Trip Report How Many Attempts Does It Take To Induce a Diabetic Coma: An Adult Adventure at Food and Wine Festival completed

DouglasE · Dec 30, 2019

MinnieM123 said:
I really enjoyed reading your impressions of the Marrakesh restaurant. As you noted, it's not on most people's radar when they look to choose restaurants. The indoor photos were nice, and I think that's probably the first time I've seen what it looks like. Glad that you two had such a nice meal and experience there.

Thank you so much for the feedback. I like spicy food that is flavorful, not spicy meaning hot. The food they served there was spicy interesting, not hot so I think most people would enjoy it. I'd encourage you to give it a shot.

DouglasE · Jan 1, 2020

We had booked the Frozen Ever After Sparkling Dessert party in which we had reserved seating to experience the Epcot Forever show near the Mexico Pavilion along with a dessert buffet. Following the dessert party, we would be invited to experience Frozen Ever After once the fireworks show was over. It was a beautiful night with wonderful weather. We had really enjoyed our tasty dinner. It was all going good and then right before the dessert party the heavens opened, and it rained. It wasn’t just a shower, it was raining. Poor Keith did not bring any rain gear, he looks like a drowned sewer rat. I had a poncho thank goodness. They led us from our party area near the Mexico pavilion on the edge of the lake all the way over to Norway at a slow-ish pace as we experience the wonders of water falling from the sky and end up in a line in one of the Norway gift shops. We were not told anything at all about the plans for the evening. We are just in a holding pattern in a line in a Norway gift shop. Joy of joys. Eventually, after what seemed an eternity and seemed even longer because on one was telling us what was going on, they had a room for us in the Norway Pavilion. We were probably in a room that was above the Frozen Ever After ride itself. They had set up all the desserts up there and non-alcoholic beverages. They did not have any alcoholic beverages. Ordinarily, there are some alcoholic choices. Keith and I were planning on making the most of our money and drinking quite a bit of alcohol. That was fine. I didn’t need alcohol to have a good time. I guess we made up for the value by eating more as opposed to drinking more. It was just nice to finally sit down and enjoy some desserts. I should have gotten some hot tea. I didn’t. There was a good array of desserts from which to choose. Towards the end of the buffet, I went back up to the tables of food and asked if the yummy bread pudding and other choices had nuts in them. The server did not know so he had the sous chef come out to talk to me. She asked me what table are you at? I told her I was at Table 7. They assign us tables. She said she had something in the kitchen for me. I was at my table talking to people and finishing up eating whatever I was having. The sous chef came back out bringing a gift bag with all sorts of desserts that were allergy friendly. On top of that she was just incredibly sweet. I didn’t need her to do any of that. It all was overwhelming and amazing. As soon as she gave me the bag it was time to see the fireworks display. Someone was looking after us because the weather had cleared up, no rain and the firework show was about to begin. Off we went. We were guided by cast members who had blue glowing wands and they cleared the way of the walkway of the World Showcase of people. We would have a much easier time getting to our seating area. We were right at the edge of the lake next to the Mexico Pavilion. Keith and I sat ourselves down at a small little table for two. Disney distributed these paper glasses much like the old 3D glasses you would wear at movies. The purpose was to create prismatic snowflakes out of the firework lights. I get it. It’s the Frozen Sparkling dessert party. But I found them annoying. We watched the show without the glasses. Only party guests received the glasses, so the show is meant to be seen without them.

I absolutely loved Epcot Forever. There was not a bad vantage point to see this show. They arranged it so that your position around the World Showcase is not nearly as critical as Illuminations. Everything is produced high above you. You don’t have to worry about a globe in the lake. I remember Epcot in the 80’s. They were playing all these Epcot 80’s and 90’s music. It was incredibly nostalgic for me. I loved hearing “Magic Journeys”, “Tomorrow’s Child”, “One Little Spark”, and “Making Memories” and all of the other music from my first visits to Epcot. For me, I think it was much more meaningful. What about the folks whose visit this is their first? It would still have been an entertaining firework show but it is geared more towards the older Disney park fan that have been coming to these parks for years. It is a firework show. Unlike Happily Ever After, there are not projections to distract you. They did incorporate some jet skis with colored lit up kites. That was entertaining, but I was distracted by the fact that the people on the jet skis were dressed all in black. I just thought that could be potentially dangerous considering it is being held at night. What if there is an accident? I guess that’s the worry wart in me. Basically, Disney is using this show as a palate cleanser. If it runs for a year or a little bit more then folks won’t judge Illuminations intended replacement, HarmoniUS too harshly. They are letting Epcot Forever take the heat by having the direct comparison.

