The Foodie "Canadian Themed" Musical of MillerPoppins

So here we are, home already. I don't remember ever being as bummed after a trip as I am with this one and I attibute that to it being so amazingly awesome. I believe this, along with the 2008 trip with my Mom, was at the top of the Disney trip list. I was so afraid that after months of planning, something was going to go wrong. Aside from one minor set back (more on that in a bit), the trip was perfect. So let's get started!

So to recap, this is my 9th trip to this World of ours and my boyfriend's very first. Tim has literally been all over the globe, seeing everything from the pyramids to rainforests to glaciers. When I heard that he had never been to WDW, I insisted that I would be the first to take him. And while he was very excited, he never wanted to see any footage, photos or anything Disney related except for the animated classics before we got there. It made it very difficult for me. However, it paid off greatly in the end. And as much I believe I have converted him, he's not completely on board with blogging on being on "Disney sites". With that being said, his photo will not be posted. You'll have to settle for photos of me and some awesome scenic ones he took.

So our trip started the night before as he scrambled to pack and I had been pretty much ready for a week. After he zipped up his case, we went to our local sushi joint for a quick and non messy dinner. After rolling out, we had minor food coma and crashed. Wake up call came quite early though at 3:30am and we headed out the door. To my knowledge at that point, we were set to go! I was so excited and could barely contain myself as we headed though security and stopped for a quick coffee before heading to our gate. As I was waiting in line, I was digging though my bag and could not find my phone...

To back track, two years ago on the night before the trip, my cell phone was stolen enroute to my parents house. I had to spend two frantic hours trying to cancel service and have a new phone sent to All Star Movies. It was an experience I did not want to repeat. However, here I was on my vacation and it would be the second Disney trip that I had a phone dilenma before I even left. Thankfully, Tim had his so I wasn't as upset. What could I do?

After a quick two and a half hour flight, we were in paradise! We marched right up to the DME, boarded and were off within 10 minutes with one other family on the way to All Star Music. We couldn't help but crack up though that the song from the Canadian Pavilion movie was on in the bus. Tim is from Canada and our dinner that night was in Le Cellier. Thoughout the trip, Canada seemed to be quite prominent through other guests, shirts and themes. After our little video, we were there! Our front desk agent Dianne was extremely gracious and granted every request I had. A king sized bed in the Jazz Inn and it was ready!!! What more could I want??? We headed to our room and as we walked out towards the pool, I started getting emotional. We were finally here..after two years of waiting, months of planning and lots of saving pennies.

We were thrilled with the room, changed into "Florida" clothes and headed to Epcot. We were ready for some Food and Wine Festival goodness and Future World Fun!

We headed to Soarin, got fast passes and decided to grab lunch from Sunshine Seasons. I was a bit apprehensive about the crowds. The place was packed! I ran though my head thinking what could be going on that I wasn't aware of? I had come down during the same time a couple years ago and it was NOT like this. I tried not to let it bother me and looked forward to some yummy Sunshine Seasons goodness. Tim got the Pork Chop and Caramel Apple cake for dessert while I got the Grilled Salmon and Key Lime Tart.

 

[LeafsFanNL]

Where was Tim planning to golf? One of these days I'll get to play on the LBV course. On our first trip back in '07 when we stayed at POFQ, we took the boat to DTD several times. I just love the look of that course.

I just love how the whole poutine thing took over the thread. For anyone interested http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

The article mentions a Newfoundland staple Chips, dressing and gravy. yummers!!

 

[the1nonlysinger]

I just love how the whole poutine thing took over the thread. For anyone interested http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

Oh my gosh! I was watching a show on Food Network over the weekend and they showed poutine. I got all excited cause I knew what it was thanks to this thread (previously never heard of it before!)! lol :lol:

 

[tiaragirl]

Where was Tim planning to golf? One of these days I'll get to play on the LBV course. On our first trip back in '07 when we stayed at POFQ, we took the boat to DTD several times. I just love the look of that course.

Suchhhh a nice golf course. It ended up pouring rain for the last 5 holes or so, but it was so so nice.

Of the four Disney courses, however, Osprey Ridge is my favourite!

Definitely golf if you can, they treat you right!

 

[LeafsFanNL]

It's a funny world. I was grocery shopping last night and I noticed St. Hubert poutine gravy by the can.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

YAY!!! More Boo pics :sohappy:

 

[Steve-B]

Great pictures and report!

Looking at some of your pictures, I realize I need to slow down and look around more. I'm missing a lot of details.

