Trip Report We shoulda got the grouper! - F&W total domination

EDITED 07.07.17 - Photobucket has updated their policies so my photos aren't displaying. I'll try to switch them all over to Flickr eventually!

Hello, friends! It's been about a week since our trip and I figured I better do this report now before I forget everything. It was a fantastic trip (as usual), and we are already planning our 2017 trip. That one will be pretty big. We'll be celebrating our 5th anniversary and my 30th birthday!

I'll get to the explanation of the title eventually. It was a little joke with us on the trip, but hopefully it'll be funny to y'all as well

Day 1: Thursday

We got up around 4:15 to get ready to leave for the airport. We left out of the Memphis airport, which is 1.5 hours away. We figured that early in the morning the traffic wouldn't be bad, but we were wrong. They've been reconfiguring an interchange for a few years, and it bottlenecks really bad, apparently even at 6am! We had already gotten a late start because I left my AP and a giftcard at work and we had to stop by for them, so I was sweating when we hit that traffic. We still made it to the airport about an hour before takeoff, and Memphis security is really quick most of the time. So we got to our gate in plenty of time. Whew!

Here we go!

This is us on the plane, the fonorail and in line for the bus. The plane landed pretty early, but we didn't gain any time because we got lost finding the Magical Express. It's been 3 years since we flew down, so I had forgotten that you have to cross to B side

We hopped in line for the bus at 10:55 and were on the bus by 11! I also got the text that our room was ready, so everything was going super smoothly. I was just waiting for something to go wrong

The bus driver said the total route was 40 minutes, but we were the first stop, so it wasn't bad. Woot! We headed to our room at the Yacht Club to drop off our bags. We thought it seemed really far from the lobby because it was a lot of turns, but it really wasn't bad. I LOVED the lobby and the general atmosphere at Yacht Club. It smelled so good in there, I just wanted to bottle it up and use it as perfume

Here are some pictures of our room and the Yacht Club lobby

I want that headboard!



Bug spray that I didn't use...I'm the worst. Also, that lamp


The bathroom counters look a lot like my kitchen ones. My fav!


Didn't take a picture of the view, but it was just trees as you can see. It was unfortunately very close to the bus stop and some kind of loading dock, so it was pretty loud sitting out there on the balcony. I was able to tune it out though.


Here's a phone shot since I didn't bring a wide angle lens for my camera.


I wanted a picture with the captain, but I was too shy




This is R buying sunglasses. He realized after we were through security at the airport that he forgot his. We didn't think it was worth going back to get them, so he grabbed some at this gift shop before we left for Epcot. They were just as ugly as the ones he wears at home

That's it for now! I spent like an hour trying to get my pictures on Photobucket and organized, and they're still out of order. ARGH.

Up next, our first foray into Food & Wine Festival for the year!

 

[DonnaOnTheRocks]

No ive never heard of it! Sounds like I would like the food though

We have Pollo Tropical's in Nashville, so good! What part of TN are you from?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Great trip report. You've got a great balance of photos, text, details etc. and it's quite enjoyable to read!

 

[LeighM]

Same here!! Our beagle sleeps with us, and he takes up as much room as he possibly can . Bless him. I'm glad we're not the only ones that do this! I

My husband and I always sleep in separate beds at WDW. Apparently, I'm an overactive furnace or something like that. And I have a 12 pound Pom that somehow takes up the entire lower half of the bed. I'm not quite sure how he does it....

 

[sheriffwoody]

We have Pollo Tropical's in Nashville, so good! What part of TN are you from?

I'm definitely going to try one! I am hoping to make a trip up there the week of my birthday for a concert. We'll see I'm from Jackson...a couple of hours down 1-40. Not too far!

Great trip report. You've got a great balance of photos, text, details etc. and it's quite enjoyable to read!

