COMPLETED: Beaches, Boats, Bars, and... Plaids?: A Late September 2021 Trip Report (Finished 4-10)

[Anchored]

so happy to see another trip report from you and your lovely wife! I have watched both other reports as well!
Adding Toledo to my must dos!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Hi friends! Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

Without further ado, let’s jump right back in! When we left off, we were leaving Animal Kingdom and heading back to Hollywood Studios to *hopefully* get on Slinky Dog Dash. We arrived back at Hollywood Studios and parked in the same parking lot where we started our day. There isn’t another lot in that park so we did have to walk all the way down Sunset Blvd out to Toy Story Land. As luck would have it, Slinky Dog Dash was operating! Woo!

We asked for the back rows and were quickly ushered on. Slinky Dog Dash is super cute and felt like the perfect Disney ride to end our once-in-a-lifetime day with! My mom really enjoyed it too!

It was about 3:30 PM at this point, and we only had Shane for about 15 more minutes. We could tell that my mom was starting to wear down from the day, and so she asked Shane to point us to where she could get a Coke. We ended up at a Joffrey’s stand near an Incredibles-themed area. We thanked Shane for an amazing day and asked if we could get one more picture. He guided us into the Incredibles area and took some great photos before we exchanged our goodbyes.

Wow! What an absolute whirlwind of 7 hours it was! Shane was an incredible host, catering to our every whim and being a great source of Disney facts. I can’t possibly remember every fact he told us, but I think I sprinkled in the most memorable ones. Okay, let’s recap! In 7 hours, starting at Old Key West, we accomplished RnRC, MMRR, RoTR, MF:SR, a trip to Oga’s Cantina, Midway Mania, ToT, #RatRide, Test Track, Everest x2, FOP, and SDD and were left with memories to last a lifetime.

Side note: Apparently some people book plaids for the entirety of their trips?! Shane told us some Plaids act as babysitters and accompany families on trips to the mall, water parks, airport runs, the outlet store, etc. That’s some serious cash to drop! Tory and I have since discussed it and we’ve agreed that we would likely never hire a Plaid for a future visit. Although we were incredibly grateful that my parents hired one for this trip and we will always remember the day with great joy, it’s some serious cash to drop and it feels like more of a once-in-a-lifetime splurge.

Although our time with Shane was over, the day was not! Our story continues in HS where we all sat down on the ground in the shade near that Incredibles area (side note: it must have a name - does anyone know it?). We all needed a brief break to rest, rehydrate, and reapply sunscreen after our whirlwind day. My mom wasn’t feeling well, so we got her a soda, some electrolytes, and some snacks before we sat down. My wife, a self-proclaimed coffee addict, got herself an iced coffee from Joffrey’s since she had (shockingly) made it through the whole day without caffeine.

My mom had made a reservation at Savi’s Workshop for her to build her very own lightsaber at 4:45 PM and we had a Sebastian’s Bistro dinner reservation at 8:30 PM, but all of that was in flux right now. My Dad took my mom to go get some Advil from First Aid, and Tory and I set out to find some food. We hadn’t eaten much since breakfast (and even that was just some oatmeal that we made in our hotel room). There aren’t a ton of good food options in HS, so I coaxed Tory into grabbing one of my favorite snacks: a Ronto Wrap! Apparently, in HS, after 4 PM, Ronto Roasters is closed and you have to get your Ronto fix through Docking Bay 7. We did a mobile order with an immediate return and got two wraps, each with a side of plantain chips. We found a semi-shaded table outside and started devouring our wraps.

They didn’t taste quite as good as I remembered from our Disneyland trips. I think it was the naan. It was very dry and a little stale. While eating, we got a call from my dad. My mom still wasn’t feeling well and wanted to go back to their room to rest. However, she was very concerned about her lightsaber, and asked if I would make it for her.

Who am I to say no to such a request from my mom?! We met back up with my parents to talk to the CMs outside Savi’s Workshop to switch the reservation and pay for the lightsaber. My mom had been so excited about this that she had picked out what color lightsaber she wanted along with a couple of the parts. Tory promised to take plenty of photos/ videos and I promised to honor her choices. We said goodbye and hoped that she felt better soon. They were hopeful that after a little rest, she would be good to go for our 8:30 PM ADR.

While checking in, I was given a card (pictured) and a pin (not pictured) that represented what set of parts and what color lightsaber I wanted.

After a short wait, we made our way inside!

Overall, the whole process felt a little rushed. One woman in our group asked where the nearest restroom was a few minutes into our experience, and the CMs recommended she wait because the experience would be over by the time she made it there and back. She opted to leave anyway, and her lightsaber had to be finished by the CMs.

The CMs were great the whole way through and really took to their roles! In particular, the gatherer, who walked us through building our lightsabers, was super into his role and put on a great show.

I’m not the biggest Star Wars nerd, but I gotta say even I got chills lifting up my (really my mom’s) lightsaber for the first time. The mask hides a really big grin!

The whole experience seems super short for the price, but the lightsaber itself is a really great quality. We made sure to get some photos of my mom’s lightsaber in action on Batuu for her as well. I hammed it up a little (or according to Tory, a lot) for the camera.

At this point, Tory and I were content to head out of HS and find a lounge to rest at until dinner. As we headed out of Batuu, we walked by RotR and saw that the wait was posted at only 35 minutes! 35 minutes?! We couldn’t believe our eyes! After taking a quick second to figure out if we could bring a lightsaber on the ride, we were in line. This actually made for a hilarious story! While we were being placed in our holding cell, one of the First Order guards asked what is my lightsaber carrying case. I replied, "Junk." He looked at me oddly and said, "You carry junk around when you travel between planets?" He pretty quickly put us in our holding cell after that. Too funny!

Our second trip on RoTR on the day! The wait time was accurate, and we were to the first preshow in under half an hour, and off of our ride vehicle in under 50 minutes! What luck! The final Kylo animatronic was down and we got the B-mode version with Kylo in his ship. So, we got the lesser Kylo experience this go around, but seeing both in one day was really cool!

Okay, now we were leaving the park for real! We were buzzing once again, and we took some photos with Gertie at magic hour as we passed by!

At this point, we only had about two hours until our ADR. We didn’t want to head too far out of the way, so we hopped on the Skyliner and headed towards the Riviera. Shane had mentioned that the restaurant on the top floor was really good and had a bar! Readers of our previous trip reports may recall that Tory and I love a good bar/lounge!

This day was full of firsts and we continued the trend with our first ride on the Skyliner!

How cool is the Skyliner, everyone?! Tory and I enjoyed our ride in the sky as the sun continued to set. During the ride, we made a video to send to my parents that continued our thoughts on the lightsaber building experience. I was having a grand time until we came to a stop unexpectedly. I didn’t like that, nor did I care for swaying in the breeze while suspended that high in the air. Thankfully, our stop didn’t last too long and we were soon disembarking at the Riviera. I wish more resorts and parks were connected via Skyliner. It’s so much more convenient than buses!

We walked into the Riviera for the first time, (another first!) and found our way up to Topolino’s Terrace. Unfortunately, we were told that the bar was full. However, we were told that the same drink menu was served downstairs at the pool bar. So, back downstairs we went! We found the super cute and comfy Bar Riva with plenty of available tables.

Tory ordered a Negroni Spritz and I ordered a Sangria. We chatted as we watched the day turn to night outside. Our server was brand new and originally from California. He was super chatty and friendly - at one point he sat down with us! Bar Riva was the perfect spot to grab a drink and the beautiful weather made it even better. Tory loved her spritzer so much! My sangria was also excellent. So much so that I ordered a second drink at the recommendation of our server since I could walk over to Sebastians with it in hand!

Fueled by giddiness (and exhaustion?) and a little bit of alcohol, Tory and I had a great walk around the lake to Caribbean Beach. We even stopped on the beach for a bit and Tory started doing cartwheels to make sure she still could!

