Early flights seem to work best for me in getting to Orlando… assuming I am not working. In a shocking turn of events, I found myself able to have not one, but two, extra days for this trip. (I was laid off a week before this trip.) I was able to re-book my 7:30PM flight on Thursday to a 7:30AM one and luckily my sister works at the private jet FBO at the Nashville Airport. Even luckier, her shift that day started at 6:00AM, exactly when I’d need to be heading through security.
I don’t know about any of you, but the most stressful 15 minutes of every single trip I take, ever, is going through TSA. I’m generally a pretty careful packer and try to pay attention, but I’ve been caught in more doofus moments there than I’d care to admit. What do you mean I have to surrender my maple syrup? Oh, $30 vanilla from the Mexico Pavilion isn’t allowed either? Oh crap, forgot about those teensy-weensy scissors for cutting my moleskin! Oy.
Today would be my lucky day though, and my bag, which usually gets pulled aside, didn’t that morning and, I found myself with an hour and a half to sit and contemplate how relieved I was that I could go to both Disney and Europe without the worry of a job search ahead of me. Shazam!!
I also had all that time to contemplate that I’d forgotten my earbuds so I couldn’t listen to music on my flight. Instead, I passed the time by doing a few word puzzles that I’d brought along and, before I knew it, I was in the Sunshine State ready for a grand Disney adventure.
I was able to fit everything I needed into a carry on and my small Loungefly that I picked up on my last trip making my exit a super fast one! Zoomy, zoom!!! We’d landed a bit early at 10:20 and by 11:44 I was passing the bus stop entrance sign. Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!
Pro Tip!!! Uber and Lyft are very easy from MCO to resorts! Once you’re off the plane, follow the signs for “RIDE SHARE”. The trip takes about 30 minutes to the resorts. I always schedule my rides with 2 stops- one to drop my bags off at the resort to stow them with my resort Luggage Services, and then onto whatever park I’m headed to. Checking the bags into storage has never taken more than the 5 minutes you are allowed for your ride share stop. But, there is always the small risk it could take longer and the driver does reserve the right to terminate your ride and leave. But don’t worry!!! The buses are free so you wouldn’t be out more than the extra couple of bucks it costs for the extra stop.
After breezing through security, I had to make a very important stop at Guest Services to activate my shiny, new AP. That took about 10 minutes and now I have a whole year to eek out at least one more trip.
Flower and Garden Festival always pours on the wow factor right off the hop in front of the tapstiles. This year didn’t disappoint! The theme this year was Pixar’s 40th Anniversary and the Landscape Designers wasted no time in screaming that theme loud and clear with this first garden! Woody, Bo Peep, and Buzz were seemingly drowning in a sea of exquisite flowers all around them.
Around the corner, Lotso stood tall and proud and ready to betray every human and toy who entered in. Remember, Friends, looks can be deceiving and you can’t judge a bear by its cute magenta cover.
My next errand was also very important as I’ve been burned in the past with waiting on purchases. I headed straight to Creations to get my AP F&G Pin. A few years ago, I procrastinated and they ran out before I got one. Not this year, EPCOT, not this year.
At this point, I was simply giddy with contentment at taking in the vibe as a whole. The music, while sadly different than the OG soundtracks, is still good and the explosion of flowers all around in every nook and cranny of this park made it all even better. It was so hard to keep myself from taking about 493 billion photos as I made my way to find some kiosky kind of lunch.
Just a couple days ahead of leaving I had watched a Vlog of some folks eating around the festival and wanted to try a few of the things that looked good to me and that they recommended. So, the first of many, many things I tried this time around was:
Tuna Poke Bowl with edamame, avocado, mango, pickled red onions, seaweed salad, furikake, and umami sauce on a bed of sticky rice (New) — $8.79
And:
Coconut Panna Cotta with a cherry gelée and matcha crumb topped with a citrus cookie, plant-based meringue, and flower confetti (Plant-based), Garden Graze item (New) — $5.79
The tuna poke bowl was very, very good! Everything complemented so well together with some sweet from the mango, umami from the seaweed and tuna, a bit of sour with the pickled onions, and some salty from the furikake and sauce. Just so well done! It was big too! I couldn’t finish it all knowing that I had dessert to eat and still wanting to grab a couple more things that day.
The Panna Cotta was okay. The best part about it was the cherry gelee and matcha topping which added some flavor and crunch respectively. The panna cotta part (at the bottom) was quite bland and didn’t taste like coconut at all which was disappointing. If you are looking for a coconut bold forward flavor, this isn’t for you. But she was very pretty and posed well for her portrait! I tossed the cookie altogether as it was a flavorless place-holder. But yes, I did eat the flower.
While I was solo for this portion of my day, I thought I’d see what I could tackle of my hunts. Only to realize fairly quickly that there was only one hunt going on during my trip. I was so sad!! The Eggstravaganza Hunt had ended earlier in April and was only a very short, limited time thing. I guess I’d have to be satisfied with Spike’s Pollen Nation Exploration hunt. And I was. He was at times super tricky to find and hidden well. I think in a couple of the pictures of him, you’ll see why.
The Egg… Hunt that wasn’t to be:
The Spike Hunt game board (You can still do the hunt without spending the $11.99 for a doo-dad when you’re done):
Spike was busy in the Community Garden where he was buzzing around the tomatoes right near the entrance to The Land. Donald was being his usual grouchy self; maybe he loves flowers but hates gardening as much as I do.
Just next to The Land towards the Imagination Pavilion, was the Butterfly House. These really tickle my fancy y’all. And there were loads of them in there this year! They are always just so fun to watch!
This was also the place where my chaps were really frosted. Some young dad was catching butterflies and handing them to his 6- or 7-year old daughter. What the frick is wrong with people?! Stop. That! I couldn’t take the idiocy anymore so left in search of the Spike that was supposed to be nearby.
It didn’t take long to find him gathering some salvia nectar to take to the Honey Bee-stro just a short flight away. (Did you think that said saliva at first?)
With my pin in my bag, delicious food in my belly, and my senses satiated, I just started wandering and taking in the atmosphere snapping photos I went.
This cute little yard for Pluto was really fun!
As were Mater and Lightning McQueen:
But some of my very favorites of the Pixar topiaries were the Monsters menagerie right near the “backside” of Creations by the Test Track area. I love the looks of disdain on the smaller monsters and the level of eye-rolling is dope. I’m sure they’ve seen it all on any typical day at EPCOT- from people stopping to talk in the middle of the walkways to kids picking their noses and licking their hands.
Camp Get Out ‘N’ Play Garden Presented by OFF! had a nice little display in front of this quieter play area (also “behind” Creations by the Coca Cola Refreshment Stand) and it’s also where I found Spike zipping around in the field of red blooming Impatiens.
With that, I’m at my photo limit and this is a good place to take a pause. From here, I’ll be heading into World Showcase where I take in all the lovely International Gardens, Topiaries and, of course, a little vacation day drinking.