Thanks so much! I do try to make it interesting, so I'm glad you're enjoying it

 

[MinnieM123]

I'll trade you guys your beagle and schnauzer for this "little" girl...
View attachment 171782
Sorry about the sideways pic...hehe

Oh, she's precious!! Beautiful dog!!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 2: Friday (continued)

I think when I left off, we had headed back to the Yacht Club to hang out for a bit.



R stayed in the room and took a nap, and I really wanted to check out the pool. He has absolutely no interest in swimming or pool lounging with me, unfortunately. So I put on my suit and took my book down to the pool. I couldn't decide whether to swim or read first, so I just walked around looking at all the different areas of the pool. It's huge! There are so many little nooks there, I just about got lost. I finally found a chair that wasn't in full sun and around a bunch of other people, and I put my book and stuff down. I wrapped the towel around me (soooo not confident enough to just walk around in my bathing suit) and tried to find a quiet place to get in the pool. I didn't want to creepily swim around a bunch of kids, so I found a little cove near the lockers. Well after about 5 minutes two dudes came over and disturbed my peace . So I got out. It was fun, but I wasn't brave enough to explore by myself. Oh well!

I went back to my chair and read for a few minutes, then a couple came over and took two chairs next to me. I wasn't digging the idea of sitting that close to people, though they were perfectly nice. I ended up just putting my clothes back on and going for a walk around the boardwalk. I stopped over by Atlantic Dance Hall and read on a bench for a bit until I dozed off. I don't think I dozed long, but it was a nice little power nap! I walked back to the room after that and showered before we headed back to Epcot.

What did we do next? EAT! Duh!

Ireland

• Seafood Fisherman’s Pie – $6.50
• Bunratty Meade Honey Wine – $5.50

We loved this fisherman's pie last year, and it was no different this year! We loved the pudding last year too, but it was teeny tiny. It looked like they maybe increased the portion this year though, so I wish we'd gotten it. The honey wine was also tasty!

We walked on toward the International Gateway, and I grabbed something that caught my eye earlier that day.



Joffrey's (Canada)

• Kahlúa-tini Iced Coffee: chilled roasted Coffee topped with Kahlúa, Grey Goose Vodka and creamy Half & Half – $8.49

This tasted just ok, but it would have been better with good coffee. Joffrey's coffee is disgusting (I think this is my unpopular opinion), so I should have known better. At least it was cold and refreshing.

But we were near Canada at this point, so...why not?!



Canada

• Canadian cheddar cheese soup served with a pretzel roll – $4.75
• Neige Premiere Apple Ice Wine, Québec – $6.00

We are huge steak snobs, so we just get the soup here, and the pretzel roll is like my favorite thing in the world. I just pretend it's not 90 degrees outside and enjoy the heck out of that soup! R was pretty into the apple wine. We were surprising ourselves getting all this wine when we never drink wine at home.



Next up was something I was looking forward to, Greece!

• Chicken Gyro with Tzatziki Sauce featuring Oikos® Greek Yogurt – $4.50
  
• Spanakopita – $4.25
• Vegan Loaded Greek “Nachos”: Pita Chips, Meatless Sausage Crumbles, and Vegan Tzatziki – $4.50

MMMM I love Greek food. If I had to pick one style of cuisine to eat forever, it would be Greek/Mediterranean. I shot a wedding last year where the bride's family was Greek, and they had all Greek food. I ate so much, and her mom loaded me up with a bunch to take home. It was amazing.

Where were we? Oh yeah, GREECE! Everything was delicious (to me). R wasn't crazy about any of it, so this was my arena. I think he only took one bite of the spanakopita, but he helped a lot with the pita chip dish.

After this, I was starting to feel full, but we had a lot more world to taste!

We stopped by Desserts & Champagne next

• Hard Soda Floats with Vanilla Soft-Serve (alcoholic) – Best Damn Hard Root Beer Float – $6.00

This is something I would skip if they didn't have floats. Champagne is gross...I don't care what you say. But luckily, they do have floats! Both ice cream and root beer are delicious in my book, so gimme!

At this point we decided maybe we'd try La Cava again. I already knew it would still be packed, but I let R believe that maybe the line would be down.

