Who Needs to Cruise? #Disney4Ever

MK2010

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Hi! My name is Jennifer and I'm a terrible trip reporter. I'm also brutally honest. So if you want the good, the bad, and the ugly this is the report for you!
This is me and my husband David. see, we were supposed to be on a cruise. But well....Corona. Whatchya gonna do? We thought we would jut spend the time in Ft. Lauderdale, but the governor closed the beaches, then opened the beaches, but you had to wear a mask. Then you could go to the beach, not wear a mask, just stay socially distanced. By the time the last one rolled out, I had already been hearing the reports of the low crowds at Disney. I mean honestly, who on here didn't look at those first few preview days and wish we were there. So of course I called my travel agent and said, move everything. And she did. So we found ourselves flying into Ft. Lauderdale on September 9th driving to Orlando where we stayed at the Liki Tike Village Resort. We had 4 days at Disney. Then we flew back out of Ft. Lauderdale on September 14.

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So in summary:
Cast: Jennifer and David (with special mention of my charge nurse Tammy and her husband Brian)
Date: 9/9/the year of Corona-9/14/ the year of Corona
Where: Liki Tiki Village Resort (ALLLLLLLLLL the waaaaay out on 192)
Super short intro, but honestly, who's here for that anyway?


Chapter Links
September 11- Epcot
September 11- Epcot Part 2
September 11- Epcot afternoon (Picture Bonanza)
September 11- Epcot ALL the Good Things
September 11- Epcot Walk on, walk on
September 11- Epcot End of THE BEST DAY EVER
September 12- Animal Kingdom AM
Animal Kingdom- Our Alright Afternoon
Day 4- DHS Living the Life
Day 4 DHS In a galaxy far, far away...but not to infinity
Day 4 DHS RUN AWAY with me
Day 4 DHS That's a wrap
Interlude- Disney Guilty Pleasures/ Bucket List
Day 5 MK Time to be Turning Around
Day 5 MK Entering the Land of Tomorrow
Day 5 Mine Carts and Bateaux
Day 5 MK THE END
Day 6 The Very Very End....and the NEXT adventure!
 
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Okay, so first things first. I changed all the font stuff, so maybe we can all read the trip report now. (Shhhh.... I'm typing this at work in between patients. The joys of being a recovery room nurse!)

Day 1

We live in the panahndle of Texas. We have an airport. Sometimes we use it. Its just hard to pay $375 rt/person when we can drive 6 hours and only pay $150 rt/person. For those of you in the Northeast, a 6 hour drive is nothing down here. And its mostly wide open spaces, not like I'm in Houston or Austin where the traffic is a nightmare. Anyway, for this trip originally, we were flying American out of our little town using credit card points. But then when flight prices started dropping I rebooked out of Dallas for $50 rt/person. Yes, you read that correctly. I paid $100 total to fly to Disney. It's okay, you can hate me now.

Morning came early after a late shift at the hospital the night before. Nevertheless, the 4 am alarm sounded and I sprung into action. David tried to get another 40 minutes of sleep with no success. However, by 5:15 I had managed 1 cup of coffee and last minute packing. David had picked up energy drinks for us the night before from TeaNErgy around the corner from our house. 37 degrees and drizzling rain accompanied us on the 6 hour drive to the airport. The rain developed into a few hearvier downpours along the way. I spent most of this leg of the trip napping. There were quite a few bathroom breaks, because well, my bladder ain't as young as it once was.

We arrived at DFW just before 11 am. Originally we were going to fly out of our hometown. But the flights from DFW on American were $50/rt/person. Can't beat that. TSA wa super easy. I was shocked. Soon we were through security and seated for lunch at Pappadeaux. I was disappointed in the new limited menu. The food was good though. We ordered Fried Cheese bites with marinara sauce for an appetizer.The outside was perfectly crispy with a seasoned outside. David ordered the shrimp and catfish with fries. I got the shrimp and chicken tenders. I thought I had pictures of food, but I guess not. (Glad y'all are getting introduced to my terrible trip reporting early on!)

