Wilderness Lodge Explorers - October / November 2017: Day 5: An Epic Epcot Day With Dibb Friends

[bambikate]

Day Five - An Epic Epcot day with Dibb friends - Monday 30 October 2017

Index

I’m not sure what we had for breakfast as I have no notes whatsoever and I didn’t take any pics, so I can only assume it was either a) something we had before or b) something boring.

Anyway, it was very early and we caught the bus over Epcot



We had a fast pass for Test Track later on, so, because of the tiering system we had to leg it over to Soarin’ to attempt a walk on!

We were successful and the queue only too about five minutes!





We requested B1 so that the pictures weren't wonky and we didn’t see dangling feet! We only had to wait for one more ride to get our seat request so we were really happy.

It was amazing as always, I still prefer the original but it’s a close second and still brings back lots of happy memories for all of us.

Next, Spaceship Earth! Another favourite of ours







Freaky no-eye-or-mouth-faces







We stayed for a little play in the area after the ride



Then another Instagram wall - The Bubblegum Wall!













We fancied a little refreshment so our next port of call was Club Cool! It smells so badly of sulphur in here it’s really off-putting. I’m sure it’s got worse than it used to be.

We tried all of the drinks again, Fanta Pineapple winning out as overall favourite, as always.

Our fast pass for Test Track was now ready - yay!

Here are our creations





Wooooo!

Next, Mouse Gear! We love this store.

I reaaaaally wanted Andy to get this Hawaiian shirt



But he wasn’t having any of plus, it was mega expensive.

Doing some more pressed pennies



Andy found his new Porg mug - Awwwww!



Imogen found this tourist Shellie-May - Awwwwwwww!



We had a good browse and bought a few things which we had sent to our resort. Will show all my purchases on the last day of the trip report as I only took a few pics of everything together!

Next fast pass was Mission Space. We chose the green mission but the fast pass was pointless unless you were doing orange as it was a walk on anyway.





It was good fun and I didn’t expect to see Jessica from Suits on the briefing video!

After the ride the girls played in the Space Base play area





The gift shop had a cute hidden Mickey



We bought some ice cream sandwich space food to try at home - yummy!

We had arranged to meet the lovely Dibbers: Stewboy and slow.jo - Stew, Jo and Isabella at about 11am in Mexico. If you’ve not read any of my previous trips, we met up with Stew, Jo and Isabella in October 2016 when we were all staying at Saratoga Springs and have stayed in touch ever since, with the girls writing letters to each other every so often.

When we found out we would be there at the same time again in 2017, we arranged to meet up, this time in a park!

We were a bit early so went inside the pavillon to have a browse and do some colouring.



Dia De Los Muertos displays for Coco movie

[bambikate]

A few minutes later we saw Jo, Stew and Isabella walking in and gave them a big hug. It was great to see them again and we were looking forward to a day exploring World Showcase together!

The girls already knew they definitely wanted to some Duffy colouring on their way around so they all picked up a Duffy and began their artistic adventure. After a suitable amount of colouring and a little catch up with Jo and Stew while we waited, we all agreed it was time to move on to China! We did think about getting a margarita in La Cava but it was queued out the door.

We strolled along to China and our first port of call was House of Good Fortune gift shop. Izzy and Imogen had a fan on their “Must buy list” and they had a great choice here. After lots of deliberation the girls finally decided on their perfect fans - blue for Imogen, pink for Izzy and purple for Isabella, which just so happened to be their favourite colours!

At the till the CMs offered to write the girls’ names in Chinese characters on the fans, which was a really nice idea.







Stew modelling Isabella’s new fan



The girls got their duffy’s stamped and did some more colouring then we all had a browse around. Jo found the Disneyland Shanghai opening day pin she was looking for her friend.









Outside in the lovely sun



Someone asked Stew to take their picture in front of the China pavilion, he obliged but Jo had concerns over the quality of how it might have come out as she told me everyone always asks him to take pics!…



It was time for some refreshments! As we were in China, it would've been rude not to get Tipsy Ducks in love (for those who don’t know, this is a gorgeous cocktail available from the “Joy of Tea” hut in China pavilion that was recommended by Stew and Jo and Brett and Jo (Happyhaunt1000 and Tarnabanana83) previously, that we first tried in 2016 and loved so we couldn’t wait to have it again!