At this point, we were about half an hour early for our reservation at Sebastians’ Bistro. We got word from my dad that my mom was feeling better, but wanted to rest for the rest of the evening to be 100% tomorrow. So they wouldn’t be joining us for dinner. We decided to check-in early and figured we could grab another drink at the Caribbean Beach Resort pool bar while we waited. About 20 seconds after checking in, we got the text that our table was ready! So much for that next round of drinks!

Stay tuned to hear all our thoughts about Sebastian’s Bistro! To leave you all wanting more, I’ll end this post with the following: Go to Sebastian’s Bistro! It’s the newer, better, cheaper ‘Ohana!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

"We're in the jungle somewhere." The funniest things can be overheard in Disney. Particularly from first time visitors. Your AK visit sounds awesome. I love that your guide can also help you get the specific seats you want. I recently rode in the back for the first time on another coaster and was surprised how different it felt. The tours do go fast, don't they? You initially think, "7 hours with a stranger? Will it be awkward?" and then you blink, it's over, and the "stranger" is your new best friend.

So well said about the 7 hours! Shane was a great match for our family. He was energetic and friendly without being too over the top.

I followed your other trip reports and was pleasantly surprised to have found this one! Following along and can't wait to see how the rest of the trip is going. I've gone to Disney several times in my adult life, but this next trip I think we're going to take it slower and explore more of the lounges and bars.

Thanks! Welcome back!

Do it! Vacation time is limited so maximizing chill and minimizing stress is important! You can still have whole days in theme parks but come home feeling rejuvenated and not exhausted.

so happy to see another trip report from you and your lovely wife! I have watched both other reports as well!
Adding Toledo to my must dos!

Welcome back! Thanks!

I can't say enough good things about Toledo. It flies under the radar because it is at Coronado, so it's still shockingly easy to get an ADR. The food has on two visits been nothing less than great!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

So glad that your mom was able to get a ride on Slinky. And if she "had" to feel sick, glad it didn't interfere with the tour! I'm so intrigued by the build a lightsaber experience. I don't know what I'd do with one at home, but I'd love the experience of building one (or even just being a guest of someone who was). A shame that it felt a bit rushed. Riviera is such a beautiful resort. Making a note on Sebastian's ... it seems like we have similar tastes in restaurants and I'm always looking for something new to try. I love the convenience of the Skyliner but the possibility of getting stuck terrifies me. Happy New Year!!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Hi friends - I'm back to tell you all about our dinner at Sebastian’s Bistro! So, I had heard a number of good things about Sebastian’s pre-pandemic, but we weren’t able to make a trip over there. We had considered it on our past trips, but it just never happened. Then, when planning this trip, we were planning on heading to ‘Ohana, as we had been there on our previous two trips and loved it. However, we were so disappointed by the menu changes at ‘Ohana that we decided to forgo our traditional ‘Ohana meal. Then, as we were planning, Sebastian’s Bistro reopened and there were so many good reviews coming out about it. At that point, we knew we had to give it a try. Plus, Sebastian’s Bistro wouldn’t be too far off from ‘Ohana - both are family style meals and, despite Polynesia and the Caribbean being oceans away from each other, they do share a few similar flavors.

This meal was the dream family-style meal! The meal was much more well paced than ‘Ohana. We were able to ask for more of the dishes we liked with no rush. Our cocktails came out quickly, and we were allowed to take our time with dessert.

We, of course, started with drinks. Tory got a margarita that she noted was too sweet for her tastes. I opted for the build-your-own rum old fashioned. Such a cool idea! You get to pick your rum, your sugar, and your bitters! I was impressed with the quality of the rums available on the list, so much so that I don’t think you can go wrong. I went with a Bacardi 10-year aged rum, real cane sugar, and orange angostura bitters. Delicious!

The first family-style course was bread and salad. The salad was surprisingly memorable, and had some nice tropical flavors including a lime dressing, grilled pineapple, and pumpkin seeds. Not your standard Disney salad! The buttery pull-apart rolls were phenomenal! I now know why everyone seems to talk about them! A slice of the roll with the caramelized onion jam that comes with it is truly an amazing bite. The guava butter that also accompanied the bread paired well, but we much preferred the onion jam.

Next out were the sides: cilantro rice and beans, a veggie curry, and grilled broccolini. Tory loved the broccolini (she loved veggies!), and the cilantro rice and beans and curry were both exceptional. The curry had some spice and heat that I don’t think either of us expected, but it was very tasty! The rice and beans were also very tasty and we definitely ordered more of them to sop up the sauces.

We had just enough time to try each of the sides before a mountain of meat was dropped off at our table. This was so much meat for two people! The tri tip was a perfect medium rare - tender and well seasoned and the jerk rub worked perfectly! I ended up eating so much of it! Tory doesn’t eat much meat, so there was definitely more for me! In my opinion, tri tip doesn’t get enough love outside of California. The tri tip was served with a lovely mojito relish.

The mojo pork was also super tender and tasty. Sometimes slow cooked pork can get dried out, but this was not! It was served with a mango sambal that paired well with pretty much everything. Sadly, the oven-roasted citrus chicken was generic and forgettable. However, I was very happy with the tasty pork and tri tip.
Finally, it was time for dessert: pineapple bread pudding! I’m fairly confident this is the same recipe that ‘Ohana uses, and it’s just as delicious! We got a center piece that was gooey all the way through. Tory loves this action shot of me pouring the carmel sauce on. She says I look so genuinely happy.

All in all, this was an excellent meal at the $29 per person. That’s $25 per person cheaper than ‘Ohana, and it seemed like better quality all across the board. Sure, you don’t get the view of the Magic Kingdom, and there aren't any noodles, but we were so impressed with the food and the service that this will replace ‘Ohana for us on any future trip! At least assuming no changes are made. Keep this one as is, Disney!
After our meal, we grabbed a Lyft from Caribbean Beach back to Old Key West and crashed hard. We had been out of our room for over 13 hours and after traveling the previous day, we were thoroughly exhausted!

Stay tuned for our second full day, featuring Animal Kingdom, Sanaa, and Nomad Lounge! Oh, and escargot!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

So glad that your mom was able to get a ride on Slinky. And if she "had" to feel sick, glad it didn't interfere with the tour! I'm so intrigued by the build a lightsaber experience. I don't know what I'd do with one at home, but I'd love the experience of building one (or even just being a guest of someone who was). A shame that it felt a bit rushed. Riviera is such a beautiful resort. Making a note on Sebastian's ... it seems like we have similar tastes in restaurants and I'm always looking for something new to try. I love the convenience of the Skyliner but the possibility of getting stuck terrifies me. Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to you as well! Can't believe it is 2022!

On our last day we had a Skyliner experience that freaked me out a little. We would move for like a minute and then stop for several minutes at a time. It was pretty freaky! But, I'm getting ahead of myself....

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Sebastian's looks and sounds great. I will put it on my list to check out at some point. I am not positive, but I think I saw somewhere that the rolls and spreads are available in a lounge at the resort (not sure if there's more than one lounge). Looking forward to Sanaa and Nomad!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

w somewhere that the rolls and spreads are available in a lounge at the resort (not sure if there's more than one lounge). Looking forward to Sanaa and N

I had heard that about the rolls as well. Might need to ask around on a future visit! I would go out of my way for those!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Okay! Day 2! We woke up feeling quite refreshed. So much so that we opted to get a brief workout in. Since we had already completed a hardcore ride day, we hoped that the rest of the trip would be much more chill. We checked in with my dad who said my mom was feeling much better and they would be able to meet us at lunch! After working out and getting ready, it was just after 9am. Our lunch reservation at Sanaa wasn’t until noon, so Tory and I opted for some Animal Kingdom time!

We had great bus luck and waited less than 30 seconds for a bus to DAK! Literally less than half a minute! When we arrived at Animal Kingdom, we were shocked at how empty it felt in the park. Animal Kingdom in the morning light is glorious. It feels like a world away from Florida. We casually walked out through Africa and made the Kilimanjaro Safaris our first ride of the day! We didn’t stop walking through the queue until we hit the load point! Given that the park had been open for over an hour and a half at this point, we couldn’t believe it.

