We've been talking about it for awhile, but we haven't acted on it. My daughter in FL has a long weekend as we do too. The only issue was that my wife just started her new job a month ago and she was reluctant to ask for time off. She decided to ask this morning and her new manager said "Yes !" So we started looking and booking. My wife and I both have airline miles so that's taken care of. My daughter will pick us up at the airport so that's taken care of. Looks like we'll be leaving from PHL Thursday night and arriving in Orlando around midnight. Plans will be discussed tonight when we do our nightly call with our daughter. We'll have 3.5 days because our departing flight leaves from Jacksonville at 6:00 PM on Monday. We'll be able to squeeze a half day at a park Monday. We were sad that we missed the Christmas holidays at the parks this year; probably the first time in 20 yrs. This last-minute trip is a bonus so we're very excited.
It's a special feeling when finally walking onto Main Street after the car ride, flight, traffic, and planning. The sounds and smells of DW just make it that much better. Although our hotel had a breakfast buffet, we did not partake. We had one mission. We were heading up Main Street with stop number one going to be Casey's. My wife already did the online order for a foot long chili dog. My daughter and I were headed just a short distance from Casey's to the spring roll food cart. I guess the word was out because there was a massive line waiting for the best spring rolls in the world. Cheeseburger rolls and the brand new 50th anniversary pastrami and pepper jack spring rolls with mustard dip. Awesome ! Two pastrami orders and one cheeseburger. As you can see from the picture, we took no prisoners. I snapped that pic with half the chili dog already gone. Mission #1 accomplished for this trip. First 50th Anniversary specialty food sampled.
With full bellies, we discarded the paper trash because there was nothing left but paper and some plastic forks/knives We sat around and people-watched for a little while. We then took a slow walk over towards the Haunted Mansion. All rides, with the exception of Carousel of Progress were at least a 45 minute wait. I'll say it for the first time, and I'll probably say it again, Genie/Lightning Lane have ruined my pandemic Disney World experience. We're already a Pennsylvania family who pays for annual passes so it's not like we get to go to the park once a week. When we first went when the parks first reopened and there were no non-American visitors, it was incredible (nothing against non-Americans). The lines have now slowed to a crawl with Disney's new money grab (Genie/Lightning Lane). My daughter who was in the Disney College Program gave us the lowdown on the Fast Pass program telling us that Cast Members were required to admit 10 Fast Passers onto a ride for every 1 Standby person. That's why the wait times are now extended because 100 LL's are pushed through the line for every 10 Standbys. I refuse to give the company any more of my hard-earned money. Disney continues to take more and offer less. It's frustrating. OK, I'm rambling. I'm a hypocrite. Just wait to see what happens the next day with Figment......
After a nice lunch and brief rest we headed to my favorite spot in MK; the Haunted Mansion. I was a bit disappointed with the 50 minute wait during an "an early January offseason" (which there are no more offseasons, although this was MLK weekend). We watched Bean on the video cam on our phones at Best Friends daycare. He rarely interacts with other dogs at his apartment complex's dog park; he just likes to play fetch with anyone who can throw a tennis ball 20 yards. But he seems to open up at Best Friend's and wrestle and play with the other dogs; very cute to watch and pass the time away while slugging through our Standby line and watching those Lighting Laners skip right by us. Do I seem a bit upset/jealous ?
After our exit from HM we agreed to head over towards Tomorrowland. Peter Pan 80 minute wait; no. Small World 70 minute wait; no. Mickey's PhilharMagic 30 minute wait; OK. I wanted to see the new and improved digital enhancements as well as the edited film. I must say that it is a much higher quality in both sound and video. But this is back to the old jam-them-in push all the way forward attractions. Full house, but you still have those families who want to plop right in the middle of the row for their best view. I like to pick them out and intentionally tramp across them since they don't respect the rest of us. Yea, I'm a curmudgeon even in the happiest place on Earth. Respect the rest of us, and I'll respect you.
After a quite enjoyable Mickey's Philharmagic we continued our slow roll to Tomorrowland. I had to check the ice cream stand to see if that lemon-blueberry ice cream was back. Not yet, it was your basic vanilla chocolate mixes so I wasn't going to cheat my diet for them.
The Tron construction seems to be moving along. I really miss the train not being able to run because of it. We waited 45 minutes for the People Mover. I've said it before that there's so much dead space during that ride that they could do more with. Just a few more displays of some current Disney properties would make it that much more interesting. The only reason we ride it now as a family is because it gives you 15 minutes to sit down and relax. Honestly, I think my wife falls asleep five minutes into the ride every single time. Carousel of Progress is another snoozer for my wife. I've heard her snoring many times before the early 1900's Valentines Day scene.