It’s creamy cold tea and coffee combo blended with bourbon whiskey and chocolate. Shamelessly stole from Jo’s Instagram (how good is Jo at group selfies tho?)



The drinks went down really well and we did contemplate another but with such a wide plethora of drinks available at Epcot we moved on to pastures new - Refreshment Outpost! Isabella, Imogen and Izzy has a frozen lemonade slushy, Andy, Stew and Jo had a frozen coke and bourbon and I had a Mango Starr cocktail - Mango Purée with Starr African Rum!

Untitled by Kate, on Flickr

Poor old Stew went on a wild goose chase looking for straws when in fact they had been in the dispenser near the till all along! We nearly sent for a search party!
Cheers!



The drinks were good but we were getting peckish so onto Germany to hit the F&W festival! We found that the lines here in general tended to look longer than they actually were so don’t be put off as they move quickly!

Each family got he Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll



I took my girls to the loo whilst it was being ordered and I totally missed the drama but I gather those Bratwurst were slippery little devils and unfortunately, the Sears’ sausage fell to the floor in an unfortunate incident… I’m sure Stew will fill you guys in on his TR but I only caught the tail end. Luckily our sausage was unscathed and it was very nice indeed (sorry guys :-/ )



We wandered on a little further and saw the ducks of Epcot



One of the items on my F&W must eat list was the Charcuterie Cone from Spain booth



This was a selection of imported Spanish Meats, Cheeses, Olives and an Herb Vinaigrette, it was very nice but the particular cut of meat I had was a little gristly

Next was Italy for more colouring and fan waving











We walked round to the USA pavilion and found a nice bench we could perch on while the girls did some more stamping and colouring!









We liked the sound of the food offerings in Hops and Barley, the USA booth so we ordered Smoked Beef Brisket and Pimento Cheese served on Griddled Garlic Toast and New England Lobster Roll, both brilliant value as a snack - $8.00 just for the lobster roll if paying OOP!



Corrrr they were both bloody lovely! One of my faves at the F&W festival I’d say, especially the lobster!

To wash it down we got a beer flight







Stew and Jo also had the beer flight and went for the Freshly Baked Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Icing



Stew loving the coffee ale from the beer flight…



The girls shared the food with us and Izzy especially liked the lobster but they were jealous of the Sears’ carrot cake so Andy went and picked up one for Izzy and Imogen to share and a bigger version of his fave out of the beer flight - Flat Tyre white ale. They loved the cake but I was really pleased to hear it wasn’t as good as my carrot cake with cream cheese icing! Yap that’s my girls <3

Next was Japan. The booth’s offerings looked super tasty



We went for Wasabi Shumai Steamed Pork Dumplings and Teriyaki Ginger Pork they were both very nice.

One thing we were mega impressed with was Jo’s “Defo Maybo Alco" list that she was carrying around with her. It was all of the F&W treats they wanted to try! Genius!

We explored the next countries and ended up in France for another beverage, I had the La Passion Martini Slush: Vodka, Grey Goose Le Citron, Cranberry and Passion Fruit Juice and Andy had red wine randomly?!



We chatted for a while by the fountains and I suggested we got a photopass picture together





Aww I love these pics!

[bambikate]

Our next destination was chocolate studio where we ordered one of our faves - Liquid Nitro Chocolate-Almond Truffle with Warm Whiskey-Caramel

Next door at the Cheese Studio - on Jo’s recommendation, a Savoury Caramelised Onion Boursin Garlic and Fine Herbs Cheese Tart with Cold Arugula Salad and Aged Balsamic. It was delicious and get value for a snack credit - look at the size of it!







Isabella was taking some snaps along the way with her Kidizoom camera and I just love this pic of the girls taking a selfie together



A month or so later we received a letter from Isabella in the post and it had a USB of her pics inside it. The girls loved receiving this, they were so excited! Look how cute they came out <3













Unfortunately time had come for us to leave so we made a slow walk towards the bus stop together. It had been a fantastic afternoon and we didn’t want it to end!





Cute!



Doing some karate kicks!









Waving goodbye



I spy the Sears!



We honestly had such a lovely time. It was like we had been friends for years and years; No awkward silences, we just chatted and laughed the whole way round and the girls got along famously.