We stopped at Patagonia on the way.

• Beef Empanada – $4.75
• Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Boniato Purée – $5.75

We've had both of these before, and they're still good. They seem unchanged from last year, which I'm glad of. They are both excellent dishes! I particularly love the skewer for the chimichurri sauce. I've had better empanadas from a food truck in town, but this one is still decent.

Anyone want to guess how the line at La Cava was?

Oh you think it was still packed? You're right. Prize for you!

Luckily the Three Caballeros were super hospitable and let us take a boat ride around Mexico with them.




When we left Mexico, I wanted to explore Norway a little more to see all the new areas.



We decided earlier in the day that we wanted to go over to Hollywood to see the Star Wars fireworks, so we didn't stop much the rest of the way around. We did make a few stops though, but I'll save those for next post!

Up next: One more festival item and then Hollywood!

 

[Tuvalu]

Woody and I call this the "relaxation grotto." It's our favorite part of Stormalong Bay.

NEVER be ashamed to walk around a pool in your bathing suit!

Please tell me, oh lover of Greek food, that you have dined at a Zoe's Kitchen....

 

[LeighM]

Woody and I call this the "relaxation grotto." It's our favorite part of Stormalong Bay.

View attachment 171890
NEVER be ashamed to walk around a pool in your bathing suit!

I chuckled when I read that because it reminded me of the women on the Disney Springs bus during my trip. They didn't change into regular clothes, a wrap, or even a towel. Just wore their wet bikinis onto the bus. Of course, you could tell they were uncomfortable because those buses can be freezing when wearing clothes LOL. Not sure who I felt worse for - the cold bikini women or the men sitting near them not knowing where they could look I think one of the older men stared at his feet the entire ride back to Port Orleans.

 

[Tuvalu]

I chuckled when I read that because it reminded me of the women on the Disney Springs bus during my trip. They didn't change into regular clothes, a wrap, or even a towel. Just wore their wet bikinis onto the bus. Of course, you could tell they were uncomfortable because those buses can be freezing when wearing clothes LOL. Not sure who I felt worse for - the cold bikini women or the men sitting near them not knowing where they could look I think one of the older men stared at his feet the entire ride back to Port Orleans.

To clarify, I said at a pool ~ outside the fence, it's cover-up time, please!

 

[DisneyMorgan]

Ugh, I-40 being crazy early in the morning is stressing me out for next week! I'll be happy when they are done with all of that construction!! I wonder if it will take them as long as its taking Arkansas to do all of the construction after you cross the bridge

Anyway, loving this so far!! Your pictures of MNSSHP are awesome, I loved it last year! Y'all are killin F&W! Can't wait to read more

 

[Mrhappyplace]

Loving this trip report! Lots of great pics, hoping to stay at Yacht Club in the future and always love looking at the food options at F&W.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Woody and I call this the "relaxation grotto." It's our favorite part of Stormalong Bay.

View attachment 171890
NEVER be ashamed to walk around a pool in your bathing suit!

Please tell me, oh lover of Greek food, that you have dined at a Zoe's Kitchen....

Haha, I guess it's not so much shame...I don't know. If I wasn't by myself, I'd be totally fine walking around without a coverup on. I'm more insecure when I'm alone for some reason. Also, nope haven't been to a Zoe's Kitchen either! But you're giving my quite the list of places to try when I'm in other cities!

Ugh, I-40 being crazy early in the morning is stressing me out for next week! I'll be happy when they are done with all of that construction!! I wonder if it will take them as long as its taking Arkansas to do all of the construction after you cross the bridge

Anyway, loving this so far!! Your pictures of MNSSHP are awesome, I loved it last year! Y'all are killin F&W! Can't wait to read more

That flyover seems to be taking FOREVER to complete! It better be a huge improvement when it's done or it won't have been worth it. It seems like it's been going on for at least 2 years. But hey, at least I don't have to go that far to get to the new IKEA!!!! I'm so pumped about that .

Thanks so much for following along!

