Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Tales from my (mostly Disney) travels!
Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures
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    • March Disney World AEP Trip {Day 3}!

      Posted at 1:59 pm by taryngirl, on May 31, 2018

      Thursday was a team building day for our agency.  We were split into scavenger hunt groups of three to four people, and were given a list of things to find.  My group, “The Poor Unfortunate Souls,” teamed up with another group, in hopes to be able to get pictures of most of the things on the list.  We just had to photograph things and then upload them into albums on Facebook.  Our strategy was to park hop.  The group decided to begin at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  I however, had to remain back in the room while still trying to book these Disney Cruises!  I had been unsuccessful with getting through thus far.  I met up with somewhere around 10 a.m. in the area of Rock N Roller Coaster.  While I was waiting for them to come off the ride, I walked back to Sweet Spells for one of my favorite snacks!  Which in this case doubled as my breakfast.  The Carrot Cake Cookie.  {Just a heads up, Sweet Spells has recently closed.  This snack IS still available though at The Trolley Car Cafe.}  I can never eat this whole thing in one sitting.  Ever.  So I shared with my teammates.IMG_0675

      We then ran into these fine people while making our way back to the front of the park.

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      They are some of the Citizens of Hollywood!  And you can see them up and down Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard.  They also sign autographs and they NEVER break character!

      Here’s my fabulous team, “The Poor Unfortunate Souls.”  Rachel was so gracious enough to create these fun ears for us!  This pic is one taken by a PhotoPass photographer.

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      From this park, we went to Animal Kingdom.  Upon exiting DHS, we went to the bus depot.  You CAN get a bus directly to the other parks from here.  So we stood in the AK line.  And we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  And one never came!  People queued in front of us were waiting 45 minutes already.  So we checked Uber.  They could be there in 5 minutes.  We walked over to the “Ride Share” area.  Yes, this is labeled, and certain parking spots are set aside for it.  We had such a large group that we took two different Ubers to get there.  One note about DHS parking lot….it was all jacked up on this day.  They were doing construction on the Skyliner Transportation System and everything is rerouted.  So multiple lanes were funneling into one, etc. etc.  I felt like we were riding on the bus forever through the parking lot!  Uber drops you off at AK right at the sidewalk leading to the gates, near where the tram picks up/drops off.

      We made our way to the Tree of Life, and got the GREATEST PhotoPass photographer!  She spent so much time with us and gave us all a “Magic Shot.”  Here’s some info in case you are interested:  https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/07/a-new-way-to-find-magic-shots-at-walt-disney-world-resort/

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      Here is my Magic Shot!

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      Our next park was Epcot.  We hopped on a bus to go directly from AK to Epcot.  We were lucky to not have to wait very long.  One was pulling up as we were getting in line.

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      Did you know that there are some “famous” walls within the World?  Here we are at the Bubble Gum Wall!

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      We made our way in, and once again hit some Flower & Garden food booths as we made our way around the countries.  I decided to wait, as I wanted to try a new quick service meal!  But first…we needed a picture with a viking!  This was another FUN PhotoPass photographer.  We did many poses, and she declared me the most “viking like.”  I’m not sure if that’s good or bad??!!

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      We finally made it around to Morocco.  And Tangierine Cafe, which is the quick service restaurant in that country.  I have read report after report saying how good the Shawarma Platters are.  I had this on my list for this trip, and this was the perfect time.  I went with the Chicken Shawarma Platter, which is thinly sliced chicken served with a side of Hummus, Tabouleh, and Tangierine Couscous Salad with fresh Moroccan Bread.  This was SO GOOD.  And so much food, it is an easily shared meal.  I will definitely be getting this again!

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      Next we made our way to France to see if we could catch some more of our agents.  While sitting on the wall, these two delightful men said Happy Birthday to me because I was wearing my pin.  (My birthday was Friday.)  They then asked me if I ever had anyone sing to me backwards, to which my response was no!

