When A Tourist Becomes A Local! A Full Year (2019) TR! *CANCELED!*

4/16/19 AND 4/18/19: Dear Evan Hansen In Orlando!!!

***Hi everyone. I want to start this update by saying that if you ever find yourself at Walt Disney World and would like to meet the person that has been writing this Trip Report, feel free to contact me. If the schedule works out, I would love to meet as many people as possible that read my Trip Reports. If you don’t feel comfortable, that is perfectly fine as well. If you see me around the parks, don’t hesitate to say hi. Plus, there’s a 90% chance that you will find me at the Voices of Liberty at some point during your trip.***

Welcome to an update that I have been really looking forward to sharing ever since it happened. I am adventuring off of the park updates with this to share an experience that I had off-property at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Well…”Dear Zach…Today is going to be a good day and here’s why. Because today” you get to see Dear Evan Hansen!!! (I will be happy if anyone understands this)

When I knew I was moving to Orlando, I immediately looked to see what show would be performing at the Dr. Phillips Center when I arrive. To my surprise, it would be a show that had recently came into my life by listening to its soundtrack over and over again. “WAIT WHAT?!?!…How in the world did you not listen to Dear Evan Hansen until 2019?” Trust me. I asked myself the same question. Anyways, every single show was sold out and was devastated. However, I looked at the website constantly. I sometimes looked 3-5 times a day to see if any seat had opened up. Well, to my luck, about 10 seats would open up for each show about 3 weeks prior. I don’t think I have ever bought a ticket so fast in my life. So, I can just say that I was now really excited to see this musical!

I would make the drive from Walt Disney World to Downtown Orlando (which was a really fun drive). I know people complain about I-4 traffic. I didn’t find it bad. It was “fun” for other reasons.



I would finally arrive at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts where I would soon experience a show that I wasn’t mentally prepared for.





I would enter the theater, and I would find out that I would have no understudies performing!!! It would be everyone in the actual cast!!! This made me even more excited! That is because I had been addicted to watching videos of Ben Levi Ross (actor playing Evan) online, and I knew at that moment that this would be an incredible show.



Words can’t express how excited I was to see this musical! The music for this show has been on repeat any chance that I could get for months!



So, I would buy some merchandise since I had some time before the doors to the theater opened.

The name of the main theater here at the Dr. Phillips Center is the Walt Disney Theater! :)



The lobby area is absolutely gorgeous.



Eventually, I would find my way to my seat and it was a great seat for sure. I don’t usually like sitting in the orchestra section, but it was the only section I could get with a decent view. So, I would end up being about 15 rows from the stage and in the center. Absolutely perfect!





It was time…



So, the show was over and I just sat speechless in the theater for a while. I was awe-struck in every way possible with the emotional experience I had just went through. I had known that I had probably just seen my new favorite musical, but I wasn’t fully prepared to say that at the time. I always like to think about decisions like this.

Eventually I would make my way out of the theater and to my car, because I would need to drive back to Walt Disney World at some point.

Fast-forward to the next day…

I was sitting around, and I just had this weird feeling. A feeling that I had never experienced before. I had the urge to see Dear Evan Hansen again.

At this point, I had come out and said that Dear Evan Hansen is my favorite musical. Yep. That means it beats several Disney musicals in my heart as the top musical I have ever seen. It was definitely difficult to say that, but I was fairly confident.

So, I did something that I had never done before. Bought another ticket to a show during its same run in a city.

I was going back to see Dear Evan Hansen the next day!!!

It was now the 18th of April.

I would make my way back to downtown to experience the same emotional rollercoaster ride that I experienced a few days prior.

This time, I would have a few understudies. 2 of these performers I would later say I liked more than the actual actors assigned to play these roles. All of the actors that I really wanted to see again (besides 1) were performing again this evening.



I was really excited to see this show again!!!



I would have about the same view that I had a few nights prior.



So, after a wonderful show once again, it was time head home. At this point, I would try my best to resist to not buy another ticket to see it AGAIN. I would succeed and hopefully I will get to see this amazing show again someday.

