Everything I touch turns to broken. A fantastic Festival of the Arts Trip – January 2023 (Updated 6/22!!)

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Just got all caught up!

Awesome!

Now that is some serious planning!!

HA! Yes, I may have overthought this morning.

 

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Following along! What fun. Good to know you broke the skyliner too!

HAAAAAA! I totally spit out my drink reading this.

Yup, totally my fault.

 

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! Thanks for joining in!

 

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I love FARTS. But alas, the semester schedule usually doesn't allow for me to go. I will live vicariously through you.

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that, hopefully one of these years you'll get to go during the festival!

And I'm sorry but nothing about that last dish said French Onion Soup. I don't care how much you say it is "deconstructed."

Right? It's basically ravioli with a lot of onions. At least they tried I guess

 

[tundra1]

Thanks for sharing! We are going there next Wednesday and will be at FARTS on the 9th. I was looking at the deconstructed Key Lime Pie, but I also have the Tomato Soup and Pimento Grilled Cheese on my list!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Hurrah! So happy to find your report and hear that you loved Arts as much as I hoped you would. Isn't it just the best? The food, the lack of humidity, all the artists, the photo opps -- there's just so much to do, see, eat and drink. The festival really needs to be longer! Ah, the former glory of an empty International Gateway entrance. I don't hate the Skyliner as much as I feared I would, but I do greatly miss the good old days of waltzing on through, and the glory of being one of the few exiting that way after Illuminations (RIP). Plus I have a "knack" for always getting behind someone who has no idea what they're doing with the metal detector or tap stile. I was encouraged that if you purchased artwork they would send it to either of the entrances for you ... hopefully a sign that delivery for all purchases will come back. That grilled cheese was awesome. I'm trying to fit in one more visit to the festival and that is one my list to get again.

 

[jlnten17]

Great trip report so far. I am looking forward to a girls trip next weekend to explore FARTS with my daughter and run the Gingerbread Run at GKTW.

 

[VAtink]

Thanks for sharing! We are going there next Wednesday and will be at FARTS on the 9th. I was looking at the deconstructed Key Lime Pie, but I also have the Tomato Soup and Pimento Grilled Cheese on my list!

You're welcome! That's awesome you have a trip coming up so soon, hope you have an amazing time!

And yes, I 100% recommend the tomato soup with pimento grilled cheese. I could eat that every single day it's so good!

 

[VAtink]

Hurrah! So happy to find your report and hear that you loved Arts as much as I hoped you would. Isn't it just the best? The food, the lack of humidity, all the artists, the photo opps -- there's just so much to do, see, eat and drink. The festival really needs to be longer! Ah, the former glory of an empty International Gateway entrance. I don't hate the Skyliner as much as I feared I would, but I do greatly miss the good old days of waltzing on through, and the glory of being one of the few exiting that way after Illuminations (RIP). Plus I have a "knack" for always getting behind someone who has no idea what they're doing with the metal detector or tap stile. I was encouraged that if you purchased artwork they would send it to either of the entrances for you ... hopefully a sign that delivery for all purchases will come back. That grilled cheese was awesome. I'm trying to fit in one more visit to the festival and that is one my list to get again.

Haha, welcome! I absolutely loved FARTs, I need to figure out a way to afford to go every year! The food was great, the weather couldn't have been better (seriously, Disney with no humidity? Sign me up!), and I LOVED all the art booths. Right now this is my favorite festival, but *if* they finally bring back events for F&W it'll have to fall to #2.

It was so nice not having the crowds at the IG this week, and yes, at the end of the evening having such light crowds leaving that way was wonderful.

I didn't realize that the were sending the artwork to the entrances! That is very encouraging! I would love if they finally brought back the resort delivery, I miss that so much! (although my wallet doesn't miss it quite as much! )

I'm so jealous you're going again! I would love to get that grilled cheese one more time, and the risotto in Canada, that was another favorite. Hope you have a great trip back there, have a grilled cheese for me!