After lunch we attempted to engage in people watching. One of David's favorite past times. Me, not so much. He found it less enjoyable with everyone wearing masks. We headed to our gate to await our flight.Interestingly enough, there was a flight for Orlando preparing to board at our gate. Unfortunately for them, once everyone was boarded they discovered mechanical issues. They de planed everyone and sent them to a different gate to board a different plane!

Our boarding process wasn't without drama either. As we were boarding, a lady in a wheelchair collapsed. Luckily, another passenger sprung into action. I joined her. (Wearing a shirt that says, "Done Nursing Going to Disney" with a heartbeat in the shape of a castle kinda advertises your skills.) I could tell the other passenger was either an ER nurse or Critical Care nurse. She took charge. Luckily, the airport EMTs were quick to arrive. We had just managed to secure the scene, attach the AED, and begin CPR. It quickly devolved into a case of too many cooks in the kitchen, so I boarded the flight. I don't know if the lady survived or not. The event certainly used up all my energy from my energy drink.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and I took a nap. We were flying basic economy so David and I weren't seated together. But, we both had aisle seats! And there was no one seated in the middle seat in my row, so I got to stretch my legs for the 3 hour flight. They weren't offering a beverage service and of course you had to wear a mask at all times. They did give you a little snack bag with a saniztizer wipe, small water bottle, and a little biscuit thingy.

We arrived on time at FLL and quickly collected our bags from the baggage claim. At FLL you board a shuttle to take you to the rental car counter. Soon we were speeding away toward Disney in a Nissan Rogue.

It was just after 11 pm when we arrived at Liki Tiki Village. The Lobby was open and bright. Check in was a breeze. We had a 1 bedroom unit. There was a $250 hold placed on the credit card, plus a $22/night resort fee. We were given bracelets similiar to Magic Bands for room keys. In addition, they gave us 2 paper wrist bands which would give us admission to the pool. (That we never got to use because it was only open from 10 am to 6 pm.) We were told the paper wrist bands were irreplaceable. However, once they had been used you could cut them off and bring them to the front desk for replacements.


Once in the room, we crashed hard. I took pictures, but not until the next morning. (Which I will add, just as soon as I figure out how to get them to load without going sideways.)
 
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Another nurse here... looking forward to reading about your trip! My charge nurse will be staying at the Liki Tiki in November. How did you like it there?
 
Lol, I work at a hospital too. When I got home last night I watched the Reds game. We made the wildcard playoffs this season, :banana:
 
Lol, I work at a hospital too. When I got home last night I watched the Reds game. We made the wildcard playoffs this season, :banana:
WooHoo!!!:banana::banana::banana::banana:

Another nurse here... looking forward to reading about your trip! My charge nurse will be staying at the Liki Tiki in November. How did you like it there?

It was fine. Not my favorite off property site and I probably won't stay there again. First, it was alllllllll the way out on 192. Like out past Margaritaville way out. Its easy access to Disney though, on property in maybe 10 minutes and in the parking lot under 15-20 minutes. The rooms were clean. Nothing fancy to write home about, but I'm never looking for stainless steel appliances and granite countertops anyway. The living room furniture was uncomfortable to sit in. We didn't have a lot of downtime so it didn't really matter for us. But on past trips, I've always taken an afternoon break. or, if we're down for Marathon Weekend we spend a lot of time lounging around the resort. This would not work well for that. as for the pools, they looked great, but we never got to try them out because they closed by 6 everyday. With shortened hours at the parks, we spent open to close in every park every day.

I'm still trying to get those room pictures upoaded, but they keep uploading sideways. Any recommendations?
 


Okay, So after researching how to get the photos to upload correctly, none of it worked. So, I guess y'all get sideways photos for the whole trip report. So Annoying.

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I had planned on doing an update yesterday, but time completely got away from me. But all is not lost. I have tomorrow off, so there's hope! In the meantime, we can all spend today mourning the 28,000 jobs lost at the Disney Co. Still waiting to hear if its going to include The Dapper Dan's, Citizens of Main Street, Voices of Liberty, or any of the casts from other live entertainment around the parks.
 
Following along. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures. Love your sense of humor and writing style.
 
Following along. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures. Love your sense of humor and writing style.