Dear Evan Hansen is a musical that has one incredible story. Be prepared to have some tears, because this show is full of so much emotion. I do not know how the actors can do this show every single night. If it is as emotional for the audience, I can’t imagine what the actors are feeling while performing this amazing story. The music is some of the best I have ever heard in any musical. The use of technology was fantastic! Everything about this show is demonstrated so well that it’s easy to tell why this show won the Tony Award for Best Musical a few years ago.

If you want to see Dear Evan Hansen, I do want to warn you that there is A LOT of use of foul language, as well as, some subjects that I wouldn’t want to expose children to. Obviously I can’t make this decision for any parents that read my trip report. I am just warning you that there are some things in this show that are very heavy subjects. It is advertised that this is a great family show that every member in the family will probably connect with at least one of the characters on the stage. Just know that there is quite a bit of foul language and some themes/subjects that might not be good for younger children to experience.

If you ever have the chance to go see Dear Evan Hansen, DO NOT HESITATE!!! Go see it now!!!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this update from a time that I spent off of Walt Disney World property!

Stay tuned for more updates from my time as a local in Orlando, Florida!
 
I have been DYING to see Dear Evan Hansen. Personally, I'm always among theater students and such and the opinions have been mixed on the show (i.e. lots of friends who are Great Comet fans, the other frontrunner musical at the Tonys the time DEH won everything), but I still love the soundtrack and the basic premise. I wish I could've seen it with Ben Platt and all the OBC, but alas 'twas not to be. I'm glad to hear it really connected with you and you got to see it twice in a row. It's also crazy to hear that it has knocked Newsies off its pedestal for you, more reason for me to see it as a current and forevermore Fansie.

I look forward to hearing about what else you see at Phillips! Hopefully I'll be seeing a few shows there as well so as to indulge in discussion more. :goodvibes
 
I have been DYING to see Dear Evan Hansen. Personally, I'm always among theater students and such and the opinions have been mixed on the show (i.e. lots of friends who are Great Comet fans, the other frontrunner musical at the Tonys the time DEH won everything), but I still love the soundtrack and the basic premise. I wish I could've seen it with Ben Platt and all the OBC, but alas 'twas not to be. I'm glad to hear it really connected with you and you got to see it twice in a row. It's also crazy to hear that it has knocked Newsies off its pedestal for you, more reason for me to see it as a current and forevermore Fansie.

I look forward to hearing about what else you see at Phillips! Hopefully I'll be seeing a few shows there as well so as to indulge in discussion more. :goodvibes
I’m a big Josh Groban fan. I never saw Great Comet or listened to the entire cast album. However, I saw Josh Groban perform a song from Great Comet when he toured a few years ago. So, I’m slightly familiar with the musical and the stage setup it used. Just don’t know much about Great Comet.

I’ll say Newsies is either tied for second in my list or borderline 3rd. It’s been really hard for any musical to beat the show that I’ve seen 6 times (my profile pic might give that away).

Dear Evan Hansen is the only musical that I’ve truly connected to in so many ways. That’s why it has taken the number one spot. Also, the music continues to be on repeat wherever I go.
 
47048862684_22d6eeca56_z.jpg
I love that your shadow is in this pic :)

Ok, so revoke my musical theater license, but Dear Evan Hansen wasn't even on my radar. :rolleyes1

BUT your review and the need for you to see it back to back really has me thinking I missed out!! I'll keep my eyes out for it back in Chicago!
 


I love that your shadow is in this pic :)

Ok, so revoke my musical theater license, but Dear Evan Hansen wasn't even on my radar. :rolleyes1

BUT your review and the need for you to see it back to back really has me thinking I missed out!! I'll keep my eyes out for it back in Chicago!
It is returning to Chicago!!! You should see it!!!
 
Have you seen Hamilton yet? I saw Evan Hansen in Atlanta and loved it but Hamilton still takes top billing on my list❤️
I won’t see Hamilton for reasons...I might later in life. Right now, I have no interest. (I don’t like rap and don’t want to pay money to see people rap.)
 


I don’t like rap and don’t want to pay money to see people rap.

I feel the same way. But I went and saw Hamilton and actually enjoyed it. Not every single song was rap. So I thought there was a good mix of songs/music. Granted I still don't get all of the hype about Hamilton and the cost of the tickets (in my opinion) didn't justify the hype. I would have gladly paid that much to see Dear Evan Hansen again or one of my other favorite musicals.
 