Soon, we were off on our expedition. Because it wasn’t too hot outside yet, so many of the animals were active! The savanna section is always so incredible to me because the animals aren’t startled at all by the vehicles and they hang out so close to the path! The giraffes were getting some breakfast from the trees.

There was also a baby hippo! Not the best photo, but you can see him nestled up against his mother.

Plus, rhinos and an elephant!

After our safari, we went in search of more animals and walked the Gorilla Falls Trail. Despite very few people in line for the safari, this trail felt super crowded. We waited a bit to try and get a view of the gorillas, but we eventually opted to move on as everyone was super engrossed and not really moving. However, we did see some Okapi! And the birds were really active too!

Tory wanted to get a photo on the lab equipment box we found on our Honeymoon Trip, but there was a family camping out on them, and they didn’t seem like they would be moving anytime soon. Oh well! I still love these photos from our Honeymoon and Honeymoon 2.0 trips. Side note: The writing on the side of the box faded an impressive amount in two-and-a-half-ish years. It was almost completely faded this trip.

We wandered around the back half of Animal Kingdom, just soaking in its majesty and taking pictures.

Of course, given the low crowds, we had to take a ride on Expedition Everest! How many times in one trip report can I say I love that ride without it being too much?!

We finished the loop through Animal Kingdom in Dinoland where I got this cute photo of Tory! Tory loves Dinoland!

Of course no trip to Animal Kingdom would be complete without saying hello to a fellow scientist friend of ours, Dr. Grant Seeker. Again, no wait!
And, we made it back from the late Cretaceous period with an extra passenger! It always amazes me how dark the inside of that ride is. The walk back outside to the bright Florida sun is always so shocking!

We also found this while wandering around Dino Land. Does anyone know what this is? It’s super cute!

We were planning on heading over to Animal Kingdom Lodge a little early for our Sanaa reservation, but on our way out, the CMs in front of the Tree of Life were inviting folks to stay to see the Winged Encounters show.

We had never stopped to see this show as Tory is not a huge fan of birds. However, she thought it would be cool to get a video of the birds flying. We both thought the show was super cool! There was a segment on the Animal Kingdom show on Disney+ where they showed how much effort goes into training the birds, so seeing the finished product was really amazing. Seeing them fly in from seemingly all different angles and then seeing them all fly home was quite the sight!

We headed out of Animal Kingdom right around 11:30am. So, we had 30 minutes before our ADR. Given how close we were to Animal Kingdom Lodge, we figured 30 minutes would be plenty of time. Maybe even with extra time to sit out on those rocking chairs near the savannah and watch the animals. Right?

Barely right. We waited over 20 minutes for a bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge. This was truly baffling since it’s less than a 5 minute ride over to the Lodge once you are on board. Ahh, well. It wouldn’t be a WDW trip with one shockingly long bus wait and this was our for the trip.

We walked into the Kidani Village right on time for our reservation. As we were walking towards the back staircase, we ran into my parents coming down the hallway. My mom was feeling much better and we were all looking forward to an afternoon and evening of fun. Our table at Sanaa was ready right away, and we got to share stories about our Savi’s Workshop experience and the rest of our evening and morning.

As we were talking, we found out that my Dad had actually got Sanaa to bring back to his room the night before. He said it was good, and that he was very excited to try it again with people who loved it.

Of course, we had to start with the bread service. Two years and a pandemic later, the bread service is still just as good as we remembered. I was particularly fond of the pickled garlic that day. My dad noted that when he got the bread service to-go, they didn’t explain what the dips were.

Tory and I then split the Potjie Inspired entree with butter chicken, aloo masala, and basmati rice. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures of our bread service or our entree. I can assure you that it was all very tasty as always though. I think we were so distracted that we just forgot to snap photos.

While we were eating, we talked about plans and did a pretty major planning shift. We had found out yesterday from Shane that there was going to be a preview showing of Harmonious on Wednesday before the official debut on Friday. Tory and I were leaving on Thursday, and had originally thought we weren’t going to see it. My parents were also excited by the idea of being able to see the show with less crowds, so we all agreed that we would plan Wednesday evening around seeing Harmonious. This meant canceling our 8:15pm Citiricos reservation. Back when we were planning the trip, my mom requested that we have one fancy dinner and we had all packed nicer clothes for the occasion. So, we then decided to see if it would be possible to do a nice dinner tonight instead. Well, Citricos isn’t open on Tuesdays apparently. So Tory got to work on her phone, and within 10 minutes found a 9:20pm reservation for Toppolino’s Terrace. This restaurant hadn’t really been on our radar other than we briefly considered it as a possible breakfast/brunch location. However, Shane had mentioned that it was amazing and it seemed to fit the bill of a fancy meal. So, we booked it!

Wow, that previous paragraph really underscores how complicated WDW planning has become!

We were all looking to take it easier than the previous day, so after lunch, we decided to take a leisurely stroll around Animal Kingdom and see what fun we could find.

We walked out to the Kidani bus stop and found that we had just missed the bus to Animal Kingdom. A stroke of inspiration hit Tory and she took us all back into the lobby to grab some Zebra Domes since my mom had remembered reading about them from our Honeymoon Trip Report! We quickly purchased them and headed back out to the bus stop to try them.

Despite being very full of Sanaa, I dove into mine quickly. Tory grabbed this unflattering photo of me doing so. Again, these were just as good as we remembered, and my parents liked them too!

After a quick bus ride over to Animal Kingdom, we started a leisurely stroll through what I think is the most beautiful theme park in the country. Our first stop ended up being It’s Tough to Be a Bug. My mom noted that the last time she ever saw the show was at California Adventure before they got rid of it.

We all commented that the walk from the entrance to the queue to the theater is crazy long! It just wanders and meanders down towards the Tree of Life. It is wIld to think that they thought the show would garner that much of a line! We just missed the show, but we got to soak in the bug choir version of so many classic show tunes! The show is super cute and the beetles leaving at the end gets me every time!

Leaving the show, I think my dad asked me, “Where to?” and Tory and I said in near unison, “Nomad Lounge!”

Along the way to Nomad Lounge, we passed by a cart, the Smiling Crocodile, that was serving a “pulled pork jelly donut sandwich”. Shane had pointed this out to us the day before and I immediately became intrigued. I stared at the sign again trying to wrap my head around how this abomination could have gone through testing and development before reaching the parks. Who in their right mind thought of putting pulled pork on a jelly donut? And why? While staring at it, my mom, seemingly frustrated with my indecision, said “Oh, I’m going to just buy it for you”. A few minutes later, this giant sandwich appeared in front of me.

I kind of spoiled this in the intro to the Trip Report, but, dear reader, this was shockingly tasty! I don’t know why it worked, or how it worked, but after the first bite, I had a grin on my face. After the second bite, I found myself asking, “Why is this so good?!” Despite every ounce of my rational brain telling me that pulled pork and jelly donuts should never be served together, my taste buds and pleasure receptors overruled rationality. The sweet glaze of the donut, the tartness of the jelly, the tang of the cole slaw, the fattiness of the pork, and the smokiness of the barbecue sauce all worked in harmony to create the weirdest, but yet perfect, bite of food. My dad, Tory, and I each had a couple of bites each and deemed it delicious. It was worth every penny of the $6.50 it costs. While we stood off to the side eating it (okay, fine, we stood over a trash can), one of the CMs from the kiosk came out to clean and asked us what we thought of it. She said she hasn’t tried it yet as it just seems too weird for her.
And so, with the buzz of discovering a new weird food combo, we continued on our trek to Nomad Lounge in search of a different kind of a buzz. We were met with a quoted 45-minute wait.

We gave the hostess our phone number and set out to stroll Pandora to kill some time.

