Trip Report: Final Happily Ever After (Day 2, Part 3 | July 2021)

 I wasn’t 100%, but really wanted to push through so I recommended dinner. We did a walk-up waitlist at the Grand Floridian Cafe. Dad has eaten here before and really liked it. Our wait was less than five minutes.

I got the watermelon lemonade which was the perfect drink for me. Dad got the miso salmon which is a little adventurous for him. I got the fried chicken. I don’t typically like fried chicken but this was just spectacular. It was cooked perfectly and I still think about that meal.

Dad still talked about going back to the hotel. I was just worried this would be our only chance to see Happily Ever After again before it ended. Our only option was Friday and we thought the crowds would be awful.

So, we took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. There were characters out on the train station when we walked in. We were going to try Big Thunder, but the line went down to the walkway on the water. So, we decided to just get out spots for Happily Ever After.

We got a spot in the area in front of the stage. We sat on the side so we could sit with our backs against a wall. Around 8:30/8:45 they told us we had to go to the front and we went up to the rope. It isn’t necessarily the best spot because you have to tilt your head. But I loved not having anyone in front of me. I teared up a bit when Tinkerbell flew. Happily Ever After is a beautiful and moving show that grew on me over the years.

The park didn’t close until 10. Instead of battling the crowds and lines for a bus, we went to Frontierland. Now, Big Thunder was a walk-on. We had time to ride one more time, but decided not to push it and made our way to the exit. We did kind of meander out and did some window shopping on Main Street.

The bus stops were a bit busy, but the buses were running very consistently. We got one of the charter buses. They lack some Disney magic, but it’s great to have a guaranteed seat. And shout out to the bus guy organizing everything. He did a great job and kept things flowing.

At All Star Movies, we stopped in the gift shop so I could pick-up a Powerade. Back in the room I showered, we made a bit of a plan for the next day, and then I quickly fell asleep.

Today’s Highlight: Happily Ever After

Steps Walked: 18,753

Up Next: Day 3

Trip Report: Feeling that Florida Heat (Day 2, Part 2 | July 2021)

 With our snacks finished, we continued around the World Showcase. We finally found Remy in Japan! That was the hardest one of the whole festival I think. We continued our hunt in Germany and China, but we didn’t get anything to eat.

When we got to Norway, we did pop into Kringla. Neither of us have eaten here before, but we had seen some good things online so we wanted to try the almond kringla. While in line we impulsively purchased the lefse. The lefse was a hit with both of us. It reminded me of putting cinnamon sugar and butter on my toast as a kid. The kringla was a bit dry for me. I don’t think it was poorly made, its just a drier item.

After our treats and some free cups of water, we continued to Mexico. We rode on Three Caballeros. We also checked out our recent favorite: the glasswork cM in the Mexico pavilion. It’s always fascinating to see him work.

As is usually the case in Mexico, we could not find Remy. We probably searched the whole thing three times before finally finding him. Since we finished our loop of the World Showcase, we headed to Future World. We stopped at the Odyssey building to refill our water bottles and go to the bathroom.

First, we checked on Test Track, but the line was too long for us. Instead we went for Spaceship Earth. Sadly, it wasn’t as cool in there as we expected. My picture didn’t come out either. My dad said it was because the guy in front of us raised and blocked me. I’ve since had other issues so it could be a larger tech problem. 

Then, we decided we were done with Epcot so we took the monorail to the TTC. We planned to try and tour the Grand Floridian DVC villas since I’ve never seen them. For some now forgotten reason we got off at the TTC and decided to walk to the Grand.

Things started going downhill during this walk. We had to stop part way through the Poly because I didn’t feel good. I was feeling a bit confused. I was definitely overheated and in retrospect probably approaching heatstroke. I thought I was taking care of myself, but I guess not. I think it may have been an electrolyte issue, because when I added a Powerade everyday I felt better.

Once we got to the Great Ceremonial House, we sait in the lobby for about 30 minutes so I could rest and drink some water. Dad kept saying we could just go back to our room. I really wanted to get to Magic Kingdom tonight to watch Happily Ever After.

I started to feel better so we continued on to the Grand Floridian. We wanted a few minutes for a guide and then toured a two and three bedroom villa.

Up Next: Final Happily Ever After

Trip Report: Cheese and Snails (Day 2, Part 1 | July 2021)

 Thursday, July 22, 2021

Today was an Epcot day and it opens later than the other parks. We’re  big fans of that. We slept in a bit today and I woke up at 9:30. I got around slowly. I enjoyed my tea and breakfast in the room. Then, we left around 10:50 to catch the bus. 

As our bus got to the Epcot gate, there was a long line of cars waiting to get in. That’s a little off-putting when you’re going to a park. At security, I left my external battery in my bag and didn’t get pulled. I feel like I always do and I don’t know what I’m doing to set stuff off.

We headed straight for the World Showcase. We wanted to try some of the Food and Wine offerings and continue the Remy scavenger hunt. On our way, we spotted a few Remy’s at the festival kiosks. 

The first item we tried was the beef poutine. Plus, I wanted to use the festival to try new and different things. It was a good and easily shareable item.

Dad got the poutine while I snagged a table on the water. A bird landed on the fence next to two ladies at another table. He just stood there with his beak open. It was weird, but he wasn’t aggressive and never went after their food. We had a very chill bunny visit our table. He just hung out and walked around like he wasn’t in any danger. Disney is a safe place for animals, but that’s not normal rabbit behavior.

As we finished the poutine, we flipped through the festival passport. We wanted to make a plan on what we wanted to try. The Tropical Breeze from Joffree’s looked good so we headed to the cart. It was basically an Arnold Palmer with some coconut syrup. We decided to get our own instead of splitting this. That was definitely a good choice. It was good and refreshing in the Florida summer heat. Since it was so hot, we sat down in the UK to finish it up. We also put the leftover ice and lemon wedge in our water bottles. That lemon wedge flavored my water as I refilled my bottle all day!

France was up next and we wanted to try a few things here. The line was long, but it always is so it was worth it to us. Dad waited in line while I wandered around France taking pictures. The pavilion was actually pretty empty. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the fountain with no people sitting around it. Then, I found a place to sit in the soon-to-be Remy area. The bench looked out on the water and Skyliner. I think it’s a beautiful view. 

We got two things in France. First was the escargot croissant. This has been offered for years and we’ve heard good things. It tasted mostly like a garlicky croissant. The escargot had a bit of a chewy texture. I had trouble eating it, but it was more in my head than an actual issue with the texture. The second item was the three-cheese beignet. Online this had been a bit controversial, but we were both interested. The beignet was a bit sweeter than I expected. The cheese was runny and really the only flavor was pepper. We both thought it tasted like bland sausage gravy.

Up Next: Feeling that Florida Heat