I feel the same way. But I went and saw Hamilton and actually enjoyed it. Not every single song was rap. So I thought there was a good mix of songs/music. Granted I still don't get all of the hype about Hamilton and the cost of the tickets (in my opinion) didn't justify the hype. I would have gladly paid that much to see Dear Evan Hansen again or one of my other favorite musicals.
Would I ever see Hamilton, sure. You hit the main reason why I don’t want to see it. The price of tickets is insane.

Are you planning on going to any Orlando Fringe shows? As a theater fan some of them would probably be right up your alley.
I have no idea what a Fringe Show is. So, my answer as of now is that I have no idea if I will ever go to one.
 
I have no idea what a Fringe Show is. So, my answer as of now is that I have no idea if I will ever go to one.

Orlando Fringe is a local festival going on right now near downtown Orlando. They've got like 200 shows with multiple showtimes. It's pretty inexpensive to see a show. The fest runs until May 27th.
 
EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival!

Hello everyone and welcome to a big update for me! I have a lot of content heading your way so I wish all of you happy reading!

All of these posts have taken place over the past couple of weeks that I have lived in Orlando.

So, one of my favorite parts about living in Orlando so far in the month+ that I’ve been here is visiting one of my favorite festivals of EPCOT. That is the Flower and Garden Festival!





When this festival is going on, I truly believe this is when EPCOT looks the best.













The park is so beautiful with so many topiaries and different gardens around the theme park.





One cool part of the festival is going inside the butterfly tent. It’s really fun because there are so many butterflies flying around! :)











Some more of the main garden area for Flower and Garden Festival:





Hey look! A monorail!!!





Flowers can be found all over the place in EPCOT!



You can get 2 Annual Passholder magnets at the Festival. Right now, they are only giving out the Daisy magnet though.





Here are some of my PhotoPass photos from the Flower and Garden Festival:









The EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival continues to be one of my favorite festivals!



Check out the topiaries and the food that I tried in the updates below.

More in my next post!
 
Flower and Garden Festival Topiaries!

One of my favorite things to do at the Flower and Garden Festival is to walk around and look at all of the topiaries. They are absolutely incredible!

Here are the topiaries that can be found at this years Flower and Garden Festival:

Butterfly topiary:



Daisy topiary:



Pluto topiary:



Goofy topiary:



Mickey and Minnie topiaries:



Huey, Dewey, and Louis topiaries:



Chip and Dale topiaries:



Donald topiary:



The Three Caballeros topiaries:



Elsa and Anna topiaries:



Panda topiaries:



Lion King topiaries:

I have a question for all of you, and I am interested to know what all of you think. Is this Rafiki and…Simba, Simba’s kid at the end of the movie, and Nala OR Mufasa, baby Simba, and Serabi? Let me know what you think below. :D



Since the Lion King is my favorite animated movie, I needed to get my picture with this set of topiaries.





Snow White and Dopey topiaries:



Lady and the Tramp topiaries:



Another Mickey and Minnie topiary:



Belle and Beast topiary:



Miss Piggy topiary:



Kermit topiary:



Peter Pan and Captain Hook topiaries:



Pooh and Rabbit topiaries:



Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore topiaries:



Bambi topiary:



Thumper and Flower topiaries:



Buzz Lightyear Topiary:



Woody and Bo Peep topiaries:



Lightning McQueen and Mater topiaries:





Stitch topiary:



Figment topiary:



I hope you enjoyed a look at the topiaries that you can find at this years festival!

More in my next post!
 
Flower and Garden Festival - Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages!

Here is a look at the food booths and the food that I would try at this years festival!

The first booth that I will talk about is Lotus House. This booth can be found in China.



I’m a big fan of Asian food and Chinese food. So, I would order all of the food items on the menu which are Szechuan Spicy Red-braised Beef Shank ($8.00), House made Crab and Cheese Wontons ($6.00), and Vegetable Spring Rolls ($4.50).







The beef was very good with the rice. The sauce ended up being a great flavor with the rice. The vegetable spring rolls and crab wontons were typical that you would find at a Chinese restaurant. I still enjoyed all of these food items very much. I knew that I would definitely be getting all of these food items again.

