Brett, Jo & Marceline's Festive Adventure - Day 11: Nighttime Snacking Around the World

[Happyhaunt1000]

INDEX

Marceline didn’t feel the need to sleep slightly later, even though she hadn’t gone to bed until nearly 1am! At 7am she was standing in her cot saying “daddy, mummy, daddy, mummy”. I wasn’t having it though. There was no way we were getting up at that time of the morning. Five hours’ sleep for Jo and I was not enough! I put Marceline in the bed with us, and after about 15 minutes of wriggling around, she started pointing back at the cot… so I scooped her up, put her back in her own bed and we all went back to sleep. Zip forward to 10:40am and we were all waking up (again) but this time feeling much more refreshed! Our plan for the morning was to take it easy, have breakfast and then head to the Premium Outlets at the top of International Drive. We usually go to the ones on Vineland Avenue, but fancied a change this trip.


One of the t-shirts I’d picked up in Uniqlo



By 12:00 we were leaving the room and on our way to the mall. It had been a good few years since we’d been to this mall, and we were hoping for a better experience then the last time (when every shop was rammed with customers exploiting a much better exchange rate than the UK was getting, making it impossible to look at anything).

We were in and out of a few stores (Aeropostale, Nike, Converse, Vans etc) and picked up some items in each… including a few pairs of trainers/shoes for Marceline that were too big, but of course she’d grow into them!



Considering we hadn’t eaten properly the previous day, we wanted to make sure we got a fairly hearty lunch, so made our way to the food court and got some pizza and a couple of bento boxes of Chinese food. It wasn’t anything amazing, but definitely hit the spot.





After lunch we went into a couple of kids stores… OshKosh B’gosh and Carters. They… were… HELL! There were families of seven or eight people waiting in the queue when only one of them was buying something, making the lines stretch weirdly around the store. Then there was the inevitable ‘rushing off to find something else’ because they’d not read the offer properly. I just stood off to one side with Marceline in the buggy, trying not to be yet another person in the way, while Jo flew round the store picking up as many bargains as she could. Clothes we buy Marceline here in the UK just don’t fit her very well... at nearly two years old, she’s still in some 6-12 month old leggings. It’s not like she’s tiny... she’s lean and dainty… but clothes never seem to fit her. Trousers/leggings are either too short but fit round the waist, or fit in the leg but are too baggy around the waist so they fall down… and similarly with tops, they either look like crop tops but stay on her shoulders, or actually cover her bum but fall off her shoulders. For some reason though, American clothes fit her perfectly… so even though being in those two stores was an absolute nightmare, it was also a necessity.

Next up was the Disney Character Warehouse. Oh boy… I don’t know where to start with this! Ok, so initially when we entered the store nothing really jumped out at us. It was difficult to see anything because there were so many people in there that we couldn’t really get to the rails of clothing, or the shelves with the other stuff on… but then it practically emptied, and that’s when the fun began! They had loads of t-shirts with cool designs on, all ranging in price from $6 up to $15 and they had them in our sizes! I was pulling out stuff Jo hadn’t seen and she was liking it and throwing it in the basket… and vice versa. Thankfully, the whole time we were hunting through the racks, Marceline was sat in her buggy being the perfect little girl. We ended up with a whole bunch of t-shirts between us, featuring main characters, park attractions, slightly obscure characters… all stuff that was $30 plus just six months ago. Aside from those, cuddly toys, vinylmation, colouring books, beach towels, socks and an Alex & Ani bangle were also purchased! After this huge haul was paid for, it wouldn’t have mattered if we’d seen a store giving away stuff for free, we were so laden down with bags we went straight to the cab stand and back to the resort! Once back in the room Marceline went down for a nap and we took the labels off all our new purchases.

At about 6:15 we left the room and walked to Epcot. Now, I may not be totally sold on staying at Beach Club, but there’s no denying that being able to walk to Epcot inside of ten minutes is marvellous! Our friend Ryan was going to be in the park and had a few little gifts for us, so we said we’d meet him for a drink and a wander around World Showcase, along with Jon and Lisa as they also know him. When we arrived we walked to the France Pavilion, stopping on the way for a couple of Photopass shots.



I sent out a message to see where everyone was, and Ryan replied quickly saying he and his girlfriend were running a bit late… and while I was waiting for Jon to respond we got a couple of Grey Goose slushes (which were delicious as always). Jon replied a little while later and told me they were in the France Pavilion already… and when I asked where, he told me he was sitting outside the patisserie eating a baguette! Of course he was… where else would that bread loving mofo be




No, Marceline, this is definitely not for you!

I left Jo and Marceline at the slushy booth and walked round to find Jon, Lisa and Ceci. I led them back round to Jo, who was letting Marceline stretch her legs and play in the crunchy leaves… and a short while later and Ryan and Ashley arrived.