By the way, on our last trip I took over a thousand pictures myself, not to mention those taken by my two girls and the photopass folks. The rest of my family really got tired of waiting for me. They would just walk away when I started clicking.
Also, I can't wait to take a first-timer!

 

[MillerPoppins]

I wish I could see all these character shots doing the 'claw'. They sound hilarious! Thanks for such a great TR, this just cheered up my day =)

They were pretty funny. I'm working on cracking Tim on showing himself on here. But we'll see. Thank you so much for your compliments!

Where was Tim planning to golf? One of these days I'll get to play on the LBV course. On our first trip back in '07 when we stayed at POFQ, we took the boat to DTD several times. I just love the look of that course.

I just love how the whole poutine thing took over the thread. For anyone interested http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine


The article mentions a Newfoundland staple Chips, dressing and gravy. yummers!!

I had booked Tim a round at Magnolia. Next time, I may have him do it the first day or so because I know how excited he was for it. The Poutine has taken over this thread and it's hysterical to me! I should have named this thread the The Foodie Musical of Mary Poppins featuring Poutine.

Oh my gosh! I was watching a show on Food Network over the weekend and they showed poutine. I got all excited cause I knew what it was thanks to this thread (previously never heard of it before!)! lol :lol:

Cracks me up...

Poutine sales will now go up at Le Cellier from people learning about it on here.

It's a funny world. I was grocery shopping last night and I noticed St. Hubert poutine gravy by the can.

I'd love to try some!

YAY!!! More Boo pics :sohappy:

There's always room for more Boo photos!!!

Looking at some of your pictures, I realize I need to slow down and look around more. I'm missing a lot of details.

By the way, on our last trip I took over a thousand pictures myself, not to mention those taken by my two girls and the photopass folks. The rest of my family really got tired of waiting for me. They would just walk away when I started clicking.
Also, I can't wait to take a first-timer!

It was so much fun to me to take a first timer. I'm kinda bummed that it's over because you only get that experience once. I told him that too about the photos because there were so many things that I never noticed or took for granted. If I put all 1800 photos up on here, you'd be amazed how much stuff he managed to capture in photos.

 

[MillerPoppins]

Jennie wandered around with me but then had to go pick up Ray. I told her I wasn't done yet so I would take a bus back. So I wandered around, took more photos for Tim and just took in the Downtown Disney air. I just love it down there.

I picked out a few more things for my niece and nephews, checked out some pins and then grabbed yet another cookie at Goofy's Candy Co.

I really love Goofy's Candy Co. and the way it smells. For not being a sweets fan, that room reeks of sugar and I absolutely LOVE IT. I swear I become a sweets fan when I'm down there. Who can blame me when I have this in front of me???

So I grabbed a bus and headed back to the room. Tim was out cold and I don't blame him. He had held up pretty well for being dragged all over WDW.

 

[MillerPoppins]

Day 8
Back to Epcot

This was our last full day in WDW and I was getting really bummed. I had been planning this trip for so long and it was quickly coming to an end. But as Tim said, we still had a full day and lots to do in Epcot.

We got up and headed right to Epcot. We made it there by 9:15a and had a plan. We had hit Goofy, Mickey, Minnie and Donald, but we hadn't seen Pluto. We also liked the idea of hitting up all five characters at one shot. One week earlier when we had been there, it was mobbed. So we bee-lined straight to the character spot when we got in.

So there was a half hour line, so Tim jumped in. I ran over to get Soarin Fast Passes. A week ago it was also mobbed and we were sort of anticipating that again. It was nice to see that it wasn't so far this morning. I grabbed the FP's and ran back over to the Character Spot. They were playing old Disney cartoons in the waiting area and it was fun watching Tim watch them. I grew up watching them as a kid on the Disney Channel and love them. He was back against the wall at this point so I waited for him until he got close. It was finally our turn.

We took our turns with Mickey and Minnie. Pluto was hamming it up for us as he was waiting with the next group.

Donald was being flirty again thus, this happening...

Afterwards, we made our way back to The Land to grab some breakfast. We split an adult breakfast platter between the two of us and I got my coffee. We didn't want to fill up since we had so much food yet to try at the Food & Wine festival.

We then headed over to the Imagination building. I was so psyched for the 80'stastic goodness that was coming by the way of Captain EO.

I won't start the debate on whether or not Michael Jackson should be featured in Disney due to his past. I don't know if I mentioned that I danced for over 17 years. I did tap, jazz, ballet and everything else. And as a dancer, MJ was a legend. So much came back to him so I was really excited to see something I hadn't yet.