The next booth would be the Bauernmarkt in Germany.



This is where I would get the Toasted Pretzel Bread ($5.25).



This is a food item that I didn’t enjoy. I really like pretzels. However, I didn’t find the flavor worked between the ham, the cheese, and the pretzel.

The next booth would be the Smokehouse in America.



I would order the Pulled Pig Slider ($6.75) and the Frozen Simply Lemonade ($3.50).



The Pulled Pig Slider was very good. For someone that just moved from one of the barbecue capitals of America, I still thought it was nothing special.



The Frozen Simply Lemonade is the only drink to seriously give me a brain freeze after every sip. I wouldn’t be having this again during the festival.

The next booth I would try would be the Northern Bloom in Canada.



This is where I would get the Maple Popcorn Shake ($4.50).



This was shockingly very good, and would quickly become one of my favorites of the festival for non-alcoholic drinks.

The next booth I would try would be the Primavera Kitchen in Italy.



Here I would order the Pizza Toscana ($8.00).



Absolutely delicious!!! It was like a beef pizza with quite a bit of onion. It was very delicious and highly recommend!

The next booth I would try would be Hanami in Japan.



I would order the Chicken Karaage with Nanban Sauce ($6.25).



It was a pretty good dish. Had quite a bit of chicken and the cabbage was fine. The sauce with the chicken was very good, but I was a little disappointed since I’ve usually praised the Japan booth a little more in years past.

Next, I would go to the Florida Fresh Booth!



I would order the Spicy-Blackened Shrimp and Cheddar Grits ($7.00).



This was delicious and easily one of my favorite food items from the festival. The shrimp was spicy, and the cheese grits were delicious. The flavors of this dish definitely worked together.

The next booth I would try would be the Honey Bee-stro!



Here I would order the Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread ($5.50), Local Wildflower Honey-Mascarpone Cheesecake ($5.00), and the Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze ($4.25).



The Honey-Peach Cobbler Freeze was fine. I wouldn’t finish this drink though.



I would honestly eat the flatbread. I didn’t think it was amazing. If you want a pizza or flatbread at this festival, go to Italy.



Last year, the cheesecake was honestly my favorite dish at this festival. For some reason this year, it went downhill for me. It was still good, but I didn’t walk away being blown away by the dish that I thought was incredible last year.

The next booth I would try would be La Isla Fresca.



Here I would get the Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer ($7.00) and the Simply Tropical Freeze ($4.25).



The Tropical Freeze was very refreshing. One of my favorite non-alcoholic drinks from the festival!



The Shrimp Skewer would also become one of my favorites. This was very tasty. The shrimp was cooked perfect, the sauce worked with the shrimp and the rice, and it was a decent sized portion. It was a very tasty dish.

The next booth I would try would be Flavor Full Kitchen.



Here I would get the Citrus-Poached Salmon ($6.00).



The salmon was a little under-cooked than where I like it. It still tasted fine. The rice was ok. Overall, I find this to just be a dish I wouldn’t get again.

The next booth I would go to is Arbor inside the building near Mexico heading to World Showcase.



I would get the Smoked Salmon Stack ($5.50).



I was more surprised about this dish than I thought. The presentation was a little messy. Overall, I wish there would be just a little more bread, because I had a lot of the stack left. I did enjoy the flavors that this dish offered though.

The next booth I would go to is Citrus Blossom.



Here I would order the Lobster Tail ($8.00), Crispy Citrus Chicken ($5.75), and Orange Cream Slushy ($14.00 with Orange Bird cup).



The Crispy Chicken was very good. The chicken was moist and worked well with the greens and sauce.



I wasn’t as impressed with the lobster tail. For $8, I would have 3 bites of lobster. The lobster was still good. I just wasn’t impressed with this lobster dish overall.



The Orange Bird cup is seriously the cutest sipper cup ever. However, the drink that came inside of it was disgusting. I gladly spent $14 for the sipper cup though. However, I couldn’t finish the drink.

The final booth I would go to is the Pineapple Promenade.



Here I would get the Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade ($4.25).



This drink was very good. Definitely a favorite. However, it left a weird after taste after I was done with the drink.

