Spring breaks, as far as amusement parks go, lasted FOREVER here this year. When Easter is late, it's not usually good for us- because the tourists are here longer than usual. We were blacked out of our passes at Disney the last two weeks, but as soon as we had an opportunity to head back out, we were so there. Last Monday we started our day at Epcot. It was crowded, but we tried to pack our patience and nab some Fastpasses.
Our first Fastpass was for Spaceship Earth, so we got to skip the long line. This one is right inside the gate, so it's always crowded early in the day.
The Flower and Garden Festival is still in full swing, so we decided we would do lunch at the outdoor kitchens along the way.
At the La Isla Fresca kitchen, we decided on the Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer. Across from there we also picked up the Brocheta de Pollo con Salsa Morita (Chicken and peppers with salsa) at the Jardin De Fiestas kitchen.
Some lady warned us the shrimp would be sweet, but actually none of us got that, it was more buttery than anything. I didn't have the chicken after I saw how the boys reacted to the spicyness level, but Asa was pleased with the dish.
We did decide to have some snacks at some of the counter service places around the world, too. The boys are justifiably fans of the nachos from Mexico.
Over in Norway we got everyone's favorite: school bread. It's one of the best, cheapest snacks at Disney.
But we also decided to get the Norway Charcuterie. The whole thing went in a flash, except for that brown cheese. I don't know what it was, but if it's cheese, and even Hayden thinks it's gross, we've got problems. Asa liked it enough, though. Or at least he didn't mind it.
We had Fastpasses for Frozen because we hadn't been on it yet, but the ride was down. When that happens, they either let you pick a new ride from a list, or just come back whenever you want. But when you've completed your Fastpasses for the day, you can get more. I thought we'd be stuck until we used the Frozen one, but Disney has apparently fixed the glitch, and we were able to book more and keep Frozen! Our plan for the day was to walk Epcot, go out the back entrance, over to Hollywood Studios, then back to Epcot to finish the trek around the world. Luckily we were able to snag Toy Story Fastpasses for just a few hours away.
So we got to leisurely continue our walk around the world. (We love the topiaries and gardens at the Flower and Garden festival)
Over at the Germany Bauernmarket farmer's market, we got a potato pancake with caramelized ham, onions and herb sour cream and currywurst with paprika chips. I'm not usually a fan of ham, but the potato pancake topped with it was probably my favorite thing I had all day. Peyton liked the paprika chips.
But really Peyton hadn't taken too many bites of any of the food we had picked out, and he had a few (very politely asked for) requests, including the frushi in Japan, and the Shrimp and Stone Ground grits at the Florida Fresh booth.
A little known exit/entrance exists between the United Kingdom pavilion and the French pavilion. Anyone staying at any of those back hotels knows about it, but it goes unnoticed if you aren't looking for it. You can take the boat out this exit and all the way over to Hollywood Studios.
It's a decently long boat trip, with three stops at various hotels before you get to Hollywood Studios, but we nabbed the bench in the very back (and outside) part of the boat, so it was a lovely ride.
We haven't been to Hollywood Studios in YEARS. I'm positive we didn't go on our last pass, and I'm not entirely sure we had been on the one before that. It's under tons of construction- and Hayden and Peyton and I aren't fans of too many of the rides, so we just avoid it. It was less crowded than Epcot though, so it was a welcome change. We hit things like the Great Movie Ride, and Star Wars.
Plus we managed to get Toy Story Fastpasses. As soon as we used those, we snagged some back at Epcot for Soarin, which we also hadn't been on since it had been refurbished, so we were kind of on fire with our Fastpasses. (Also for the record, Asa killed us all at Toy Story).
Hollywood Studios is all kinds of torn up, though. There are dead ends and walls everywhere, and you can't see much beyond them- eventually there will be a whole new Star Wars land and Toy Story land, but until then the park does feel very small.
After a couple hours, we were on our way back when we decided to stop off at the Yacht Club for dinner. First up we went to the Crews Cup Lounge for some drinks, truffle fries and an onion platter. Those truffle fries are amazing, and at $5.50, they're the best value on Disney property! (We also get Tables in Wonderland there- so an extra 20% off!)
The boys are boys- so they were still really hungry. We stopped at Hurricane Hannahs at the Beach Club pool for some sandwiches and things. They got full meals, Asa and I were happy to split the seafood roll and call it a day.
It's a short stroll back to the back entrance of Epcot from there, and we had the PERFECT weather. It was 75 degrees, hardly any humidity and a light breeze. Part of the reason we picked to go on Monday is because we were pretty sure it was going to be one of the last cool days until the fall. So far, we've been right (it's been nearing 100 the last few days here).
From there we walked back up to the front of Epcot for our Soarin Fastpasses, we barely made it in time, but I loved it. I've always been a Soarin fan, but the redo is lovely!
Unfortunately at this point we had a casualty. On our trek to Soarin, my flip flop just snapped. I tried to tape it, but it did nothing. I had a decision to make: call it and go home, or walk all the over to Frozen, broken flip flop and all to finally use our Fastpass.
Of course I picked Frozen! We hadn't been on it yet! It's pretty much just Malstrom with Frozen characters, but we really liked it! I'm not sure we'd grab that Fastpass over Test Track or Soarin again, but it was a fun, cute ride!
The sun was on the way down, and Illuminations was about to start, so we headed out to beat the mass exodus of people at the end of the night. But, I did like the two park strategy of going out the back and hitting Hollywood Studios, so we might do that again sometime.
Other than Disney and trips to the lodge, and some Wednesday Sprouts Shopping, we haven't been up to much. Asa has been working a lot, so there is that.
But Hayden did finish another Harry Potter book, so he got a Sirius Black Funko Pop to add to his collection.
And I do feel like I blog a lot about what we eat (I mean you do have to eat!), but I do want to point out, I have an awesome resident cook. Sure some of the country meals are hit and miss, but that's on me for picking the recipes. Asa executes everything really well. Just look what he whipped me up for lunch. He's a keeper!
That's it from here. With an hour and 15 minutes left in April, I am all blog-caught-up, and I love when I close out a month like that.
Next Up: Asa's new schedule goes into effect, and we've got some appointments this week, but I'm crossing my fingers for some fun on our new 'weekend'.
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