DouglasE · Jan 1, 2020

Once the firework show had ended, Keith had had it. He was done and too tired. He decided to go back to the resort. I stayed behind and joined the other party guests to experience Frozen Ever After. It was like salmon swimming upstream. We were fighting the current of the hordes of people exiting the park the opposite direction. We got to experience the attraction all on our own. I absolutely loved that.

Frozen Ever After is the 21st century dark ride. It starts with the audio animatronics of Olaf and Sven. Their movements are so incredibly smooth. Then you add in projection mapping throughout the journey whether it is to create an environment or to create expressions of a face. They add mist/fog. You’ve got backwards movement of your ride vehicle. Plus, hints of all the main songs from the movie, Frozen. If you don’t like this ride, I don’t understand you.

Disney did a wonderful job with creating good value for your money when it came to the dessert spread for this party. On top of that they did all sorts of design touches to bring in the sparkling or frozen theme. One dish was a nitro ice cream feature. Ice cream was scooped into liquid nitrogen to freeze it. They then had to scoop it out, smash it with a hammer and add toppings. Great gimmick and perfect for the Frozen party. The staff was excellent, friendly, and helpful. Such great attitudes were helpful to keep my spirits up despite the poor weather. The viewing site was excellent. I felt like I had plenty of room with no one crowding me. It was wonderful being able to sit down and watch the show. To top it all off we got to experience Frozen Ever After without a crowd. Our cost for the dessert party was $79 each and I felt like I got my money’s worth. I know it has gone up since I booked the party and like everything at Disney it will only go up from there. By I would recommend this dessert party and very likely would book it again and pray for no rain.

When I exited the ride and started to exit out of the park, it was practically deserted. Just the odd cast member here or there. I walked my way towards Future World and found my bus stop to get back to Port Orleans French Quarter with my bag of allergy free desserts.

Next: Was I going to get stuck on the new Skyliner?

DouglasE · Jan 1, 2020

I have been having trouble sleeping during this whole vacation. My first three nights I would only have three hours sleep each night. I had continued trouble sleeping and wake up way too early. Once again, I wake up far earlier than planned and just could not get back to sleep. Also, I have been bugged that they did not have that rebel alliance jacket in my size. I decided going up a size wouldn’t be so bad. It’s a new morning and decide to head over to the Studios to see if they still had that available. I get myself ready.

My breakfast this morning was a trio of beignets ($4.99) from the Scat Cat Lounge and a cup of tea in my refillable mug at my resort. The beignets were freshly made and hot, hot, hot. They were Mickey shaped, of course, because it is Walt Disney World. Powdered sugar got everywhere, and I had all three beignets myself – glutton much?

I had to deal with my dinner from Morocco. It was doing a little bit of a number on my gastrointestinal system. I was in the bathroom quite a bit. I still would go back in a New York minute. It was a wonderful, wonderful dinner. I really love their tasty food. Service was awesome and friendly. All of our servers were wonderful. Our hostess was so cute, and she just was so sweet.

Yesterday, Keith had me cancel our FastPass+ reservations except for TestTrack that I had scheduled to Epcot today. We had already gone on those attractions the very first night for extra, extra magic hours.

I returned to the room after my breakfast to return my refillable mug and have one last visit to the bathroom. Currently, it is about 6:30 am and Keith wakes up and asks where am I going? I told him my plans and we agreed to meet up later in the day and he went back to sleep.

Today is Saturday, October 26, 2019. The high for this day was 88°. It was bright and sunny for the most part all day long. The crowd level was rated as a 6. Remember, the crowd levels are largely based upon line waiting for attractions. The Food and Wine Festival will attract people who only will be participating in the festival having food and drink and won’t go on the attractions at all. In reality, the crowds for the Festival were much higher. It was busy, busy, busy.