We started to make our way back to Main St. to do some shopping after the People Mover. After my wife had a cookies and cream milkshake it didn't settle too well with her. She was leaving us every fifteen minutes to find the closest restroom so my daughter and I made our way up the street and hit every store. My daughter pointed out the "limited edition" 50th Anniversary Coach handbag that my wife bought last year still proudly displayed on the shelf. Limited edition for what, 50,000 pieces ? Another Disney money grab. As I stood out on the street enjoying the day, I noticed something that I've never seen before. Several of the second floor windows on the Main Street storefronts were open. My daughter pointed out that some of those upstairs rooms are actually offices for store managers. She knew that because one of her Disney College Program friends was called into a manager's office upstairs. But some store fronts are just phony facades or storage spaces.
As we did some shopping and hung around Main St. while waiting for mom to get back from her stomach issues, we had a cavalcade come through. I think they do a good job with sending different groups through that hold the interest of the crowds and entertain everyone.
We were window shopping as we were waiting for our reservation time at Crystal Palace. It would be our first time back to CP in almost 10 years. But these limited edition 50th Anniversary items caught our attention. We don't have that kind of "throw away" money although I would think they'd definitely increase in value in the next decades.
The Crystal Palace changed from the last time I was there. No characters and a different variety of food. Last time I looked into making reservations there because my wife and daughter were going to Be Our Guest and I was looking to take my sons somewhere. My youngest son was not going to eat $45 of chicken fingers so we didn't do it. During this visit the peel and eat shrimp was good, but the mahi mahi which was the daily fish had the consistency of an Ugg boot; very dry and flavorless. The prime rib was tasty, but I like a king cut, and this chef was making 'pancake' cuts about 1/4" thick. I don't think I ate $40 worth of food, but it was a nice experience. I did have a nice Seven Oaks Cabernet and Franciscan Chardonnay. Our first day at the parks was a nice opening experience and we were planning on taking a post-dinner stroll through Magic Kingdom as we got ready to pick up Bean at Best Friends kennel.
So, we started our exit on another fulfilling day at Magic Kingdom. Good food, great weather, and time well spent with the family although my boys were back home in PA doing gosh knows what at my home I told you that I was a sucker for fountains. Started the day with one, and ending the day with one
We were window shopping as we were waiting for our reservation time at Crystal Palace. It would be our first time back to CP in almost 10 years. But these limited edition 50th Anniversary items caught our attention. We don't have that kind of "throw away" money although I would think they'd definitely increase in value in the next decades.
I just can't imagine wearing this! I guess it's meant for display and/ or collectors - but I just don't think these 'ears' are attractive. I also love that you can only purchase two.
I just can't imagine wearing this! I guess it's meant for display and/ or collectors - but I just don't think these 'ears' are attractive. I also love that you can only purchase two.
It was a long day on Thursday when we bedded down around 2:30 AM, and then we had to be up by 7:30 AM Friday to guarantee that Bean had play time at Best Friends. I was running on a pistachio latte from Starbucks and a few wines from Crystal Palace. We didn't have to pick Bean up from Best Friends until one hour after the parks closed (10:00PM) so we decided that we were going to do some shopping at Downtown Disney. I also would be handing the car keys to the wife after we got there because I was looking for a few Long Island Iced Teas on this cool Florida night. Yes, a few. It was a beautiful night. The same band that was playing outside the Disney Store on stage last time we were there was playing again. They're a very tight band with some covers and originals. I sipped a Long Island and listened to the band while my wife hit the pin store and my daughter hit the Disney Store. I really wanted to get a 50th Anniversary hoodie, but I didn't pull the trigger. I regret it because it's difficult to find them online. I need to get back there.
THIRD FOUNTAIN OF THE DAY !
We were at Epcot a bit early because it's imperative that we get Bean to Best Friends kennel because they do cap off the outdoor playtime at a certain number. If you're there after 10:00AM you will not get a slot. We were early, but that's fine. No breakfast; just coffees because we were saving room to sample a lot of great food. First thing I noticed was all of the people with those damn Figments hanging off of their bodies. I had no clue. I guess the Deluxe resort members were given early admission and they loaded up on those plastic molded characters.
Oh well. We stopped at a few tent displays to view the art. It was phenomenal. These people are so blessed and talented. I'm still contemplating converting one of our rooms back home in PA to a Disney-themed space. Our one bathroom is a Wildwood boardwalk themed space, so why not Disney ? If we go Disney, we'll end up going all out. I tried to convince my wife to convert our dining room into Haunted Mansion theme........no.
