The Mad Hatters in Florida May/June 2018 - Day 3 - Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

[Mad Hatters]

Hello and welcome to my very first trip report

So we are the Hatfield’s: Adam (Me), Grace (Wife), Joshua (Oldest Son), Trayvon (Youngest Son), Mick (My Dad) and Sue (My Mum).

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Sunday 20th May: Day 3 Epcot - Flower and Garden Festival

This morning Grace was up earliest once again at 4:45. She played around on her phone for a while until i woke up at 5:30. The boys weren’t too much later than me, at 5:45.

The weather forecast was looking wet this morning, then hopefully clearing up in the afternoon, with a few showers here and there.

We sorted ourselves some breakfast. I had some honey nut cheerios and had a honey bun with it.


Grace had some cocoa pebbles. No picture of this, but they were the same as yesterday.

Joshua and Trayvon shared some cocoa crispies and lucky charms. They both had a banana too.



After breakfast we got ourselves cleaned and ready for the day ahead. Grace was feeling the need for some caffeine this morning. Think the early starts were getting to her haha.

We popped to Riverside mill food court to get Grace a monster energy drink (she doesn’t do coffee). I got myself a decaf coffee in my refillable cup.

This morning’s plan was to spend some time exploring the resort and get in the pool etc. Unfortunately the weather had other ideas. It was bouncing it down.




Puddles…..


Ah well. A chilled out morning relaxing in the room it is then. We played with the boys Lego that they had got from Disney Springs and watched some TV.


The time was now approaching 11am and we were all ready for grabbing an early lunch from Riverside mill, before heading off to Epcot.

I chose the BBQ pork sandwich with chips (crisps) that Grace got on our first night. I also got a piece of carrot cake for dessert, instead of a drink. This was lovely.


Grace went for the Swamp burger: Served with Carolina Pulled Pork and Kale Slaw on a Toasted Brioche Bun with Choice of Coleslaw or French Fries. She got this with fries and without the Kale slaw. She got a monster energy drink with this meal.


Joshua had a turkey sandwich. He got this with grapes and a cookie. He got a milk to drink with this. Spot the tub of bbq sauce haha. The boy has bbq sauce on everything.


Trayvon went for a cheeseburger, accompanied with some apple slices and grapes. I’m not sure what drink he chose.


My Mum fancied a change, so chose the Cajun chicken sandwich with fries. She got cheesecake as a substitute for her drink. The cheesecake was really good.


My Dad was going to get the roast beef melt, but for some reason this wasn’t available today. Instead he went for craved Cajun turkey club sandwich with coleslaw. He got a cappuccino to drink.


It was now getting towards 12pm and with full stomachs from our lunch, we headed back to our rooms to drop off our refillable mugs.

We got to the East Bus depot at 12:22pm. It was a 12 minute wait and at 12:34pm we were on the bus and heading to my favourite park, Epcot!

We arrived into Epcot at 1pm. Whoop! Finally back in Epcot. It is a great looking park at the best of times, but even more so when the flower and garden event is on.

I didn’t take many pictures of the flower and topiary displays today, but I did get more, further into the holiday.


Look at that sky.


Onto the first ride of today; Journey into imagination with Figment. We got to the ride at 1:30pm. It was only a 10 minute wait to get on. It’s a bit corny is this ride, but my Mum loves it and the boys enjoyed it too.

Next up was our Soarin’ Fastpass which was for between 1:25pm and 2:25pm. We hadn’t been on here since the newly updated video. The que didn’t take too long and we were all sat and ready to go. There was a slight delay due to some seatbelts not locking correctly. We all had to undo our seatbelts to clear the issue.

We really did love the new video. The smell of the ground during the scene with the elephant is so immersive. I did miss the oranges smell though. The fireworks at the end gave me goosebumps. It’s such a lovely ending.

Once we came off Soarin, we had a little bit of time before our Living with the land Fastpass window opened up, so we popped to sunshine seasons as my Mum and Dad fancied a coffee and a cookie. They used their snack credits to pay for these.

Once they had finished there refreshment break, it was time for our Living with the land Fastpass. We were quickly on board our little boat and on with our tour around the land.


Trying to spot some hidden Mickey’s.





Next we head round to The seas with Nemo and friends. As per the norm, this was a walk on. Trayvon loved this and kept on saying to us “oh nemo” afterwards haha.

In front of the Nemo sign.


When we exited Nemo, we spent a short amount of time in the Coral reef aquarium area, where we watched the Manatees playing together. We planned to spend more time in this area on future visits.



A seahorse.


The time was now 4:20pm, so we had to head on towards our Mission space Fastpass, as the window for it closed at 4:45pm. My Dad, Joshua and I went on the more extreme ride and my Mum, Grace and Trayvon opted for the mild version.