I arrive at the Studios around 7 am. It is still extra, extra magic hours. I wander around Batuu to find the only shopping cart in Walt Disney World to sell that rebel jacket. Batuu is filled with all sorts of ambient noises. I don’t know what half of these noises are here. Engines are going. I hear knocking, cracking, sizzling. It’s kind of crazy. The characters are in full force once again. I had to wander quite a bit because I couldn’t remember where the cart was exactly. I finally find it and lo and behold they had the size I wanted originally! I snagged that up pdq. The only disadvantage was that they were unable to send purchases back to the resort from that cart. Not a horrible development but be aware. I decide to kill some time by taking another visit at Toy Story Mania. I enjoyed it so much the first time. My performance probably was very little different than the first time. I rode with a mother. Her husband and daughter were riding in the car next to us. At the very end they were teasing each other about how the husband had cheated. I found that very funny.

DouglasE · Jan 1, 2020

As I write this report, Rise of the Resistance has opened in Walt Disney World. It had not opened yet on my visit. You don’t hear much about the Skyliner in the news since Rise of the Resistance opened. I expect you won’t again until it becomes rainy season in Florida. When every day has thunderstorms, it will have to temporarily stop operations. I took a gamble – the Skyliner hadn’t gotten the best press with an emergency evacuation that took three hours to rescue folks. I was hoping I would not get stranded for three hours with seven other strangers. I waited for a Skyliner car to not have a character wrap so I would have a better view. The character wrap cars obscure your view I had already learned. I decided to take a ride in the sky to go from the Studios to Epcot.

My first leg on the Skyliner was shared with two others. We went from the Studios to Caribbean Beach Resort. Everyone must get off there. It is a hub of the system. My next leg I had an unwrapped car all to myself. At first, it was a little off putting because of the height. If you are concerned about heights, do NOT give the Skyliner a try. I had a little twinge of feat at first. My safety flags were going off in my head. It goes pretty quickly as you launch from the station. There are announcements that keep popping up as you travel. It gives you information about Walt Disney World and your destinations. The airflow on the Skyliner is really nice and cooling, but then it isn’t all that hot yet. It isn’t even 9 am. The ride is nice and cool.

When I was getting out of the Skyliner, one of the cast members shouted out to me, “Welcome back to work!”. I was wearing my ‘Guest of Honor’ badge and it was doing its magic. I don’t know if there is enough room for 10, but room wasn’t an issue for me this morning. I spotted the emergency kit with zip tie seals on it. It’s a scenic journey at times. I loved coming into Caribbean Beach Resort. It was beautiful. I really enjoyed my bird’s eye view of the new DVC resort, Riviera, not opened yet. When I looked to the right, I could see the back of World Showcase. I came in behind Italy pavilion and American Adventure. The big downside is that the “show” has been removed, the curtain has parted. You see backstage areas. I don’t know if I want to see gritty parking lots and construction. It takes you out of the Disney bubble.

This just in…I received a text message from Keith. He has decided to skip Epcot today. He is staying back at the Port Orleans French Quarter. It was still so early that Epcot has not opened yet. Today it looks like I will be doing the rope drop from International Gateway. Since I had experienced most of the Future World attractions, I decided to go on an Instagram Disney wall treasure hunt.

The mosaic wall at the Land pavilion, thankfully, was not hard at all to find. I tried to find the “toothpaste” wall at the Seas all…over…the…place! I could not find it. I created my own Seas wall pictures, instead.

I had time to kill and had a FastPass+ for the Pixar Shorts Film Festival about to show. The fact that they were three shorts films was great. I saw “Get A Horse, “Piper”, and “Feast”. All three shows lasted 18 minutes. I don’t know what my attention span could hold this morning so that worked out perfectly for me. My FastPass+ for TestTrack was approaching but not there yet. I go through the single rider line and then repeat the ride using my FastPass+. I had low expectations because I just don’t think there is any great shakes for this. I don’t know why it is so popular. Especially when most of America ride in cars - all the time! I miss the crash test dummies. But then, do they even air those commercials anymore? I do all my tv watching via streaming, so I miss out on much of what goes on in commercials these days. But I do think the course has improved with the revisions. I will say that the whole aspect about designing your own car and testing its performance made more sense the second time around. I don’t think you get that whole bit when you choose single rider line. My third FastPass+ was for Mission Space. My fellow astronauts were boring, and Keith wasn’t there, so not nearly as fun as the first time on my first day.

Next: How intoxicated was I really?

DouglasE · Jan 1, 2020

Time to light another candle. Today I’m burning my “Wilderness Resort” candle. Mmm, one of my favorites.

By the time I was done with my Future World FastPass+ choices the Food and Wine Festival had begun! The crowds – oh my! Keith made a smart move. They would have driven him looney tunes with anxiety. He would not have enjoyed it at all. I wasn’t surprised and was prepared for it. It is a Saturday, after all. The locals have invaded since so many are off from work.

