Trip Report It's Two, Two, TWO Trips in One! *COMPLETED*

Title reference for those of you younger than dirt ~



Got it? Good!

This trip report is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is a picture of me and my significant other.

I invite you, if you dare, to follow along on a lengthy adventure that includes three resorts, lots of flowers, exotic food and a Fruber (a what?) Because this report travels directly to.........the Tuvalu Zone.

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, May 6

Winnie the Pooh would have felt right at home as it was another blustery day. There had been a significant temperature drop overnight; when we awoke it was 58 degrees (throw in the wind chill factor and it was quite nippy outside!)

Woody and I found a window table in the lounge to sit at for breakfast. We enjoyed the $500,000 view (no longer a million dollar view thanks to the bungalows.)

Today's breakfast was lighter for me, mini muffins and purse grapes.

(Yes, the grapes were leftover from my kid's meal on Wednesday. And they were fine.....except for a lone moldy grape at the bottom of the bag.....which sadly I did not notice until after I popped it into my mouth )

After a quick trip back to the room to brush my teeth and swish with mouthwash, I rejoined Woody and we walked to the TTC. Going from Poly to Epcot now requires two security checks ~ one at the TTC and another at Epcot. The security screening is done where the parking trams drop off. The TTC lines are long, like the ones in front of the MK used to be. But it was still faster for us to walk to the TTC to get the Epcot monorail rather than board the resort monorail (and be screened on the Poly platform) and make the transfer at the TTC.

This entire area of the TTC is now a "secure zone." So if you travel between Epcot and the MK using the monorail, you don't have to go through security again when you transfer.

Here comes our ride.

 

[Tuvalu]

You: "Wait a minute Tuvalu, weren't you and Woody just at Epcot yesterday?!"
Me: "And your point would be?"

All kidding aside, Epcot is our favorite park during the Flower and Garden Festival and there was still more for us to see. Additionally, Woody didn't get to enjoy the Festival last month like I did and I wanted him to have all the time he wanted.

Festival streetmosphere ~ these ladies were a hoot!

 

[Tuvalu]

First order of business was to visit a purple friend.

Look! NO SPRING BREAK CROWDS!!

We had the entire car to ourselves.

Found these two cuties in the gift store. Big Al and Beulah!

Second order of business was to take flight.

B glider in the center ~ the view doesn't get any better than that! (Unless you prefer the Eiffel Tower to have a weird curvature.)

 

[Tuvalu]

Up next.....(wait for it, @MinnieM123)......THE FARM RIDE!!!!!!!!

Well, I'll be.......it's a farmer!!

No front row for us this time. And we even had a fastpass!

 

[Tuvalu]

We spent the next hour seeking out plantings we had not seen yet.

Fun Fantasia topiaries!

 

[PacNWTigger]

I love the color of those little peppers! So cool!

 

[Tuvalu]

This next post was to include pictures from inside the Butterfly House.....only there were no butterflies fluttering around! According to the CM posted outside, it was TOO COLD!

So enjoy the painted butterflies instead.

 

[Tuvalu]

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

It doesn't work. I have one going like that with several trips one after the other, and people don't generally like it. I have to go back and put in a table of contents in the beginning LOL.

What are you talking about?? I LOVE IT !!!!

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We decided on Pecos Bills for lunch. I really like their chicken nachos and the 20% AP discount makes it even more attractive to dine there.

Woody ordered a burger, a decision he ended up regretting (over-cooked patty and stale bun). When I offered him the remaining half of my nachos he really regretted his burger decision....he discovered just how yummy the chicken nachos are!

View attachment 206351

As we ate, we watched a robbery occur before our very eyes. Not a gun-toting one like you'd find in the Wild West but a robbery just the same. And the thieves did not wear black hats or bandanna face masks. Mom and Dad wore Mickey shirts and ears.

A family of seven ~ Dad, Mom, 4 kids and a baby ~ plopped themselves down at two tables beside us, kids at one table, parents at another and baby in a stroller. Dad left while Mom reached into the giant stroller bag and handed out Lunchables** to the 4 kids. Dad returned with 6 small "free" cups of water that Disney provides on request. Mom pulled out two containers of what looked to be salad, one for her and one for Dad. Then Mom and Dad each took a turn at the toppings bar, filling up three containers of fixins which they dumped on their salads.

Yes, Disney allows food to be brought into the park. But that food should not be consumed at tables designed for paying customers ~ just as the food at the toppings bar is for paying customers. Pecos Bills is a business, not a free-for-all. This family stole two tables and food. And their behavior taught their children that this is okay.

** FYI, "Lunchables" auto-corrected to "Lunch a lesbian".

You know I understand Disney is expensive and that some bring there own lunch. No problem there. But how classless of those people to steal food, which it was since they did not purchase an item from Pecos Bills. I guess they feel entitled for some reason.

