Food, Wine and Farewell to Illuminations - 9/11-16

Neon Cactus

Old Run Disney Addict
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Just got back from a great, but way too short, four day trip to the parks. This is the trip that I can really thank for getting the annual pass this year. When I saw what the ticket prices for this trip plus a week for the Dopey Challenge next January would be, I saved money by buying the AP. And because I had the AP, I ended up adding a 2 day trip in April, plus upcoming 2 day trips in December and 5 days in February to the other two trips I'd already planned. Somehow I survived the grueling 5 months since my last trip. On this trip, besides me, was my friend David, who's been my Disney partner in crime since the early '90s. We lived an hour from Disneyland and used to go to the Neon Cactus bar at the Disneyland Hotel nearly every weekend, watch football and then go into Disneyland for a few rides. I made him go to Disney World in 1994 for his first time, and now he and his wife, who also went with us, are DVC owners. They do two weeks every year, one week at the Polynesian in a studio and one week in a 2 bedroom at the Beach Club. His dad was also there and this year he had to get an ECV for the first time due to health problems. Last year I couldn't go, but this year, being offered the chance to stay at the Polynesian definitely made it better. I don't usually get the dining plan, but they always do, so I paid them for 5 nights of it and they paid for the other two, since they had to put me on the dining plan for their full 7 day stay. The funny thing is that they usually go in October but chose September because it's usually less crowded. And they also like to take it a little easier since they are there for two weeks, where I come in for a four day trip like the Tasmanian Devil ready to go from opening to closing. So I thought it was hilarious that they opened Galaxy's Edge 12 days before our trip and the Studios had 6 am early hours for resort guests, while Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom opened at 7.

They got there the day before I did so it was already tough with me pacing around waiting for my nighttime flight on Wednesday. My flight left at 7 PM and landed at 10:48 and we were about 20 minutes early. I took Magical Express to the Polynesian. I was the third out of four stops and got there just before midnight. They had a studio in the Moorea building, which I liked because it was closest to the TTC. I visit the Polynesian on most of my visits, but this was the first time I've stayed there since 1975 when I was 8, my very first Disney World trip.

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So we decided to go for the early entry at the Studios. We went to bed around 12:45 and got up at about 5. Plenty of sleep for me. We got to the parking lot of DHS a minute before 6, so we didn't get in the park right at opening. One thing we noticed right away was almost as good to me as finally seeing Galaxy's Edge:

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First of all, I love being in a Disney park at 6 AM. It was all lit up and we got in at about 6:15 so Hollywood Boulevard wasn't crowded. But I loved being able to get a straight on view of the Chinese Theater. No Star Wars stage, no Sorcerer Mickey's Hat blocking the view. I've been going here since it's first year, so it was definitely nostalgic to have this view of it.

So we went to the Star Tours side of the park to the entrance of Galaxy's Edge and I found it to be truly incredible. I'm a Star Wars fan, but not too crazy, but it's impossible not to be impressed by the detail they put into it. What I also liked was the number of cast members there at 6 am and how they really built the experience in us. Their enthusiasm for Batuu was contagious. When we got into the park, the app said the line was 15 minutes. It looked very long and there was a cast member behind us with a sign that said 60 minutes. But the line moved very quickly and we were in the waiting area to board the ride in less than 25 minutes.
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I loved the ride. It's very interactive and I was one of the pilots that had to go left and right. It was pretty easy except for the part where I ignored the brakes and rammed the train. My friends had been to the one at Disneyland and they said that the size of Galaxy's Edge at WDW is larger and more impressive. We walked around and explored the land some more and then went to go visit some of the other attractions. I like that you can go from Galaxy's Edge into Toy Story Land - no more dead end. We rode Slinky Dog with only about a 10 minute wait. Toy Story Mania said there was a 20 minute wait but we walked right on. And when we were done, they said we could ride it again without getting off. So we did one more time. We could have gone another time but our arms were pretty tired by that time because we get very competitive at it. Then it was on to Sunset Boulevard.
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There didn't seem to be long waits so we went to Rock N Roller Coaster first and they had all of the doors open so we walked right through the preshow and got right onto the coaster. After that, we went to the Tower of Terror, and they also had the doors open so we walked right through the preshow. So we ended up going on the Tower a second time. My friends were feeling the effects of too many thrill rides in a row, so I went back to RNR by myself and they still had the doors open through the preshow and I got right on. So at 9 AM, when the park officially opened, we'd done Smuggler's Run, Slinky Dog, Toy Story twice, RNR twice and Tower of Terror twice. I love 6 AM early entry!!