Loving this trip report! Lots of great pics, hoping to stay at Yacht Club in the future and always love looking at the food options at F&W.

Thanks so much! It's a beautiful resort...well the whole area over there is really nice.


Sorry for the delay, guys! Photobucket is still causing me issues. When it actually loads it slows my browser down or crashes it completely. I'm switching to Safari to see if that works. Also got knocked out by a stomach virus Friday and still had to do a bridal shoot that night and a wedding yesterday . It's been a rough weekend! Now that I actually feel human again though, I'll try to update tonight after Trunk or Treat at church

 

[samantha788]

Your pictures are amazing!! I'm so jealous haha
LOVING your report so much! Laughing as I read and trying not to forget any of my thoughts as I catch up

The grouper story is hilarious, I could totally picture it as I was reading.
The Yacht Club looks amaaaaaazing! Yacht/Beach club is my dream next to the Poly Your photos are just reassuring that.
We did notice a lot of Boardwalk conference people at the end of our trip, but not enough to affect anything. I actually totally forgot about it until I read what you wrote
The narration of the fireworks like you described drives me crazy too! I don't care if I have it memorized, it's distracting, annoying, and takes away from the experience.
You tried so many different food & wine things than we did, I can't wait to go back and get everything you did!!
I loved the story of seeing your boss and his family, so sweet - I hope they had a blast.

Also, I use Flickr for my photos and never have had a problem. Plus the app is the best--all my photos ever stored in one place that I can access anywhere without taking up space on my phone or computer. It's a dream!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Your pictures are amazing!! I'm so jealous haha
LOVING your report so much! Laughing as I read and trying not to forget any of my thoughts as I catch up

The grouper story is hilarious, I could totally picture it as I was reading.
The Yacht Club looks amaaaaaazing! Yacht/Beach club is my dream next to the Poly Your photos are just reassuring that.
We did notice a lot of Boardwalk conference people at the end of our trip, but not enough to affect anything. I actually totally forgot about it until I read what you wrote
The narration of the fireworks like you described drives me crazy too! I don't care if I have it memorized, it's distracting, annoying, and takes away from the experience.
You tried so many different food & wine things than we did, I can't wait to go back and get everything you did!!
I loved the story of seeing your boss and his family, so sweet - I hope they had a blast.

Also, I use Flickr for my photos and never have had a problem. Plus the app is the best--all my photos ever stored in one place that I can access anywhere without taking up space on my phone or computer. It's a dream!

So glad you're enjoying it! You would LOVE Yacht and Beach club! It was such a relaxing atmosphere. Also, I don't even think I've covered half the F&W stuff we tried . We were on a mission to try at least one thing from each place in the passport! It was a much more difficult mission than I thought it would be. My boss's family had the trip of a lifetime. I have talked to him a little since they got back, and he just keeps saying how epic it was! It really makes me appreciate organizations like Make-a-Wish and Give Kids the World.

I think I'm going to try Flickr from now on. I used to use Flickr all the time, but for some reason I thought it didn't give you a code to embed in posts like this. Guess they've changed that! Thanks for the tip

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 2: Friday (continued)

When I left off, I think we were heading back toward the International Gateway. I don't remember if one of us was still a smidgen hungry or if we just wanted to squeeze in one more booth, but we stopped at Refreshment Cool Post in "Africa." Quotes because it's such a half-hearted part of World Showcase.

• Spicy Hot Dog with Kimchi and Mustard Sauce – $6.50
• Frozen Brown Elephant – $9.50

Both of these things were SO GOOD! R loves hot dogs. I think they're a little gross, but I'll eat one now and then. I just really like kimchi, so I enjoyed that topping. The drink was basically like a frozen Coke, which was delicious, especially since the sun was out and it was feeling a bit hot.



I don't remember if I've mentioned this, but the weather was actually awesome while we were there! It was cloudy a lot, which kept it from feeling too hot. The only times we got hot were when we had to stand around or walk a lot when the sun was blazing down, which wasn't too much! I was pleasantly surprised by this since it's been crazy warm back home.




