It's been pretty busy around here lately. Lots of comings and goings and things to do around the house. Plus, some of us spent Memorial Day weekend in Ohio (but I'll get to that). Anyway, about a week out from our trip I was overwhelmed with everything I was trying to get done. What better way to worry about it than ditching all of it and going to Disney for the day?
It is, after all, Flower and Garden Festival time- which is just my favorite of all the festivals. It has the benefit of better weather than the Food and Wine festival in the fall. Plus the food is more fruit/veggie centric (which also means it's cheaper!) the drinks are always brighter and fruitier, and add to that the gorgeous flowers and topiaries, and you have yourself a winner. This year the featured topiaries at the front are Encanto, and they are GORGEOUS. The pictures are amazing, but they don't do it justice. (Also, they're from the start of the day and the end of the day- because I just couldn't resist snapping a few more pictures on the way out.)
Epcot is never prettier than it is during the Flower and Garden Festival. All the gardens are total inspiration for me. Sure, the backyard is great, especially for veggies. But, we really need to work on our flower game.
And then of course, there are the topiaries. I just adore them. Goofy greats you at the begining of the World Showcase, flowers in hand, while Anna and Elsa stand striking a pose outside the Norway pavilion.
The food is also delicious. We started with some wontons in China. These were crispy, warm and the right amount of sweet and spicy with the sauce drizzled over top.
And of course, if we're stopping by China, Asa must get his tipsy ducks in love. (I was so proud of myself for remembering our reusable straws and sporks for this trip. I didn't use any of the plastic stuff!)
Germany always has great stuff at the festival, and this time was no exception. We grabbed the pretzel roll (with ham and guyere cheese) and a potato pancake with ham, onions and a sour cream and chive topping. I am not a ham fan, unless it's Germany during the Flower and Garden Festival. Then, count me in!
Italy is home to some of my favorite topiaries- Lady and the Tramp. I am especially fans of the way they do Lady's ears. But the flowers there are in abundance. And, if you're there when Sergio is performing, he's always a good time.
Take note while you're walking the world these days: those ugly bardges for the night time show are all gone.
Tiana is featured over in the American pavillion, which I just love. I am a big sucker for Princess and the Frog. Some of the best music in all of Disney films, and totally underrated for story.
Obviously you can't have Tiana without some New Orleans classic food around- so Asa and I got the Muffuletta and a banana foster bread pudding.
I bet you can guess which one of us wanted which item. That bread pudding though, let me tell you. Some of the best on property.
By this point, we still couldn't believe the low wait times. Only 25 minutes for Ratatouille? Count us in! We ditched the idea of seeing the show in America and headed thru China..
...over to France. They also have some great topiaries.
And it was true, Ratatouille was just a 25 minute wait! We couldn't believe it, so we hopped in line.
I love this ride more than Asa, but he was game to wait that long (usually it's an hour plus!) We were on it in 20 minutes flat. Not too shabby. We rode the whole thing, enjoying all the scenes from our mous car, and then when we were just feet from getting off the ride and leaving, the whole thing came to a screeching halt! The ride had to be closed for technical difficulties, and they had to evacuate everyone. Like I said, we had been on the whole ride- we could see the exit- but we were still gifted an anytime fastpass to come back and ride like everyone else who got stuck and who were waiting in line when it shut down. I didn't take any pictures of the stopped cars because they kept telling people not to take any pictures or videos, but I'm sure there are some out there. Also, that was the first time I was 'evacuated' from a ride! (evacuated makes it sound very dramatic, really some cast member came around with a step stool and unlocked our car for us.
After that, we decided to do my favorite walk in all of Disney- the not so secret-secret walkway between the back fo Epcot and Hollywood Studios. On our way out we noticed a sign saying there were virtual queues available for Guardians of the Galaxy. I hadn't even thought to look at the second drop at 1, after I slept through the first drop at 7. But here it was nearing 2, and there were still some out there. I opened up the app, clicked 'join virtual queue' and got them no problem. Easiest virtual queue ever! Now we were leaving Epcot with a virtual Gaurdians of the Galaxy queue and a Ratatouille anytime fastpass in our pocket!