One of the first things Ryan did was apologise… he was in such a rush that he’d forgotten to bring the pins and stickers he had for us! As we were standing there chatting, we formulated a loose plan… which was to simply walk around WS and sample some of the festive booth offerings. Jo and I wasted no time in getting the Stuffed Turkey Breast (stuffed with mushrooms and chestnuts, with sweet potato puree) and the Spiced Rum Punch Slush from the FRANCE PAVILION BOOTH NAME. The turkey dish was really tasty (although it looked pretty disgusting) and the drink was very good. Funnily enough, nobody wanted to try the turkey… but everyone was interested in the Rum Punch Slush!



While we were standing around, Jon handed Marceline a chunk of baguette! His own daughter was sitting there chowing down on one, so he figured mine was missing out on the delights of a Boulangerie Patisserie baguette! We all know how Jon is about his baguettes… his obsession with those things is on another level. I guess he’s trying to get the girls hooked at an early age too!













We started walking around WS, stopping to watch a little bit of Mostly Kosher… a band we’d seen playing most times we’d been walking round WS. I then stopped and got a Strawberry Nigori Sake cocktail… which was ok, nothing amazing.





At the American Adventure we wanted to try the food from the booth, as we’d only previously had their drinks. I got in the queue with Jon and ordered the Slow Roasted Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce, and the Chocolate Pecan Tart. And, because it was so good last time, I got the Firenog again and Jo decided she wanted to try the Peppermint Milk Stout… so I added that to our order.

It seemed like the CMs serving the food and drinks weren’t on the same page, as someone poured our two drinks, put them on the counter and tore my ticket (to indicate I’d had them). I then called Jo over and she took the drinks back to where the rest of the group were standing. Then, another CM came over, looked at my ticket, walked off, came back with the two portions of food AND another two drinks. I was going to say “it’s ok, I’ve already got them”... but, ya know… they’d already been poured, they ‘might’ have just tipped them away… so I didn’t say anything. It’s ok though… Jon was next to me and sometimes he doesn’t know when to keep his tiny moustached mouth shut!
“Are they yours?”
“Yes!”
“But I thought you’d already had your drinks. Did you get two of each?”
I was giving him the death stare and not saying anything. Thankfully was so chaotic at the booth I don’t think anyone picked up on it. I called Jo over and gave her the two plates of food, and I walked back to the group with the drinks. It was then… out of sight (and earshot) of the booth, I lambasted Jon and gave him grief for opening his mouth. (It was, of course, all done in jest!) I handed over the two extra drinks to the rest of the group to share… everyone must have liked them as they didn’t last long! I thought the two food dishes were excellent… especially the pecan pie, and thoroughly enjoyed my second Firenog of the season!



With food and drinks gone we all went into the store in the American Pavilion and checked out the huge range of t-shirts on offer, depicting a Disney character and slogan for each state of the US. I liked some of them, but didn’t buy any… which is lucky I think, since I’ve heard that they’re now on sale at the Disney Character Warehouse at the outlets… so I’ll be trying to find them when we’re next there!



In Germany we didn’t get any specific festival food… but instead headed into Karamell-Kuche. I remember trying a big lump of caramel from there many years ago, and it felt like my jaw was glued shut as I tried to chew it. Since then, I'd been put off buying anything else… that is until I saw something on the Disney Food Blog that I knew I just had to try. It’s the Caramel Butter Bar… and it looked like shortbread with soft caramel on top of it. We all went inside and got in the queue, and the smell in the store was amazing.

Jon was behind us in the line and Ceci was getting fidgety in the pram, so Jon asked if she’d like some Cheerios. As soon as he said this, Marceline's head snapped round because she’d heard a trigger word… CHEERIOS. Suddenly she was saying “Cheerios daddy… Cheerios!” Thanks Jon! Can you call them ‘small cereal hoops’ from now on please?
Jon, of course, gave Marceline a handful of Cheerios from the bag, and she sat back in her buggy a happy girl. The queue was quite long, and we weren’t even at the section where you place your order and already Jon had said the ‘C’ word again! Jon! What are you playing at boy? Cereal hoops… call them cereal hoops!

We got to the counter and I ordered the Caramel Butter Bar, and Jo got a Caramel Brownie. My VM doesn't mention what Jon got… or if Ryan and Ashley got anything at all!







Now I know it doesn't look that appealing… and the photos actually make it look even worse than in real life… but boy, oh boy. That Caramel Butter Bar was a little slice of sweet heaven. It was very, VERY sweet… but I think that made me like it even more. I told everyone there was no excuse and they had to all try a bit. For some, it was too sweet, but most people thought it was ok. I personally thought it was much better than ok and will be getting them often during the next trip!