I really do enjoy this ride, Grace isn’t sold with it.

Time was getting on now and we were all ready for some food and drinks.

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[Mad Hatters]

{Continued from previous post}

To make it easier feeding the boys, we opted to go to Electric Umbrella first.

Joshua had the three cheese flatbread.


The pizza kid was very happy with this. To be fair, it was pretty good.

Trayvon had what seems to be his usual; mac and cheese. Washed down with a Fanta orange.


This was also very much enjoyed.

Joshua’s meal was from the adult menu, so we got this with an alcoholic beverage. We then used a snack credit to get Joshua a fountain beverage.

Grace went for a Strawberry Margarita and i chose a Bud light.


Now it was time for our food and drink adventure around the lands to begin. We were all hungry and ready for food.

I had a list of things I wanted to try haha.


We also decided to score each food item that we would try.

Just to note. For some reason, I only focussed on the things Grace and I were eating and for some reason didn’t make note of most the things my parents had nor did I take pictures. Not sure why?

Our first stop was at the Honey Bee-Stro. We had seen the cheesecake on a Tim Tracker video and were excited to try this.

I chose the Roasted Cauliflower (served with Buckwheat Honey Carrot Puree, Wild Rice Pilaf, Asparagus, Honey Blistered Grapes and Sunflower Brittle).


I gave this a 6/10, nearly a 7. It wasn’t bad at all; it just wasn’t really my thing. It was not as light as I would have expected. I actually messed up a little with this one. I thought I had remembered from memory our first dishes and so didn’t bother to look at the list. I actually wanted the cauliflower dish from Morocco. Whoops.

And the Cheesecake which Grace and I shared. (Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake with Orange Blossom Honey Ice Cream garnished with Fennel Pollen Meringue Kisses).


We both agreed this was a 10/10. It was delicious. Not ridiculously sweet either, despite all of the sweet ingredients. A big hit!

Next we walked through into Canada and went to the Northern Bloom food counter.

We shared the Beef with gravy and potato. This was mainly for Grace though. (Beef Tenderloin Tips, Mushroom Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes with Garden Vegetables).


This was a solid 8/10. It was nice and tasty. Only criticism was that the beef could have been a little bit more tender.

I had the Scallops (Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Apple-wood Smoked Bacon).


I gave this an 8/10. The scallops were not good as the ones we had at Sanaa, slightly over cooked. The flavours were good though and it was a nice and fresh dish.

Maple popcorn shake.


I was going to get the alcoholic version with the whiskey, but decided to get one that the boys could try as I am nice haha. This was a nice shake, but it was mainly maple flavour. You didn't get much popcorn taste.

For the alcohol, me and my Dad went for a Moose head beer.


This was really nice, with quite a fruity taste. We both enjoyed this.

Grace was ready for another drink now and as we had headed into France, there was a drink that she really fancied.

La Vie en Rose Frozen Slushy (Grey Goose Orange, St. Germain Liqueur, White and Red Cranberry Juice).


She absolutely loved this. I had a little taste and it was nice.

My Dad and I had a Kronenbourg 1664 blanc each.


I have had it before and know that it is good.

Next we went to Florida Fresh. This was located in between France and Morocco.

This was just a dish for me. The Shrimp and cheddar grits. (Spicy Blackened Shrimp and Cheddar Cheese Grits with Brown Gravy and Local Sweet Corn Relish).


11/10. This was hands down, my dish of the day. It really surprised me. Delicious.

Our next stop was at Hanami in the Japan pavilion.

This dish was mainly for Grace, but I was looking forward to trying it.
Ginger Beef Yaki Udon (Thin-sliced Beef, Onions and Noodles tossed on the grill with Soy and Ginger).


I gave this an 8/9 out of 10. I couldn’t quite decide. This for Grace was the dish of the day. It was very good and had loads of flavour. The lightly pickled ginger on the top was a really nice addition to the dish.

My Dad and I also had a Sapporo beer each. Again, this is one I drink at home at times and know it’s a nice drink.


Next stop was the US of A.

Here we went for the Brisket Beef hash (Brisket Burnt Ends Hash with White Cheddar Fondue and Pickled Jalapeños).


This got a 6/10 from us. The brisket was good, we were just a little disappointed with the hash.

We also got the brisket pork slider (Beef Brisket Burnt Ends and Smoked Pork Belly Slider with Garlic Sausage, Chorizo, Cheddar Fondue and House-made Pickle).


This got an 8/10. It was messy, but it was delicious.

As we were walking through between countries, Joshua decided that a pin trade was in order. He traded the shield thing for a Mickey Mouse one.