We walked by Flight of Passage and saw that this ride was only sporting a 30 minute wait! In the early afternoon! It was truly a pretty quiet week as many were likely waiting for the 50th festivities to start before arriving. We debated whether or not we should hop in line, but we decided against it as we did not want to miss our Nomad Lounge spot and my mom wanted to check out the gift shop. So, we wandered further back into Pandora and casually browsed the Windtraders gift shop. After 10 minutes or so, we left Windtraders and I got the text! The 45-minute wait ended up only being 15! So, we went straight back to Nomad Lounge and were quickly seated at a couch and chairs on the outside patio. The weather was perfect for outdoor cocktails, and you can’t beat the view that Nomad Lounge provides! We were happy campers! Given that Tory and I talked up Nomad Lounge at several points during the planning process for this trip, my parents were just as excited as us.

We settled in and were greeted by our very fun waitress. Our waitress was great once she found out that my parents were making their first trip to this masterpiece of a Disney bar. She walked them through the menu and made recommendations. I went with the Tempting Tigress, one of my favorite drinks on property. Tory had her favorite as well: the Annapurna Zing, which comes with the glowing lotus flower. My mother, who loves all glowing ice cubes, was so excited and wanted one as well, but she doesn’t like gin. Our waitress allowed her to add a glow cube to her drink, so she was extra pleased!

I don’t remember what exactly we talked about, but Nomad Lounge always seems to spark great conversation. You can let the bustle of the theme park disappear and sink into the oversized chairs and couches. My parents were both very happy with their drinks, and loved the view looking out into the jungle. Hopefully they saw what makes Nomad Lounge one of my happy places. Thanks again, Joe Rohde!

With our late dinner reservation, we decided to head to EPCOT to get a preview of Food and Wine. We had to get hyped for all the eating and drinking we were going to do the next day. After closing our tab, we took a leisurely walk out of Animal Kingdom. As luck would have it, a bus headed to EPCOT was pulling up.

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

While on the bus, Tory and I were discussing plans. It was about 4pm at this point, so we had a few hours before we all needed to head back to our hotels to get ready for dinner. We suddenly remembered that my mom had mentioned she wanted to see Trader Sam’s. Based on our plans for the rest of the trip, this seemed like the best opportunity to try for that. So, when we hopped off the bus, we pitched the idea to my parents and they were game. Instead of heading into EPCOT, we walked up the monorail ramp and waited for another type of transportation.

Before too long, we were being whisked away on the monorail headed for the TTC! It’s amazing to marvel at just how big the WDW resort is when you are on the monorail. There’s just so much land!

We arrived at the Poly via the monorail. However, I have since found out we could have walked from the TTC instead of waiting for the resort line.
Once inside the sounds and smells of the Poly begin to overwhelm the senses, and you can’t help but take it all in. We made our way downstairs to the door of Trader Sam’s and were dismayed to be told that it was already a roughly two-hour wait! We still put our names in though. Even if it was two hours, we still would have an hour or so to enjoy the atmosphere and drinks before needing to leave for dinner. We walked outside and showed my parents another Disney happy spot: the lounge chairs on the beach of the Poly looking out over Seven Seas lagoon. We pulled some chairs together, kicked off our shoes, and enjoyed the late afternoon sun.

I’ve now sat on this beach at some point on every trip I’ve made to WDW, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Tory and I talk about how we like to take WDW at a slower pace than a lot of people, but with dining reservations and other plans made in advance, it can be easy to get caught up in the bustle. That all goes away on the beach at the Poly.
We spent a really enjoyable couple of hours on the beach. We talked and ate some snacks we had packed. My dad and I played one on one volleyball, while Tory and my mom did cartwheels. Nothing but leisure and relaxation!

At one point, I went back into the Poly to grab a Dole Whip because it felt appropriate. Nothing better than that!

The sun was getting lower in the sky and it had been nearly two hours since checking in. Based on our previous Trader Sam’s experience, I had assured my parents that we would get a text before the two-hour mark. At some point on the beach, I made this meme.

Unfortunately, Trader Sam’s wasn’t meant to be. Right around the two hour mark, Tory and I went back to Trader Sam’s to see if they had an idea of how much longer it would be. The CM asked for my name, and our collective hearts sank when she had to scroll down on her tablet to find our names! There were still 10 groups ahead of us. She apologized and said that no one had left inside for quite a while. It was a pretty big bummer, but this just speaks to why so many of you on here recommend rope dropping Trader Sam’s. We broke the news to my parents, who were also a bit bummed.

At this point, we decided to head back to our hotels a little earlier than planned so that we would have plenty of time to rinse the sand off and get dressed for dinner. After another 30 minutes, when Tory and I were back in our hotel, we finally did get the text that we were welcome to come into Trader Sam’s. I’m willing to bet that a lot of people bailed on their reservations and they blew through the list of 10 groups really quickly. Oh well, this is just another reason why we will have to come back to WDW before too long

So, both couples called a Lyft back to our respective resorts to get ready for dinner. After making ourselves pretty, Tory and I took a very quick Lyft ride over to the Riviera a bit early. By the time we made it up to the top floor restaurant, we still had about 45 minutes until our reservation. The hosts told us we were welcome to find some seats at the bar and wait for my parents to arrive. We were greeted by the bartender and we marveled at both the dinner menu and the cocktail list. The couple next to us had ordered the escargot dish and it smelled phenomenal. We were also quite hungry as it was 8:30pm and lunch had been at noon. All the cocktails looked wonderful. I ended up ordering the Boulevardier and Tory requested the Champagne Cocktail (Moet & Chandon, Aperol, and Vermouth). Wow, both cocktails were fantastic! Very high quality liquors in both. We both took a sip and felt instantly more happy and relaxed.

At this point, Toppolino’s Terrace was completely full, including the bar, making our day-of reservation all the more lucky. Tory and I ended up chatted with our bartender about cocktails. The cocktails were pricey though (even by Disney standards), so I don’t think we will be having drinks here on future trips unless it was a special, champagne-toasting kind of occasion.

My parents arrived about 15 minutes before our reservation and met us at the bar. I briefly went to check us in for our reservation now that we were all present. Meanwhile, my parents ordered drinks of their own. Just a few minutes later, our table was ready.

Despite Shane suggesting the day before that Topolino’s Terrace was Italian and coolers of fresh pasta being located behind the host stand, Toppolino’s Terrace is really a French restaurant with some Italian influences. Not that this is a bad thing at all. I just personally came in with slightly different expectations. Maybe I should have read the menu more carefully while sitting on the beach at the Poly lol.
Our waiter was excellent and he brought out bread to start. The bread shape was inspired by that of wheat growing in a field which was a lovely touch.

This ended up being quite the extravagant meal and we ordered way too much food. Between the menu descriptions and our waiter’s recommendations, it all sounded amazing.

We ordered a few smaller plates for us all to share. The ricotta came with more bread, of course! This was delicious, especially paired with the aged balsamic!

I love panzanella, especially during peak tomato season, so this was a hit as well! The olives in it were a nice touch as were the edible flowers. Just a great presentation all around!

The duck confit gnocchi was a miss for me. Tory and I are not the hugest fans of duck, as it tends to be greasy. This preparation was greasy, and just ate very heavy all around. It needed something to lighten it up.

Of course, we had to order the escargot as it had smelled so heavenly at the bar! It tasted heavenly as well. The buttery choux pastry on top of the lemony escargot was a perfect bite of food! It is a butter bomb though, so be prepared for that if you do order it. This was my favorite of the small plates for sure!

For my entree, I got the Bouillabaisse. This was a refined take on a very classic French preparation. All the seafood was cooked expertly and the bit of fennel added a nice twist. The broth was excellent, and even though I didn’t think I would need more bread, I definitely was glad to have it to sop up the broth.

Tory got the lobster linguini after seeing all that gorgeous fresh pasta in the entrance. She notes that it was a gorgeous presentation! It was very rich and ate very heavy though. I don’t think she came close to finishing it all. Tory did really like the English peas and the pea puree though! The buttery lobster was presented on top of a Sauce Americaine (which has more butter) which made it a bit of a slog to eat. Tory and I wished there were more vegetable options available. Everything was just so heavy and at this point in the trip, Tory and I were really craving fresh vegetables.

