DISNEY: DRINKING AROUND THE WORLD IS A COMMON GOAL

Well, here it is! Today, I bring you “Drinking Around the World” at Epcot. All those who are under the age of 21 please turn away.  =)  I actually didn’t do a great job of drinking with everyone because this is the 1^st day I started getting sick with the Floridian plague (which, by the way, I am still battling almost a month later). I had 6 - 7 drinks while everyone else had DOUBLE. How did we survive?!

Waking up that morning I still had ½ a bottle of red wine left and thought it was appropriate to drink it. As we walked to breakfast I took a glass with me because I like grape juice in the morning.

  

That bottle of Kendall Jackson costs about two arms and one leg in Disney World. I couldn’t let it go to waste! The actual debauchery didn’t start until later in the afternoon, around 2:00pm, so don’t go thinking we really started at 9:47am.

Kyle and I have tried to make it “around the world” ourselves twice before and have never gotten to the end. Typically, we would start in Canada and move from country to country… this means we never made it to Mexico, the last country around the lagoon. This year, while everyone started in Canada we walked over to Mexico and picked up a margarita each, then we met back up with them in the United Kingdom (the blatant disregard for the actual geography of the world is great).

Kyle got excited when we arrived in Mexico because Donald Duck was there! He could finally get his picture taken while wearing his magnificent shirt.

We assemble to complete one goal - let the games begin!

In the UK, Abbey chose a drink that I dubbed "Dragon's Vomit." When the bartender first put the different alcohols in the glass it was really pretty but when mixed? Not so much. Luckily it tasted like gold!



Next stop? France! Characters! More drinks! Princess Aurora was scary looking, wasn't she? We met her twice this trip and both times she wasn't the true physical embodiment of princess. Gosh!

OMG! An Aristocat?! This cat's name is Marie (and I only know that because someone told me) but of course I needed my picture with a giant cat and so did all of the other girls.

A few sips while we wait in line.

There's a pretty good story I could insert here but... this is a family blog.

"Drinking Around The World" day was easily the hottest with temperatures up around 98 or 99 degrees. Most people would think it's too hot to drink alcohol but you are not one of us. In France there was a delicious orange slushie drink that was mixed with Gran Marnier. It felt delicious just to drink it!

While the rest of the group moved on from France I decided to stay and watch a show with Kyle. We had seen it before a couple of years ago and I thought it was cool. It's sort of an acrobatic show? Maybe? I was even asked to participate! I feel like I get asked to participate all of the time because I'm so animated and get excited to try/see/do everything. =) Let's call it a zest for life!

My part in the show was to approve wines and give up my seat for him to balance on.

And of course, no day is complete without Moroccan beer! Mmm!

The next few stops on our trip was Italy, Japan and America. I usually would skip America since we can get Sam Adams anywhere but since Epcot was having the Food and Wine Festival that day there was a special Sam Adams brew called "Festival."

Italy brought samples of wine, beer and liquor. We also met up with the others in our group who didn't (or couldn't) participate because they had a kid with them.

In Japan we also found our group motto for the day; I think it's so fitting for what we were trying to accomplish.

We had dinner at the Biergarten in Germany which I remember being a really great experience as a kid, but I don't think it's awesome anymore. It was kid-centric and had a lot of songs and dances where kids went down to the floor; I'm not yet kid-centric... so, yeah.

The remainder of the countries in Epcot are China, Norway and Mexico. At some point after Germany, Kyle and I lost the group so we missed some and met up with everyone in Mexico! Ole! They made it to the end!!!

At this point, I felt horrible (from the Floridian plague) and just wanted to sleep; the alcohol I drank didn't help either, haha. I ended up going to bed around 9:30pm while everyone else went swimming but that was okay with me because I was on vacation.

DISNEY: CAN I RIDE THAT RIDE AGAIN PLEASE? REDO!