Awww, thanks! This is defintely one of those endeavours where you read everyone else's stuff and then just feel dumb. And I won't get started on myb picture taking or uploading abilities! :laughing:
 
Okay, Okay, I know I promised updates like soooo many times over the past week. But things never work out quite like I think they're going to. So, here I am, back at work, therefore, time for an update! Lol. We'll see how this goes, I'm not making any promises. Today is a call shift, so hopefully I have time between patients, but they're talking of running a 3rd OR room so it could get dicey.

September 11- EPCOT
This was the second time I'd been in Disney on the anniversary of Sept 11. My oldest was about 18 months and I was pregnant with number 2. I've always thought the explosion of the Challenger shuttle was the defining moment for my generation. As I look at my children, who of course don't remember 9/11 firsthand, I realize THAT was the defining moment of my generation. I was fortunate and didn't personally know anyone, or really even anyone directly affected. Nonetheless, the anniversary of that day always gives me pause.

Epcot opened at 11. Our goal was to get up at 7:30, but I forgot to turn off my 6 am alarm! Then David's dad called multiple times. (He has Parkinson's and lives in an assisted living facility) We think it was a butt dial, but he's so ornery we never know for sure. One time we got a call in the middle of the night from the director of the facility. His dad had managed to get in his wheelchair, go down to the kitchen


*****Excuse the 3 hour pause that you weren't aware of while I recover 4 patients and get them OUT OF MY RECOVERY ROOM***** We now return to regular programming.


Now then, where were we....dad..wheelchair..kitchen..oh yes. So anyway, yes this one time got himself into his wheelchair, down the hallway, through the kitchen, and out the kitchen door to the alley behind the assised living center. Where.....drum roll please.... he managed to fall out of his wheelchair. Unable to get himself back into his wheelchair, he called his girlfriend, who then called the facility, who called us. All men are ornery (No apologies to any man reading this. You can't help it. It's how God made you. The older you get, the more ornery you get.)

So, back to our story, we weren't sure if the phone calls were a butt dial or if he was laying in an alley half dead. :rotfl2:Just kidding. He was fine.We were fine. Everything was fine. (And it was a butt dial.) When the alarm actually went off at 7:30 we were ready for a leisurely morning.. I started coffee for myself. We piddled around getting dressed and ready, as well as packing our park bag.

We took a stroll around the resort and checked everything out. The kids pool area looked like it would be fun. It had a couple of water slides and a Polynesian themed water play area. There was a basic mini golf course. There were also paddle boats and shuffle board. the fitness area was nice.

We left our room about 9:40 and stopped at the front desk to pick up a package. Now see, here's what happened. About 5 days before the trip I had started packing one morning before work. I had all my outfits laid out on my bed with the coordinating ears. But, I ran out of time to get it all into the suitcase before it was time to leave for work. Unfortunately, our dogs took that as an invitation to EAT MY ENTIRE COLLECTION OF MICKEY EARS. We shall not release the names of the dogs to protect their innocence, but here's their mug shot.



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Okay, so we've made some progress. I have found a way to upload pictures without them going sideways. :banana: It only requires me to edit and resave each and every picture. :confused3

Anyway, these precious little faces ate all of my ears. So after public lamentations in a Disney facebook group, as sweet lady offered me HER Rose Gold ears! She mailed them to the resort so they would be there when I arrived!
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Isn't that amazing pixie dust? After that quick stop, we were off to our first adventure! EPCOT for A Taste of Food and Wine Festival. Soon...I was home.



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We arrived at the entrance to the car park at 10:00. They made us circle around. So, we looped back to the Swan and then back. By this time it was 10:15. They still weren't letting cars through (but they were letting the resort busses through.) However, the cars were lined up at this point awaiting the green light for entry. I was surprised at the lack of traffic.

This is where my notes fall apart for a bit. I think I was just super excited to FINALLY be home. It had been 13 months since I had been in the parks
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My notes pick up at 10:49. We were in line at Test Track. Now, when you have an AP and you get free photopass, you get a CD of free stock photos. I'm not currently an AP holder, but I'll be throwing in a few of their beautiful photos just so can all say, "Oooooh." and "Ahhhhh."