On our way out, I had to make a pit stop to get my fix. I bought the big bag this time. Should have bought more! I didn't go back for any after this bag, and I still regret it.

I think we were out of Epcot by 6:30. We ended up stopping by Guest Services to upgrade R to an annual pass. We're going to do a 5th anniversary trip next year and since they have that 13th month promotion, it was perfect! We kept checking the guest services lines every time we came or went, and this was the first time we saw someone without a line. He got R upgraded pretty quickly, then I asked really sweetly if I could possibly get the 13th month since my pass had renewed on Oct 1st, one day before the promotion started.

The cast member fiddled around on his keyboard for an eternity and finally gave me some form to fill out. Then he typed some more...and some more (seriously, what in the world are they typing?!)...and gave me a new pass with an extended date! It was actually good I stopped anyway because they hadn't sent me a new pass when I renewed, so I still had an old card. That set us back some, but we still made it to Hollywood Studios by 7:20.




Spooky tower!

We walked up toward the stage and got a pretty good spot for the 8pm show. There was a family in front of us with a bunch of glow sticks, and the little boy started making figures with them. He made a tie fighter and a jedi. It was pretty creative!




A little before it started, we connected with my boss and they were just a few "rows" behind us. Their youngest came over and asked if we wanted to stand with them. I hated to leave our good spot, but I couldn't say no to him! So we headed back there to stand with them. They got to tell me all about their day while we waited.



I was super disappointed in the show because the audio wasn't turned up. I couldn't hear it at all until the last minute of the show. As I said earlier when I was talking about Soarin', I'm a huge score person! And John Williams is a master, so that was what I was most looking forward to! I was so annoyed, but there wasn't anything I could do about it, so I just tried to enjoy what I could see of the projections. I'm hoping it'll still be there next year and we can try again.

We didn't stick around to do anything because the lines were really long. It was apparently a really busy day at the studios!


We got back to the Yacht Club around 9, and despite being tired, we decided to try out the lounge there, Ale and Compass.

The bartender was great. She was friendly and chatted with us a little bit. We were surprised to discover that it was basically the same menu at Tambu with the exception of a few items. I guess it makes sense, but for some reason it made Tambu less special. That used to be our tradition, but we didn't end up going this year since we went to Ale and Compass.



Anyway, I can't find the menu online, but we got some stuff . I remember that I got a Moscow Mule, but that's I forget what else we got. We also ordered the truffle fries, which were delicious. We scarfed those things down!



Habanero margarita maybe? Is that a thing?



Mmmmmm those were good.

We just enjoyed our time there and talked for a while. This is why I LOVE vacations. We never just sit and talk at home because we're always doing stuff, so these one-on-one moments are really special.

That's all for day 2! We got in bed pretty early that night, which was good because we still needed to catch up from Thursday night.

Next up: Day 3. Animal Kingdom and RAIN (of course)

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 3: Saturday

When we first planned this trip it was Thurs-Sun, so we planned on just doing Epcot and MK. We ended up adding Monday and Tuesday to the mix, but we didn't really add plans for the other two parks. R said he'd like to go to AK for at least a few hours, so we decided on this day since our FP+ in Epcot wasn't until later in the day. We woke up around 7:45 and left the room about an hour later. I think we only waited 2-3 minutes for a bus, and we arrived at Animal Kingdom at 9:10.

I brought my bag this day because I wanted my long lens for the safari. Of course bag check took forever because the lady checking bags in the line I chose was slowwwwww. She was luckily "relieved" of her duty after a while and the replacement was much quicker, though still very thorough.



We walked into the park and went over to Asia because I wanted to ride Everest before it got super busy. The line was about 30 minutes at that point, and R said he was fine doing single rider. As we were in line it started to rain. I was worried it would get shut down, but the CM nearby said they only close down if there's lightning or if the rain is super heavy. This was just a light sprinkle so we were good to go.