Kyle and I usually spend one full day in the Animal Kingdom through the duration of our trip. There aren’t many rides (maybe three majors that people hit) so it’s easy to do. A lot people don’t like this park because they think it’s boring but I, personally, really enjoy Animal Kingdom. Since I love animals and would own a hippopotamus if I could the park fits my personality. Also, there are a bunch of fun, live shows that run like the Lion King and Finding Nemo.

One of my biggest attractions in Animal Kingdom is the Tree of Life. Carved into the tree you’ll find all different types of animals to encompass the “great circle of life.” If you look at the tree and then watch The Lion King, it looks like the tree Rafiki lives in… but I don’t have confirmation of a connection.

Here I can see an owl, meerkat, hippo, bear & iguana. What do you see? The tree is gigantic and they actually have a 3D attraction underneath it called “It’s Tough To Be A Bug.”

Animal Kingdom is also known for it’s safari that is reflective of the Serengeti. They have all sorts of animals on-site from flamingos to elephants. The lions are the most boring animals though because I’ve been on this safari three times now and have yet to see them do anything but sleep. The guide said lions sleep 18 hours a day, laaazy.

Bird Island - woo!

This is what the safari car looks like. During peak season and peak times you could easily wait over 3 hours+ to ride through the safari. The line gets so incredibly crazy – luckily, we go while kids are in school and wait about 10 minutes.

This elephant excited me because he threw the hay on his head while I watched. Haha! I get so excited when animals do stuff like walk, or lay, or anything…  =)

 

After the safari we decided to wander around the park for awhile with no direction and what happened? I found my BFF Stitch again! I, of course, had to get my picture AGAIN with him because he’s my favorite but also because Lilo was there too.

They are my Ohana.

This, unfortunately for Kyle, got me all excited to get character pictures again.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures from all of Disney.

Also, during our wandering around we found a few “Hidden Mickeys.” Hidden Mickeys are interesting because they can be found in the weirdest places and 99% of the time you probably saw them but never realized. Hidden Mickeys are a big fascination for all Disney fans including Kyle and I. There is even a book dedicated to finding every single one.

During our trip, I found a few:

I'm really proud of the one on the right because it's so totally random.

I just happened to stumble upon these while we walked around. I’m not crazy enough to buy the book and make my life on vacation about finding Hidden Mickeys. There is one in the last post too; it's in the picture where I'm sitting on the arabian nights-style pillow.

Anyway…

I wish I had taken more scenic pictures of Animal Kingdom because it’s really well done. Should I talk about how much I love the detail Disney puts into the parks again? Hahahaha.

This is a picture of Expedition Everest which is a rollercoaster. The rollercoaster runs the track forwards and backwards. I know I’m getting old and not able to handle this anymore when the motion sickness hit me mid-ride. Ugh!

The sun was a little bright but totally worth the picture.

Like I said, Animal Kingdom hosts some pretty amazing shows with great stage sets. The Finding Nemo show is, in my opinion, the best show although I’ve always been partial to bright, colorful shiny things. =) They also turned it into a musical which makes is one skillion times better.

LOOK AT THAT PELICAN!! AWESOME.



I haven’t seen the Lion King show in about two years so I’m not sure if it was updated but I still think Finding Nemo wins.

Animal Kingdom is the earliest park to close, at 5:00pm, because they have to move the animals from the fields to their compounds. All of the animals are housed nightly in homes where they can rest, eat and sleep. There are also enough animals of each species to make sure they get days off; so the giraffe I saw that day might not be the giraffe I’d see the next.

Another interesting story is that Animal Kingdom is the only park that has doors on the bathrooms. This is in case there is an animal escape people can hide inside of them safely.

Our dinner that night was booked in the Yak and Yeti which is in the park. It’s an asian fusion type of restaurant and I had the best roasted duck ever! I also had a Safari Amber Ale; this is a beer that is made exclusively for Animal Kingdom and you can’t get it outside of the park. Of course this made me purchase the 22oz but in hindsight I should have bought two 22oz. Yumm!