My parents both enjoyed their entrees. My dad got the rigatoni, which he said was quite good, and my mom got the Classic Sole Meunière. I sampled some of my mom’s dish and thought it was one of the best bites of food all night. The light sole served with perfectly cooked potatoes and buttery sauce made for a winning combination! I actually took her leftovers back to the room with us.

Of course, what would a fine French meal be without dessert?

We asked our waiter for a recommendation. Apparently I forgot to take notes on what it actually was. I vaguely remember it being a pistachio mousse and a chocolate cake. I think the red things are morello cherries. That seems like a dessert flavor pairing, right? I clearly don’t remember it being that memorable. It’s also not on the menu anymore, so it either might have been a special or it might not have been memorable to a lot of people. Hahaha.

There was plenty of time between dinner and dessert and I was able to wander out to the balcony to take in the view. You could definitely see into EPCOT, so I imagine you could get a halfway decent Harmonious view from the restaurant if you had a table on the proper side.

Topolino's Terrace is another excellent addition to WDW signature dining. They are preparing some great French classics in a refined manner. The service was amazing from start to finish as well. It’s on us for not studying the menu all that closely and not realizing we were in for an evening of full-on French cuisine. Halfway through our trip, I don’t think the heavy, buttery cuisine was really what our bodies were craving or needed, but that’s not a slight against Topolino’s. We ended up there because Jiko and Flying Fish were still closed and Citiricos is closed on Tuesdays. In a future visit where both Jiko and Flying Fish are open (and back to their pre-pandemic levels of quality), I’d take either over Topolino’s Terrace. But, that’s just based on my cuisine preferences. If you are a fan of French food, I have no reason to think you wouldn’t highly enjoy Topolino’s Terrace!

It was fun to dine at a new restaurant and to get dressed up. We had some great conversations with my parents, some good food, and some good drinks. All-in-all, a great and memorable night!

So, that’s a wrap for Day 2! Coming up next: our EPCOT park day, Food and Wine, Rise of the Resistance (again?!), and the first ever showing of Harmonious!

 

[suse66]

Day 2 really couldn't have been better! Like you, I consider Animal Kingdom to be one of the most beautiful and immersive parks ever. I adore Sanaa and Nomads so hitting both in one day would be my idea of perfection. Add in the lovely relaxing time on the Poly beach and you couldn't ask for anything more. Then you added on an over the top dinner to end the day...you are definitely doing Disney right!

 

[ArtKitschAndDisney]

After the second bite, I found myself asking, “Why is this so good?!” Despite every ounce of my rational brain telling me that pulled pork and jelly donuts should never be served together, my taste buds and pleasure receptors overruled rationality. The sweet glaze of the donut, the tartness of the jelly, the tang of the cole slaw, the fattiness of the pork, and the smokiness of the barbecue sauce all worked in harmony to create the weirdest, but yet perfect, bite of food.

This is why I love reading your trip reports. So descriptive you can almost taste it and just so darn entertaining! Such a talented and creative writer.

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Apologies for the delay, folks! But, I am back! I will not abandon this trip report!

Before we dive into Day 3, I have a really adorable aside to share: I got a call from my Dad after my last post saying that my mom had showed him my previous update to the TR (she lurks here) and that he wanted to lodge a complaint.I got really confused for a second before he laughingly noted that I didn’t include that great photo of him and my mom from dinner. I laughed and breathed a sigh of relief. I noted that I wasn’t sure how many photos of them they wanted plastered on DisBoards so I opted against it. However, because it is a great photo, I’ll start today’s update with a photo of my very stylish parents from the Riviera after we had finished our meal at Toppolino’s Terrace!

And now, onto Day 3! After a late meal the night before, it was nice to be able to sleep in a bit. We were headed to EPCOT which had an 11 AM opening with an extra 30 minutes for Deluxe and DVC resort guests. We were going to meet my parents inside EPCOT just in time for the 10:30 AM rope drop. We got a quick workout in before getting ready for the day. We weren’t quite sure what to do about breakfast because we were planning on getting plenty of food at Food and Wine, but we knew we would be starving post-workout if we didn’t eat anything until the booths opened. We opened up the MDE app and found that Olivia’s Cafe had a virtual walkup waitlist! When we joined the list at around 8:30 AM, we were quoted a 30 minute wait. This allowed us plenty of time to pack our bags and get ourselves looking pretty for a day of Food-and-Wine-ing! We knew there would be a decent amount of drinking and walking, so we wanted to have a good base layer of food to start the day.

At almost 30 minutes exactly, we got the text that our table was ready and we made the very short walk over to Olivia’s Cafe.

Olivia’s Cafe is super cute! They absolutely nailed the mom-and-pop diner-in-the-Florida-Keys vibe. If it weren’t for the CM name tags, you could have convinced me that this breakfast diner was somewhere in small town Florida. When Tory and I were in the early stages of dating, we would often go out to different greasy spoon breakfast joints on Saturday mornings together (where we discovered our mutual love of pancakes and all things breakfast). Olivia’s Cafe harkened back to those days. A casual comforting breakfast to start the day.

I think the team at Olivia’s Cafe knows that everyone is hyping up for a day at the parks because service was fast! We had drinks and our orders taken within 5 minutes of sitting down, and seemingly less than 10 minutes later, breakfast was served!

It took our server setting down our food for me to remember that we were on Disney property. I had ordered the waffle and egg breakfast, and I hadn’t thought about the fact that the waffles would be Mickey waffles. Lol! It certainly put a smile on my face. Tory went with the Papa’s Hash, a traditional potato hash with tamari-marinated tofu.

Tory noted that despite being the plant-based option, her meal was quite greasy and lacked flavor. She asked our waitress for some hot sauce, and she brought back the cutest personal bottle of Tabasco we had ever seen! Hot sauce can cure many food issues and this was one of them!

My waffles, sausage, and eggs were standard diner fare. No complaints from me. For being a sit-down Disney meal, we found the prices to be quite reasonable for the no-frills breakfast. I wouldn’t ever go out of my way to go to Olivia’s Cafe, but if I was staying at OKW again, I would definitely start at least one Disney day with a good old-fashioned diner breakfast. I’ve also heard great things about Olivia’s fried chicken dinner, but didn’t get around to trying it out on this trip.

When we arrived at the bus stop, we waited less than 5 minutes for a bus to EPCOT! It was going to be a good bus day for us!

And so, we were on our way to the park just before 10 AM. While waiting for our bus, I got a text from my parents saying that they had already made it inside. We shared the news that we were currently en route and we planned a meet up spot.
I love EPCOT! It puts the park in theme park and houses what (to us) makes for the best Disney days. Casual rides with short waits, entertainment, food and drink, and great scenery. To spoil what is to come, this was a quinnessential adults-only EPCOT festival day (with a little HS thrown in for good measure).

We walked through the EPCOT tapstyles at 10:15 AM and got our first look at the new entrance fountain. Although we had been to EPCOT during our VIP tour, we hadn’t seen the fountain as Shane had taken us through cast member areas to access the park. I didn’t grow up at WDW, so I don’t have the nostalgia for old EPCOT that many around these parts have. However, the new entrance fountain is gorgeous and complements Spaceship Earth so well. I’m just now realizing that we didn’t make it on SE on this trip and now I am sad. You just can’t do it all in 3 park days! Be sure to thank the Phonecians for me if you are going soon!

We met up with my parents and soon we were all patiently waiting for rope drop! My mom had noted earlier in the trip that she had yet to ride the “new” Soarin’. The last time she was at Disneyland, we still had our beloved Soarin’ over California (So happy to hear that it’s temporarily back at Disneyland!) And so, with the extra magic (half) hour, riding Soarin’ was our first priority.

The rope drop was less of a crowd and more of a half-hearted line. At nearly 10:30 AM, it was already getting warm. Those of us headed to the Land Pavilion were being held between two construction walls on a strip of concrete. There was a touch of shade on one side from the wall, so most people were hugging that pretty tight. It was toasty! Luckily, rope drop occurred on schedule, so we weren’t waiting more than 5-10 minutes in the sun.

