Epcot day 1 {Part 1 ~ Future World}

WDW trip report.  October 2011, first ever visit and 5th wedding anniversary.

Wednesday  October 27^th, 2011

I was super excited for Epcot! There was just something about this place that I knew it would become my favorite park of the trip. We had two day scheduled for Epcot, there is so much to see and do plus the Food and Wine festival was going on at the time of our visit. I, of course, took TONS of images that I am really excited to share. 

The weather was beautiful when we got to the park, it was really close to opening and the crowd was pretty minimal. 

The view right when you walk through the gate.

We are here!!

These next few pictures were taken with Photopass.

Yay for Epcot!

The wonders of Disney magic.

It took awhile to get through the front of the park, mostly because I was going photo happy, haha.

We didn't really have a plan for today, other than to experience everything we possibly could. The first attraction I saw as we walked through was Test Track, I was actually pretty excited to experience this one. It was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it.

Here we go!

Waiting for our car.

LoL!!

After that we headed toward the Mission Space attraction. So I had read that this ride had two versions, the Orange version (full thrill) and the Green version (wimpy one, haha) and Andy tried to convince me to go for the Orange. I was not too sure about a ride that requires barf bags so I opted out for that. We ended up riding the Green version and I loved it! It was so fun. It was only Andy and I in our mission so I didn't feel bad talking and joking. It was fun.

The attraction entrance is so neat.

Inside the queue. Such amazing details.

Ready for something a little more relaxing we headed over to the Seas pavilion. I had a lot of fun here as well. The Nemo attraction is super cute and getting to see all the sea life in the aquarium area was awesome as well.

Bloat! Awesome.

Dory and Marlin!

Yay!

The exterior of the building.

A beach feature inside the building.

A circular aquarium held a group if Seahorses!

No Bruce!! Friend not food!

After the Seas we checked out the Imagination Pavilion, took a ride on Spaceship Earth, and headed over to the Universe of Energy Pavilion for Ellen's Energy Adventure.

Imagination Pavilion. You can find the Journey Into Imagination attraction here.

The fountains outside the pavilion were awesome and so much fun!

A video of our future, LoL!! So funny.

We didn't actually go in there... not sure why..

About to relax for 45 minutes on Ellen's Energy Adventure, LoL.

At this point we were getting pretty hungry so we headed over to the Land Pavilion. We had plans to eat lunch at Sunshine Seasons that day. We also rode Living with the Land but I don't have any pics from that attraction. On to the food, haha!

Andy's turkey and monterey jack on ciabatta with potato salad.

Andy's pumpkin cheesecake.

My carsar salad with oak fired chicken.

My strawberry shortcake.

After lunch we decided it was time to head into World Showcase, an area I was super excited to explore!

On our way to World Showcase!!

So there you have it! Part 1 of our first day at Epcot. Coming soon... Epcot day 1 {Part 2 ~ World Showcase}

My biggest apologies...

So I have to say I am so sorry that it has been SOOOO very long since a post. I have to admit that life (and a little laziness, haha) got in the way but I have an awful lot of things to share. I also did a little thinking about what I intended this blog to be about. I really wanted this to be a place that I could share my trip pictures and experiences with others who loved Disney parks as well. I think I really want to go back to that.. I will say without hesitation that I am not the greatest of writers but I love the times I have at Disney and want to share that.

So, I am grateful to those who have stuck around and had patience with me. I'm really excited about some of the things I have to share with you all really soon! (Including: Ghirardelli, birthday dinner at Club 33, Carsland, and more.)

*Preview image. Here I am in an empty Trophy Room in Club 33.

There is room for one more..

Haunted Mansion is one of my favorite Disneyland attractions, whether it is the traditional version or the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. I love the detail to the exterior of the ride as well. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Character Meet and Greets

I mentioned in one of my previous posts (Magic Kingdom report) that I love character meet and greets.  To me, these are such a good addition to any Disney park trip and can add a special spark of magic. Some of my favorite moments and memories are shared with characters and cast members, having fun conversations and interaction.

This past month I was able to partake in two opportunities for character greets that were all new to me, I was very excited for this.  At the end of January, Disneyland celebrated the Lunar New Year and had a meet and greet with Mulan and Mushu. The area around Small World was decorated with beautiful red lanterns in the trees and banners adorned with Chinese characters. Before each greeting session, Mulan and Mushu would come out surrounded by dancers in wonderfully detailed Chinese dresses, the dancers would stay out and had ribbons for the kids to twirl and dance with.