Let’s start the festival with a cocktail! I have been up since 6 am. My first visit is a frozen Mimosa from the Shimmering Sips booth. They used White Claw natural lime hard seltzer for the booze part. It was small, but a fun way to get things going, especially since it was cool, and the weather was hot. At least for someone who was used to temps in the 50’s.

First food item was at the Hawaii booth. Where is that booth? This is when the crowds bugged me. I weaved in and out trying to find it. Just had a hard time even with a map, but eventually I landed at Hawaii and enjoyed the Kalua pork slider with sweet and sour dole pineapple chutney and spicy mango ($5.25). It was really tasty with a tiny bit of kick to it. I wished it was a little bit bigger. But a great way to start my lunch. The bun they used was too soft. All the juices form the pork and the sauces made it not workable with that bun. But if you can gobble it down in two seconds, I highly recommend it. Good use of my snack credit.

I thought of a new reason to go into Food and Wine Festival with a game plan. Because it gets hot, so hot, you do not want to think. I could not think right. I just looked at my plan and go.

Next was the butternut squash ravioli at Wine + Dine Studio. That was really surprising and had several layers of flavor. I like how they incorporated pumpkin seeds. It added some texture to the dish. They used brown butter vinaigrette sauce with parmesan cheese. I was surprised by that, in a good way. I preferred this ravioli over what I suspect would be at the Italian booth. Their ravioli would be more expected and traditional. This was different. If you had both, what did you think? This was different. A great choice for $4.50.

Flavors from Fire had the Steakhouse blended beef and mushroom slider with brie cheese fondue, arugula, and a truffle, blue cheese, and a potato chip ($5.25). It was so good! Oh my goodness! Really tasty. The chips added a crispy texture. There were a number of flavors. But once again, it would have been much better if it wasn’t medium well. That just isn’t my cup of tea. It still was very tasty.

DouglasE · Jan 1, 2020

Warm chocolate pudding with Irish cream liquor custard at Ireland’s booth for dessert. Sign me up! All I needed was shade and a flat surface to eat on. That dish was totally up my alley. It was very dense, very rich, very thick with a liquor sauce. You needed something to break it up. It was so rich you don’t need more than the serving size I received.

Now it’s time to take advantage of the advice of Sharla Manglass and Heather Coursen, from the Disney Park Princess podcast, and dive into a flight of champagne at Les Vins de France. There was no room to consume the flight there. I had to take them out to enjoy. I wish they gave you a carry-all or a container to move out of people’s way and leisurely sip my champagne. I just managed to get them all right outside the shop in front of the entrance to the French 360 film that was temporarily closed. Three glasses of champagne, me, and a flower garden. Soon a LatinX family comes up to me and notice my name tag and are convinced I’m a Disney executive. I fed them a little bit of a line and said, “maybe”. Their response was if I’m ever in the Bronx to look them up. The matriarch and grandmother asked for a picture. I was more than happy to take a picture of her family. But she wanted a picture taken with me. She said I was somebody. She didn’t know who, but she would figure it out at home. They were super sweet. The champagnes that I enjoyed were 1. Moët and Chandon Imperial, 2. Moët and Chandon Rosé Imperial, 3. A Veuve Cliquot all for $32.

At the France booth I needed to keep cool and had a nice time in the shade of the trees sipping on the La Passion Martini Slushy ($11) which has Grey Goose Le Citron, cranberry juice and passion fruit juice. I was feeling really good right now.

At the Brazil booth, I ordered the frozen caipirnha featuring Leblon Cachaca thanks to the Disney Park Princess, Sara Vance Varney. But it really wasn’t frozen. It melted. They could not freeze it. I sent her a picture to prove that I can follow her advice. That’s what folks do when they know each other for over 15 years, you send each other pictures of frozen cocktails. Even though it wasn’t frozen, it was cold and that is all that matters. Sara was right. That’s all I’ve got to say. I can tell it is going to my head.

Violet Sake was another goal recommended by Annie and Brady from the Never Growing Up podcast. It can be found at the permanent kiosk at the Japan Pavilion, Garden House. There was a good-sized line queued up to order a drink. It was a 10-minute wait. It was a vividly purple concoction. It is a balance of sake, purple pear, and lime juice. It tastes like a grape jolly rancher but has 15% alcohol! Plus, it was a regular sized beverage as opposed to the smaller drinks I had been having. Big score Lost Boys and Girls!

