“Are you eating Dog Chow?” A Vegan takes on the World and its Food in December!

[N.eve]

Welcome to my first Pre-Trip Report! Considering I have not booked my trip yet, you will be witness to every step of the way (although I did already book some dining, but SHH don’t tell! ) I will be heading down SOLO tentatively December 12-17th and staying at the Pop Century Resort. The reason I haven’t booked yet? I will be a 20 year old senior in college this year so I have to wait until my finals schedule comes out to be sure of the dates. Although we all do love to play a little ‘hooky’ don’t we? (Is that even how you spell that? Obviously I’m not an English major. )

Alright, so you are probably wondering about the title of my report, right? Well, if not sit tight because you are going to hear about it anyway. I am the only vegan in a family of omnivores. I also happen to be quite fond of those little crusted field roast patties from Whole Foods. If you have ever seen one, you can understand the title. If not, I HIGHLY recommend them as they are heavenly! Hence as we were sitting down to dinner one night I received the joking remark, “Are you eating shriveled up roadkill?” And there you have it. A title was born.

I shall update you on the start of my dining predicament in the next post (this will be my first trip as a vegan! ) but for now, stay tuned! (OH, and pictures will be coming once I hit 10 posts!)

EDIT/UPDATE: Alright, so I've hit the required 10 posts and here is a picture of yours truly from last year around Christmas time.

 

[N.eve]

Hello Again! Alright, so I think I’ve got my schedule mostly figured out. But of course, that also added another day on because really, I cannot just spend one day at Epcot. I like to browse through all the countries and go on all the rides. PLUS, and I completely forgot this at first, with it being the holiday time all the countries will have their holiday shows going on. I really want to try and see all of them this year. If I cannot though, any suggestions on which are not to be missed? This is only my third trip down to the world, so I am still quite the new comer.

As far as my itinerary goes I shall post it day by day. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or whatnot because at this point I am still open to change.

For my Arrival Day of Sunday, December 12th I will be landing down in Orlando at 10:30AM (assuming the plane schedule does not change between then and now).

From there I will be taking the Magical Express over to Pop Century, checking in, and then dashing off to Universal Studios to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (Is it easiest to just take a taxi? Any idea how much one costs? ) I will be here most likely until closing which I think should be around 7:00PM.

After that, I will be heading over to Hollywood Studios until 11:00PM.

As far as dining goes for this day, the only reservation I have made is at 50’s Prime Time Café for 7:20PM. I am still not sure if I plan on keeping this one or not as it will really depend how long I need/want at Universal.

So, that’s it for day one. This will be my schedule in 146 days. Wow, it seems like a long way off…

 

[N.eve]

Alrighty, another day another update. So, for Monday, December 13th, I will be starting the day off in Hollywood Studios at 9:00AM.

From there I will be traveling to the Magic Kingdom at some point before 7:00PM at which time I want to have secured a spot to watch SpectroMagic followed by Wishes at 8:00PM. After that, I will be staying at the park until closing which is 11:00PM as it is an EMH night.

As far as dining goes, this day is still up in the air. I have a lunch at Sci-Fi Dine In at 11:45AM that is set, but I'm not sure about dinner. I was hoping to get a reservation for California Grill around 5:30 but nothing is open yet. I do have a reservation at Ohana, but that is not until 9PM and I'm not sure I want to rush out of the MK after Wishes just to eat. Thoughts?

 

[Joyciemc]

Hello!

I can't be too much help with your question so far- I have never seen the christmas storytellers at Epcot so I can't help with that, but I do agree that you should make it a point to check them out!

Dinner at 'Ohana after Wishes might be tough to get to, depending on how crowded the park is. Dinner at the Contemporary earlier does sound like it would make more sense... maybe something will open up at Cali Grill. Or what about the Wave? Not sure what they have for vegan options, though...

Great start, can't wait to read the rest!

 

[rebecca06261]

I love trip planning!

