Nothing like a GNO-unless it's a GWO (girls' weekend out)! On a whim, my friend Trish and I planned a weekend for just the two of us-no kids, no hubbies- at Epcot. She had never been before-and it was the first of many firsts for her at Disney!
And by on a whim, I mean 2 weeks before we managed to snag a Disney room and talk our hubbies into letting us go. Ok-so for both of us, it was not so much talking into-both of our hubbies are very understanding and wonderful when it comes to letting us have the time we need. We have great husbands who are also amazing daddies!
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| Trying to be artsy |
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At Epcot that day, I am thinking there HAD to have been record crowds. I have never ever seen Epcot body to body like it was that day. A sea of people moving through. It was totally cray-cray! This is during the Food and Wine Festival and they have all sorts of extra edible treats all over-but we couldn't even get to them. Not having any extra little bodies in tow, we really wanted to get the most out of our day-and waiting 30+ minutes for a gyro or tune poke was going to do that.
Not many freebies anywhere on Disney property, but one "cool" place is the Club Cool (forgive me if I am wrong on the name-had to google, we just call it the place to get free soda's) You can try different Coca Cola products from around the world. I personally like the greenish Fanta. Great and fun way to cool down!
Being the Food and Wine Festival, there are many unique exhibits. Ghiradelli had a place inside the (crap can't remember name of building and can't find on google... near Ellen's Energy Encounter and Testrac) where, of course, you can get a free sample of chocolate, but also had edible artwork.
Each of these sculptures was several feet tall by several feet wide and completely made of food! Mostly chocolate, but I did see "sand" made from graham crackers. Amazing! They really were too pretty to eat!
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| Cranberry bog |
Of course we travelled the world here-can't miss the World Showcase. An extra enticement for the little chefs-Hide and Squeak with Remy (from Ratatouille). Trish and I each did it and I am taking my girls back to do it for themselves in a few weeks. To play, you buy this special map of the world showcase that has Remy stickers with different foods. In each main country, there is a statue (about 18" high) of Remy with a food. you put the sticker that matches on that country's spot. When you are finished, you show your map to a cast member at the stores on either side of the Showcase Plaza and you receive a special collectors pin.
We did end up eating at Restaurant Marrakesh. i just love that place! The first time I was like Moroccan?? Really?? Now I am in love and will eat there whenever given the chance. The food is delish and the entertainment is fascinating.
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| The view from Venice |
That evening, having had enough of the crowds, we left to go check into our hotel and thought we would catch a bus to Magic Kingdom. Before boarding the bus, the driver kindly informed us it would be an hour (!?!) for him to get to Magic Kingdom. WTH?? Turns out with the construction, there are some of the roads the buses use that are closed. It is already a JOURNEY to get to MK (one cast member joked in the tram in the parking lot that we are now at almost Magic Kingdom), we decided it was in our best interest to go ahead and drive. We got to ride Under the Sea: Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Pirates of the Caribbean (yo-ho, yo-ho the pirate ride is open!) and Haunted Mansion (another first for Trish!).
BEST PART OF THE NIGHT-a little of that Disney Magic was thrown our way. Leaving Haunted Mansion, there is (used to be) a ring-rumored to be the ring of the ghostly bride (who married 5 times and each time offed her hubby-go ahead and meet her in the attic scene of the ride-single men beware!) outside by the hearse. Trish and I have our phones out (who needs a flashlight anymore) and a cast member walks by and says "Are you looking for the ring?" Well, of course we are! She says "Come with me!" and escorts us back through the queue and points it out to us-giving us the whole back story! How awesome!! UH-MAY-ZING way to end the night.
Having freed up our Sunday (since our plans were for MK), we decided to head down to Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney). sooooo.much.construction. Be warned. IJS. I can see where Disney is going with this now. This shopping and dining mecca-it is beautiful and I cannot wait to see what else they have in store!
My girls were so excited I met Sven and Kristoff. ;-)
We ate lunch at The Boathouse. Fantastic food! They launch the "amphicars" at a dock right next to the restaurant. Pretty crazy to see a car "driving" in the water!
The largest Disney store is getting even larger. Though the addition is not yet open, the store already is easier to move in. This is a picture of myself in the checkout. The dishes do indeed sing and dance while you are checking out.
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| The view towards the Boathouse. You can see here how "homey" the area feels. |
The Lego Store-a must for the kiddos-so we stayed away!
Taken from near Rainforest Cafe. The pedestrian bridge now loops you around across the water, alleviating some of the crowd. You can see all of the construction still being done on parking garages and new buildings.
#disneylife
#yearofdisney
Nothing like a GNO-unless it's a GWO (girls' weekend out)! On a whim, my friend Trish and I planned a weekend for just the two of us-no kids, no hubbies- at Epcot. She had never been before-and it was the first of many firsts for her at Disney!
Not many freebies anywhere on Disney property, but one "cool" place is the Club Cool (forgive me if I am wrong on the name-had to google, we just call it the place to get free soda's) You can try different Coca Cola products from around the world. I personally like the greenish Fanta. Great and fun way to cool down!
However, we were fortunate to be "rained in" with a very talented , well, custodial cast member who painted Mickey just with his broom and the rain water!!! I have seen this on Pinterest and feel soooo lucky we were able to actually see this in person! It was amazing! Just a few swipes of his broom and VOILA! There is Mickey grinning up at us!