It's a shame we don't live closer to each other, really hope we get to do it again some time

Our bus was a little slower than theirs (AKL vs WL!) So we waved as they drove passed. Our bus arrived shortly afterwards and we took the short ride back to our resort. We had promised the girls some pool time so we went straight to our room to get ready. It was still rather chilly for Florida weather so the pool was really quiet.

It didn’t bother the girls but I sat and supervised (along with the Lifeguard) as it was just too cold for me!



Andy got us a couple of drinks from Geyser Point and I wrapped myself in towels to keep warm…

Grand Margarita - Jose Cuervo Gold Tequila, Grand Marnier, fresh Lime Juice, and Sweet-and-Sour



WL has a gorgeous pool and water play area, we were really impressed.

After countless times down the water slide and several underwater roly-polies the girls had had enough swimming and were ready for some grub!

We knew we wanted to try out Geyser Point at some point so now felt like the perfect time. We towel dried them and put some warm clothes on them then took a couple of fresh towels with us.

There was a table for four right near the water’s edge that looked lovely. It’s under cover but has open sides and has heat lamps so it’s nice and cosy.

It’s counter service so you can get it to go, or you can sit in and they will serve you at your table and there’s silverware and real plates! It’s still only uses your quick service credits so all you pay for is any extras and a tip for the service. We thought this was great!

We ordered two adult meals to share between us - Two Bison Cheeseburgers - Bacon, Tillamook Cheddar, Sweet Onion Straws, Lettuce, Tomato, Garlic Aïoli and Marionberry Barbecue Sauce served on an Artisan Roll with choice of Multigrain Salad or Waffle Fries





To drink the girls had Sprite and we had Black Cherry Mule - Zodiac Black Cherry Vodka, fresh Lime Juice, and Agave Nectar topped with Fever Tree Ginger Beer and Northwest Iced Tea - Rogue Dark Rum, 44° North Idaho Potato Vodka, Aviation Gin, Cointreau, and Sweet-and-Sour with a splash of Coca-Cola.



Near the end of dinner we heard the Happily Ever After music being piped through the speakers; it was so lovely to hear. The music gave me shivers. As soon as it was released I downloaded the song, it’s so lovely. The fireworks were visible from WL so Izzy and I hopped up to watch them.

It was so special and unexpected. For some reason, it hadn’t occurred to me there would be such a great view with piped in music so close to us!



Izzy and I cuddled and watched it together for a while. I felt so happy. We had only ever seen youtube videos of the show and I even cried watching that so we couldn’t wait to see it in MK later that week!

A few more bites of food later and just after the fireworks finished, the Electrical Water Pageant started up and it was right outside Geyser Point! Izzy and I hopped up to go and take a closer look but Imogen and Daddy watched from the comfort of the padded chairs and heat lamps once again. I don’t blame them!

It was so magical <3









Walking back to our room





A quick shower, then bed. What a fantastic day! Tomorrow: Outlet shopping and Hollywood Studios!

[Milner]

Lovely day and photos.

[NatsyNoo]

Aww what a lovely couple of days!
Loved your Pandora report - excited for a Night Blossom!
And so glad to see some positive feedback on Rivers of Light - I had considered taking it off of our plan because the reviews have been so bad!
And your Epcot day seemed lovely, Epcot is just one of those parks that you can wander and chat and eat and drink and have just a lovely time!
The pics of the girls are really cute, and your unexpectedly magic evening was just perfect <3

[Goldia]

It sounds like an awesome day taking in the food and wine booths with your friends. You all look like you're having a great time in the photos.

[OB1LukeLucas]

Another fab day. Your making me really want to stay at WL, so many places on my 'to stay' list means I must return! Some great food & drinks around Epcot and the perfect end to the day swimming with a meal watching the parade and listing to all the music. Wish we were there sooner!

[Holidaylover19]

That sounded such a fun day! We didn't get to do much of F&W because of the rain so I only tried 2 booths

And wow, how magical was that end to your day? Happily Ever After is such a wonderful show.

[EJSakaAnna]

Sounds like a brilliant day with some fantastic food tasting. Love the photos of the girls playing together, lovely that you got to meet up with DIBB friends xx

[DISNEYLIZ]

Sounds like a wonderful day. Loving your reports