The backwalk over to Hollywood Studios is usually very calm and relaxing. Plus if Asa needs himself a bathroom break, the Boardwalk hotel is not a bad place to wait for him- especially if I grab myself one of those Dole Whip smoothies.
We made our way over to Hollywood Studios, primarily because it too had lower wait times and we hadn't been over there in awhile.
Asa hadn't even seen the 50th golden statues they have over there.
We made our way to Rise of the Resistance and sure enough, a wait time of just 45 minutes! This is usually 90 minutes plus- so this was a big win. We decided our max to wait would be an hour- because it's just such a good ride.
But in fact, the queue moved so fast it was hard to even do any of the missions along the way in line.
Before we knew it we were in the preshow and on the ride. Now technically the 'show' part of this ride along with the 'ride' part is a 20 minute experience. So, it's not so terrible to wait for awhile.
But we were through the line AND off the ride in 40 minutes. We only really waited in the line part for 20 minutes. A total win! Rise is one of the best things at Disney, and everyone knows it. So to get in and out of there in 40 is a miracle. We were big fans of the low crowd day we had happened into! The marketplace wasn't even all that crowded.
There was virtually nobody out by the Millenium Falcon (I didn't even have to magic eraser anyone out of the picture!) and the Blue Milk stand had no line. Bananas!
We even spotted some Storm Troopers making the rounds, and there weren't a ton of people taking up their time.
So we got to be interragated!
Overall, a lovely trip through Galaxy's Edge (the weather was also very nice. Hot sure, but not too humid!)
We made our way to Toy Story land and hopped in line for Toy Story Mania.
I will never be able to beat Asa, but he didn't get me by twice as much, so that's something!
They opened the new and improved Pixar Place recently. It's mostly just some character meet and greets, but we happened into Frozone just standing around, so we chatted with him about our wardrobe choices. He told me I needed to work with Edna, after he approved of our shirts and Asa told him I made them.
We didn't swing by to see Edna. But, we did get a Jack Jack cookie Num Num! (Basically a chocolate chip cookie pie. They're good- but not the best cookie on property. Here's looking at you Giddeon's Bakehouse!)
After our successful trip to Hollywood Studios, we took the walk back to Epcot. (I was hoping for a 20,000 step day!)
On the way we took in the scenery and played a game of connect four on the beach.
By now our tummies were grumbling, so we decided to check out the line at Les Halles in France. It wasn't too bad, so we decided to grab some dinner here. Asa even ordered in French as most of the cast members there are from France. Our servuer said Asa did a good job, and he seemed sufficiently impressed. I was too, Asa didn't just order in French, we went back and forth with if we wanted anything else, drinks, if we wanted our stuff toasted and all that.
And then, we had our Ratatouille passes to use. We were on it in 10 minutes flat!
After that, we decided to continue along the world where we left off, heading back through the United Kingdom, complete with their Winnie the Pooh topiaries.
You'll also find PeterPan and Hook there too.
We danced our way through the fiddlers playing on the Canada stage and grabbed some shrimp scampi poutine at the Refreshment Port. This was among my favorite things I ate that day- but it's be hard to mess something like 'shrimp scampi poutine' up for me.
And that was it for our trip around the world.
Our tummies were full, but I convinced Asa to come to do 'shots' of Lychee Apple Juice with me at Club Cool.
And then we made our way over to Guardians of the Galaxy for our virtual queue, even though at this point we were a few hours late.
The line was crazy short- even for having the virtual queue. We couldn't believe how empty it was!
After Asa's ride (I wait in line with him and then bail because Guardians makes me motion sick), we decided to head on out. After everything, my Disney cup was officially full- at least until our anniversary weekend in just over a week.
Next up: Hayden's getting a new room!
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