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We were all done by 11:06. after Test Track we stopped at a Guest Relations booth to get David's MDE account in ship shape order. It just needed to be merged with the account I originally created for him years ago. See, this, trip it was VERY important for more than one person to be able to access MDE. Mostly, my family is lazy and makes me do all the work. BUT...if you want any hope of getting a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance EVERYBODY better have everything in tip top order. Across from the Guest Relations and just outside of the VERY pared down (like, I wanted to cry, Mouse Gears) were these cuties.

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We did some shopping in EPCOT and then it was on to World Showcase for A Taste of Food and Wine Festival!

Up next: Did we buy anything at Mouse Gears? What booths did we stop at for Food and Wine? Which tasty treats got a two thumbs up?
 
Well, thought I was going to get in a mini update this morning before work, but that didn't happen! Its gonna be a busy Monday in the recovery room. Its a little bit of chaos up here. We have 3 hospitals here. One is a VA, then we have a hospital in the UHS system (Did you hear about the big breach?) And then us. So, the other hospital is on diversion (not accepting pts). We've taken all that we can so now we're actually full and we're on diversion. So now people are having to go 120-300 miles for emergency Healthcare. The Covid units at both hospitals are full. (We only have around 120 beds dedicated to Covid between the 3 hospitals. So, when I say we're full, it's not like the Tri State area nightmare full.) Anyway, they haven't stopped surgeries. So today, we'll be doing surgeries and the holding patients for HOURS (a month ago I held a pt for 10 hours :oops:) until the floors can discharge pt and get those rooms cleaned.

Anyway, I might be able to squeeze in an update on Wednesday evening. I'm off work tomorrow and Wednesday, but Inhave to drive across the state to.picknup my dog. 20200523_210459.jpg
My daughter took this sweet little poopsie to college. She moved in with my parents who live on 10 acres out in the country. This weekend my dad took the dog outside and she wandered off cause he wasn't paying attention, and DRAMA ensued. They couldn't find the dog. Two stray pit bulls came into the yard covered in blood. So my parent told my daughter that Onyx had been eaten and stopped looking for her. My daughter had a complete meltdown,, could breathe or talk. My husband had to try and calm her down over the phone 400 miles away. He eventually convinced her to go back out and look for the dog. Onyx was happy as a clam out behind the old barn. She had gone a couple rounds with a skunk, but other than stinking she was fine.

I'm going to get the dog. Its actually my dog. It was given to me by a patient when I worked Oncology. (She loved sweet little Onyx, but was too sick to really take care of her. Since I LOVE Boston Terriers and have had several, she gifted her to me.) Anyway, my daughter loves the dog so I let her go thinking it would make her transition away from home easier. And it has. But this is obviously not a safe environment for the dog, so I'm bringing her home. My daughter is devastated by this decision and my parents are furious. (As in, they aren't speaking to me.) But, I'd rather my daughter miss the dog because it's at home, than be wrecked because the dog is dead.

So, if I can get home and get everything at home back in shape on Wednesday, I'll do another update. Its a 7-7 hour drive to my parents. We'll see! Other than that Be safe and Be happy until I update again!
 
Gosh you are amazing balancing everything. But your life / trip report sounds happy to me. And you could just post every stock photo image ever received and I would enjoy.
Have a good day filled with love & hope.
 
Whew! What a week! Did we all survive? This is my fourth attempt at this update. Wish me luck! I did manage to go rescue my poopsie woopsie.
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This is Onyx. My precious poopsie woopsie.

Anyway....back to the real reason y'all are here!

September 11-Epcot Part 2

We left Mouse Gears at 11:37 with a new purchase in hand. FIGMENT EARS!!!!
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Very exciting! We did stop by the Epcot Experience. If you get a chance it is worth it to stop in and take a look at the model. We also stopped by the restroom. Not as exciting as the Epcot Experience, but ..well anyhoo. It was time to start EATING! We started with the Ribeye Taco in Mexico. We picked up this little treat at 11:49.
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110% worth it. YOU MUST GET THIS! We are still talking about this dish a month later!

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I tried to slow down this trip and just enjoy the ambiance which is what makes Disney so great. (Well, the theming is second to the cast members. THEY are what REALLY sets Disney apart.)