In preparing for this trip, we talked to my parents about all of our favorite things at EPCOT, and they noted that they hadn’t heard of or done a good number of them. EPCOT is just that massive (and, for first timers, confusing!). So, in mine and Tory’s heads, we knew that we were going to be leading this day. I dubbed the first two hours of this day the “New to My Parents Tour of EPCOT (™).”

First stop: Soarin’. My parents noted that they didn’t even know where Soarin’ was, so we were able to show them the shopping mall-esque Land Pavilion.

I’m pretty sure we were on the first Soarin’ of the day, which means that you walk seemingly forever to finally reach the gate. That line queue is massively long! We got row B2, which gave me relief. My parents wouldn't be subjected to the Leaning Tower of Eiffel, in addition to the other effects that get messed up when seated out of the A and C gates.
As I have probably said in past TRs, I’m partial to Soarin’ Over California, but Sorin’ is still a good ride. My parents definitely enjoyed it as well!

So, a smashing start to the morning! On the long walk back out of Soarin’, my mom asked where to next. I noted that we wouldn’t have to go far as we were headed to Living with the Land!

We walked back out into the main lobby of the Land Pavilion and found a small line of folks standing just outside the entrance to the LwtL queue. We were slightly dismayed to find that it hadn’t opened yet. Just as we were about to move on and come back later, a CM opened the rope and started funneling folks in!

5 or 6 groups of boats later, we were on a boat of our own and headed into the greenhouses! Every time I go on this ride, there is something new to look at. It’s super amazing how many different plant species they have packed into the greenhouse!

And for the first time ever for us, Tory actually spotted someone working in the lab! So it is real and not just an elaborate Disney prop!

Both my parents thought it was cute, but didn’t have quite the same connection to it that us two scientists do.
On our way out of the Land Pavilion, I took this selfie with Tory that is timestamped 11:13 AM.

So in less than 45 minutes, we had been on both Land rides and had two new experiences checked off the New to My Parents Tour of EPCOT (™). That’s getting quite long - let’s shorten it to NtMPToEPCOT™!

Our next stop on the NtMPToEPCOT™ was another Nick and Tory favorite: Journey into Imagination with Figment. This was just about a walk on as well! Figment hosting his own “open house” near the end of the ride will never not be funny to me!

And, of course, how can you not love the grand finale rainbow explosion?! Tory loves this GIF she made of me clapping along!

My dad didn’t. He noted getting off that he would do the plant ride again, but that Figment was dumb. Different strokes for different folks, and I can definitely see his point of view. I’m just a sucker for campy!

My mom bought Photopass for this day, so we took full advantage of all the Photopass CMs around EPCOT, starting with the CM outside the Imagination Pavilion. The sun was beating down hard, but we got some cute shots!

We were getting the day’s rides out of the way at a good pace! That was crucial in our plan to hit World Showcase shortly after the booths opened to start the Food and Wine-ing. But first, we had our next stop on the NtMPToEPCOT™: La Cava del Tequila! Tequila Cave! Tequila Cave! Both my parents love margaritas and actually own a Margaritaville-branded margarita machine! On their first trip, we strongly suggested that they get margaritas from La Cava, but due to how overwhelming and confusing WDW is as first timers, they ended up with margaritas from the outdoor stand. Now, while I’m sure those are good, they are not La Cava del Tequila margaritas!

At this point, EPCOT had been open to everyone for about 30 minutes, and I was a little nervous that we may have missed our chance to get a table without a wait. I wasn’t sure what the crowd levels would be like given the recent news that Harmonious would be debuting that evening. That fear was unfounded, and we grabbed what looked to be the last open table in La Cava! I was so excited for my parents to get the full La Cava experience!

The La Cava cocktail list can be overwhelming. However do I choose between all of these seemingly delicious margaritas and tequilas?! If you are like me, you just pick what you already know is delicious: the famous Avocado Margarita! Tory got the same, my mom had the Black Magic Margarita (a Neal Patrick Harris special), and my dad got The Wild One. Cheers, DisBoards!

They were both completely smitten with their drinks! How can you not be at La Cava? I will say, I think we were a little late because the Avocado Margarita tasted pre-mixed already. Still good, but not as good as the fresh ones made if you rope drop La Cava.

My mom saw that they had chips, queso, and guacamole on the menu, and wanted to get some. I noted that we had a lot of F&W ahead of us, but she insisted. I later found out that they hadn’t had any breakfast, so starting the day with a margarita and no food would have probably been a bad idea. I had never had the queso from La Cava before. It is so good! Perfectly spicy and not too greasy. Despite our love of everything avocado, the queso was shockingly finished off before the guacamole was! It was that good.

I had previously joked that I was sure my dad could spend a whole EPCOT day at La Cava, and I think he thought that too by the time we left.

Before heading back out to the heat and sun of World Showcase, we made a quick detour onto the Gran Fiesta Tour. It’s not one of my favorites, but there was a minimal line and my parents hadn’t seen it before. So, we added another stop on the NtMPToEPCOT™. I actually came to find out that they hadn’t actually been inside the pyramid in Mexico! A decent enough way to spend 10 minutes, even if the ride feels dated and a little stereotypical of Mexican culture. With that, we reached the end of the NtMPToEPCOT™! A truly great start to Epcot!

 

[rdkeim]

Reading along and enjoying your TR. So many good meals and experiences so far. So jealous of your VIP tour with a plaid. Wonderful! Hope your day of F&W is a good one

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I had fallen behind but had so much fun catching up. Totally agree with you on the magic of taking things a bit slower at Disney -- and centering activities around food and drink!! So glad you were able to introduce your parents to the magic that is Nomad Lounge. Such a great spot. Bummer you couldn't get into Trader Sam's. Topolino's is one of my favorite spots. Re: French vs. Italian, Topolino is Mickey Mouse in Italian and when they originally opened (think it was Dec 2019) they had maybe 4-5 pasta dishes on the menu. Then there was the pandemic closure and for whatever reason, the other pasta dishes haven't returned. That chicken sugo rigatoni your Dad had is my favorite. Love an EPCOT day and with The Land and La Cava you hit two of my must-dos right off the bat!

 

[cccory]

Such a great trip report. Thank you for sharing.

 

[LeeLee'sMom]

just found your trip report and it's great!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

Reading along and enjoying your TR. So many good meals and experiences so far. So jealous of your VIP tour with a plaid. Wonderful! Hope your day of F&W is a good one

Good meals and experiences is what we aim for! Taking it slow is our goal! Glad you are enjoying!

I had fallen behind but had so much fun catching up. Totally agree with you on the magic of taking things a bit slower at Disney -- and centering activities around food and drink!! So glad you were able to introduce your parents to the magic that is Nomad Lounge. Such a great spot. Bummer you couldn't get into Trader Sam's. Topolino's is one of my favorite spots. Re: French vs. Italian, Topolino is Mickey Mouse in Italian and when they originally opened (think it was Dec 2019) they had maybe 4-5 pasta dishes on the menu. Then there was the pandemic closure and for whatever reason, the other pasta dishes haven't returned. That chicken sugo rigatoni your Dad had is my favorite. Love an EPCOT day and with The Land and La Cava you hit two of my must-dos right off the bat!

Well I learned something today! That's such a cool piece of trivia about Topolino!

Really interesting to hear that the menu changed that much. Must have been a new executive chef when it reopened.

The Land and La Cava! I dare anyone to name a better duo!

Such a great trip report. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks for reading!

just found your trip report and it's great!

Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy the last couple of entries. I promise that I'm going to finish this!

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

So with a base layer of margarita, chips, guacamole, and queso, we began our gluttonous Food and Wine day! Overall, it was a great afternoon of chatting, sipping, and tasting all throughout the gorgeous World Showcase!

We also took tons of photopass photos! Including from Norway!

Our first food top was the India booth! Tory and I got the Madras Red Curry. It was just okay. Kind of bland. We do a vegan curry at home on weeknights quite frequently, and it kind of reminded us of that, but with less flavor. Plus it was quite warm that day, and a piping hot curry really didn’t hit the spot. Oh well, moving on!