I hope that you enjoyed this look at the food I tried at this years Flower and Garden Festival!

Overall, this years Flower and Garden Festival is one that I have really enjoyed! A lot of the food was really good, the topiaries look amazing, and the gardens are as beautiful as always!

Stay tuned for more updates from my time as a local in Orlando, Florida!
 
Love seeing all the pics of Flower & Garden. It really is so pretty in Epcot when it's there. Sad I'm gonna miss seeing it, but I'll be happy the crowds Epcot gets during festivals will die down a bit. I definitely need to try that Violet Lemonade and the Poached salmon one day. Never had poached salmon.

On your question about the Lion King topiaries, I think it's Simba and Nala with their daughter, Kiara (I love Lion King II). Mufasa is just so large as was Sarabi in comparison to Simba and Nala, but I guess they made it the way it is so it was up to interpretation, but that's my take.
 
How exciting! I will enjoy reading about your adventures this year.

I Love Festival of the Arts. I didn't go this year but did last year. I saw Ashley Brown on Broadway in Mary Poppins so I had to see her last year. I thought her and Josh Strickland's performance was awesome and lots of fun.

After the moving company picked up my stuff, I would hit the road with a friend as we would drive 8 1/2 hours from Kansas City to Murfreesboro, TN.
Ah! I live in Murfreesboro!!!
 
Orlando Fringe is a local festival going on right now near downtown Orlando. They've got like 200 shows with multiple showtimes. It's pretty inexpensive to see a show. The fest runs until May 27th.
Ah. I probably won’t be able to make it. However, something to consider in the future!

Love seeing all the pics of Flower & Garden. It really is so pretty in Epcot when it's there. Sad I'm gonna miss seeing it, but I'll be happy the crowds Epcot gets during festivals will die down a bit. I definitely need to try that Violet Lemonade and the Poached salmon one day. Never had poached salmon.

On your question about the Lion King topiaries, I think it's Simba and Nala with their daughter, Kiara (I love Lion King II). Mufasa is just so large as was Sarabi in comparison to Simba and Nala, but I guess they made it the way it is so it was up to interpretation, but that's my take.
I love Flower and Garden, but after experiencing Festival of the Arts this year, I really can’t decide which is my favorite. However, I think we know deep down which Festival is my favorite now.

Someday I will order the other Lion King movies. I know I’ve seen them but it has been years!!!

I like your explanation of the topiaries.
 
How exciting! I will enjoy reading about your adventures this year.

I Love Festival of the Arts. I didn't go this year but did last year. I saw Ashley Brown on Broadway in Mary Poppins so I had to see her last year. I thought her and Josh Strickland's performance was awesome and lots of fun.


Ah! I live in Murfreesboro!!!
Welcome!!!

That’s awesome that you got to see her on Broadway!!! I really enjoyed their performance so much. Well, it was my dream to see them perform and that happened. :)

I enjoyed sleeping in a Murfreesboro. I didn’t have anytime to go and explorer the town. I’m sure it’s really fun being close to Nashville!
 
I'm finally caught up on the rest of your updates...

I'm glad you made it to Orlando! I am sure you are loving it!

I love all the pictures you add to your updates. You have some really nice ones of the Flower and Garden!

I have heard a lot of the music from Dear Evan Hansen (broadway channel on xm) but I have yet to see it. I have heard it's very emotional. It's going to be in Nashville soon so maybe I will get to check it out.

Murfreesboro is a great town! I actually work in Nashville. I get to have a little bit of both worlds. :-)
 
I'm finally caught up on the rest of your updates...

I'm glad you made it to Orlando! I am sure you are loving it!

I love all the pictures you add to your updates. You have some really nice ones of the Flower and Garden!

I have heard a lot of the music from Dear Evan Hansen (broadway channel on xm) but I have yet to see it. I have heard it's very emotional. It's going to be in Nashville soon so maybe I will get to check it out.

Murfreesboro is a great town! I actually work in Nashville. I get to have a little bit of both worlds. :-)
Wow! Thank you for catching up! :)

It is definitely enjoyable being close to a Disney Park again.

Thank you! I was wanting to get my Flower and Garden update posted earlier, but I was waiting for the perfect picture weather.

Go see Dear Evan Hansen!!!
 

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