To wind down the day and move into the night we got a little silly with flowers of Simba and Rafiki. Naaahhhhhh twaaaawenyaahhh vavaisiashaha shittaaa hoooome! (that was me singing Circle of Life, did you catch that?)

And then hit Epcot for their fireworks show and some beers.

KA-BOOM!

DISNEY'S PRETTY FACES

Today we're in Epcot with Abbey and Mark, lots of rides and fruity drinks for Kyle.

Could they have picked a shadier spot for picture taking? We all look like we’re going to melt in the sun. Personally, I think that Epcot is the hottest park to visit because it doesn’t have nearly the same amount of trees and/or shade. Walking through just to get to the World Showcase can be a little unbearable and sweatacular, yes… sweatacular.

And here we go again… Chip and Dale. I love that the photographer got Kyle giving Chip a hug. Aren’t they precious? Aww. 

Then Chip says "no picture for you!" and tries to hide him. Maybe Kyle didn't give him a big enough hug.

The World Showcase in Epcot is so fun. Where else can you go from England to France to Morocco to Mexico, etc? My favorite “world” is Morocco because I think the architecture is beautiful. I would love to visit the real country but that would probably cost me one skillion dollars plus is it even safe over there?

We also saw a fun show in Italy and it was interactive so I got involved. Woohoo! I am talented, I got to throw a ball to the mime-guy so he could catch it in a net. Talented, I tell you. Look at the detail on that building though (again, me with the detail). My friend, Toni, who has visited Italy told me that’s a replica of a real place but I can’t remember of what – haha. I’m thinking a castle.

In Japan, there was a woman who makes candy into the shapes of animals. There are only a few people in the world who know this art and she was taught by her family. Watching her was pretty amazing. She starts with a blob of candy on a stick and within 2-3 minutes tops it’s any animal you asked her to make. She made this scorpion in no time and look how happy he is.

The day at Epcot was so relaxed and we took our time seeing everything and having a few drinks. My newfound love for tequila brought me back time and time again for margaritas in Mexico. They have some really cool flavors like blood orange, pineapple, avocado, jalapeno and hibiscus. Kyle and I tried all of those.

The jalapeno margarita was lame and not spicy at all; we pulled out some of the peppers and they were your run of the mill green bell peppers. His favorite margarita was the pineapple one which was deliciously tropical. I tried the blood orange, hibiscus and avocado. They were all really good but the hands down winner was the avocado one. AMAZING. If there is ever a chance for you to try this – do it! It had a sweet cucumber-y, fresh garden taste. I could use another right now! 

Epcot also has a Coca-Cola station where you can try their “flavors of the world.” If you’re in need of a refreshing drink head on over because 1) it’s free and 2) Mozambique was deliciously gingery.

Our day at the park ended with a question mark. They introduced a new character and we couldn’t figure out why, what his story was or who he was. The character is named “Duffy the Bear” and he was sewn by Minnie Mouse for Mickey who was going on some big boat trip. It’s the dumbest thing and a good way for Disney to rake in more money, I guess. Abbey and I tried to rope the guys into getting their picture taken with Duffy but they wouldn’t have it.



 For dinner that night, Kyle and I met up again with Richelle and Todd for a Polynesian Luau. The Polynesian Resort is really nice and costs a ton of money to stay there so the chances of me ever staying there is slim. The luau itself was a fun; its buffet style with all you can drink beer… well, pseudo-beer since it’s Bud or Bud Light (but beggars can’t be choosers).



 There was a fun, rowdy spirit during the dinner portion; we had Phillies, Pirates and Red Sox fans all in our general vicinity so we trash talked for a good while. They also invited young kids to come up and dance the hula so of course I went, hahahaha. Not a single person in my group was surprised because I’m a crazy lunatic.

The best part of the luau came at the end when a guy came out twirling fire. I wonder how many times he burned himself during the course of learning how to do this.

 





















We topped the night off by going back to the hotel to swim but didn’t stay long. Disney has a tendency to make you tired and when you’re that close to your hotel room all you hear is it calling you… good night.