CEO, for those of you who don't know, is a fighting game championship held in Central Florida every year. Well, usually every year. You know, covid. The last time we attended a CEO Event it was back in September of 2019 for CEO Taku. 2020's normal summer event was cancelled, and 2021's got pushed from the last weekend in June, until the first week in December. All of this was a bummer for Peyton and Hayden, because that's like the highlight of their year. We've been crossing our fingers for awhile that the December event would pan out- and we were lucky that it did.
It was hard to get passes for CEO because of demand. Hayden and Asa go just to watch, but they had to spring for 'Competitor's Passes' instead because all the Spectator ones were gone. And we weren't able to get a room at the hotel until the last minute because it too had filled up. But, we got it all squared away and were ready to head on over to Orlando for CEO 2021 on Thursday afternoon.
Calib, who was staying home to work, watch the dogs, and take over dog walking duty for the neighbors in place of Peyton, put on his sandals and hugged his fruit snacks, ensuring nobody would take them to Orlando without his permission.
When we arrived to the Wyndham on International Drive, there were already tons of people around. Masks were required, and you had to prove you either were vaccinated or had had a negative covid test in the last few days. Really, the best you can do in Florida these days.
We checked into our room, and lucky for us we were able to get one of their family rooms. I love this set up- we get a king sized bed, Peyton and Hayden each get their own bunk.
And then the guys were off to check in. Complete with their goodie package, they got hand sanitizer, wipes, a mask, and buttons to wear to let people know what level of hanging out with people you felt comfortable with.
It wasn't long before Peyton was off to hang out with people. He even made Jebailey's twitter account. (The guy who puts on the whole thing).
Meanwhile, Hayden relaxed in the room, and Asa and I headed over to Disney Springs for dinner. It was about a 15 minute trip from the hotel. We swung by Polite Pig for a Butcher's Board for dinner, and then nosed around some of the Disney Springs shops. They even had some vault stuff (for the 50th anniversary) out! It gave me lots of Disney from my childhood vibes.
On the way back to the hotel, we picked up some dinner for Peyton and Hayden. The only White Castle in Florida recently(Ish) opened in Orlando and was about halfway between Disney and the hotel, so we brought them some back. I think White Castle is eh... but then I'm not a teenage boy. Or, Asa.
On Friday, they were all at the competition (Peyton made it to the second day!), and I headed out to Disney. I decided since I was mostly on my own, to do some things in Orlando nobody else had very much interest in.. like doing all four parks in Disney in one day. I made it, and I'll blog about it- but for now, here was my Friday...
.. at Animal Kingdom...
..Magic Kingdom...
Saturday, Peyton didn't compete until four, so Asa said he would hang out with me until then. We decided to head on over to Lake Eola to take the Swan paddle boats for a spin.
I love a good paddle boat!
And the views from out on the lake were also lovely.
Of course, we took a walk around the lake too, and saw all the Christmas decorations..
Of course, you really come out to Lake Eola for the birds. Sure, there are lots of ducks..
But, you're really at Lake Eola to see the swans. They say at least 50 of these swans call this lake home, and they're pretty tame and docile, as far as swans go.
Imagine how excited I was to find out there was a little feeding station for them over by the pagoda where you can buy pellets to feed the swans! My quarter I keep in my purse for my Aldi's cart sure paid off here.
Worth noting: you could also bring your own greens to feed them!
It was a little tricky to get their attention... but once you did...
the swans happily ate my pellets!
Though the pigeons and spoon bills also wanted a piece.
But you do get quite a lot of pellets for a quarter, so we made our way around the lake feeding the swans.
Some were more cooperative than others for pictures.
Asa kept telling me to try and feed them out of my hand, and I was like 'are you crazy? Swans are notoriously mean!' But of course Asa tried to do it anyway, and a swan bit him. Not too terrible or anything, but then he complained about it. It was the most predictable thing that happened all weekend. Every time I relayed the story to one of the boys, they all predicted the ending.
But, Asa didn't let a little swan nibble deter him, we kept feeding the swans until we were out of pellets.
Lovely trip to Lake Eola. Two thumbs up. Highly recommend.
For lunch we swung by King Bao. They serve up all kinds of awesome bao buns at great prices, and win all kinds of local foodie awards in Central Fl, so we gave them a try.
We got some truffle tots and three streamed buns to go: a pork bell one, a cuban one, and a bang bang shrimp one. They were all amazing, and honestly I wish we had gotten like five more. Not because I was still hungry (they are very filing) but because they were that good. And steamed buns are usually Asa's thing, not mine.
We're still not eating in resturants. Being inside with people without a mask still weirds me out. So, we found a park to eat at nearby. It was listed on Google as 'Big Tree Park', and that's really all it is... a little corner lot with a big tree.
A Big tree that has apparently been around a long time.