Gotta love auto correct. My dh said "cool beans" into a text message on his phone once and it got "corrected" to "cool p*nis".

 

[MinnieM123]

Today's breakfast was lighter for me, mini muffins and purse grapes.

Purse Grapes! Too funny!!! To go along with your stash of Purse Carrots, I presume?!

Up next.....(wait for it, @MinnieM123)......THE FARM RIDE!!!!!!!!

Well, I'll be.......it's a farmer!!

No front row for us this time.

Tuvalu, you need to sit down for this one: I got to EPCOT early one morning (this was 2 weeks ago), and I was the ONLY person on the FARM RIDE--I sat in the Front Row--I had the entire boat to myself for whole blessed FARM RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you stand it??!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Gotta love auto correct. My dh said "cool beans" into a text message on his phone once and it got "corrected" to "cool p*nis".

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuvalu, you need to sit down for this one: I got to EPCOT early one morning (this was 2 weeks ago), and I was the ONLY person on the FARM RIDE--I sat in the Front Row--I had the entire boat to myself for whole blessed FARM RIDE!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you stand it??!!!!!!!!!!!

Jelly, jelly, JELLY!!!!!

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We did a bit of people-watching as we savored our treats. A woman exited the Plaza restaurant holding a tiny "service dog" (it said so on the doggy vest) and then walked over to where her ECV was parked. She physically pushed the scooter into a position where she could climb onto the seat. Then the "service dog" jumped onto the scooter near the woman's feet and she drove away.

What "service" exactly was this dog performing?

It used to be that there were loads of ECV's at Disney. I noticed this last trip that there seemed to be more service dogs than ECV's and most of the dogs were tiny. I am wondering if some are trying to pull a fast one.

 

[Tiggerish]

First order of business was to visit a purple friend.

View attachment 207792

Look! NO SPRING BREAK CROWDS!!
View attachment 207793
We had the entire car to ourselves.

Found these two cuties in the gift store. Big Al and Beulah!
View attachment 207794

Second order of business was to take flight.
View attachment 207795
B glider in the center ~ the view doesn't get any better than that! (Unless you prefer the Eiffel Tower to have a weird curvature.)

Country Bears tsum-tsums are TOO CUTE!

We spent the next hour seeking out plantings we had not seen yet.

Those are the best kind, and the reason to keep going back to F&G

 

[Tuvalu]

Saturday, con't

Our original plan was to just "go with the flow" () for lunch, but my planner self got the better of me last night and I found myself scrolling through available ADRs. There was one I just couldn't resist....and I knew would please Woody....so I booked it.

It required us leaving Epcot via the International Gateway.

Along the way we passed the "new" Yacht Club slide.

Since we are creatures of habit, no points will be given for guessing our lunch location.

We were seated in the same booth as last month!

And @fractal, I think we get another notch in our "celebrity" belt since we practically had this place to ourselves too!

We had a different server this time but he was just as awesome. I was allowed to get the menu-modified chicken sandwich I like.

Woody went with his old stand-by.

We both found our meals filling, but because it would be sacrilegious NOT to have ice cream at Beaches and Cream, we thought we could share something.

And I have the best hubby in the world since he agreed to my pick. Get ready to drool, @Courtney6682.......

Oh yeah!

 

[Tuvalu]

Now we were on a quest to burn off all those calories! Thanks to low humidity and the blustery wind, walking a few extra thousand steps would not be a problem today.

We returned to Epcot via the International Gateway again ( @MinnieM123). We turned right towards France.

Time to check out the wine.

Vouvray is one of our favorites. If we had driven down, a bottle would have gone home with us.

How fun is this box of chocolates!

 

[Tuvalu]

Strolling hand-in-hand through World Showcase on a beautiful spring day......life doesn't get much better than this!

Hello Disney Woody! We'll get better acquainted later when I sample some of the yummy Smokehouse offerings.

Believe it or not, the Promenade was more crowded yesterday!

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody had read about orchids in the F&G Festival booklet and once we got to Mexico we began our search. They were tucked away on the side of the pavilion, high up in the trees. The fragrance was wonderful!

Since we missed hanging with them yesterday, we stopped back today.

Then we sat outside on a bench (I always get excited when I type that) soaking in the ambiance. It was a perfect day.

On our way out, a couple stopped us to take their picture. The man returned the favor by taking ours.

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody and I popped into the lounge for an afternoon snack.

POLY CHIPS!!! Delightfully crunchy and not healthy in the least.

Woody tried a Kona Castaway at my urging. He prefers Kona Longboard, but I figured this would be a good opportunity to sample the Castaway for free.

Meanwhile, what was our Kona doing?

Yeah, he really misses us.