 

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Great trip report so far. I am looking forward to a girls trip next weekend to explore FARTS with my daughter and run the Gingerbread Run at GKTW.

Thank you! That's awesome you have a trip coming up, I hope you have the best time, and have a great run!

 

[Sacahara]

Love your report! Question about the food portions: how big were they? I'll be there on Wednesday and I've got 9 items that I want to try lol and I don't want to pop!

 

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Love your report! Question about the food portions: how big were they? I'll be there on Wednesday and I've got 9 items that I want to try lol and I don't want to pop!

Thank you! So the portions were mostly on the smaller side with some exceptions like the grilled cheese. I was able to do 5 food items in one afternoon for lunch before reaching my limit, and if I didn't have a sit down dinner that night I could have done more that evening, so I think if you're going to be there a full day that you can probably do 9, just may need a break between meals!

 

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Day 1, Part 3: The Famous Popcorn Bucket!​

We last left off with me eating my food from the Deconstructed dish. While eating I decided to put an order in for the Figment Popcorn Bucket.

Now, this was a bit of a gamble, not so much trying to get one, they were super easy to get this year, but more because this thing is huge and I only had carry-on bags for my flight. So I ordered Figment and hoped that he would fit in one of my carry-on bags on the way home!

Once I finished eating, I decided to make a loop around World Showcase to check out the food booths and all the art!

Over where I was near Canada the art booths that week were almost all Star Wars themed, and I wasn’t a big fan of that art, so didn’t spend much time there.

After checking out those art booth I decided to head over to the Odyssey to pick up my popcorn bucket since I was already within my return time. This was super quick and easy, took all of 30 seconds. So happy it wasn’t a six hour line like last year!

I quickly browsed the art in there, however it was pretty crowded in there at that point so it was hard to really see everything so I made a mental note to come back later.

Next I next headed over to Mexico to continue my trip around the world! Here I ended up picking up the Las Californias to sip on while I strolled!



This was good, but just a tiny bit sweeter than I would like.

I sipped as I strolled looking for art. There wasn’t really any between Mexico and China, so at China I decided to stop at a table looking out over the lagoon to rest and finish my drink.



Once I finished up with my drink, I stopped at the art booth right by the bridge. This one had a bunch of animal art, like dogs, cats, giraffes, etc. It was really cute and the artist was there so I ended up chatting with him. I asked if he had any art of a black lab since that’s what my dog is, and he did! It was super cute, and very affordable, so I ended up buying it. And the artist, who was so nice, ended up writing a dedication on the back to me and my dog Dug!

By that time I was starting to really feel my early wake up, so began to make my way out of the park, taking a few more pictures on the way!



I had fortunately gotten my room ready text earlier when I was eating, so was excited to get back to the room for a quick power nap!

On the way back to the YC I was shocked to see the beach in front of the BC completely packed with people sunbathing! In all the years staying at these resorts I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone sunbathing on the beach, but every chair was full when I walked by and plenty more people were out on towels on the sand! Even odder, the pool was completely empty besides two or three families. I've never seen anything like it!

I made my way back to the YC and swung by Bell Services to ask them to bring my bags up. Then I headed up to my room only to find my magicband would not work. Ugh. So I decided to try my phone, but it too wouldn’t work. While I was trying, the CM from bell services arrived with my bags and ended up letting me in, and had me verify it was the correct room by the name on the TV (it was).

I spent a few minutes unpacking before heading downstairs again to the front desk to get the magicband/door lock worked out. The woman at the front desk basically chastised me for not coming to the front desk after getting my room number alert, it was a bit odd. She said that once you get the room alert you need to come to the front desk to get your bands to work, I wanted to tell her this was wrong, but it wasn’t really worth arguing about. I just wanted to take a nap!

After getting the magicband worked out I headed back upstairs to take a quick shower then a short nap.