This was the 80's amazingness that I was waiting for. First off, I still can't believe that George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola attached their names to this. It was RIDICULOUSLY cheesy. Secondly, we were absolutely sure that the cast member who started and ended the show was tanked. And by tanked, I mean hammered drunk. I'm happy that they brought some "Old School" back to Disney.

We then headed into Journey into Imagination. Both of us liked this, but this is still not a favorite of mine. We then headed over to Mission Space, stopping to pick up some more pins on the way. We picked up Mission Space FP's and went to check out Test Track. The line was a bit long so we made our way into World Showcase.

We were both excited to get more Passport stamps and try some more food. Tim also wanted to make sure to see some of the live music featured around WS so we mapped out most of our day around that. We had some time before the mariachi band started so we hit up the 15 Beers for 15 Years Booth first.

We then grabbed the plate from Charcuterie and Cheese as well as the Fondue. From Canada, we also got more Cheddar Cheese soup and the Salmon. All four were incredible!

We really enjoyed this and Tim could not be happier!

 

[Tiggerish]

Oh, that Charcuterie plate was wonderful, wasn't it? :slurp: So much smokey goodness.

I'm looking forward to reading your opinions on the F&W booth selections and comparing notes. We had a F&W booth Marathon on our last day, which also happened to be the last day of the Festival! (Sun. Nov. 14)

 

[MillerPoppins]

Oh, that Charcuterie plate was wonderful, wasn't it? :slurp: So much smokey goodness.

I'm looking forward to reading your opinions on the F&W booth selections and comparing notes. We had a F&W booth Marathon on our last day, which also happened to be the last day of the Festival! (Sun. Nov. 14)

Oh we enjoyed so much from the F&W festival! I'll definitely be doing a wrap up of it.

 

[MillerPoppins]

I really enjoyed the Cheddar Cheese soup of course. The Maple Glazed Salmon with the lentil salad was ok, but really had a fishy taste.

We made our way over to Mexico but were stopped en route by Duffy making his first appearance of the day. Apparently Duffy just made his debut days before we got there and we were excited to see him. Two years ago, I got a Duffy for my nephews for his Birthday and he to this day still plays with it. So I was excited to see him out and about.

He's very cute and cuddly! We enjoyed seeing him and getting bear hugs...lol.

Onwards in search of the Mariachi band. They hadn't started yet so I found a bench. Then I spotted the Mexico booth. I ran over and got everything they had to offer food wise and a Passion Berry Margarita. Our first day there, we had split a Caipirinha. We learned very quickly when you get a drink in a short little glass, it means you are getting more bang for your buck. These little drinks packed a BIG punch. This margarita was no different. It had great flavor.

The Taco de Chilorio, Tamal de Pollo and Esquites were all wonderful but very messy. Like, super MESSY. We shared our food and then Tim ran over to get photos of the band. They were great!

We enjoyed their whole performance and then headed on our way to Norway. We hadn't done the Maelstrom on the first day so we headed right in there. There was about a ten minute wait at this point. This ride is a strange one for me. I enjoy it, but if you were to tell someone "We are doing a ride that includes polar bears, trolls, oil rigs, it may go backwards and some vikings", I can imagine the reaction. Tim liked it, but also thought it was quite unique. He really liked that it sent you in all different directions.

I did roll through the bakery and spotted the school bread and what I really wanted, the sweet pretzel. But we resisted. We really wanted to get to some more booths. We passed China as we did most of that the other day but I still managed to take some shots. What follows are the most photos I took on the trip.

So we headed on to Germany, stopping at the Outpost and taking photos along the way.

 

[MillerPoppins]

As Tim headed towards the Brewer's Collection booth, I noticed Snow White greeting on the side of the area. She looked so sweet and was so adorable with the kids.

I took some more photos as Tim got his beer.

I grabbed a pretzel from Germany at this point and a smart water. We strolled along, soaking in all of Epcot and our snacks. We were on our way to the Fife and Drum performers and Tim really wanted to see the Voices of Liberty again. So we made our way down to the American Pavilion.

We made it just in time to catch the tail end of the Fife & Drum performers. They were good and we loved what we saw.

Tim made his way into the theater. I wanted to see The American Adventure because I heard it was good and I had never seen it. However, I wasn't ready to head in quite yet. So I wandered around the pin booths, munching on my pretzel and then strolled into the little American store. I thought it was great that the first thing I saw was an Eagles jersey! E-A-G-L-E-S! I then headed into the theater to meet up with Tim.

The Voices of Liberty, as always, were amazing. To me, they just completely capture the sound of True Americana. It's incredible to me.