After lunch at Big Tree Park, we headed over to the East End Market to visit the original Gideon's Bakehouse! And check out all the other little local shops in the same building.
So, I know about Gideon's because they used to serve their cookies (which are pretty tasty) at Polite Pig at Disney Springs, then they opened their own store at Disney Springs. It was their second- and it was a total hit. People wait hours for their stuff. In fact, we've only waited for it once. The cake was totally worth the wait, btw.
But the original Gideon's is tucked away at the East End market. And there is a wait, but it's not hours long like you'll find over at Disney Springs.
It's not nearly as big either. No Cold Brew here (though Asa found it at another little booth). Maybe just a couple of cake options.
But, it's the same great theme-ing and delicious desserts you'll find over in Disney Springs.
On they day we were there they were selling their mini cakes! This only happens a few days a month, so I was super excited it about. It's an excellent portion, and it did not disappoint.
If you want to go, Gideons can be found on Corrine Drive. Which, would be cooler if it was spelled the right way.
It was nearing four, so Asa and I headed back to the hotel. He went off to watch Peyton and I went down the pool. It was a bit too cold for swimming, so I ended up in the hot tub and then back at the room to watch some college football.
Sadly, Peyton lost his match. He did finish in the top 50 out of like 800 though, so that was his best showing yet! I got out food for everyone for dinner so they could just run back to the room, grab something to eat, and be on their way. I even brought the mini slow cooker. One night we had meatball subs, another night pork sandwiches.
Now, I couldn't get into any of the Ballrooms to see competitions, since I didn't have a pass. But, you don't generally need a pass to go to Jebaileyland- where there are all kinds of free play games. So, I went up there with Asa for a bit.
I did beat him once at Retro Raccoons, but I wasn't fast enough to take a picture of it. But, trust me. It happened.
Later that evening, Asa and I walked down to ICON pack. It's a touristy place a few blocks from the Wyndham on International Drive, where you can go to the Sealife Aquarium or hop on the Orlando Eye. But, it was also nice just to walk around to see all the decorations and hear live music.
And we stopped in at Gordon Ramsay's Fish and Chips for some parmesean truffle fries, which for $7 did not disappoint.
It was a nice quick trip on a Saturday night.
I went back to the room to shower and lay down, but Asa and the boys stayed out late, playing games, and hanging out with people. I didn't hear Peyton come in until nearly 5, and then I felt real bad about having to wake him up at 10:30 so we could check out.
Sunday of course was go-home day. But, Peyton and Hayden wanted to stay at CEO for the day, so they could see the final matches and the winners. So it was up to me to find some way to fill my day. I decided Disney would be the best for that. I told Asa he could drop me off and they could swing by and pick me up on their way home. But, we also decided we could grab lunch at Raglan Road when he dropped me off, since we had gotten a gift card like a year and a half ago and hadn't spent it yet.
I got the worth the wait beef sandwich, which was in fact worth the wait.
And Asa got the full Irish breakfast.
All in all, a delicious meal on the patio at Raglan Road. Even the soda bread was better than I remembered it.
So, Asa headed back to watch the finals, and I just had to kill about 9 hours.
My plan was to stop by all the hotels to see the Christmas decorations, and various gingerbread things- and spend a little time at Epcot as well. But, without a car, I had to be strategic with how I got from here to there.
I nosed around Disney Springs for awhile, and enjoyed those decorations.
And I saw the last of those trees. The Haunted Mansion tree was super cool, as usual.
The Beauty and the Beast Tree was also well done.
I thought the '50th Tree/Disney Parks' Tree could have done a little something more exciting.
I did enjoy the Lion King tree with Simba at the top though.
I'm not super familiar with Disney Jr. these days, so that tree didn't speak to me. Throw in some Doc McStuffins or Playhouse Disney and I totally would have been there for it. But, all of this was lost on me.
Then, I hopped on the boat and made my way down to Port Orleans... French Quarter.
This place has not been reopened all that long. It just came back in October of this year, but it's one of my favorites.
I was happy to see it all decorated...
But I was also very happy to see the Mickey Beignets had made their return!
I decided to head on over to the Magic Kingdom Resorts after that, so I hopped on the Port Orleans Bus that would take me over to MK. I double masked, and noticed they were keeping the emergency roof open for air flow.
Plus there weren't a whole lot of people on this bus anyway.
And I made it over to the MK resorts. I walked from Magic Kingdom over to the Contemporary Resort hoping to find their annual Gingerbread House. But instead I found a nice veiw and the usual Contemporary stuff. No gingerbread house this year over there. I was so disappointed!
And making matters worse, Calib was the one keeping me abridged of the Bucs game, and he's so pessimistic about it all (we did end up winning, though).
I hopped on the monorail from the Contemporary over to the Grand Floridian where I knew I would find the gingerbread house!