Next: A Signature Dining experience to remember

DouglasE · Jan 21, 2020

Next on my hit parade was the Voices of Liberty under the dome in the glorious rotunda of the American Adventure Pavilion. Their performance was just too short. They are that great. To be that tight of an a capella group is a joy to listen to. They are a must see on every trip to Walt Disney World. They played old favorites like “Shenendoah”. Their conclusion was “Seize the Day” from Newsies. It took a lot to resist singing along, since as part of a chorus, I’ve been singing a version of that for years. But people came to hear them sing, not me. I met two guys from Minnesota who invited me to sit near them which was very sweet. Too bad they were way, way, way, way too young. I could be their dad.

Reflections of China was the 360 movie that I went to next. It’s exactly what you would expect. It is a big tourism ad for China. It made me think of visiting and I’m a bit too scared. I can’t be who I am there, so that’s a big issue. It is quite dated. There are plans to create a new movie but the antagonistic trade issues between both governments are creating problems with Disney stuck in the middle. During the whole movie I had my phone shut off to try to get my battery re-charged with my portable battery.

When I went out into the World Showcase, I spied a cast member who is in the college program at the Morocco booth. We recognized each other and waved. I told her “you never saw me, if you meet Josh D’amaro, she never saw me.” We both laughed.

I went into Mexico to get a margarita. It was a mob scene. It was getting to be super crowded. I can only imagine what the World Showcase during Food and Wine Festival is like on a Saturday night. I am done. While there, I turn my phone back on only to discover Keith has been trying to reach me. We had plans to experience sangria hour at Jaleo in Disney Springs. Keith was already there. At this point my phone battery was at 32% which is fine.

On my way into Disney Springs on the Disney bus, there was a light shower, but by the time I reached Jaleo the showers were ending, and I packed up my rain poncho. Keith was enjoying his sangria back when we were texting while I was in the World Showcase. I really don’t have a lot to say about Jaleo because I was only at the for one drink. But Keith and I reconnected and chatted. Keith really liked his bartender and the sangria was yummy. I would go back from what little we experienced. We had a dinner reservation at California Grill, and we did not want to miss that.

The California Grill is a great spot to enjoy dinner, but it was a bit noisy. We really enjoyed our meal. The restaurant is high above the Contemporary resort with floor to ceiling glass windows for its walls. It has arguably one of the best views of Walt Disney World. On the 2nd floor, we checked into the desk and within moments I received a text saying our table was ready. We hopped onto an elevator and when we emerged a cast member guided us to our table. Since this was a two-credit signature restaurant, this meal proved to be the most expensive of our trip. Being the planner that I am, short of an amazing sounding daily special, I knew exactly what I wanted to order. For my appetizer, I had the Sonoma Goat Cheese ravioli. It was huge. It was just one large ravioli swimming in tomato fennel broth with Crispy Mushrooms, Tiny Basil, and Arbequina Organic Olive Oil ($16.00). It was so delicious that I was moaning. Keith went nuts with the braised beef short rib wontons ($18.00). They had Doenjang Miso-Cola-Onion Sauce, Crispy Garlic-Chili Oil, Radish, and Pickled Lotus Root. My entrée was the Oak-fired Filet of Beef with Aged Gouda Macaroni and Cheese, Grilled Sweet Onions, Sautéed Ice Spinach, and 27 Steak Sauce ($59.00). Keith loved his Jumbo Scallops, Lump Crab in Yuzu Vinaigrette, Carolina Gold Rice, Glazed Dragon Carrots, Shio Beurre Blanc ($54.00).

DouglasE · Jan 21, 2020

I am not a big wine connoisseur. I know what I like and will have wine from time to time, but no where near an expert. I’m more of a hard liquor kind of guy. My server was wonderful and asked her to suggest a wine to pair with my meal. She asked about my preference of two varieties of wine. I said I would prefer a pinot noir. The other choice was a white wine. I don’t know a lot, but I know I would want a red wine with a filet. She then brought out two bottles and she poured each out for me to taste. To be honest, they were equally good. I don’t know which wine ($20) I picked but it certainly fit the bill. Keith had a Hendrick’s gin cocktail and was quite happy with his choice. Once I was digging into my filet of beef, I realized this was cooked perfectly, just the way I felt it should be. When my server came by, I told her I didn’t recall having a conversation about how I would like it to be prepared. She got scared. She thought they had made an error. I told her just the contrary. I wanted a rare steak and that’s what I received. I figured a two-credit signature restaurant should have the skill with food preparation to not get me ill. It was so incredibly tasty. The macaroni and cheese had a bit of panko breadcrumbs toasted on top to provide some contrasting crunch to the smooth cheese and pasta. While it wasn’t as good as the mac and cheese that I make at home, it hit the spot. Once we had finished our entrees our server shared with us that we had picked the top two selling appetizers and the top two entrees. We had the classic California Grill experience.

