Toarin' - August 2015. Day 11 - Epcot

[Scruffette]

Day 11 – Epcot

Snacks around the ‘World’, Dinner at ‘Ohana

We did something crazy this morning and didn’t plan to arrive for park opening. We had Fastpasses booked already, and Ollie suggested that a bit of extra sleep would do me some good. I woke up pretty congested, and took some of the medication I bought last night.

The normal morning routine of hot chocolates and pop tarts happened. A bus arrived straight away and was pretty quick this morning, so we actually made it to the park about 9.30am.

Our FPs looked like this:



At this point, I remembered why we normally arrive before park opening. The crowds at the bag check area were huge! This area always feels pretty narrow at Epcot anyway.

Ollie went in the ‘no bags’ line and headed straight to Innoventions to ride Sum of all Thrills. Meanwhile I spent a disproportionate amount of my life in the bag check line.





I meet Ollie in Innoventions and he was already in the seat experiencing his coaster he designed. Of course, he made it as intense as possible. This was a great time of day to experience this. Big lines normally build up later as it has really limited capacity.



We caught our Soarin’ Fastpasses at the end of the slot.
This time we got the front row and had a great flight. I’m definitely looking forward to an update though, the screens looks a bit fuzzy!





Afterwards, considering we were already there and all, I convinced Ollie to ride Living with the Land. I did smile at the empty Fastpass+ line! The ride did make me a little sad that we weren’t eating at Garden Grill this time.







We stopped at Club Cool next. Most of the flavours have changed since our last visit, but Beverley was still the same! Needless to say this was avoided.





The Mission: Space fastpass slot was open, so I let Ollie go while I browsed in Mouse Gear. I gave him my Magicband so he could go around twice. He only went once in the end as it took a really long time to get on, even with FPs.





Halloween merchandise had started popping up in the shops. I suppose it was officially the middle of August, so completely acceptable!



While in Mouse Gear I spotted a Sven Christmas decoration which I showed Ollie when he got back, and we agreed it would look great on our tree.

Actually, we didn’t have much space on our tree last December, so I put Sven in with the nativity scene. I think he blended in well

I also spotted a ‘Mine’ photo holder (with the seagulls from Finding Nemo on) which I wanted to get for my Dad, but all the ones in Mouse Gear were damaged as the beaks were quite delicate.

We made our way over to Turtle Talk with Crush. The Fastpass definitely wasn’t necessary for this. The show was really cute, and got me excited for Animator’s Pallette on the Dream.

On the way out we passed through a gift shop (of course) and I spotted the ‘Mine’ photo holder again. This time one wasn’t damaged, so I bought it and got it sent back to the hotel. The cast member wrapped it up well! It made it home in one piece!

Our journey around the World started from here. Our plan was to share a few meals or snacks, but we were being a bit indecisive.



We rode Donald’s Fiesta Boat tour while in Mexico, although none of the snacks took our fancy. Similarly, the bakery in Norway wasn’t doing anything for us!

I was a bit grumpy by the time we got to China, so we got some egg rolls for a snack credit from the Joy of Tea cart. This did a good job at tiding me over as my stomach was rumbling.



Interestingly, here you get two egg rolls for a snack credit. At Yak and Yeti a few days later we only got one egg roll for a snack credit.

We stopped at the African refreshment outpost and noticed Ace Pineapple Cider ($8.50). This was really good, almost too drinkable! I didn’t spot it anywhere else in the World which was a shame.





We popped in Karamel Kuche, and decided we would come back later for pudding. I had picked out a caramel smores square. (Unfortunately this was not to be later )

One of the assistants was chopping up a caramel apple. Ollie asked if he could try a bit, and she said ‘no’. It took us a bit too long to realise she was joking. Clearly the caramel was better than the apple!



Italy is one of my favourites in the World Showcase.





A first for me – we decided to check out the American Adventure. We caught the end of the Voices of Liberty, who were amazing.





Considering I really enjoyed Hall of Presidents, the American Adventure didn’t do a lot for me. There was a bit too much anti-British content!



I was in desperate need of lunch now (it was 2.15pm) so we headed to Katsura Grill. I suddenly starting feeling really dizzy, so Ollie ordered while I sat down.

We shared a shogun combo ($11.99) – Terriyaki beef and chicken. The meat was very nice, but I preferred the chicken cutlet curry.



Dessert was azuki strawberry ice cream ($3.99)

I’d perked up a bit by this point, so we carried on around the world and ended up in France, so of course had to stop at Les Halles Boullangerie Pattisserie, where we shared another meal.

We shared a Poulet au Pistou ($9) Chicken Breast with Cheese, Tomato, Red Onion and Pesto



Tarte aux chocolat ($4.50)



To drink was a Granité à la Fraise ($4.25) Strawberry Smoothie.

I think the picture quality sums up how I was feeling.

The one thing about this area is it’s very difficult to see the items on display when you are ordering. All the items are listed on the boards, but I like to see the range of pastries before I choose!