There wasn't anything in China that enticed us. It was sad seeing all of the shops closed. The Circle Vision there is good, but it isn't a must do for us. We ventured onward towards Norway.
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I love the Norway pavillion. And if you have to use the restroom, I highly recommend these! Growing up, my Dad had to travel some for business. His favorite places were Norway and Scotland. He would always bring me back treats. I had a huge book about all the Norse gods and a Nancy Drew book written in Norwegian that he brought me!

Just 10 minutes after our Ribeye Taco we were getting in line for Frozen Ever After. A short 20 minute wait later and we were speeding off to Elsa's Ice Palace. At 12:24 we made our way off FEA and out of Norway to Germany. It was 12:38 when we arrived in Germany and got ourselves the Bratwurst and Apple Strudel.
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It wasn't anything to write home about. Go to your local German food hang out. You'll get better food. But, can we ever get a better view?
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From here we were ready for some real food! We trekked over to the Morrocco Pavilion only to realize.....Tangierine Cafe was closed and we would NOT be getting our lamb schwarma. Now, I can't begin to explain my emotions. I am an uber planner, so for me to have missed that this restaurant was closed...I mean, how? The disappointment. Oh the soul crushing disappointment. This platter is a MUST DO for us EVERY TIME. EVERY TIME. We sat dejectedly in the Fez House (which is always such a delight) and tried to regroup. We decided to back track to the American Pavilion to eat at Regal Eagle.

It was hot by this point so we strolled through the cool air of the Japan Pavilion. This is another Pavilion that I really like. Come to find out, my husband likes it...not so much.
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We made it back to the American Pavilion at 1:30 and thought we would stop in to see The American Adventure. No dice. It was down. So, we did mobile order from Regal Eagle. Now, I was kinda moody at this point. In fact, every day for the whole trip from about 11:30 until 3 I was a pessimistic grouch. After the trip it dawned on me, that's when I usually head back to the hotel for a swim. The park hours were too short for that this trip.
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My phone did not like mobile order. I would order and get the notification that the food was ready, but then my phone wouldn't open the screen to show which bay to pick up the food. It was annoying.

As far as The Regal Eagle....I wouldn't eat here again. I have yet to find barbecue in Disney that I like. I think Barbecue is such a regional thing that it is ambitious for Disney to try it. However, my opinion is in the minority. Most people really enjoy Regal Eagle. They LOVE Polite Pig, and I've heard recent good reviews on the barbecue from Restaurantosaurus. I was hungry and cantankerous. So, I don't think I took pictures of our food. We placed the order at 1:25. We ordered a pork butt platter with coleslaw to share. It was ready almost immediately. (Of course, thanks to my phone there was the slight delay in picking it up. :confused3 ) We had polished it off by 1:53 and we were ready to venture forth.

Okay, I've reached the limit on my picture attachments so I guess we have to stop here. It was a good morning at Epcot, but the best is yet to come! Stay tuned for an update on our Epcot afternoon. Best. Day. Ever. I promise!

For now, I shall go clean my house which has been quite neglected, but I will attempt another update this afternoon! If I don't finish our Epcot day today, hopefully I'll have it all caught up by the end of the weekend! But for now, toodle loo!
 
This weekend my dad took the dog outside and she wandered off cause he wasn't paying attention, and DRAMA ensued. They couldn't find the dog. Two stray pit bulls came into the yard covered in blood. So my parent told my daughter that Onyx had been eaten and stopped looking for her. My daughter had a complete meltdown,, could breathe or talk. My husband had to try and calm her down over the phone 400 miles away. He eventually convinced her to go back out and look for the dog. Onyx was happy as a clam out behind the old barn. She had gone a couple rounds with a skunk, but other than stinking she was fine.

I'm glad you got your dog back.
 
Ready for an afternoon at Epcot??? So, just to recap, we've had lunch, and I'm still grumpy. Now, the next pictures are a little out of order. After lunch, there was a rainstorm, we put on ponchos, sat in the Fez house again at some point while there was a downpour. But somewhere in here there was a character calvacade. By 2:20 we were in France enjoying some macaron ice cream cookies.
Now, for a picture bonanza.
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Just a girl and her mouse. I might've been known to propose to Mickey on more than one occasion. I love him.
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Isn't that empty park a beautiful sight?