Our dining plan included dessert so we took advantage of that. Keith could not stop raving about the Strawberry Crème Brulee which was Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée, Fresh Local Strawberries, Cornflake Crunch, Coconut Whip, and a Sponge Cake ($16.00). I opted for the Warm Valhrona Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, Milk Chocolate-whipped Panna Cotta, Pretzel Crunch ($17.00). It was a fitting ending. Not amazing, but a really good dessert. I truly enjoyed it. Right as we were finishing up people started to stream in to go out on the observation deck to enjoy the “Happily Ever After” nighttime spectacular at the Magic Kingdom. Keith was done. I had hit the wall. We both just could not stick around to watch the fireworks. We both were ready to call it a night. I know the show doesn’t last long, but on this trip when my batteries were empty there was no pushing for more. We had a wonderful dinner and that was enough.

California Grill

Ambiance: 8 (the highlight is being able to see the fireworks which we missed)
Food: 9
Price/Value: 7
Overall: 8.5

NEXT: I beat the crowds at Animal Kingdom to experience Pandora

MinnieM123 · Jan 22, 2020

Voices of Liberty is a gem. I sit on the lobby floor, and get so immersed in their songs. The costumes are so attractive as well. (I like your photos.)

As much as I enjoy the theater show in the American pavilion, to me the highlight of any visit is Voices of Liberty.

Now as for all these delicious pictures of food you've shared, you're making me very hungry -- and it's only 6:25 AM here!! :jawdrop:

Lilofan · Jan 22, 2020

MinnieM123 said:
Voices of Liberty is a gem. I sit on the lobby floor, and get so immersed in their songs. The costumes are so attractive as well. (I like your photos.)

As much as I enjoy the theater show in the American pavilion, to me the highlight of any visit is Voices of Liberty.

Now as for all these delicious pictures of food you've shared, you're making me very hungry -- and it's only 6:25 AM here!!

I like the fact that one can go up and chat with the VOL cast after their performance. Not many guests do since they all want to head upstairs to see the AA show directly after the VOL performance.

DouglasE · Jan 22, 2020

MinnieM123 said:
Voices of Liberty is a gem. I sit on the lobby floor, and get so immersed in their songs. The costumes are so attractive as well. (I like your photos.)

As much as I enjoy the theater show in the American pavilion, to me the highlight of any visit is Voices of Liberty.

Now as for all these delicious pictures of food you've shared, you're making me very hungry -- and it's only 6:25 AM here!!

As an audience member I enjoy seeing the costumes of the performers. I don't know how I would feel having to get into those costumes. Some days I'm sure they wish they were just in shorts and a t-shirt like you. Thank you for the compliments. California Grill was delicious.

DouglasE · Jan 22, 2020

Lilofan said:
I like the fact that one can go up and chat with the VOL cast after their performance. Not many guests do since they all want to head upstairs to see the AA show directly after the VOL performance.

In a situation like that I'm quite shy and couldn't bring myself to talk to the singers. But I do think it is a good idea that they make themselves available after the show.

Lilofan · Jan 22, 2020

DouglasE said:
In a situation like that I'm quite shy and couldn't bring myself to talk to the singers. But I do think it is a good idea that they make themselves available after the show.

The VOL singers could easily say good-bye and leave. They instead purposely stay for a few minutes to talk to whoever is around. That is very special in my mind.

DouglasE · Feb 4, 2020

A big heartfelt thank you goes out to Denise Lang and Reach for the Magic Destinations. It was thanks to her to book the best time for us at California Grill. If I hadn’t hit the wall at the end of dinner, having to watch the fireworks in the Magic Kingdom would have been a perfect ending to a great meal. I got to accomplish what I wanted to accomplish that day. Having an experienced travel planner made a difference.