NEXT UP: Day 1, Part 4: Is that Animatronic Winking at Me?!?​

 

[Wood Nymph]

I spent a few minutes unpacking before heading downstairs again to the front desk to get the magicband/door lock worked out. The woman at the front desk basically chastised me for not coming to the front desk after getting my room number alert, it was a bit odd. She said that once you get the room alert you need to come to the front desk to get your bands to work, I wanted to tell her this was wrong, but it wasn’t really worth arguing about. I just wanted to take a nap!

Maybe that would explain why our MagicBands never seem to work when we are staying at the YC or BC. Our phones usually work, though.

Message from YC from our October trip:

Hello, Susan! ​

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Your room is ready!​ If you have enabled the Unlock Door feature on the My Disney Experience app or have a Disney MagicBand, you can proceed directly to your room without stopping at the Front Desk! Our Bell Services team will be available to assist you with your luggage upon arrival.​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Yeah, the whole point of the magicband and mobile check-in is to avoid the front desk! I always have trouble when staying on my DVC points (but not when paying cash) -- something always seems to go awry. One time I actually went back and forth THREE times with all my luggage b/c I was alone. Oy. I was not happy that day! I really liked the Las Californias strawberry drink in Mexico ... but I do not understand the trend of putting the sugar or salt all the way down the side of glasses. What is the point of that? It just makes a mess! I am really impressed that Disney seems to have learned its lesson with the popcorn buckets. I have (so far) resisted getting Figment but I got the Mr. Toad bucket in Magic Kingdom and it was so well organized!

 

[VAtink]

Maybe that would explain why our MagicBands never seem to work when we are staying at the YC or BC. Our phones usually work, though.

Message from YC from our October trip:

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​ ​ Hello, Susan!​

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​

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​ ​ Your room is ready!​ If you have enabled the Unlock Door feature on the My Disney Experience app or have a Disney MagicBand, you can proceed directly to your room without stopping at the Front Desk! Our Bell Services team will be available to assist you with your luggage upon arrival.​

Yeah, I have no idea what the issue was, but we have never had to stop at the front desk after getting our room number. Kinda defeats the purpose of mobile check-in!

 

[VAtink]

Yeah, the whole point of the magicband and mobile check-in is to avoid the front desk! I always have trouble when staying on my DVC points (but not when paying cash) -- something always seems to go awry. One time I actually went back and forth THREE times with all my luggage b/c I was alone. Oy. I was not happy that day! I really liked the Las Californias strawberry drink in Mexico ... but I do not understand the trend of putting the sugar or salt all the way down the side of glasses. What is the point of that? It just makes a mess! I am really impressed that Disney seems to have learned its lesson with the popcorn buckets. I have (so far) resisted getting Figment but I got the Mr. Toad bucket in Magic Kingdom and it was so well organized!

Exactly! So silly she thought I still had to come down to get my magicband activated. That is so annoying you had to go to the desk three times! I would have been so mad!

Totally with you on the Las Californias, that was annoying to have the salt all the way down the side of the glass. Maybe it looks cool, but it was so messy!

Yeah, I'm glad it wasn't like last year. Although I probably would not have bothered with getting one if it was like last year. I'm very adverse to waiting in lines!

 

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Day 1, Part 4: Is that Animatronic Winking at Me?!?​

After my nap, I was up and ready to go again around 3:30. First I wanted to run down to the store and grab some stuff for the room like breakfast items, milk for my coffee, and of course a bottle of wine.

Groceries obtained and put away, it was time to make my way back to Epcot! I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were still super low crowds at Epcot. This was glorious compared to Food and Wine where Epcot has always seemed so busy in the past few years! In fact, every park seemed dead compared to our trips in September. It was amazing! So much for September being the quiet month!

My first stop this time in Epcot was the paint by number mural since they close that early (I think at 5) and I really wanted to do it!