It was great to see interaction with all people in a playing environment. I have pictures from three trip reports ago where the entrance to these playgrounds within the parks were roped off as 'closed.' Very morbid. Now, there's some hope. Not because of a political party or particular administration, but because of our resolve as good people. Pat yourself on the back.
We walked through the Epcot Experience to use the restrooms. My remembrance of that location was from last year when my daughter and I visited the Food and Wine Festival and there was three inches of rain and 25 mph winds. I never wore a pair of Crocs in my life, but I made a promise that day that I would buy a pair to own whenever there was rain forecasted during a park visit. My beautiful angel white and blue Adidas sneakers were soaked through during that visit. I remember taking my socks and sneakers off while driving on Rte 417 back to Jacksonville to let my wrinkly, pruned feet dry out. You'll see our frumpy group pic when we visited Hollywood Studios and we looked like a pathetic group because we all dressed for cool weather and rain a few posts further during this trip.
OK, it's kickoff time ! Our first stop was at the Deconstructed outdoor kitchen. There was a full line waiting at this booth so you know it's well received even before the opening. To their credit they opened 10 minutes early (10:50 AM). The staff was great because they were out working up the crowd as they were getting all of the dishes ready to distribute. I found a table and stood at it until our first sampling of the Arts Festival would be served. The first order of the day was a deconstructed BLT, deconstructed French onion soup, and deconstructed apple pie a' lamode. Oh, and I ventured away from our reserved table when my wife and daughter returned from the 20 minute wait to scurry over to the closeby Deco Delights booth for a Neopolitan beer flight of strawberry blond nitro, vanilla porter, and milk stoudt. I also couldn't avoid the beautifully plated orange mousse lemon cake and raspberry meringues. Diet, be gone !!!! (at least for January 2022)
We took a nice stroll through England. As we were exiting the garden, I could have sworn it was a statue, but no, she moved. It was Mary Poppins. Hey there Mary ! I wanted to try the sparkling Chardonnay and my daughter wanted to get a brie bowl at France so that's where we headed.
This is where the obsession started. As we walked around my daughter's phone starting lighting up and she was saying that these Figment popcorn buckets were on Ebay for $500 ! But the rumor also was that it was a four wait time on the first day. As we got to France, we stood in line for :45 minutes. They had one person working the register ! As I stood in line I noticed this older woman sitting across from us with a Figment sitting on her table. I was thinking....I could this ! Snatch Figment up and make a break for an exit.
So after a long wait we finally got back to our table. I made a last minute audible call and I decided to order the lobster mousse with a dill biscuit. Sounded good to me. My wife and daughter are both lobster fans. I dug in first and I didn't think it tasted anything like lobster. I tried it on a little piece of the biscuit. No way. I never had a bad dish at any of the Festivals. This had little to no flavor and the consistency of cat food. My wife and daughter tried it and hated it. I've has mousse and pates, but this definitely seemed like a mistake. It was only the second day of the Arts Festival so maybe they just needed to get used to the menu and their processes. I've love to hear back from someone who tried this lobster mousse.
My daughter surprised me when she said she wanted to try the chorizo and potato empanada. Hey, I'm down once I saw the spicy ajiaco soup with corn, avacado, chicken, two types of peppers, and a little creme fraiche. Oh yes, my diet is officially down the tubes.
The chicken kusiage at Japan was awesome ! We were considering going over for seconds. That's OK I let the ladies eat that and I ate half of the sushi doughnut which was really fresh and bright. Of course I tried their saki in a traditional wooden cup; not bad. Souvenir.
We sat around and people-watched for a little while. We then took a slow walk over towards the Haunted Mansion. All rides, with the exception of Carousel of Progress were at least a 45 minute wait. I'll say it for the first time, and I'll probably say it again, Genie/Lightning Lane have ruined my pandemic Disney World experience. We're already a Pennsylvania family who pays for annual passes so it's not like we get to go to the park once a week. When we first went when the parks first reopened and there were no non-American visitors, it was incredible (nothing against non-Americans). The lines have now slowed to a crawl with Disney's new money grab (Genie/Lightning Lane). My daughter who was in the Disney College Program gave us the lowdown on the Fast Pass program telling us that Cast Members were required to admit 10 Fast Passers onto a ride for every 1 Standby person. That's why the wait times are now extended because 100 LL's are pushed through the line for every 10 Standbys. I refuse to give the company any more of my hard-earned money. Disney continues to take more and offer less. It's frustrating. OK, I'm rambling. I'm a hypocrite. Just wait to see what happens the next day with Figment......
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