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These were soooooo good. I had never gotten them before. But, my daughter and I got one at the France booth for Flower and Garden Festival in 2019. These came from L'Artisan de Glaces. ABSOLUTELY stop in for this treat!
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They were so good that we fell in love in France.

Okay, maybe not. But the France Pavilion is so picturesque.
As long as we're throwing in beautiful pictures, here's a couple of the beautiful Morocco Pavilion. Just because.
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After our snack in France, we backtracked to the Brazil booth for the Crispy Pork belly. It was about 2:30. The pork belly wasn't all that great. It was okay. Better than the bratwurst and apple strudel.
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Okay, I'm going to leave this here and start a new post because we're getting close to our picture limit. But keep reading because the best is YET TO COME!
 
Brace yourself for the greatness ahead! After our experience with the Pork Belly we began wandering to the UK Pavilion. But first, David wanted to stop by the World Traveller by the International Gateway Entrance. We had never stopped into this little store before. Here I became obsessed with the little shoulder Figment. I probably wandered around in that little market for 20 minutes holding that precious little dragon. But, he was $20 and it was the first day of vacation. Plus, I knew I wanted the Figment leggings so I put him back and with great sadness I trudged on.
Here are a couple of stock photos of the UK Pavilion. Because we must acknowledge that we passed through.
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We didn't pass through at night, but this one and the next are my favorite of the stock photos.
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It was 3:00 when we entered The Festival Showplace. A pianist by the name of Chris was in the middle of a set. His set was just magical. We started out by getting the Lobster Mac and Cheese.
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Now, originally this was on my list of things to get. But, I had kinda crossed it off because my charge nurse had gotten the Lobster Roll and didn't rate it highly. David talked me into this dish. DAVID WAS RIGHT. Oh my gosh. This dish was absolute HEAVEN. I hate cooking, but if I thought I could recreate this dish I would!!! Sooooo good. There aren't words for how good. D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.

Once it was devoured and we gathered ourselves back together, we decided to top it off with the Twix Nitro Cake Pop and the Frozen Non Alcoholic Smores.

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That is my husbands hand. Just for reference he is 6'5" and wears a size 11 ring just to give you an idea of how large this cake pop was. It was FAN freaking TASTIC. The Smores drink was okay. It just tasted like really cold chocolate milk with a hint of smoky flavor. But the cake pop...Oh the cake pop...if I were a good writer I would compose an Ode to that cake pop.
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We shopped at the store they had set up. And I scored ALLLL the Figment things. Matching shirt and leggings and a Christmas Ornament. Plus, David bought me the Figment Shoulder Stuffie! And apparently, I've never taken a picture in my leggings and shirt. Weird. Anyway, with my Figment fan heart fully satisfied we made our way out of the Festival Showplace and onward to Canada!

Our timing for Canada Far and Wide was absolutely perfect. We arrived at 3:41.
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This was our first opportunity to see Canada Far and Wide. I absolutely LOVED it! Fabulous. The previous movie was fantastic. This built on that framework and magnified it. I loved the new imagery and the sequence, plus they kept the old theme song! Go see it! It's worth the time. Once that was done, we couldn't leave Canada without getting the filet mignon.
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It was ehhh. Now, in its defense, it was following the Twix Nitro Cake Pop and the Lobster Mac and Cheese. Tough acts to follow!

So our afternoon had brought the deliciousness of the Ribeye Taco, the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich, the Lobster Mac and Cheese, and the Twix Nitro Cake pop. A few misses in there to be sure, but those heavenly flavors set the bar high. Finished with our world tour we headed into Future World and straight toward Figment!

I'm going to close out this post and finish up my posting for the day with one more post to round out our perfect day at Epcot. By the way, the Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich was the turning point for my midday funk. Just in case you were wondering.
 
As long as we're on a roll, how about if we finish up this day at Epcot? So to recap, we've toured the world and tasted heaven. Oh, and satisfied my obsession with Figment. Almost. Just need to do one more thing to make it complete.
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That's right. Of course we had to RIDE Journey into Imagination. Here you can see my newly acquired Figment ears and Figment shoulder stuffie.