We stopped in China briefly to take some pictures and wander around the shops!

Walking the shops is always a nice respite on a warm afternoon. I will also note that the photo with me laughing is one of my dad’s favorites of the four of us. It is a good one!

Because the Africa booth (one of our favorites from last trip) wasn’t open for the season yet, we stopped by the Refreshment Outpost to try the Spicy Githeri. This was so good! The beans were tender and flavorful, and the slaw added a nice crunch. Plus, the portion was huge for the price! We ended up not finishing all the quinoa on the bottom since there was so much of it and there was more snacking ahead!

Our next stop was my dad’s favorite country: Germany. My parents headed to the Alps Booth and we grabbed a standing table by the water which is no easy task during F&W. My parents returned with two items: (1) the Warm Raclette with Baby Potatoes and Baguette and (2) the Blueberry and Almond Frangipane Tart. I think my dad may have also grabbed a German beer or a beer flight from one of the booths? The raclette also suffered from the heat. Warm heavy cheese, while tasty, wasn’t the best fit for a warm afternoon.

On the sweet side, the Blueberry tart was very good! I am a sucker for frangipane and this did not disappoint. The tart was served warm, so the creme fraiche was actively melting. This was just a really good bite of food!

The birds were enjoying the dropped food from all the F&Wers.

We also saw boats! Like the trip report title!

We then wandered the shops of Germany. Or at least the ones that were open. The Teddy Bear store and the shop next to it were not open. Tory was very sad, as she was hoping to grab teddy bears for her little nephews. Also, we understand the global pandemic, and all the issues it has wrought, but World Showcase without International CMs just didn’t quite have the same feel.

Before we left, we stopped to watch the trains!

Next stop: Italy. We know the poor reputation that the Italy booth has, so we steered very clear. My mom wanted to see the shops, so Tory and I found a seat and soaked in the scenery of Italy.

When my parents emerged from the main shop in Italy, we had to have them take our photo in front of the campanile, as is our tradition on every trip. All three trips below for your viewing pleasure!

Note that Tory bought her shirt for our EPCOT days on our honeymoon, but it was so chilly on that trip (it was a very chilly cold-snap!) that she opted for warmer layers. I think she forgot it on our return trip, so she was very excited to show it off finally!

Our water bottles were already empty, so when we got to America we went into the Regal Eagle smokehouse to grab some cold water. It smelled so good there, and the reviews from y’all on DisBoards had been so great, but the goal was F&W, so we opted to skip it. Next time, though!

We grabbed one of the tables in the America Pavilion and took a breather and hydration break. I opted to try something from the Rotunda Bistro, so I wandered inside the American Adventure to order something. This was super weird! It took us several trips to EPCOT to be able to see the Voices of Liberty inside American Adventure because we always had food or drinks. So it was kind of odd to be able to order food in there. I chatted with a very friendly CM while I ordered the Chilled Crab and Avocado Parfait. I also got the sparkling rose, for my sparkling rose-loving wife! Also, I love this my dad in the background of this photo, planning what to eat next!

I carefully walked back to our table so as not to spill either. The parfait was probably the biggest bust of the whole day. It was just not good. The crab was real and fresh, but it just didn’t work with the avocado. It ate very salty. I didn’t end up finishing it at the advice of my mom who has always told me to not waste calories on something that didn’t taste good. Thanks for the life advice, Momma!

As we were sitting, we heard that the Voices of Liberty were getting ready to start their set in the amphitheater, so we opted to continue our hydration break with a show. As someone who can’t sing, I am always impressed with those that can sing! And the Voices of Liberty have such a wonderful variety of voices! Somehow, we don’t have any pictures of the show. Tory and I both noted that the setlist that afternoon was kind of odd. They started with a couple of patriotic classics, then switched to a Moana medley and ended with a modern pop song. It was all expertly done though!

After some shade, water, and songs, we were all feeling refreshed and ready to press on with our world travels!
The next country on our world tour was Japan! I think all of us were excited by the F&W options here. Plus, browsing Mitsukoshi is always enjoyable! This also brought another PhotoPass opportunity. Despite it being peak heat at around 2:30 PM, the CM had all kinds of energy and brought big smiles to our faces in the photos!

Tory and I split the Spicy Hako Sushi and the Ozeki Platinum Sake. Both were highly enjoyable. The tuna and salmon tasted fresh and the roll was well crafted. I’m not the hugest fan of sake, but this was quite drinkable. And it came in a really cute metal cup that we gave to my Momma. The sake wasn’t too syrupy or sweet, which is often my issue with sake. I’m pretty sure that my parents got the teriyaki chicken bun, but I don’t have any pictures to prove it!

Shortly after finishing the Japan booth treats and spending time browsing the Japan pavillion, we found ourselves in front of the always delicious Greece booth. Tory and I had just one thing on our mind: Spanakopita!

Before diving in, I had to take another obligatory food glamour shot with World Showcase Lagoon and the (slightly hideous) Harmonious barges. My parents split the Greek wine flight, because when else are you going to get to try three Greek wines outside of Greece?!

The spanakopita was pretty good. Definitely hit the spot after craving it since we first looked at F&W menus, but it was a pretty standard version of the popular Greek appetizer.

We wandered through the Morocco Pavilion only to very quickly realize that nearly every shop in the pavilion was still closed. Again, I kind of understand why given the pandemic, but it would be so nice if they would have had some local CMs working the stalls and booths to at least have them open. So our Morocco stroll was cut pretty short.

Next, we wandered into France, and I started to hit a food wall - my mom, not so much! On my parents first trip, my mom fell in love with Les Halles (who can blame her?) and so she headed straight to the back of the pavilion to get her fill of baked goods.

Shockingly, despite it being late in the afternoon, they actually had my favorite Les Halles item: the Roule Lard et Fromage! So, with a twist of my arm, Tory and I ordered that and my mom went for the chocolate croissant and an eclair.

Friends, they ruined it! The Roule Lard used to be a rolled bread with the cheese and bacon worked in between the rolls of the dough. This was more akin to a sourdough roll that cheese and bacon were added to the top of during the last few minutes of baking. The flavor was as remembered, but the artistry and skill just wasn’t there. Clearly the French CMs have some magic up their sleeves that wasn’t written down in the recipes.

At this point, I truly had hit a food, drink, and heat wall, and I think my parents and Tory were getting there as well. It was hot! So, we hatched a plan so that we would have enough energy to make it to Harmonious. After hearing us gush about our Skyliner experience, and seeing them soar over the France Pavilion, my mom really wanted to ride them. So, we planned to take a leisurely ride on the Skyliner over to Hollywood Studios to ride Tower of Terror.

We said a temporary goodbye to EPCOT and headed to the skyliner station. There was no wait and we quickly found ourselves soaring behind EPCOT and towards Caribbean Beach. The views in the late afternoon sun were stunning. Both my parents were very pleased as well. Before too long, we were scanning ourselves into HS.

We headed right down Hollywood Blvd towards the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

ToT was only sporting a 20 minute wait (truly a great week by wait time standards!) and we gladly hopped in line. Again, I love this ride. It’s just perfection. Did anyone watch the Behind the Attraction episode on it? I love thinking about the fact that the Imagineers went to an elevator factory and tried to get them to break their elevators. Such a funny thought! We had PhotoPass so you get to see us this time! (we’re center row on the left)

A successful jaunt over to HS, but could it get better?!

Next, we popped into some of the shops along Hollywood Blvd to get out of the heat.

My mom found her way into the Pandora shop. Tory and I continued to browse other stores and when we rejoined my parents, my mom had decided to purchase a Star Wars charm bracelet. Once I found out that she had purchased two charms (C3P0 and Chewbacca), I assumed they were to represent my brother and I. I’m the nerdy scientist, and if you can believe it, my brother has a fiercer beard than I do (he’s like a hairy Wookie). My mom laughed hysterically when I told her this - as that was not her intention at all - but it totally fit, and it made her cherish her purchase even more.