After that, we went to Star Tours and walked on that, then Muppet Vision. Then we had reservations at 10:35 for Oga's Cantina. So we walked through and even with reservations there was a bit of a wait to get in. They checked us in and then when it was our turn they came and got us from the line. There are some booths there, plus some standing areas in the middle of the Cantina and then standing areas at the bar. We were right at the bar, which I liked. We saw our old friend Captain Rex from Star Tours who is now a DJ.

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The bartenders were great and I love the atmosphere. I had a drink called the Yub Nub. It's on the menu for $45 in a souvenir mug but you can get it without the souvenir mug for I think $12-13. My friends had the Fuzzy Tauntaun, which one of the cast members had recommended. There's some foam on that drink that makes your lips tingle. Personally I love the atmosphere here but probably wouldn't do this every visit. The drinks are a bit overpriced and there are better drinks to be had elsewhere in the park. My friends went back later in the week after I left and had food at Ronto Roasters and the total for two with alcoholic drinks was $53, so if you're looking for a great quick service value on the meal plan, they highly recommend it.

After Oga's, we went back to the Polynesian to pick up my friend's dad and we went to Disney Springs and had lunch at the Polite Pig, which was a great quick service value for the dining plan and had really, really good brisket. We walked around Disney Springs for a little while, got our free sample at Ghirardelli and then went back to the Polynesian. My friends wanted to take a nap, so I went exploring the Polynesian and went shopping, walked around the marina and got through a rainstorm. Then we went to EPCOT for dinner at Tutto Italia. I hadn't been there since it was Alfredo's, so it had been a while. The food was excellent and the service was really outstanding. By the time we left, the park was near closing. We had Fastpasses for Illuminations the next night, so we rode Mission Space. I hadn't been on this in many years either. I loved the feeling of the launch, but I got a detached retina a few years ago and my eye doctor said most roller coasters are fine, but it's the rides with strong g forces that are the worst for it, so I'm relegated to the mild side of the ride this time. It was still fun. After that, we saw some of the fireworks from Illuminations as we made our way out of the park and went to the hotel.

Next: Day 2 and the Food and Wine Festival
 
We leave Friday for our first trip to SWGE! I hope we have the same experience with EEMH. We plan on being at the bus stop at 5:00am and bailing by 11:00! Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!
 
We leave Friday for our first trip to SWGE! I hope we have the same experience with EEMH. We plan on being at the bus stop at 5:00am and bailing by 11:00! Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

That’s awesome! It is really well done. Did you get a reservation for Oga’s Cantina? We were shocked how quickly we got on Slinky Dog and having no wait for the other major rides. I would get on Smugglers Run, then go ride the other rides and go back to Galaxy’s Edge to look around after that.

What is funny is that my friends who didn’t want to get up that early went at 6 am today and are going again tomorrow because we had such a good time.
 
That’s awesome! It is really well done. Did you get a reservation for Oga’s Cantina? We were shocked how quickly we got on Slinky Dog and having no wait for the other major rides. I would get on Smugglers Run, then go ride the other rides and go back to Galaxy’s Edge to look around after that.

What is funny is that my friends who didn’t want to get up that early went at 6 am today and are going again tomorrow because we had such a good time.

Yes, I was able to get several reservations for Oga's. I just cancelled all but one of them. So far, the waits for rides look low so I'm hoping that continues! We get in early Saturday morning and my husband wants to go straight to SWGE just to look around. Then we're planning at least 2 EEMH during the week. We are so excited!
 


That's great! I did the marathon in January and went to MK at 5:30 the day of the half marathon and cheered the runners on. I loved being in the parks that early. It's just magical. You guys will have a great time. I think one reservation at Oga's will be fine. You're almost there!
 