We carried on walking round and Jo actually had her passport with her, so she was finally able to get the Tipsy Duck she’d been craving. As we were waiting for her in the queue, Ryan said there was a dish at the Shanghai Holiday Kitchen booth that he had before which he really enjoyed. It was the Celebration BBQ Pork Rice Bowl. It sounded nice and the picture looked good, but when we got served it was nothing like the picture. It was fairly bland and nothing particularly special (sorry Ryan!) We also got the Pork and Vegetable Egg Rolls, which were also pretty bland and nothing I'd get again.





We were nearing the end of our tour of World Showcase and we had a late FP booked for Soarin’… so we had to say goodbye to everyone and shift into second gear so we could get over to The Land before it expired.

It was a really great evening with lots of laughter. It's hard to sometimes write about these things as the jokes and the conversations really don't translate to a TR and you pretty much had to be there in the moment. Jon asked if it was the last time we’d see each other that trip (and I swear his eyes were glassing over… as if he was about to shed a single tear) but I told him probably not, and I was sure we’d squeeze in a final goodbye before we all went home. It would, though, be the last time we saw Ryan and Ashley. It was a pleasure, as always, to see Ryan and spend a bit of time with him, and Ashley is lovely. It was the first time Jo and I had met her and she was really fun to be around. Jo said that she felt really at ease chatting with her about this, that and the other… including the Spice Girls, artisanal cheese, and how humidity does nothing for your hair!

We fast-walked over to The Land and Jo said that she’d sit outside while I went on Soarin’ first. While on the attraction I focused my senses really hard(!) and was actually able to smell three different things this time around… dirt/mud in Africa… a fresh sea breeze smell during the Polynesian scene… and finally some sort of flowery smell at the Taj Mahal scene. I came off, and Jo said Marceline had been running around, jumping and dancing with some other kids that were also waiting for parents to come off the ride, and then kept taking herself off to sit on seats on her own







Jo said she wasn’t too bothered about going on Soarin’ again, and thought that seeing as Marceline hadn’t really done a lot today we should quickly get to the Mexico pavilion and ride the Three Caballeros. So we legged it back to WS and managed to get on the attraction just before closing… we were actually the last people of the night to go on. Marceline loved it as always, and when we came out of the ride the marketplace was almost completely empty.



Illuminations had started by the time we walked out of the building, but Marceline wasn’t scared of the fireworks like she had been previously… I think she was finally getting used to them. By the time we reached International Gateway it was ending and I covered her ears for the big finale, just to be safe. We had a quick look in the shop before we exited the park and made the short walk back to Beach Club.

It was late, but Marceline was still quite energetic, so we took her out of the buggy and let her run/walk back to the room when we got out of the lift in the hotel. This of course included a stop at the halfway point where she made Jo and I take a seat and rest for a minute.







Then it was off again and back to running/walking down the corridor. She seemed wide awake, so we didn’t even attempt to put her straight to bed and just let her try and use up some energy in the room. After a little while, though, she was yawning and we put her to bed, and by 11:30 we were in bed too, after setting out clothes and getting the bag ready for the next day.

Day 11… done.

Shopping and theme parks… the fundamental basics of any good Florida Trip. Even though we slowed down a little today, it still felt just as packed… and at this late stage of the game, isn’t it always about cramming as much as you can into the final few days?

Thanks for reading. Thanks for commenting, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it enough that you’ll return for Day 12 where we have yet more theme park fun, Marceline gets a special gift, and we hit the wonderful Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail!

So there’s just one last thing to say….
I love you byeeeeeeee xxx

#allofthecheapdisneytshirts
#smallcerealhoops

[jojo82]

Ha! Was hoping you would put day 11 up tonight!

That was a well deserved lay in after the long night before. Glad Marceline nodded back off.

You did well with the shopping in the Disney outlet. I never seem to have much luck.

Great trip around world showcase with your pals

Do you mean Jon was eating a plain baguette? as in not even with butter? Lol that would be hard to swallow

Great day again.

Jojo

[Floridaagogo]

Makes my night when you post a new day 😀

[Guest]

Good day.

[ziggyzag]

Good day again! have the same trouble with clothes with my daughter, if they are long enough in the leg they are too big in the waist or if they fit in the waist they are too short, and it doesn't get any better, (she is 7 tomorrow)

[StorybookCircus]

I need to see photos of your outlet haul! Are you going to do a shopping report? No pressure

[Lisaw1971]

Fab day, No Marceline meltdowns today then? She's getting the hang of the holiday vibe!

[mick]

Nice lie in

Lots of shopping and a good evening with friends

Joan

[Yorkie Girl]

I’d love to see some pictures of your haul from the outlets

I never understand Jon’s obsession with plain baguettes! There’s so many other tasty things to buy from there

Another fab day, thanks for sharing with us

[FLAFantastic]

Good day had by all!

Come on and post day 12! Readers are getting impatient!

AnnMarie xx