I'm pretty sure they even did some version of this one in 2020, it's like the iconic one of Disney world.
And this year it's even decked out for the 50th.
I decided rather than hop on the monorail to go back to the Polynesian, I'd walk. But then there was one of those nice big round shaded seats sitting empty along the way, so I took a load off and watched the end of the Bucs game on my phone. I also stayed around to see the Lions win their first game of the season.
And then I made my way around Seven Seas Lagoon..
I swung by the Polynesian, but was a bit disappointed in their decorations. I've found many of the resorts don't have as much as they usually do. There was the Christmas tree in the lobby, and that was about it.
I continued on my way to the Ticket and Transportation Center to hop on the Epcot monorail.. (where along the way I heard a cast member drop an F bomb for the first time ever... these poor cast members are overworked and underpaid, and people treat them pretty shitty. Treat hourly workers nice, you guys. Come on!)
It was on this trip I also discovered the Gasparilla Bowl would be UCF vs. the Gators. We took a gamble that it would be them and bought tickets earlier in the day for $15 a piece. By the time this announcement was official, all the $15 seats were gone- so we made a good deal!
So that F bomb I heard was one cast member bitching to another about how nobody wears their mask. I hop on the monorail, double masked, and find a couple of guys behind me not only unmasked, but old guy hacking up a lung. So, cool.
When I arrived at Epcot, I could automatically tell I was in for a busy night. The parking lot was packed,
But, I had some hope when the monorail took a spin around before dropping us off, that maybe it wouldn't be too bad.
So I got to Epcot a little after 5 and still had lots of time to kill before they'd be ready to pick me up.
I swung by the Donut Box to get the Gingerbread Milkshake in the free Annual Passholder Cup.
The "milkshake" was good, but it was more milky, less ice creamy than I would hope. It tasted more like someone let a gingerbread cookie dissolve in a glass of milk than what I was picturing. I had about half of it, and that seemed like too much dairy for me. I really wanted the cup more than anything (and it was only $4.50 anyway).
What I really wanted was the cheese fondu bread bowl back in the Germany booth for the Festival of the Holidays. I tried to get this the night before but the line was twice as long. I counted 58 people ahead of me at one point, but the line moved decently fast.
And in just about 20 minutes I had my bread bowl of cheese. Totally worth the wait.
Since I was waiting anyway, I also nabbed the Linzer Cookie. I brought half of this home, because I'm now the type of person who puts a couple ziplocks in my Disney bag for leftovers.
Both were delicious, so I happily ate those and then made my way around the crowds through the world showcase. I decided since I had the time, I would finally take the time to wait in line to see the Candlelight Processional.
Ok, so if you don't know, Epcot has done this for years. Like, basically ever. They have a full orchestra, a choir, and a celebrity narrator. (Mine was Alton Fitzgerald White. I hadn't heard of him before, but among other things, he had played Mufasa on Broadway!) The whole thing is the telling of the 'Christmas Story', and honestly, way to religious for me. The singing and playing was top notch. But, as a girl who grew up in the Catholic Church this was just too much for me. Some people LOVE this event and swear by it, but I"m kind of one and done with it.
I was more like.. can I get a Rocking Around the Christmas Tree? An All I Want for Christmas is You? I mean, it is was it is.. but I sort of can't believe that's a thing at Disney. I am glad I did it once, but yea.. it's not for me. Gorgeous lightning though, for sure.
After that, I made my way out the back entrance of Epcot to visit the hotels back there and check out their decorations. The Beach Club had their Gingerbread Carousel!
This years theme was The Little Mermaid, and every horse was done after a different character.
The Ursula horse...
Prince Eric...
Ariel..
And King Triton.
Off to the side you'll find Sebastian and Flounder.
And then I headed over to the Yacht Club..
No Gingerbread House here, but they do have a Christmas Train set up!
There's lots of details in this one, some Disney Parks related, there was a whole Frozen 2 theme, and lots of general nods to Disney.
The Yacht Club and the train were some of my favorite stops from the day!
I decided next to head on over around to the Boardwalk to see what was going on over there.
Outside the Boardwalk had their big Christmas tree..
and inside had some decorations, but no gingerbread scene like usual.
I spent the rest of my evening watching some of the performers out on the boardwalk...
Catching the Harmonious Fireworks
And sitting outside Jellyrolls. They had the doors left wide open, so you could hear the dueling pianos without having to pay the $20 cover charge.
I also made my way over to the Swan and Dolphin, where they had their very own Christmas light show set up to music.
And by then, the boys had seen the end of the tournament and were ready to pick me up. I guess all in all, this is less of a CEO Blog and more of a Corinne one. But, I had a fun weekend in Orlando, and so did they, so we all won.
And, as a bonus I had leftover cookie to have the next day with my coffee.
I'll be back later with my four parks in one day blog!
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