. I was also left wondering if the hit was from me or my neighbor. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I like how they post your score and title on your PP.

Carousel of Progress was a walk on. It was DH’s first time and my first time in over 30 years!

It was nice to be reminded of how far we’ve come in all areas of our lives, not just technology. We agreed that we’re getting our children on this ride!

 

[radiorae]

Loving your report and all the flowers. I'm glad you're enjoying Caribbean Beach; I loved staying there! I was always worried about being stuck way out in Trinidad, but between your and BES's reports there I think I might have to try. The rooms look so cute, and with its own pool and Spyglass Grill there's less need to make the trek to the main area.

And that's a great idea about a different shirt or vest for the private photopass sessions. I wonder how many times a day they have to stop and tell people they aren't the normal photopass photographers... it's gotta be tiresome after awhile.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Loving your report and all the flowers. I'm glad you're enjoying Caribbean Beach; I loved staying there! I was always worried about being stuck way out in Trinidad, but between your and BES's reports there I think I might have to try. The rooms look so cute, and with its own pool and Spyglass Grill there's less need to make the trek to the main area.

And that's a great idea about a different shirt or vest for the private photopass sessions. I wonder how many times a day they have to stop and tell people they aren't the normal photopass photographers... it's gotta be tiresome after awhile.

Thank you for the compliment! The Little Mermaid rooms are nice and cozy! I agree Spyglass Grill was a lifesaver. We did have a longer walk because we were at the very end of the resort but you could call w/a room preference. The internal bus system seemed solid too.

I’m paraphrasing a little but,
Since life is sweet here
We got the beat here
Under the Sea

 

[Tiki Traveler]

After COP, we walked across the park to our next LL.

I selected Little Mermaid for our next LL after checking in. We had a great cruise w/Skipper Katy. My new favorite joke is the chant behind the backside of water: O - 2 - H! O - 2 - H!

Next we headed to the Haunted Mansion. Interestingly enough one person in the group in front of us had trouble scanning in. She explained to the CM that she was the family’s “trip advisor”. Didn’t Disney try to phase out non-Disney guides? Hmm…. I don’t think the spirits liked it.

We got stuck here for a while.

Yes, I got caught on my phone which the spirits don’t like either. We were so packed in from the start there was no place to step aside and book the next LL. This was the first day that DH and I felt rushed in the parks. (I booked POC.)

As an aside, BTM was still in the soft opening phase. My plan was to walk by with my birthday button and beg for a ride. With all our dashing around the park we forgot about BTM. (Good thing I didn’t spend too much time on that intricate plan! )

Poor Mr. Toad!

Back to Tomorrowland!

I hadn’t ridden SM in a while and felt a little wedged in (which is good because there’s less chance of slipping out rationalizes the person - me - afraid of heights ). I wasn’t the only one who felt like this because we had to wait for a very tall man in the first car to get his feet inside his car. Somehow he was sitting w/his legs draped over the sides of the car. I could sympathize!

It was time for our late lunch but first I had to take a picture of the balloon seller and wonder if they handle the balloons more for Instagram photos than actually sell them??

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We had lunch reservations at Steakhouse 71 which was new to us. Our original plan was to have dinner there but could never find any openings before 8pm that night.

We arrived a few minutes early via the monorail and went to settle a matter once and for all.

In August 2019 we rented Sea Raycers at the Grand Floridian. Our children had recently gotten their learners’ permits and couldn’t believe we were letting them captain the boats. Beside being great fun it was wonderfully refreshing on a hot, humid day,

I knew the chances of them still being around were slim to none but a relative thought they saw them at the Polynesian recently. We checked out the Contempary marina (and pool area) and the boat rental CM confirmed it has been pontoon boats only the past few years. At least we’ll always have our memories!

Just then it started raining very heavily, as predicted, and we dashed back into the Contemporary. Steakhouse 71 was a wonderful way to escape the rain.

In addition to good food, the pleasant server, well-spaced tables and low key jazz made it a relaxing meal.

 

[Tuvalu]

The Sea Raycers were a Covid casualty.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

The Sea Raycers were a Covid casualty.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We monorailed back to MK for a long-awaited journey.

Disney PhotoPass

We tried to ride the train twice before but had to step out of long lines to get to our next scheduled ride. DH was looking forward to this!

A Carousel of Progress moment looking out from the train.

Fancy Lights

Turns out DH is a train purist. My chill, laid back husband actually expressed irritation that the train was going backwards, “Backwards! Steam engines don’t go backwards!”, he grumbled. I laughingly reminded him the audio message just announced we were on a magic train that goes backwards. To make matters worse I picked seats that made us ride backwards.

Additionally the scenery was non-descript. Wouldn’t the ride from Fantasyland around Adventureland be better?

Storybook Circus saved the day. This was our first time in this area. Children were squealing w/delight at the splash pad and laughing on the rides around us. DH said he was glad to see that “really little children finally have a place of their own.”

Also, on this trip there seemed to be more PPPs in MK and Epcot.

Our next, new to us, ride was the Little Mermaid. I have always loved all things 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and have held out on this ride. It was cute!

DH is looking at this watch without his glasses on. Does anyone else use the hand telescope method?

POC was a precursor to our Beak and Barrel Reservation! We waited over 20 minutes to be called in. This is my only photo that came out.

We were led, not seated, to the Map Room, which is to the left of the bar. It has an irregularly shaped table which 12 people can stand around. Pirate Server Ginger was a fun but demanding leader and unlike other trip reporters we had to work for our drinks by ordering them in our best pirate brogue.

I ordered a Salty Seas MaRRRgarita and DH ordered a PoRRRt of Call. Both were better than expected.

Almost the entire Map Room walked in to the main Bar Room once or twice to see the various escapades. My back wasn’t thrilled to stand the entire time but it was probably better than being placed in a three-sided booth with another group. (Neither the young couple nor the family of four with two young children looked thrilled to be sitting together.)

Before we left Pirate Server Ginger made us earn our release by sharing our pirate name. I turned shy and completely blanked. I figured she would let me off the hook or help me out but oh no, Pirate Server Ginger was a tough taskmaster. I produced a name.

Lest you think there was no fun to be had in the Map Room you would be mistaken. Pirate Server Ginger was fun and efficient. Our table mates were pleasant. Plus the Map Room has secrets of its own which I am sworn not to reveal……

 

[Tiki Traveler]

After the Beak and Barrel it was on to calmer seas. We saw people entering my favorite attraction so we joined them. “A Show was about to Begin!”.

DH remarked that it was almost a full house. I replied, “Maybe the Tiki Room is making a comeback!”

At this point we veered from the original plan which was to continue with the rides and attractions in MK. A few days earlier rain had been predicted around 6:30pm so I made last minute dinner reservations if we felt like escaping the rain. There was no rain in sight anymore but DH suggested we keep the dinner reservation and so we left the park.

Boating on the Seven Seas is always delightful!