girls' weekend: epcot

The daughter of one of our great friends from church is working at Walt Disney World as part of the College Program this spring so her mom and went down for the weekend to see her and enjoy the parks sans kids!  We stayed at Shades of Green in order to get the on-property perks-- like booking FP+ 60 days out!  After checking in at the hotel, we headed to EPCOT, took advantage of the Passholder line, and were reunited with Abigail!

We made our way around the Flower and Garden food booths for a late lunch: Fried Cauliflower from Taste of Marrakesh, Cold Brew coffee from Joffrey's, and the Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer and the Tropical Freeze from La Isla Fresca

Flower and Garden Festival is such a great time to be at EPCOT with all of the beautiful topiaries!

- Test Track fun -

We booked a last-minute 8pm reservation for Tokyo Dining and when we got there, we requested a window table so that we could watch Illuminations at 9pm.  We were seated one row back from the window (there are very few actual window tables) and had a phenomenal view of the show!

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anniversary trip day five: epcot and magic kingdom

We started Day #5 at EPCOT and I MAY have used the Passholder Entrance (no line!!) while Jacob had to wait in the regular line.  In my defense, I did it so that I could get in the PhotoPass line so we both ended up waiting in line, but we maximized our time!

When we go with the kids we're always very Go-Go-Go and we don't always take the time to watch the street performers but we made sure to stop for shows on this trip and we were thoroughly impressed with the JAMMitors!

- JAMMitors -

One of my fave things about EPCOT is the ability to snack around the world.  We loved the new cold brew coffee from Joffrey's and the Schoolbread was a delicious new-to-us treat from Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe in Norway.

The Mexico Pavillion is the only one in World Showcase that is entirely indoors, however, they've done a great job giving the illusion of being in an outdoor market in Mexico.

We lucked out and got a table by the water for our lunch at San Angel Inn-- it's so fun watching the boats float by while you enjoy a delicious meal!  Jacob started with the margarita flight (when in Mexico...) and then we split the Queso Fundido.  He had the Carne Asada Tampiqueña and I had the Tacos de Carne-- while they were both good, his was the clear winner.  Unfortunately, it's really dark in the restaurant and while that's great for creating ambiance, it's not conducive to good food pictures.

- The Gran Fiesta Tour starring The Three Caballeros -

We stopped at Kabuki Cafe in Japan for a refreshing afternoon snack-- I had the Strawberry Kakigori and Jacob had the Pineapple Coconut Sake Mist.

We made sure to stop at the Disney Visa Character Meet-n-Greet since we don't always have time to with the kids.  Surprisingly, about half of the people in line were groups without kids!

- Living with the Land-- I love all of the the hidden Mickeys -

- Test Track -

I love Spaceship Earth at dusk when the colorful lights come out to play.  The Stitch topiary reminded me of Ben (Stitch is his all-time fave)!

We went back to the hotel for dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe.   After the drama of getting the car valeted (it's a stick and hardly any of the valets could drive it!) we checked in and waited for our table.  I love the lobby of Wilderness Lodge and it's a great place to unwind after a long day in the parks.  We both ordered the All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Skillet and while it was pretty good, the restaurant is probably a one and done for us.  Neither the food quality or the service were up to the standard that we've come to expect at Disney.

After dinner we took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom to wrap up our night.  We watched Happily Ever After from the PeopleMover-- it's always fun to watch from different places!

- Happily Ever After -

- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train -

- Cinderella Castle -

- Another "Glowing Lantern at the Tangled Restroom" picture -

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anniversary trip day three: epcot

Our first stop at EPCOT was just inside the gate-- pictures with Spaceship Earth!

We enjoyed riding Spaceship Earth, too!  Even though we often ride together (the kids usually ride with each other when we go), it was nice to ride without their chatter-- or complaints that they "accidentally" selected Chinese for the audio and had no idea what was going on.

We went to Paris on our honeymoon fifteen years ago so it was fun to celebrate our anniversary in "France" with pastries and Kronenbourg 1664.

Since it was just the two of us, we were able to explore the countries of World Showcase more than we usually do and loved wandering around Morocco.

We didn't have lunch reservations because we planned to do Food and Wine Festival booths, but ended up having a spectacular lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco.  We both ordered the lunch special and it was amazing: bread service, Beef Brewat roll and Jasmina Salad, Chicken Kebabs, and Baklava.

I love to journey through American history in the American Adventure.

We watched the trains in Germany and enjoyed a delicious snack from Karamell-Küche.

- Exploring China -

The sun setting over the World Showcase.

We made our way back to Canada for dinner- if only it were actually that easy to explore the world!!  The Canada Pavillion always reminds me of my time living in Calgary and all of the fun places we explored (like Butchart Gardens and Johnston Canyon).

We enjoyed dinner at Le Cellier, the steakhouse in Canada-- another place we haven't gone with the kids!

Dinner at Le Cellier: Canadian Chedder Cheese Soup, Porterhouse for Two, Lobster Mac and Cheese and Loaded Potatoes, and Maple Creme Brûlée. 

After dinner we walked around EPCOT and made a stop at Club Cool to try soda flavors from around the world.  While some of them (Fanta!) were great, the Beverly was NOT!  We were treated to frozen Cokes as an anniversary treat!

- Spaceship Earth at night -

We watched Happily Ever After from the car on our way back to the hotel after a fun day at EPCOT.

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drive to orlando, disney springs, 'ohana and holiday wishes

We picked the kids up from school a couple of hours early and hit the road for our Veteran's Day weekend trip to Florida.  Instead of driving all the way to Orlando in one day, we like to leave in the afternoon and drive most of the way and then stop for the night- this time we stayed in Jacksonville, FL.  The kids LOVE getting the cooked to order breakfast at Embassy Suites, and I've even trained them to make my breakfast while I hold our table!

We left the hotel after breakfast and we were at Disney Springs in time for lunch at our favorite place, Earl of Sandwich!  We split thai chicken wraps and then spent the afternoon wandering around Disney Springs.

We took advantage of the Starbucks BOGO sale and everyone got a holiday flavored drink (the kids all got frappuccinos while the adults enjoyed lattes).

We surprised the kids (again!) with dinner at 'Ohana!  We always explain to them that we can't eat at 'Ohana EVERY time we go to WDW (especially since the kids are getting older and more expensive) but since we LOVE it too, we try pretty hard to find a way to go almost every time we're there.

Mmmmmm.  Food for days.....

The view of the castle from our table at 'Ohana.  After dinner we hopped on the monorail for a quick ride around the loop and then got off at the Ticket and Transportation Center to watch the fireworks.

Talking about her favorite ride :)

It was the first time we'd watched the fireworks from the TTC and we were thoroughly impressed! 

Holiday Wishes from the TTC.

Sweet boys.  After the fireworks, we walked back to the Polynesian to get our car and headed back to our hotel to rest up for the next day.