At the paint pick-up area the CM was telling us we could paint 5 squares, but at the mural the CM was saying three. So the guests in front of me mentioned they were told otherwise at the paint pickup, and the CM was hilarious and was like “well if she said 5, I’m going with 5!” HA!

This was such a fun little activity. It was cool seeing how quickly the mural was filled in throughout the day, in the morning there was hardly any squares filled in, but by the afternoon it was maybe 60% filled in!

I got my squares painted, then got a picture of myself and my beautiful work!



I also got a quick video of the overall mural.
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https://flic.kr/p/2ofhD5s

This was super cool, I just wish my trip spanned a weekend so I could have seen two of the murals!

Once I finished up painting I decided to stroll around looking for photopass photographers. I found a bunch!











When I made it up to the front of the park, I saw SE only had a 5 minute wait, so decided to hop in line. It was basically walk-on, and soon I was on the ride!

We were part way through the ride when it stopped. I figured it was for someone who needed additional assistance to get on/off, but after about 5 minutes it seemed more that it had broken down.

I was stopped at the computer scene right next to the female engineer/scientist, and omg, I swear she kept winking at me. It was actually kinda creepy, I almost expected her to start walking over to me!



We did finally start moving again after about 10 minutes, and the animatronic did NOT attack the guests, so that was good. Phew!



I love how the camera caught my Minnie ears here!

Once off the ride it was getting close to my return time for Guardians. I had booked an ILL for it right when my plane landed that morning, fortunately there were still plenty of return times to pick from at that time! My goal was to ride Guardians every day of my trip!

I was about to head over that way, but checked the app first and saw that it was down. So I decided to head off to get more food and hope that it would come back up soon.

I made my way to the Craftsman’s Courtyard where I got the Beef Wellington and the Cold Fashion Coffee Cocktail.



The beef wellington was amazing. I loved this dish! Although the grilled cheese was still #1 at that point. The Cold Fashion was just ok. It tasted like fake coffee to me, actually it tasted a lot like the coffee Jelly Belly jelly bean. So not a bad taste, just kinda artificial.

After finishing my food, Guardians was still down, so I went to find a bench to sit on to call my mom and wait for the ride to open.

We ended up chatting for a little while before I noticed a photopass photographer in front of the ride with no line, so hung up with my mom and headed that way for a picture.





While getting my last picture, a guy rushes by yelling “IT JUST OPENED!!!!!” and sure enough I look over and a small crowd had grown at the entrance to Guardians and they were letting people in!

This was great timing since I was right there and made it to the LL entrance in just seconds so beat the crowds heading that way!

There was zero wait and I was in the preshow quickly. These preshows are so long. Haha!

It is funny, you can tell who has ridden it before since they all head to the far right of each room, and the second the lights turn back on in the last preshow room they rush the doors.

I will admit, I was one of those people.

I got super lucky on this ride and was assigned row 1!

We got all strapped in and the ride started, but when we got to the part where you shoot off backwards it broke down!

NOOOOOO!!!!!

So we sat there and waited in the dark. And waited, and waited, and waited.

Then, without warning, after a few minutes of sitting in the dark, we shoot off! It was so startling, yet SO FUN!



I love this ride, it is so much fun! This time my song was I Ran.

I wanted to get some of night time photopass pictures after this, but it was still light out at this point, so I decided to head back to the YC to rest a bit and come back later. Snapped a few pictures on the way of course!



(again I love how the flowers look like the paint spilling out!)

NEXT UP: An Evening in Epcot!​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

What a fun afternoon, despite a few malfunctions. We broke down on Guardians in what sounds like the same spot during previews and they turned the lights on. Let's just say it is very underwhelming in that room. Basically an empty room with the track going through it! But it makes sense in that most will never see it. I think I Ran and Everybody Wants to Rule the World are my favorite songs. I didn't love the holiday song. Need to try that beef wellington if I'm able to go again before the festival ends!

 

[Counting Stars]

Great report- love your pictures- especially the one with Groot