DAY 2: EPCOT, FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL AND FAREWELL TO ILLUMINATIONS

Today was a lucky day for my friends. EPCOT didn't open until 9, so they got to sleep in. It's kind of funny looking back on it now, but I took my friend, his ex wife and one other friend for their first visit to Disney World 25 years ago, in 1994. Disney had the Food & Fun Card and for $40 per day, we got 2 table service meals per day and unlimited recreation. We stayed 8 nights and I had them up by 6:30 am every day and then we'd hit the parks, go boating, water skiing, horseback riding, and then hit Pleasure Island until 2 am at least four of those nights. They hated my guts about the 5th day in, but now they talk about it reverently. So for my friend, sleeping in until 7 when I'm there is a luxury! This was his birthday so for that, and because I was getting a nice stay at the Poly for free, I took them to breakfast at Kona Cafe. Great way to start the day with Macadamia Nut Pancakes. My friend was fighting off a cold and hadn't felt very good by the end of the night before. So after breakfast, they all decided to rest up and meet me later. So I walked to the TTC and took the monorail over to EPCOT. I got there around 9:15. I was a bit worried Frozen would already be crowded, but when I got there, it was closed. Since I'm doing the Dopey Challenge in January, there were times I deliberately walked longer than I had to, just to get more distance in. I started going to ride Journey into Imagination. There really was nobody there. I don't often do character greetings, especially on non-race weekends, but when I got off the ride there was no line for Vanellope, so why not?

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There are quite a few walls up around Future World and the entrance area of EPCOT, though I am very excited about what's coming. But my usual shortcuts sometimes were blocked off. I headed over to Test Track and the single rider line and walked on the ride. Then went back over to the Seas. What was really cool is that at the end of the ride, the dolphins were swimming in the same window as the animated characters and the characters flinched right as the dolphin swam near them so that it looked like part of the show. I can pretty much watch dolphins forever. And they were just bringing in the manatees from their backstage area, so I got to watch them luring them out with lettuce. We had Fastpasses for Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land later, so I decided to head back towards World Showcase. The Mexico pavilion was closed so I kept going to Norway and when I walked by there, Frozen was just being opened, so I ended up on the first boat after it reopened. Which was nice, because the posted wait was 35 minutes when I got off the ride. I'm still a Maelstrom fan, but I do like the Frozen ride as well. It was about 5 minutes until 11 when I got off the ride, so I headed over to Mexico. This was the first time I've been there when they've opened the pavilion and it was fun. Several cast members walked out and had some people come up and wear sombreros and had us do a countdown and yell Fiesta! And then I went on Gran Fiesta. I kind of felt like I was missing out since I can't do the Wine and Dine weekend this year, since they are having a Three Caballeros medal. I do like this ride.

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At that point, my friends were stirring and were starting to head over to meet me there. So I started walking around the Food and Wine Festival. I've only been here once about four years ago and loved it. The food options are so good. My favorite is Canada with their filet mignon and cheddar cheese soup.

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I looked at the menus before I went and wrote down a few things that I really wanted to make sure not to miss. Plus with 10 total snack credits, we were looking for the more expensive items since you can use snack credits at the festival booths. The filet in Canada and the lobster roll at Hops & Barley are really good deals. I was going to wait for my friends but they were taking long and I was getting hungry, so I started in China with the black pepper shrimp with garlic noodles. The shrimp were awesome, though the noodles had a bit too much garlic. I know they're replacing the China movie so I saw that while I was there. As for drinks, I was debating between Kung Fu Punch or Year of the Piggy. I went with the Piggy since I remember the Kung Fu Punch was there when we did Drinking Around the World after the marathon, so I can get that next year. It was a really good drink, not overly sweet and pretty strong. My friends texted and said they were heading into the park so I headed up towards the front and stopped at the Chocolate Studio close to the Imagination pavilion. They had a Pumpkin Spiced Chai Tea frozen drink with Caramel Vodka. Sounded interesting, so I had to try it. It was really strong, but very good.