I hope she will always remember this trip when she wears the bracelet! And both her sons, of course!

It was quite warm in the late afternoon sun and I had to stop everyone so I could refill my water bottle with some cold water. I had Tory dump half of it down my neck, which really brought my energy back up and cooled me down. The French Patisserie, on top of the rest of the F&W, had made me sleepy. You can see my drenched shirt in these PhotoPass photos.

When we were on the Skyliner headed towards HS, RotR was marked in MDE as being down, but at some point while shopping, it came back up. So, after my mom finished up her transaction, we headed over to Galaxy’s Edge to see if the line looked manageable. To our great delight, the wait was posted at 45 minutes! My parents definitely wanted to ride it again, so we hopped in line.

Since it was standby only at that point in time, the line always kept moving and all the hallways of the cave felt unique, making the time pass quickly. And quick it truly was! We were being briefed by BB-8 and Rey in just 25 minutes!

By the time we were finally off the ride, the whole experience had only been 50 minutes. And that was with a several minute delay right after we got loaded into our ride vehicle. I nervously thought we were going to be told it had broken down again, but it didn’t!

Blurry selfie from the are-we-or-aren’t-we-going-to-break-down? period:

And so, for my third time on the trip, I got to escape the clutches of the First Order. I don’t think I will ever be able to write that sentence again without having to fork over a ton of money to the Genie.

 

[PassedTheEndorMoon]

We walked off Batuu buzzing with excitement. It was just after 6 PM, and with a 9 PM Harmonious premiere, we were all well aware that it was time to head back to EPCOT. So back to the Skyliner we went. Pretty awesome 2 hour diversion to HS if you ask me!

The Skyliner back was so slow. It stopped at least twice on both the HS and EPCOT lines.

It was kind of breezy and both my mom and I started to get a little anxious with the way we were swaying and not moving.

We did get to see what looked like a media event back in the France pavilion, kind of by where Rat Ride is. Looked like tons of food and suits!

From park-to-park, it was over half an hour with the stops and the wait to get on again at the Caribbean Beach transfer. We probably could have walked it or taken a boat and gotten there quicker, but you just can’t predict these things.

By 6:45 PM, we were back in EPCOT! As was to be expected, the crowds had materialized and people were beginning to claim spots for Harmonious. We all needed a little more sustenance for the evening push, so we split up to hit some of our most desired F&W booths. For as busy as EPCOT was becoming, the booth lines were all pretty short. Most people just had one thing on their minds: Harmonious!

Tory and I hit several in quick succession. My notes are pretty scant from this part of the evening, so I’ll just list off what we had with accompanying pictures:

The Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake and Irish Cream Ale from the Ireland Booth (The cream ale was much better than the cake.)

The Roasted Lamb Chop from the Australia booth (Probably the highlight of the evening!)

Both the Shrimp and Coconut Curry Rice Noodles (pictured) and the Tofu Pho (not pictured) from the Noodle Exchange. Tory and I had both been looking forward to this booth as big pho fans. While the noodles and shrimp were good, both broths left a lot to be desired. They were just pretty bland. I don’t think Disney could have recreated a broth like you would find in a small pho restaurant, but we were hoping for better. The portions here were quite large for the price though, which was a definite plus!

The Chimmichurri-Up Offense from the Flavors from Fire booth: Purchased only because of the name. The tri tip was quite good. Tory likes to laugh at me for finding the food names at this booth so funny.

Traditional Macaroni and Cheese from the Mac and Eats booth: Solid. It was indeed Mac and Cheese and it was good!

I also tried the Lemon Hazy IPA, which was not great. Lemon in an IPA sounded interesting, but after a couple of sips, I realized the reason I hadn’t seen it anywhere else was because it doesn’t work as a flavor pairing.
As we were eating the Mac and Cheese, we got a call from my Dad asking where we were and where we wanted to sit for Harmonious. We quickly met back up with them near Mexico, and started walking World Showcase looking for a spot. We didn’t have to go too far before we found some space in an area next to the water in Norway. It seemed like it would be a great spot.

We had about an hour and fifteen minutes until showtime, which really wasn’t bad considering it was the preview night.

So, we settled in and relaxed. My mom noted that she still had some funds left on her F&W gift card, so Tory and I offered to go grab a few more items from some nearby booths.

We brought back the Kalua Pork Slider and the Tuna Poke from the Hawai’i booth and the Chilaquiles con Chorizo from the Mexico booth for the four of us to share to end our F&W day! The Tuna Poke was the stand out, although the presentation made it hard to eat.

While we waited for Harmonious to start, we relaxed and talked about the trip as a whole and other life stuff as this was our last night.

We also met a lovely couple from Canada who explained the (at the time) complex COVID protocol required for them to travel to and from the US.

Before too long, it was showtime! I think we were all very excited. The first night of a new nighttime spectacular! At EPCOT! The successor to Illuminations!

-sigh- A lot has been said about this show for the past five months now, and I am not being paid to rehash it, so Tory recommended I just braindump my mixed thoughts about this show via a bullet point list. Thus, I present my random list to my lovely readers:

• The sightlines are bad from Norway. You can not see any of the projections in the middle ring. We didn’t even know something different was projected there until we watched clips online back in our room later that night.
• The tentacle arms are just weird unnecessary tech.
• The introduction section felt more like a finale. It was abstract, grand, and awe-inspiring.
• Then, it just became another typical Disney clip show.
• I love that the Pavilions still get lit up and the torches around the lagoon are still featured.
• One of Tory’s favorite Disney songs is Go the Distance and she was happy it got included.
• One of my favorite Disney songs is Out There from Hunchback, and I was happy it got included.
• Between the Moana/Hercules mashup at the beginning and the finale, there is no heart or soul in any of it. Nothing tugged at my heart strings, and Disney nighttime shows often do make me emotional. (Remember Dreams Come True, Fantasmic!, Illuminations, and Paint the Night all come to mind)
• World of Color has more kinetic energy (This might be my most scathing comment as I am not a World of Color fan). It all felt very static and screen-based.
• We liked the Lion King segment.
• The pacing was weird. There was no time for reflection.
• The show doesn’t justify just how ugly the barges are during the day.
• The fireworks really don’t match what’s going on during the show.
• We happened to stand right behind one of the firework launch points. That was pretty jarring and almost scary the first time it was used!
• There just wasn’t much of a theme. Right before the finale, a voice mentions people use their voices to bring joy. If that was the theme, they really needed to hit that much harder at the start. It made no sense to only share that before the finale.
• The lack of cohesion and theme about unity or world peace is what hurt the most. Illuminations left you with this amazing message. Harmonious, not so much.
• The finale was good. Abstract again.

As the show ended, the cheers from around us were muted at best. When leaving a Disney nighttime spectacular, you often feel a buzz of energy from the crowd. You didn’t feel that after the Harmonious premiere.

As the crowds were making their way out, most of the energy and chatter was about the new lighting package on Spaceship Earth, which really says a lot about Harmonious. But, it also says a lot about how GORGEOUS Spaceship Earth is! I, along with everyone else, had to stop and take some pictures.

I really wanted to like Harmonious. I did. It was going to take a lot to be the successor to Illuminations. This didn’t come close. If I was at EPCOT at closing again, would I stop and watch it? Sure. But I certainly wouldn’t plan a Disney day/evening around it.

Both OKW and AKL had buses actively loading as we approached the bus station, so we said a very hasty goodbye to my parents for the night. Tory and I spent the bus ride back trying to process what we had seen in Harmonious. It was disappointing.

However, on the whole, the day was great! F&W is always a blast! We also were able to make it onto ToT and RotR. And we sat down at La Cava! It’s also super cool to be able to say that we were at the Harmonious debut (even if it was a lackluster debut)!

Coming up: Departure Day (sad), a lovely nature walk, Boathouse, and Wine Bar George (At long last! Fans of our trip reports will remember that we have now twice canceled our departure day WBG reservation - we didn’t cancel this time though!)