We got on in about 10 minutes, and I LOVED Everest in the rain! I think it would have been rough with a harder rain, but it was cool in a light sprinkle. The little boy I rode with was adorable. That's one whole family I'm with, so I felt a little weird being the standout in their photo . I would also like to clarify that my HEAD HAIR is flying around, I do not have pit hair. Not that pit hair is bad...but you know...I just wanted to clarify.



After our ride, we headed over to Africa to wait for the safari. It was still raining a bit, so we had our ponchos on.



Our safari wait was only about 10 minutes, so that was nice! It didn't rain much while we were on there, and it was a nice little expedition! I got a few pictures I like.







The lady behind me kept making comments like "oh that's a good shot." I assumed she was talking to herself or someone with her, but at one point, I was just looking at the animals and we got a short glimpse of one but I didn't take a picture. I don't sit there with my camera up the whole time...I like to just enjoy it. But anyway, she exclaimed "Oh you missed a good one!" and I realized she'd been talking to be the whole time. I just kind of awkwardly nodded at her, but it was weird. One of my pet peeves at weddings is when people are like "oh you need to get this! This is a great picture!" or they tell me I missed something good. I am a diva photographer

Ok back to pictures.


My favs . Have you guys ever seen a baby giraffe?! I could die. These animals are so precious.






The cheetah was struttin' around!





Those lionesses followed us with their eyes

I really wanted to catch Festival of the Lion King, but it was another half hour before the next show, so we just headed out. We were both getting ready to eat and wanted to hold out for Food & Wine Fest items. We at least got to walk around and see the park a little, even though the rain hindered us a bit.


Next time!


We passed Flick right as it was about to start raining again. They pulled him as we were walking by. We ducked into a store for 5 minutes, and when we emerged, it was bright and sunny. Florida


Stopped for a Tree of Life photo on the way out.

We were at the bus stop at about 10:55, and waited about 10 minutes. That was the longest bus wait we had, I think. So we were pretty lucky all trip!

Next up: Epcot. Yep, again!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Day 3: Saturday (continued)

On the bus to Epcot, there was a guy who decided to stand at the front even though there were lots of seats. I heard him say he gets motion sickness. As soon as the bus stopped, he ran off and to the bushes. I felt so bad for him! I can't imagine doing that for your whole vacation, so I hope that was an isolated incident for him.


No time for photopass, gotta get in there!

We headed straight to World Showcase when we got in. Bag check here was much quicker than AK on this particular day. As we walked past Spaceship Earth, we saw this Mobile Muppet Lab thing happening. Not sure what that was, but it looked cute. I kind of wanted to watch, but I was getting a bit hangry.



Our first stop of the day was New Zealand

• Lamb Meatball with Spicy Tomato Chutney – $5.25
• Seared Venison Loin with Wild Mushroom Marsala Sauce and Kumara Dumpling – $6.25

These were both favs from last year, and they were as good as ever! Side note, my friend is on a month+ long trip in New Zealand and he is killing me with all the pictures he's been posting. It looks like a dream, and I want to go there so badly now!

We were getting ready to try our next place and suddenly noticed that is was significantly more crowded than it had been. I could already tell I wasn't going to want to stick around all day like we planned, and I floated the idea of Via Napoli for a late lunch. I couldn't find us anything close to lunch, but I got us a 4:30 early dinner reservation. @Doc Disney had me wanting to try their pizza! We ate there on our honeymoon, and it was just ok. We weren't blown away, but we didn't get pizza (rookies).

Anyway, once that was decided, we hopped in line for Mexico. It was the longest so far, or at least the waiting for food line was. Ordering line was short.

• Taco de Camarón: Battered Shrimp served over a Flour Tortilla with Crispy Purple Cabbage and Chipotle Mayonnaise – $5.75
• Barbacoa Enchilada: Corn Tortilla filled with Beef Barbacoa and covered with Oaxaca Mole – $5.50
• Jalapeño Margarita on the Rocks – $9.00

R got the margarita, but it didn't satisfy him. He still wanted the one from La Cava . The taco and enchilada were both very good! R thought the enchilada would have been better with a flour tortilla, but I disagree. I really like corn tortillas and I wish more places used them! They do fall apart easier, but I like the texture.