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By that point, my friends were close by at the Flavors of Fire kiosk, so I went over and found them. We decided to head over to Canada and see the CircleVision movie, since that's also being replaced. We definitely got there too late, as that theater has been repurposed for the festival.

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It's the Appleseed Orchard and has cider and wine and very nice air conditioning. Although as humid as it was, it still felt cool to me compared to Dallas. We headed over by the UK and found the Ireland kiosk, which had the other must have drink for me - the Guinness Bailey's shake. Yum!

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Next we headed over to see my EPCOT must-do attraction - Impressions de France. We had about 20 minutes to wait so we went through the shops and went and watched a certain transportation option that I can't wait to do...

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We saw Impressions de France and then walked around World Showcase looking at the kiosks and American Adventure. We didn't have enough time to see the show because of our dinner reservations but did see the Voices of Liberty. I was teasing my friend because Tiffany was performing that night because we both grew up in the 80s and let's just say she was not one of our favorites. We met up with my friend's dad and walked back to Canada where we had reservations at Le Cellier. I haven't been there in a while and it's one of my favorites. We had a great waiter. He was a big Disney fan and had been to D23, so he was telling us about the music of the EPCOT Forever show and the news about what's coming to EPCOT. The food was great. We all had the filet mignon and I had the butter tart for dessert and I can't remember the name of the drink I had but it was really good and had a glowing ice cube, so how could I go wrong?

When we were done, we had Fastpasses for Illuminations in about two hours, but my friends was starting not to feel well. He said he felt bad about leaving me there by myself and I reminded him that I was there two more days, so if that were his situation, I'd say push through it, but he had nearly two weeks there so why force it and make himself more sick. So they left and I thought about going to see the American Adventure, as that and The Land rides were the only ones I hadn't done. Soarin' was 75 minutes so I wasn't about to wait that long. I decided to just enjoy World Showcase. I was really not hungry at all, so I didn't need any more snacks. I walked through the Canada pavilion and shops and found the soft maple candies. I love those (several years ago, I covered some Canadian provinces for an education company I worked for and I flew into Nova Scotia and at the border of New Brunswick there was a welcome center and I bought almost everything they had maple - syrup, tea, hard candies, soft candies). So I bought a couple of boxes, one for me and one for my daughters. Then I went to the UK and listened to the British Revolution band for a bit. Then walked around World Showcase lagoon again. I stopped in Japan and got Kaki Gori. I always like walking through the shops in Morocco and Germany. And then wound up riding Gran Fiesta again. And did some shopping for the Food and Wine Festival. I was good this year. I have a tendency to overspend but the only thing I bought was the official rolling pin, since I don't have one. Granted, I've never needed to have one, but if, one day, I decide to ever make something where I need it, I will have some nice food with Spaceship Earth shapes in it.

And then it was time for Illuminations. I was a bit surprised that I felt kind of emotional as I was watching it, realizing it was my last time. I liked the previous Illuminations show better, and I love EPCOT so I can't wait for the EPCOT Forever show, but I still felt it. So I enjoyed it. The song that plays after the show is over around World Showcase is on my marathon playlist, and I always enjoy walking a lap around World Showcase lagoon before exiting the park. I took the monorail back to the TTC and walked to the room. There were some cast members from the ferry leaving and I walked part of the way with them and talked to them. So all in all, a great day!

NEXT: PANDORA AND POLYNESIANS
 
DAY 3: ANIMAL KINGDOM, OHANA AND OFF TO THE RACES

Because AK opened at 7, we were up early again. We got there pretty close to park opening. This was the first day that my friend's dad felt good enough to join us at a park opening, so once my friend and I were done driving around the Polynesian parking lot in his ECV, we loaded it up and drove over. We had FP for Flight over Pandora, Safari and Everest. We rode Dinosaur first and then headed to Primeval Whirl. That was closed and since there was no line, we went on Triceratop Spin. We then went over to Everest and walked on. Kali River Rapids wasn't going to open until 9, but Maharajah Jungle Trek was open. It was kind of nice because there weren't many people on the trail so we talked to the cast members and learned a lot about the komodo dragon and bats. There were no bats in the enclosure because they've been moved to a bat sanctuary and they have new, younger bats who are in the bat version of Disney University. And then we found the tigers. I can pretty much watch tigers all day, even if all they are doing is sleeping. We did find one who was enjoying a treat.