Seating was also a bit chaotic, we had to awkwardly hover as it was so busy, and lots of people were saving tables. Some people were even resting their food on the top of the bins to eat!

I started feeling really rough again whilst eating this, so we were forced to make the decision to go back to the hotel. I had been really stubborn up to this point, but knew I now needed to rest. I started to feel a lot better the next day and was completely back to normal a few days after fortunately.

I tried to convince Ollie that he should go and do something fun whilst I was napping, but he didn’t want to leave me.

Ollie woke me up in time to get ready for dinner at ‘Ohana.

It started raining on the bus, to MK- the rain was little later today than usual. Once at MK we got the monorail over to the Polynesiian.
We checked in at ‘Ohana, and we told there would be about half an hour wait. It ended up being a bit shorter than this.

We passed the time by having a silly hat contest in the gift shop and I bought some more stuff to help my cold in the gift shop.

I was just about to order a Lapu Lapu from the bar when the buzzer went off. We’d requested a table by the window, but were seated in the middle of the restaurant. However, when we sat down, Cinderella Castle was directly in my line of vision. It was a still raining, so hard to make out, but it was definitely there!



We decided on a Lapu Lapu to share ($13.50 ). No ID was asked for. I found Disney very inconsistent with asking for ID this trip. We just shared one as I had been feeling so rough earlier, but I wasn’t missing out on my drink!



We also ordered two soft drinks, included in the total meal price ($39.99). The drinks were topped up frequently as the servers came round with jugs of coke to fill the drinks up.

The food started appearing! Our server was great and made it clear we could ask for more of anything. The service was a much more positive experience than on our previous trip.







The dumplings are always a highlight for Ollie. So much so they were gone before I got a chance to get a picture. More of these were requested

I enjoyed all the skewers. I particularly loved the shrimp. It seemed so much easier to peel this time.

However, the highlight of any ‘Ohana meal for me is the banana bread pudding. This is probably one of my favourite desserts in the world (the actual world, not Disney world). This is high praise for me, especially considering it doesn’t involve chocolate. I took a picture to send to my Dad, as it’s his favourite too.



We got a second helping of the magnificent invention, even though I was stuffed. I just couldn’t resist. Even if the rest of the meal had been rubbish, this dessert would have made it all worthwhile. I believe the words life changing have been used. Frequently.

Wishes was supposed to start at 10, but there had been some lightning along with the rain so it was delayed. The servers made us aware of this, but they didn’t know what time it would be running.
We savoured our second dessert (although this took a lot of restraint) to make sure we were able to watch Wishes.

About 10.25, we thought we saw Celebrate the Magic, although it was difficult to tell as it was still raining. This left me optimistic about Wishes.

The lights in the restaurant dimmed and the music for Wishes started about 10.35. Although there was still some rain, the fireworks were still clear to see.

After wishes we settled up and took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom, and caught a bus back to Saratoga Springs.

Day 12 - Senses Spa, Downtown Disney, Hollywood Studios

[LaurenPickle]

I've just read your report from the beginning and I'm really enjoying it You seem to have similar taste to my husband so it's been great to see the food photos. Cowfish is now on our list!

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by LaurenPickle

I've just read your report from the beginning and I'm really enjoying it You seem to have similar taste to my husband so it's been great to see the food photos. Cowfish is now on our list!

See more...

Thanks for reading We definitely like our food! More food photos will be coming soon.

[2littleboys]

Another fab day, sorry to hear you weren't feeling too good though!

We also enjoyed Ohana's... it was one of our favourite restaurants, however I didn't enjoy the Lapu Lapu, I just found it too strong, Im such a lightweight xx

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by 2littleboys

Another fab day, sorry to hear you weren't feeling too good though!

We also enjoyed Ohana's... it was one of our favourite restaurants, however I didn't enjoy the Lapu Lapu, I just found it too strong, Im such a lightweight xx

See more...

My Mum had a Lapu Lapu a few years ago and kept trying to water it down with Sprite as it was too strong for her!

Thanks for reading

[Redrach1903]

Such a shame you felt so rough. Good idea to go back and take a nap.

'Ohana looked great. I am really looking forward to going back in May! I remember that pudding being awesome! xx

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by Redrach1903

Such a shame you felt so rough. Good idea to go back and take a nap.

'Ohana looked great. I am really looking forward to going back in May! I remember that pudding being awesome! xx

See more...

The food at 'Ohana never disappoints!

[Twentyyears]

So glad to hear you started to feel better.
That Bread Pudding is also one of my favourite desserts ever- and we too love Ohana's!.

[Scruffette]

Originally Posted by Twentyyears

So glad to hear you started to feel better.
That Bread Pudding is also one of my favourite desserts ever- and we too love Ohana's!.

See more...

I have dreams about that dessert! Thanks for reading

[collybird]

I always find the bag check lines at Epcot worse than anywhere else.

I agree about the pastries in France, you want to choose which one looks the yummiest not sounds it!

Such a shame you weren't feeling great but glad you made the most of the day, I'd have been tempted to miss dinner.