It is Sunday, 10/27/19. It is unseasonably hotter than normal. Today’s high is 90° and the low is 75°. Since it is a weekend, crowd level is expected to reach 6.

At 5:57am I got on the bus at POFQ to get to Animal Kingdom. On my bus there were only four of us. We had a nice quiet ride of four adults going to Animal Kingdom. Keith has decided to sleep in and will join up with me later. My strategy was to get there before rope drop of extra, extra magic hours at the park. As I’ve stated before, I hate line waiting. I will do what I need to to avoid a four hour wait to see Pandora’s Flight of Passage. At 6:12am, I get off the bus and join the folx waiting for entry into Animal Kingdom. I’d say there was roughly 120 people in a holding pattern at the bag check. I’m jamming out to the music that they are playing here at the Animal Kingdom. At 6:36 am I’ve passed through bag check and metal screening. Now I’m in another line, waiting to get further into the park. It is so dark at this hour. I didn’t trust my phone camera to take pictures with so little light. The crowd walked very briskly as quick as they could without running all the way up to the Tree of Life. They have the tree beautifully lit and I can clearly see it. Once again, we stop and wait to enter Pandora.

Ok, I make it to Flight of Passage. Disney has set a record. This is the most winding stand by line I have ever been a part of. The sun is rising. This is crazy because I can’t stop to take pictures because this line is moving, moving, moving.

Disney outdid themselves with Flight of Passage. Amazing! That was awesome. It is crazy that they thought to make your ride vehicle move between your legs creating the illusion that you are riding a living, breathing ikran, or a flying banshee. It seemed so real. I was done by 7:30 am and walked over to Navi River Journey. Basically, it was a walk-on with a five-minute wait. The river journey was scenic and pretty. It would be nice if it was a little bit longer. I loved it. There was so much detail, so much to see. I feel like it deserves repeat viewing.

After exploring Pandora, a bit, I moved on to It’s Tough To Be a Bug. I love that show! Some people have a problem, I don’t know why. I liked all the surprises of the sprays, the stinks, and feeling all the creepy crawlies.

Exploring Discovery Island proved to be what this park is all about. Stop. Take a look around. Take the time to discover all of the animals that make this park their home. It was time to slow down and take pictures and relax.

DouglasE · Feb 4, 2020

Keith arrives at the Animal Kingdom and we reconnect. Our FastPass+ for Flight of Passage is coming up. But first, we stop to have breakfast. He needs caffeine so off he goes to Starbucks while I get my breakfast in Pandora at Pongu Pongu. I think the Lumpia is so inventive. It is pineapple cream cheese filled in a soft spring roll. I had planned to enjoy a Rum Blossom, but it just was too early for rum. I opted for its non-alcoholic sibling, the Night Blossom. It is a mixture of limeade, apple, dessert pear flavors topped off with Passion Fruit boba balls (popping pearls of juice). Warning! This beverage was sweet. I have a sugar tooth. But even for me it was super sweet. It came with a glowing flower blossom that I still have and sits on my bar at home. I got to witness some live entertainment while I had my breakfast. I saw a Pandora Ranger operating the Exo-Carrier Utility suit a mobile research equipment that make him look like a robot. That was perfect because it kept me occupied while I waited for Keith. The human in the suit was entertaining but I would not go out of my way to watch. I’m sure my 10-year-old self would have loved it. This is not appointment TV. Actually, nothing is these days with all of the streaming avenues people use for entertainment.

Pandora was a wonder and so filled with detail. One pond contained “animals” that shoot jets of water into the air to hunt small flying creatures. You could trigger the jets by waving your arms suddenly at the pond.

On our way exploring, Keith and I ran into Kevin. I love Up! We checked out the Gorilla trail and discovered the critters were having a lazy day. We did all the trails to see what wildlife we could find. Animal Kingdom deserves exploration at a leisurely pace. If you just jump from attraction to attraction, I think you are missing the point.

DouglasE · Feb 4, 2020

After our Aviator Flight of Passage FastPass+, we looked at the standby time for Navi River Journey. It was prohibitively long. This is the reason why I was up at the crack of dawn. Keith was just fine missing the attraction. We had until 10:25 for our Everest FastPass+ time to explore the park. He loves It’s Tough To Be a Bug so we had fun there. Had pictures taken by Photopass photographers.