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After that point, we went on with Kali River Rapids, with my friend's wife staying off. I'm usually a water magnet on those raft rides, to the point none of my friends wants to sit next to me because they know they'll likely get soaked. This time, I did get wet, but not too bad. It actually felt nice with the humidity. We then headed over to the Safari ride to use our Fastpasses. This was the first time I've been with anyone in an ECV and there's a special loading section. I always love the safari and a lot of the animals were active.

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We then had Fastpasses for Everest again. My friend wasn't feeling that great, so it was just me and his wife the second time. I've always been fortunate that I've never gotten motion sickness on rides. The Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal gets me, but that's about it. So we got off that ride and it was about 11. We'd had a choice for Ohana reservations that night for either 4:30 or 9:20, and opted to go with the earlier reservations, in case we wanted to see a nighttime show at one of the parks. My friends had done a later reservation before and said they didn't have the amount or quality of the food because they were getting ready to close. So because of the earlier dinner, we wanted to make sure we had lunch early so we'd be hungry enough.

So we had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, which is my favorite quick service restaurant there and a very good value on the dining plan. You can now use the mobile order feature with the dining plan and it was easy to order. Picking up was a bit trickier. The lane to get the food was very narrow and clogged up with people who had just ordered and weren't going to get their food for a while blocking out people whose food was ready. This was pretty new for Flame Tree, I think, so hopefully they work the kinks out. The food was excellent as always. We headed over to try to get in the standby line at Festival of the Lion King and weren't going to be able to get until the following show, which would have made us miss our Fastpasses for Flight over Pandora. So we missed it on this trip. It was the hottest day of the trip so we went to hang out in the shade for a little bit in Pandora waiting for our Fastpasses. This was only my second time on the ride, and I really love it. After that, we said goodbye to the Tree of Life

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and went back to the Polynesian. We changed and rested for a little bit and then went over to dinner. One good thing about going to Ohana at 4:30 was the lack of wait after check in. Having the dining plan was nice because we got to have a drink with dinner included. I was going to get the Lapu Lapu (the drink in the pineapple) but with the dining plan, you just get the drink in a glass, so I ordered a drink I thought sounded better. I think it was the Sunrise or something like that. But it was really good.

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The food was excellent. I usually eat a very light snack early when I go to Ohana so I am ready to eat a lot. This time I didn't feel that hungry. But I ate the potstickers and wings for appetizers, plus their awesome bread, and then the guy with the shrimp came. He had four left on one spear and then gave me about 10 on the second one, so I started off right. I had a couple of pieces of the chicken which was pretty good. I had some steak too, but it wasn't cooked as much as I like it. But they kept coming around with the shrimp and my plate was piled high with shells by the end of the night. I had about 25 of those. And then on top of that, I had quite a bit of the bread pudding. But the best part was watching my friend's dad in his 80s outdrink his son. They did have two of the lapu lapus each. Ohana is my favorite restaurant at Disney World and tonight did not disappoint.

After that, we went back to the room and went to the DVC pool, which was really close to their building. It was nice, no volcano slide like the main pool, but a lot quieter. There were only a couple of us in the pool and we were just hanging out and talking and all of a sudden four ducks walked into the pool right by us and swam around. And then a mother and her ducklings got in later and swam very close to us. Then they got out of the water and the ducklings all fell asleep by the water's edge with the mother duck watching over them. I wish I'd had my camera in the pool to get a picture of it.

After swimming, we went back to the room and the MK fireworks were starting and we were able to watch it from their balcony.

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It was cool to watch the fireworks from there, though we couldn't hear the music. Plus I really prefer to be in the MK to watch Happily Ever After because of the projections. But it was still nice and relaxing.