At 4:12 we entered the queue for Figment and of course walked right on.
One little spark, of inspiration
Is at the heart, of all creation
Right at the start, or everything that's new
One little spark, lights up for you.

You're welcome. And yes, I do randomly break out singing that song at work.
We finished our Journey at 4:28 and walked right out to spot Joy, spreading, well, joy.
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Next was another new experience for us. In all our trips, we had never ridden Living With the Land. Oh, the shame! I know. I know. We walked right on to this ride at 4:34. It was enjoyable. I don't think it will go on the list of Must Do's every trip. Mainly because gardening isn't really our thing. But we did enjoy the ride. We were finished at 4:55. Of course we followed this up with Soarin! It showed a 15 minute wait, but we walked right on. It might have been 15 minutes if you count how long it took us to walk the queue and the amount of time spent in the little pre show. We were assigned C1. I will say, one of the benefits of not going 3x a year is the leaning Eiffel Tower and Great Pyramid bothered me less. We were done with Soarin at 5:15. We stopped by the restrooms so David could take his contacts out and we perused the menu of Sunshine Seasons. The pared down menu made me sad, but honestly...Lobster Mac and Cheese, Twix Nitro cake pop. What was going to compete with that?
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We snapped this on the way out. Then we headed over to Nemo. Here are a couple of stock photos just so you can feel like you were there too!
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Nemo was also a walk on and we boarded our clam at 5:27. Now, in my head I've always loved this ride with its cute little Big Blue World. I rarely get to ride it because no one else enjoys it. This time, I was like, "Huh. I think everyone else is right. This isn't that great." Color me suprised. However, next up WAS a must do...everyone's favorite
Spaceship Earth! Again at 5:40 in the evening it was a walk on. Enjoy the following...
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We were all done by 6 pm. David stopped by the restrooms. I stopped into Gateway gifts which was FILLED with all kinds of Mouse Ears. I bought some Pixar Ball ears to replace the ones the dogs ate. I wanted to buy a couple more pairs. But I refrained!

Since I've reached my picture limit, I'm going to leave off here. I really want to finish posting about our Epcot day, so after a quick restroom/dinner break I'll be back!
 
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Okay, let's finish this day up. Shall we? But I don't WAAAANT to! This day had been amazing. A leisurely morning, we strolled into the park mid morning. Rode every ride we were interested in with little waits. Slowly made our way around World Showcase stuffing our bellies full of amazing goodness. And the things we bought!!! It was like a mini shopping spree! Plenty of food, shopping, entertainment...all surrounded by beautiful scenery. Now, we were done. There was nothing else left that we wanted to experience. Except one thing, I just wanted to sit on a park bench and stare at Spaceship Earth. And so we did. At 6:15 we found ourselves a lovely bench just in front of the tapstyles and had a seat.
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These are stock photos. I have photos of our view, but they're uploading sideways again. I swear. Anyway, I love just staring at the ball, the weather was beautiful, and the music loop at the front of the park just....its just. Beautiful. Beu.ti.ful.
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You can tell these are old stock photos because all the green walls were still up when we were there.
David finally drug me out of the park at 6:30. And I do mean drug. Took me by the hand and said, "Let's go" and I practically walked backwards the whole way to the car just trying to soak up every last minute.

This would be the only day that we left before park close. Every other day I managed to drag it out to get the fullest enjoyment out of every day.

So we left heaven and went to hell. Well, maybe only the 2nd rung of hell. The Wal Mart on Old Lake Wilson road. Now, this is the Wal Mart I usually shop at because its on the way to the area where I usually rent a house. However, today, it was icky. And lets be honest, this isn't the fanciest area anyway. But I couldn't get out of there fast enough. We just picked up a few breakfast and snacky dinner items for the next couple of days and then headed back to our room. We arrived back at the resort around 7:30. We had some dinner, watched some TV and were in bed by 9:00.

Except for the jaunt to Wal Mart doesn't it sound like the BEST DAY EVER? It was so amazing David argued that we should just go home the next day because nothing could top it. Crazy man.

Up next- A Blah Day at Animal Kingdom
 

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