Thrilling! Expedition Everest was full of thrills. That’s my personal criticism of Walt Disney World. There are not enough thrill rides for my taste. I get it. It is a family park, geared for multigenerational visitors. However, in the 21st century, a 2018 study of the demographics of Disney World visitors by business consultant Street Light Data found that only 36.7 percent of the guests had kids under 18 in their household. But with the cost of a single-day’s entry well over a $100 and a youth population dispassionate about Disney’s brand of wholesome, non-virtual entertainment, the Park has been forced to cater to a once-fringe group of visitors: Nostalgic adult couples without children.

After Expedition Everest we had a FastPass+ for Kali River Rapids. In our same raft, was a family that saw me at the touch gate to the park and let me through. The father remarked that we seem to be following touring plan because he remembers me from other parks. Oddly enough, I did not get all that wet on the rapids. I feel that is just a bit too tame of a rapids ride. I’d be perfectly fine if everyone get soaked and the vehicle got bounced around and turned around a bunch to create more excitement. I know that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea; but it’s mine.

DouglasE · Feb 4, 2020

I had never been to Finding Nemo – the Musical and it was about to let a new audience in. I had never seen the show. Don’t judge me! Basically, it is an abbreviated version of the movie, Finding Nemo with music. There were puppets, acrobats, and animated backdrops. You can find it in Dinoland at the Theater in the Wild where Tarzan Rocks used to be. I never saw Tarzan Rocks either. Don’t judge me! The good news is that they use a bunch of original music well. The music was created by Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez. They know what they are doing. The music fits the story well, so no complaints there. I am a bit spoiled and have seen a whole slew of musicals on Broadway. In fact, I’ll be seeing Jagged Little Pill in a few days. The point is the bar has been set high for me. I think most would enjoy this show, but it was just meh or ok for me. I think children would enjoy it tremendously. But when you have seen the likes of Audra McDonald, Patti Lupone, Josh Henry, Jessie Mueller, Christine Ebersole, Sutton Foster, Gavin Creel, Alex Brightman, Alex Newell, Darren Criss, etc. perform live on stage you are entitled to be a bit jaded.

NEXT: A special guest star pays a visit

DouglasE · Feb 4, 2020

Early in the morning before Keith showed up, I was on my phone. Lo and behold, my friend Sharon from NY was in Walt Disney World! She is a Disney fanatic like me. We originally met on a now defunct Disney message board over 15 years ago. I immediately shot her a message and before you know it we planned to meet up for lunch at Satu’li Canteen. She had never been! Imagine that!?! She goes to Walt Disney World usually four times a year. I’m glad we could share something new together. I had a combination bowl. Grilled Beef and Chicken with noodles as its base, a creamy herb dressing, crunchy vegetable slaw, and boba balls (you know to make it like you are on Pandora, $16.99). The dressing had its own kick, just enough to make it interesting and not overpower it. The décor is so immersive. Totally believable that I was in a RDA mess hall on Pandora. We chose to eat indoors to avoid the heat and enjoy the air conditioning. I had one of the specialty drinks of the Canteen, the Dreamwalker Sangria ($10.00). Since it’s me, I had a chocolate cake with a crunchy cookie layer, banana cream and Goji berries ($5.29). This was hands down my absolute favorite quick service restaurant of my trip. The fact that I could use mobile ordering and had zero wait for my meal was bonus. The portion size was large. I was very surprised at how much food was provided. Not only did they excel in the theming of the restaurant but taste wise they surprised me with how flavorful their food was. All of us enjoyed our lunches. It was pricey, but it was worth it. I will be back the next time I visit Animal Kingdom.

Satu'li Canteen

Ambience 10
Food 9
Value/Price 8
Overall 9.5

NEXT: Princess Sharon and I continue our visit and chat the afternoon away over at Nomad Lounge.

MinnieM123 · Feb 4, 2020

I love FOP and Everest, too! Glad you enjoyed them. (I love animals, so AK is one of my favorite places at WDW. Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of my top attractions, but I also like all the various walking trails to see the different animals in that park.

Trip Report How Many Attempts Does It Take To Induce a Diabetic Coma: An Adult Adventure at Food and Wine Festival completed

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

MinnieM123

Lilofan

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

Lilofan

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

DouglasE

Well-Known Member

MinnieM123

Trip Report How Many Attempts Does It Take To Induce a Diabetic Coma: An Adult Adventure at Food and Wine Festival *completed*

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Trip Report How Many Attempts Does It Take To Induce a Diabetic Coma: An Adult Adventure at Food and Wine Festival completed