One of the perks my friends got this year from DVC was bonus points but they had to use them by the end of the year (if it had only been another 14 days more, we could have used them for the marathon weekend!). So they had enough to get me a room of my own over at Saratoga Springs. And give themselves some peace so they wouldn't have to wake up early, as I joked. So we drove over to Saratoga Springs to check in. It was a little complicated. The only way to have me on the dining plan was to have me on the Polynesian reservation for their whole stay. So to also have me on a separate reservation at Saratoga was to have a different reservation with a middle initial to keep it separate in their system. So I had one magic band for the park entry and dining plan and then another one for getting into my room at Saratoga. But it worked.

I was kind of excited. The last time I'd stayed there, it was Disney Institute. The rooms have been refurbished and are much nicer. At Disney Institute, there was a gap between the bedroom door and ceiling to the living room area, and so my friend sleeping out in the living area and I spent most of the night lobbing shoes and other items over the gap trying to hit each other. Saratoga has eliminated that gap. I was in the Paddock section and very close to a bus stop. So it was a little after 10 pm when my friends dropped me off at the room. They wanted to see what the rooms looked like. They left shortly after, around 10:30 and I decided to walk over to Disney Springs. It was about a 10 minute walk and the shops were open until 11:30. I went to Basin. My daughter is a dancer and likes the epsom salt bath bombs so I got some of those and some other interesting looking bath bombs for part of her present. Then I walked over to World of Disney. She also liked Monsters Inc. so I found a couple of mugs I think she'll like for that and then got a Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary Doom Buggy for myself. At that point, they were closed, so I walked back to the room, tried to organize things a little and then went to bed, since the next day would be long.

NEXT: HALLOWEEN IN SEPTEMBER
 


DAY 4: LAST DAY OF FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL AND MICKEY'S HALLOWEEN PARTY

My original plan was to be up and to Disney Studios by 6 AM when they opened. My phone went off at 4:30. I got out of bed and started to debate if that was really a good idea since I was going to the Halloween party and had a 6 AM flight the next morning. I decided it was not a good idea and went back to bed until about 7:30. Then I got ready and packed as much as I could to make sure I could fit all of the souvenirs in my carry on bag. Just barely! And then off to the bus stop. I just missed the EPCOT bus and then I saw the next bus coming was to the Studios. I knew the new bus stops are close to the path to the Boardwalk and the International Gateway, so I walked over there. The weather was really nice at that time. I saw a lot of runners and I was getting nostalgic for the marathon. I loved the International Gateway entrance because there was no line for security. The line when I came in the front entrance a couple of days earlier was massive. I don't usually bring a bag but it was supposed to rain, so I brought my poncho in a souvenir bag and was still in the park by just after 9. My friends were enjoying not having me in their room and resting up. So I rode Frozen with a very short wait and then headed to the rides I hadn't been on yet - Soarin' and Living with the Land.

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Soarin' had a 10 minute wait and my favorite was Living with the Land. It had a 20 minute standby wait. I got in line, turned left and walked right on the next boat. My favorite 20 minute wait! Imagination was closed at the time, so I went and rode Test Track in the single rider line. I still had a lot of snack credits, so I went to the gift shop by Test Track and got four packages of Goofy's Sour Candies - that should hold me a while. They're usually over $6 so it was a good snack value too. The only thing I hadn't done at EPCOT on this trip was American Adventure and I thought about going there but then I decided I'd rather enjoy the Food and Wine Festival since it wouldn't be here on my next trip. So I went to the Canada pavilion and got their filet mignon and cheddar cheese soup. One good tip we did before we went to Le Cellier a couple of nights earlier. The only way to have the soup on the dining plan is to substitute it for dessert, and my friends said the portion was pretty small. So before we had dinner there, we went to the Canada festival booth and used a snack credit for the soup there, kind of an appetizer. Personally, this was my favorite food at the festival. Now if they'd had the maple popcorn shake that they had at the Flower and Garden Festival, it would have been perfection. Still pretty good though!

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I did one more walk around World Showcase Lagoon and then headed to the monorail and took that over to the Magic Kingdom. We had tickets to the Halloween Party that night. My friends were still being lazy. They are Patriots fans and were watching the game. We had bricks that were about 20 feet from the entrance and on my last trip in April, I got my replica brick. They now have some construction walls up and our brick was sadly on the wrong side of the wall, just by a few feet too. I love the decorations they have up.