We made our way up into the theater shortly after their performance. I couldn't get over how gorgeous the theater was.

And that's about all I saw...because literally seconds after the show started, I passed out. I'm talking could not keep my eyes open to save my life. So again, I heard the show was great...couldn't tell you.

So we made our way out and headed towards Japan. Tim wanted to see the drum show and I wanted another Tuna Sensation from the Japan booth. Tuna Sensation = AMAZING. All it consisted of was raw ahi tuna, avocado and some awesome sauce. It was incredible. So I nibbled as Tim took some more shots.

 

[BrerKev]

Really enjoying your trip report. Looks like you had lots of fun. What a special trip, to share it with your boyfriend who had never gone before. Good times!

 

[MillerPoppins]

Really enjoying your trip report. Looks like you had lots of fun. What a special trip, to share it with your boyfriend who had never gone before. Good times!

Thank you! We had an amazing time!

 

[MillerPoppins]

So we left Japan and then made our way onto Morocco. Tim wanted to see Mo'Rockin and hit up the Moroccan food booth.

We grabbed falafel and a lamb burger from the booth along with a tangerine mimosa and sangria. I liked our drinks better then our food, although I will say that the Moroccan portions were some of the biggest we received. I mean they weren't bad, but it wasn't my favorite either.

We then wandered into France again and over towards Great Britain. At this point, we stopped eating because I wanted us to have room for dinner although I really wanted to hit up the France bakery. However, this ended up being my first trip without a stop there Oh well. Tim had been texting Ray who was coming to meet up with us. As we waited for him, my headed into Great Britain and went to visit Pooh again.

When we came out, Ray was there to greet and the boys headed over to grab a Guiness. I wandered and took photos.

All three of us made our way to Canada as I wanted to get a tee shirt to commemorate the "Canadian" theme of the trip. After the Olympics, I really wanted something from Canada especially with Tim being from there. There was a bunch of stuff I liked there but after some imput from the gentlemen, I opted for a red one.

We made our way then to Test Track, and found a 15 minute wait. We managed to get in very quickly and enjoyed telling Ray all about the Halloween party he missed. We then headed over to Mission Space. I was particularly nervous about this one. I had heard how intense this ride was but knew there was a "light weight" version of it, but I'm not crazy about flying. So the idea of simulating blasting off into space wasn't something I was nuts about. But if my Mom was able to do it and handle it, I knew I could. The guys did the "hardcore" one and busted my chops for doing the lightweight version. I headed in and hoped for the best.

It wasn't too bad for me. However, I wouldn't race back. I can say I did it. I was out in the gift shop first so I checked out all the fun Star Wars and Buzz Lightyear stuff.

 

[MillerPoppins]

And I found this!

Finally the boys came out. Tim absolutely LOVED this ride. He said he wished he had done it earlier so that he could ride it a few more. I told him to go back on again if he liked it so much but he wanted to grab a drink with Ray before dinner. We headed over cause the boys wanted a Margarita in Mexico. I opted for a Limon Mojito from the Puerto Rico which was delicious and also backed with alcohol. We sat and people watched for a bit while we enjoyed our beverages.

It was then time for our dinner ADR. Tim was in the dark again regarding where we were going. I had planned Coral Reef because Tim has a huge love of the sea. He had been at sea for 10 years and is happy to be living by the water. I thought this would be a special, romantic choice for our last dinner in Disney. We wandered over and as soon as we made the turn for Nemo, his eyes lit up.

He hadn't noticed this restaurant during the trip at all so he was psyched to see what was in store.

We went in and registered. As Tim wandered away to sit down, I asked for a table close to the tank. The host told me she would do her best.

It was minutes later that we were taken in. I was surprised with the room being set up almost like a theater. My request was filled by having us one two top table away from the tank. However, it felt like we were sitting in the middle of the walkway. Like I said earlier, I learned on this trip that couples don't always get the best seating due to their only being two of us. And this verified that 100%. Our server came over and took our orders quickly. We learned from our mistake the night before with the appetizer, so we skipped out on that and each got the wine that was matched with our meals.

Not long after our bread basket was delivered, our food was out. Tim had gotten the scallops and I got the mahi mahi.

I had heard great things about this meal but it was just ok to me. It had decent flavor but the portion seemed really small. Tim really liked his a lot. He also loved watching the fish in the tank. My real bummer with the meal was how ridiculously LOUD this restaurant was. So much for romantic. Oh well.

On to dessert, Tim got the chocolate wave as I knew this was the celebration selection. I opted for the cheesecake napoleon.