I can't imagine doing wdw as a vegan, I know you'll have to contact each restaurant individually (in advance) to make requests that comply with your diet. Also, I wouldn't suggest to a vegan that they go to Ohana- The whole premise of this restaurant is that they have an open oak-wood fire pit roasting different types of meats. There is a vegetarian option but it wouldn't be worth the $$. I would suggest Kona instead.

Keep up the trip report!! Great job so far

 

[N.eve]

Hey Everyone!

Alright, I know, I know. I am barely five posts into this Pre-Trip Report and already I slack off. It won't become a habit, I promise! But just think, for those of you who are dying to know what some random stranger is doing in 143 odd days, now you will get two days worth of information instead of one!

So, on Tuesday, December 14th, I will be heading to Epcot. I plan to be there all day (from 8:00AM - 9:30PM as it is an EMH morning). However, I have also scheduled a breakfast ADR at Kona for 7:35AM, so we shall see what time I actually end up making it into the park.

I am hoping to do the Candlelight Processional on this evening, but I guess that will all depend on what is available when I try to book the package. I am still not sure what restaurant I want to try for though. Maybe that new Italian one if they are going to participate. It would be wonderful if they could whip up a vegan pizza! Or perhaps Garden Grill? I just cannot think of that many Epcot restaurants that would be good for a vegan. This is completely opposite of life before becoming a vegan. Before this, it seemed I had too many Epcot restaurants to eat at!



Alright, now that I have caught back up, on Wednesday, December 15th, I will be heading to Animal Kingdom during the day and Hollywood Studios at night to catch Fantasmic! which is my absolute favorite night time show! I cannot wait to see it again!

As far as dining goes, in the morning I have a 8:35AM ADR at Tusker House so that I can get into the Animal Kingdom early since they aren't supposed to open until 9:00AM. Hopefully there will be something there for breakfast I can eat! For dinner, I have an ADR at Boma for 4:35PM. I know, really early for dinner, but I want to make sure I am back to DHS in time for Fantasmic! at 6:30PM. If they add a second, later, show time for this night then I will definitely go to that one and maybe push Boma back if there is availability, but I am not counting on it. I can always get popcorn or something if I get hungry. This will also be an early evening as DHS closes at 8:00PM. Not sure what to do after this one as I am not sure it would be worth the trip to go over to DTD as I'm guessing the stores would be closing around 10ish?

So there you have it. Two more days in my schedule. And ugh, at this point I would only have 2.5 days left! So sad to think about and I haven't even gotten close to leaving yet!

 

[N.eve]

I was looking through pictures from my last trip to WDW and I found one I just had to share! (After this was taken, Chip stole me away to dance and motioned that Dale was crazy!)

 

[N.eve]

Hey Everyone!

Alright, it is time to finish up this first draft plan because I have already made HUGE changes that I am so excited to tell you guys about!

So, on Thursday, December 16th, I will be heading to the Magic Kingdom for EMH at 8:00AM. After chilling for a bit it will be time to head over to the Crystal Palace at 8:25AM for breakfast. With Eeyore! And Pooh Bear! And T-I-Double Guh- ER! From there I will be spending the whole day at the MK before heading over to Citricos for dinner at 5:35PM and then back to the MK for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party ! This will finally round out the night at 12:00AM.

For my last full park day (Friday, December 17th), I will be heading to Epcot. But first, a stop at 1900 Park Fare at 8:20AM for breakfast. Epcot opens at 9:00AM, but I’m really not too concerned with being there when they open because I am not a big fan of the Epcot rope drop ceremony. After a day at Epcot, I will be moving over to DHS where I have an ADR at Mama Melrose’s for 4:25PM. After that, it will be get a seat for Fantasmic! time at 6:30PM. My favorite nighttime show!

And sadly, for my last day, Saturday, December 18th, I will be going to breakfast at Chef Mickey’s at 7:30AM before heading over to the Magic Kingdom to spend my remaining hours.