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I went to Adventureland first. There was no line for Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, so I went through that. Jungle Cruise had a very long line, so I went over to Frontierland and found a bear going souvenir shopping.

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Country Bear Jamboree was about to start so I went to see that. I always enjoy it but I really hope they restore it to the full version for the 50th anniversary, even though they'll probably still edit out Buff fat-shaming Trixie. The parade was getting close to starting and my friends were finally heading over to the park, so I headed over towards Peter Pan where we had Fastpasses. When I got there, my friends weren't there and Small World only had a 5 minute wait, so I went on that. When I got out of the ride, my friends were there and we went on Peter Pan. We had reservations at Jungle Cruise Skippers Canteen. My friends said they close it during the Halloween party so we had a late lunch/early dinner there. I had never been there before, but I was always a huge fan of the Adventurer's Club, so I appreciated the references they have to it. We loved looking at the titles of the books in the library. The food was good. I liked it and it's a great value for the dining plan, but I think if I paid for it, I would have thought of it as overpriced. I think if I were paying, I'd opt more to Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree Tavern. After lunch, we had fastpasses for the Haunted Mansion and then Seven Dwarfs and we were also able to walk on Little Mermaid. At that point the party officially started. My friends are more ride centric and didn't really care about the fireworks or characters. And the lines for the most part were really short, especially during the first parade.

Our waitress at Jungle Cruise had told us about all of the specialty food they had and where to get it, so we were ready. One thing I definitely wanted was the Haunted Mansion Bride's wedding cake. And it was very good.

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The one ride we did not have luck on that night was Winnie the Pooh. We got in line and could see the characters in their costumes next to it (and they had a much longer line than the ride, so we did not get our own pictures with them).

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So we got in the short line and were almost on the ride when some genius dropped his thermos out of the ride vehicle and decided to jump out of the car to get it, shutting down the whole ride. It was going to be a while to restart it, so we went to Tomorrowland to ride the Peoplemover, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain and Speedway. Along the way we found another nice treat - the pumpkin spice shake. It was so good but it was so rich I only could finish about half of it.

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We watched the fireworks from Fantasyland and they were right over us. It was pretty cool. I would have liked to have seen the show, but figured I could YouTube it. We rode the teacups and then went back to Winnie the Pooh and got on the ride this time. And we got through the ride and just as we were pulling out into the station, another rider did something they weren't supposed to do and shut the ride down. So we had to wait a few minutes before the cast members got us out of the ride. We were right by the exit, so at least we got through the whole ride, but how hard is it to just sit there and not mess up the ride? After that, we rode the Haunted Mansion, which still had a pretty good line, but it moved quickly. After we got done with that, we'd done pretty much all of the rides. The Boo to You second parade was about to start, so we got a pretty decent spot in Liberty Square and saw the Headless Horseman go by and the rest of the parade followed. I liked it but it was about three days before the Boo to You song finally got out of my head!

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And then it was pretty close to midnight. We hung out and talked to one of the cast members to let most of the crowds go. My friend asked if I wanted to ride back to the Poly with them and then have him drive me back to Saratoga. I told him the bus stop was there and they would take me right by my room. So we said goodbye until the next time and they went to take the boat over to the Poly and I took the bus. And lucked out, as there was a bus waiting right there. My bus stop was the 4th one and I got off around 12:30. I knew I'd be wiped out the next day so I showered and packed everything I didn't need. I went to bed at 1:15 and got up at 2:45. My Magical Express picked me up at 3:20 AM and we had five stops before leaving for the airport and got there around 4:45. My flight left just before 6 (by the way, this was my first time since getting TSA pre-check and it is awesome). I landed in Dallas at 7:30, about 20 minutes early and went home and right to work.

Usually, I'm very sad when I leave Disney World. But I crammed a lot into four days, did almost everything I wanted to do, crowds weren't too bad and I know I'm coming back three more times in the next five months. I'm doing a quick two day trip in December, primarily to see the holiday decorations, then a week for the Dopey Challenge in January and then four nights in February. And my friends have a 2 bedroom at the Beach Club so maybe next September...But always a great trip to Disney World.
 

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