Our next stop was Italy. We were feeling a bit full at this point, but were ready to soldier on and have a little more.

At the Primavera Kitchen we got:

Grace had a Bellini (Sparkling wine and peach puree).


She really enjoyed this, just not quite as much as the French frozen Rose slushy.

I went for the Birra Moretti la rosa


I love the original Birra Moretti, it’s one of my favourite lagers. I have to say though, this I am not a big fan of. It was heavily caramelized and bitter. I didn’t waste it being Yorkshire , but wouldn’t get it again.

We were through to Germany now. I really wanted the pretzel bread, but was struggling at this point haha.

Karamell kuche was one place that we wouldn’t ignore, however it was a case of getting something for later on or another day.


I had read about the Caramel butter bar on happyhaunt1000’s trippy so decided to get this. We got a caramel popcorn to take back too.

We also got the boys some sweets.


Trayvon eating his sweets with a fork.


Next up was China.

Tsing Tao was in order for my Dad and I.



Another drink that we enjoy at home. Yum.

We got Grace a Kung fu punch (Vodka, Triple Sec, Mango and Orange Juice).


We had wanted this in 2016, but never got round to getting it. Grace was not too taken by this. It was just ok.

We also got Grace some potstickers. We paid OOP for these.


I make these at home and Grace prefers the one’s I make haha.

My Mum and Dad got some spring rolls.


They looked great, but they found these to be quite salty.

Me and Trayvon sharing a Coke zero.


Our final stop was The Berry Basket.

My Dad was done with his beer quest in Epcot, so it was left to me. I went for the JDubs brewing company Blueberry IPA.


This had a strong aftertaste of blueberry. It was quite nice, but not one that I would rush back for.

And that was our Food and drinks around the land done for this day.

On our way out of the park we stopped off in Mousegear. We bought Trayvon a Pez and Joshua a jaw breaker.

Trayvon also bought a Toy Story grabber thing out of his money.


Grace was considering buying a jumper or a purse. She eventually makes her mind up haha

We got to the bus stop just after 8pm and were on our bus at 8:08pm. We arrived back at POR at 8:25pm.

It had rained most of the day on and off and was quite humid at times. It didn’t stop us though. We had had an awesome day.

We all headed back to our room for some snacks and to play some games.


The popcorn was lovely.


The butter bar though…… hmmm. I wasn’t totally sold on this.


It looked great, I just don’t think it was as good as I expected it to be. Not quite sure why though. I think i will get it again next time and see if i like it more then.

We were in bed, asleep at 22:12.

We had had another brilliant day.

Total steps: 21,439.

Thank you for reading.

[caitlinsmummy]

Wow what an awesome day. I love how you didn't let the rain spoil it

I'm also compiling a list of snacks we want to try around Epcot but I'm waiting for the food and wine festival menus to be released.

That popcorn looks lovely, it's on our list too, looking forward to the rest of the trip xx

[collybird]

I love your list of things to try, always nice to see fellow uber planners.


Glad you didn't let the rain spoil your plans.

[Goldia]

Such a shame about the rain. But what an amazing list of food/snacks to try. I thought I was obsessed with list making but that was a list well made.

[i love jack]

Some great snacks and drinks great day

[Mad Hatters]

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

Wow what an awesome day. I love how you didn't let the rain spoil it

I'm also compiling a list of snacks we want to try around Epcot but I'm waiting for the food and wine festival menus to be released.

That popcorn looks lovely, it's on our list too, looking forward to the rest of the trip xx

See more...

Haha no way was the rain stopping us that day

The popcorn was a real treat. Grace doesnt generally like popcorn but she really enjoyed it, which shows how good it is

Thanks you and thanks for reading

Originally Posted by collybird

I love your list of things to try, always nice to see fellow uber planners.


Glad you didn't let the rain spoil your plans.

See more...

I do love an Excel spreadsheet and planning stuff to the nines.

We managed to make our way through most of that list too haha

Thanks for reading along

Originally Posted by Goldia

Such a shame about the rain. But what an amazing list of food/snacks to try. I thought I was obsessed with list making but that was a list well made.

See more...

It was a shame with the weather. Have to say though, we expected it to be far worse.

The food and snacks were really great, eating around the lands like that is something we had always planned to do, but it just never happened until this trip.

Love a list

Thanks for reading along

Originally Posted by i love jack

Some great snacks and drinks great day

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It was all very much enjoyed

Thank you for reading along.

[Palm trees]

Great day, your photos have made me hungry!

[summersun]

great day x

[Mad Hatters]

Originally Posted by Palm trees

Great day, your photos have made me hungry!

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haha the food was mostly very good.

Thank you for reading

Originally Posted by summersun

great day x

See more...

Thank you for reading along