Mulan is one of my favorite Disney “princesses” and I was super happy for the chance to take a photo with her (even though I had gotten one during our Disney World trip) along with Mushu. When I went up there Mulan points at my lip and, in a concerned voice, asks me if the Huns had gotten a hold of me. For those who don’t know me well, I have a lip ring. She asked if they had marked me and if it hurt, it was cute and sweet of her. At the same time Mushu had taken one of my (long) braids and was using it to make a moustache on his face and had people around laughing, it was so fun and some of my favorite interactions so far.

Mulan and Mushu

 The second new meet for me happened at the end of February. For a few weeks around Mardi Gras Disneyland celebrated in New Orleans Square with Bayou Bash. I didn’t get to see as much of the Bash as I was hoping for but I was able to take some time for one meet and greet. When I went over to the greet area, over in the Court of Angels, I was expecting there to be a large amount of people and was very surprised to find none! Mickey had just ended his meet session and I decided to wait for the next one with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen.

While waiting I had a very nice chat with a family that also came over to wait about character meets, pin trading and food. We also had a talk with a great CM (Cast Member) who came over and handed out Mardi Gras beads to all of us. When Tiana and Naveen came out I went over and said hello. I complimented Tiana on her dress which caused Naveen to get a  little jealous and ask what I thought of his outfit. It was funny and casual which was nice.

Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen

What are some of your favorite character meet moments? I look forward to having many more memorable character meet moments throughout the year and I hope you all do the same.

Asrto Orbitor

The light rays are shining through the clouds onto the Astro Orbitor.

It's A (Late) Jolly Holiday

First, I would really like to apologize for the lateness of this post. It's crazy how fast life and other distractions can get in the way. I have lots to share and, hopefully, there will be lots of posts coming up this week. And now, on to my experience at Jolly Holiday!

I was really looking forward to seeing the new Jolly Holiday Bakery. It has been a tradition for quite a few years to make a stop at the Blue Ribbon Bakery to get hot chocolate and apple cider before watching the holiday fireworks every Christmas trip so I will miss it, but I am open to something new. I had read about some of the offerings at the bakery on the Disney Food Blog (which I love and is great for all Disney food related information) and was very excited for some tasty treats.

Got to love the details. Above the front entrance.

I know it's a little blurry but I only got this one. I love the penguins!

Upon first walking up you see a cute style building that fits right in on Main Street USA, seating is on the outside with very cute blue tables, yellow chairs and matching umbrellas. The line starts off as one single line that splits into two as you get to the door, both side are the same.  The line took a little bit of time but once we got our treats we knew it was going to be worth it.  While waiting to see what I was going to order I chatted with a few other people in line about the options and what we were looking forward to trying.  Deciding that the calories didn't count because this was research for a new blog post we got three wonderful looking desserts.

Details once inside

I loved this chandelier. 

A spoonful a sugar?

Mary and the kids

Some of the tasty treats

I think I want one of these when I go again

They have great looking lunch offerings as well

First was the fresh Fruit Tart. I love fruit tarts and knew the minute I saw this one that I had to have it. The fruit on top was very good, raspberries and blackberries with slices of peach, mango, kiwi and strawberry.  The custard filling was smooth in texture and not too sweet and the butter cookie crust had good crunch and a wonderful taste as well. Here is where I have my first critique, while I did say they cookie crust was very tasty and had good crunch, you had to pick it up and bite it to find out. It was all but impossible to take pieces with a plastic fork and the plastic knife just caused it to break off in small pieces. However, I have no problem appearing “not ladylike” in public and will not let this stop me from possibly ordering one in the future and do recommend that you try one as well if you are a fan of tarts.

Full tart

Andy decided to try the seasonal fruit pie which at this point is a personal sized apple pie with thin sliced apples in cinnamon and a crispy lattice top.  Naturally I had to try a bite and it did bring a smile to my face, it reminded me instantly of family holidays and I love that. The filling was a great mix of apples and cinnamon and the top crust was wonderfully flaky and crisp. The lattice had coarse sugar on it that helped with the caramelization of the dough and added a light sweetness. Andy thought it was very good.

Last but certainly not least, the one treat I had on my mind all day and was looking forward to very much, the Strawberry Lemon Cupcake.  Let me just say that this cupcake is a little intimidating upon first looking at it, it seems quite large, but the flavors meld so well together  it comes off fairly light. The cake itself is soft and fluffy with nice lemon flavor and the frosting is light and airy, the combination is fantastic. All this is topped off with a nice dollop of strawberry preserve. I loved this cupcake, it was everything I thought it would be and just the perfect snack to end my night.

In my husbands hand to kind of get a size look

Overall, the décor of the Jolly Holiday Bakery is right on par for Disney, the outdoor seating is a nice area is a lovely place to relax and watch the happenings in the hub and the treats are delicious. I look forward to going back and partaking in some of the great looking lunch options, don’t forget they also offer breakfast options in the morning. I highly recommend giving this place a try.

The menu out front

End of our night