They were delicious! I actually really loved the Chocolate Wave, even though I am not a huge chocolate fan. It was truly fantastic! Mine was pretty awesome too. We both had coffee and actually talked a lot to the couple that ended up next to us. They were from Jersey also and had been to Disney over 40 times! They were really fun to talk to. Shortly after, we headed out. I wouldn't rule out Coral Reef again, I just wouldn't push at much hope on it as I did before. I learned on this trip that their aren't a whole lot of restaurants in the park that can be called "romantic" due to sound levels and families. But the meal was still wonderful and so was the ambiance.

We headed upstairs to the observation deck to take some photos.

 

[MillerPoppins]

As we left the building, my depression starting to creep back. It was dark already and this day had FLOWN by so quickly. But as Tim kept telling me, it wasn't over yet. We strolled back to World Showcase to find a spot for Illuminations. Ray had left us and headed over to the Beach & Yacht Club and told us we would meet up with him and Jennie when we were done. So we headed back towards France and Great Britain to watch the show. We waited about 20 minutes and during the whole thing I just kept trying to soak up all I could of the Epcot energy. I kept watching all the people wandering around Great Britain.

Finally, it was time.

Within minutes, ROE was over and so was our day at Epcot. I waved goodbye to Epcot and we headed through the International Gateway. I wanted to walk but Tim wanted to take a boat so since it was there, we hopped on. He thought it would be romantic. Yeah...not so much. It was ridiculously packed and some guy next to us kept farting. So yeah, super romantic.

We finally made it to the Beach Club and headed in to Martha's Vineyard Lounge. On the way, we took some more photos.

Tim was really impressed with the resort and the pool area which I have always loved.

We headed in and had a drink with Jennie and Ray. Both of us were wiped though, so after one we decided to call it a night. Sadly, this was the last time we would see Ray and Jennie. It still is difficult saying by to Jennie with how close we are but never knowing when we'll see each other next. Tim and I were both so appreciative of everything she had done for us. Both with the pins and letting us park hop.

We sadly grabbed a bus over to DTD then back to ASM. I was still hungry as my dinner did not satisfy me and Tim was the same so we grabbed a personal pizza to share back in the room. We packed up most of our stuff and sadly climbed in bed for our last night in Disney.

 

[MillerPoppins]

Day 9
Our last day

I woke up so bummed out. This was it. We got showered, dressed and finished packing up the room. We headed out and made our way up front to check our bags into the Magical Express and checkout. There was some miscommunication with our luggage being able to be picked up prior to us getting the bus. We were told it would be taken care of, however when we got up there we found out differently. It wasn't a big deal, but frustrating to be told different things. We stashed our bags with the door men and hopped on a bus to MK. As we pulled up, we arrived at the parks minutes after it opened.

We headed in and made our way straight to Fantasyland. We were on a mission. But as always, we snapped some more photos along the way.
Tim was still so impressed with the castle. He couldn't stop looking at it and taking photos.

We beelined over to Dumbo and Tim hopped right in line. After 9 trips to WDW, I had never been on Dumbo. Every time we went near it, it had a 45 minute wait. So Tim agreed to hop in line, and I ran to Tomorrowland to pick up FP's for another round on Space Mountain. I hustled over and all but ran back.

It was finally time to get on Dumbo!

I was kinda oddly excited for this. Something in Disney I hadn't done yet! I was also excited to see what was past those walls for construction. We got some great shots of what was going on!

And with that, my first ride on Dumbo was over. We were so psyched though that we both got to experience a "first" together.

 

[MillerPoppins]

I asked Tim if there was anywhere else he wanted to hit in Fantasyland before we made our way over to Tomorrowland. He said no and we made our way over. Side note: I found out that night when we got home that It's A Small World opened 5 days earlier then it was scheduled. I was SO MAD! It had been closed all week and we didn't even bother to go over to it because we figured it was still closed and the times guide said it wasn't opening until Saturday. It could have been something else he could have seen. But oh well, next time.

So we headed over to Tomorrowland to hop on Space Mountain. But first we got in line for the Astro Orbiter, another one I had never done.

Great views from up top but we learned a valuable lesson. When they ask how many are in your party, DO NOT SAY MORE THEN ONE if you are not with a small child. This situation was just like the Matterhorn experience that WDWFigment had. Let's just say it was not the most comfortable seating arrangement for either of us.

After another first being accomplished, we headed into Buzz Lightyear. I'm proud to say that Tim didn't even bother to try during this one. He actually just attempted photos while I dominated this round.

I was truly excited as I got my highest score ever! I moved up to Space Ace which I was super psyched about!