It was such a pleasant day, now that the rain was gone! Nice and cloudy to keep the temp down. Since we were right there, we hopped over to the Craft Beer building again.



This was the flight number two, which consisted of these:

• Concrete Beach Stiltsville Pilsner, Miami, FL – $4.00
• 3 Daughters Bimini Twist IPA, St. Petersburg, FL – $4.00
• Shipyard Midnight Snack Milk Stout, Clearwater, FL – $4.00

They were all pretty good.

When we came back out, the right side of Australia had a short line, so we hopped in.

• Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bush Berry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion and Snap Peas – $5.00
• Coopers Brewery Extra Strong Vintage Ale – $4.00

I don't remember eating much of this, so I guess this was R's thing. I am not the biggest shrimp fan, so I usually just taste those dishes and move on.

Our next booth was one of my favs, South Korea

• Roasted Pork Lettuce Wrap and Kimchi – $4.00
• iCing Grapefruit Sparkling Rice Brew – $4.00

MMMM both of these things were amazing! The lettuce wrap was hard to eat as a wrap, so when it fell apart, I just ate it with a fork. That rice brew thing was also surprisingly good, and very refreshing. At this point I was super thirsty, and getting very full. I don't think it was even 1 yet and our FP+ for Frozen Ever After wasn't until 2:45.

We decided to go ahead and get something from Poland

• Golabki: Pork-stuffed Cabbage in Tomato Sauce – $5.50
• Kielbasa and Potato Pierogi with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream – $5.50

I love the pierogi, so I scarfed that down, and R loved the golabki. I think that might have been his favorite thing the whole time! I tried it, and it was fine. Kind of reminded me of the cabbage soup my nana makes, except for not in soup form.


A little Germany watching while I ate pierogi.

At this point I tapped out on food. We headed into that quick service in the America pavilion for me to get some water, and we just sat in there for a bit. We were going to go to the Chase lounge, but there was a line out the door. After I thought about it when we got home, those people may have been waiting for the elevator, so we may have been fine to go up. Oh well!

After I got my fill of water, we headed back to the room. We were going to stay for Frozen, but we had over 2 hours before the FP would expire, so we figured we'd go rest a bit.

On the way out, R stopped at Japan

• Garlic Shrimp: Marinated Shrimp sautéed with Garlic and Butter and served over Rice – $6.95

So bland! So far nothing from Japan during F&W has impressed me. I love sushi, but I don't love the roll they serve there. I'll have to try the edamame next time, but I don't anticipate being wowed by that either. Maybe it's just because we have 3-4 really good Japanese places in town?


Took this in Morocco on the way out.

Anyway, we got back to the room around 1 and I napped and read a bit. Was nice to rest after all that strenuous eating!

Up next: Finally riding Frozen!

 

[MinnieM123]

OMG! Your animal photos are excellent! It's nearly impossible for most people to ever get a clear photo of a cheetah--they blend in with their background, and are very discreet. Love the lionesses and the tiger, too.

 

[sheriffwoody]

OMG! Your animal photos are excellent! It's nearly impossible for most people to ever get a clear photo of a cheetah--they blend in with their background, and are very discreet. Love the lionesses and the tiger, too.

Thank you! That was the first time I've seen a cheetah up and walking around! I'm like you, I always see them blending in and kind of hiding in the background.

 

[Tuvalu]

On the bus to Epcot, there was a guy who decided to stand at the front even though there were lots of seats. I heard him say he gets motion sickness. As soon as the bus stopped, he ran off and to the bushes. I felt so bad for him! I can't imagine doing that for your whole vacation, so I hope that was an isolated incident for him.

I think this was the same guy in the monorail car with me and Em in July!

So jealous you saw the Muppet Mobile Lab (though you should have stuck around!)