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      I LOVE DISNEY PEOPLE!  Seriously.  These weren’t Cast Members, they were just park guests!  And we saw them on our way through Canada again with their wives enjoying the live entertainment.

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      A quick stop in a phone booth…

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      It was time for us to make our way to the Magic Kingdom now.  So we hopped on the monorail and headed over there.  I had plans to meet up with my roommates here as well.  I had to handle some more “cruise business” as I STILL hadn’t gotten through to make these reservations! So I sat on a rocking chair right outside of Tony’s Town Square Restaurant while I waited on hold and people watched.  My team went ahead without me.  I FINALLY GOT THROUGH!  And got all 4 cruises booked for my clients!  I also finally met up with my roommates.

      At this point, my feet were needing a little bit of rest.  So I hit up one of my favorites to do during a down time…the Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover!  In fact, we got off, and got right back on.  I love the views when on this ride!

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      Next, we made our way to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.  My family LOVES this show!  It’s different every single time we go.  If you haven’t been yet, put it on your list.

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      We made our way to the Happily Ever After fireworks show.

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      Next Up…{Day 4}

       

      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged AEP, Animal Kingdom, Disney, Epcot, Foodie, Happily Ever After, Hollywood Studios, Magic Shots, Tangierine Cafe
    • March Disney World AEP Trip {Day 2}!

      Posted at 7:21 pm by taryngirl, on May 22, 2018

      Our training was to begin on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Contemporary Resort.  I left a little early to go grab a quick service breakfast from our resort (Mickey waffles of course!) at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory then met up with my roommates.  We Ubered to the Contemporary.  The cost was about $8.  We were so happy we made this decision!  Those who took the bus from French Quarter to Magic Kingdom had to go through security in order to walk over to the Contemporary and the lines were long at this time.  {Side note on Ubering…We did it a lot on this trip!  And it was painless and cheap.  There are so many Uber and Lyft drivers around Disney, that we never waited more than a few minutes.  Everything is done right on the app so there’s no exchanging money with the driver.}  My friends grabbed a quick service breakfast at the Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary Resort.  This is absolutely one of my favorite quick service places in all of the World.  For any meal!  Their desserts are also fantastic.

      We wandered around a bit and eventually made our way over to the Convention Center area.  I had never been over in this area before!  I’ve stayed here on a previous trip, but never took the time to explore.  There are several different reception rooms.

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      Here was our schedule for the day:

      • Class Training
      • Tour Disney’s Contemporary Resort
      • Enjoy a hosted lunch at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
      • Tour Pop Century
      • Tour Art of Animation
      • Tour Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside
      • Tour Disney’s Polynesian Village

      I’m going to be just highlighting my day and then will be writing up separate blog posts for each of the resorts that we visited!

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      I neglected to mention that TODAY was the day that the Disney Cruise Line summer itineraries were released for Silver Castaway Club Members.  I had 4 cruises to book!  I had to step out briefly to book these cruises, but that’s a story for another day! 

      We had a really great morning session learning how to add value to client vacations, learning more about Disney Cruise Line and some great new sailings they are offering, including the NYC port, and all of the new things coming to the four main parks.

      • DISNEY CRUISE LINE–New sailings from NYC to Bermuda, NYC to Canada, and NYC to the Bahamas and Port Canaveral.
      • ANIMAL KINGDOM–Is now a day to night time park!  With Pandora, the World of Avatar opening, and the new Rivers of Light nightly celebration, there’s plenty to fill your day and evening.
      • DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS–Toy Story Land is coming June 30th!  And Star Wars Land is not far behind, coming sometime in 2019.
      • EPCOT–Soarin’ has been reimagined.  Frozen Ever After is in full swing as well as the new meet and greet location for Anna and Elsa.  You can meet  Baymax and Joy and Sadness from Inside Out!
      • MAGIC KINGDOM–Wishes has been replaced with the Happily Ever After Fireworks show.  It uses more lasers, lights, and projections than ever before!  Princess Elena of Avalor is available for meet and greets now.
      • DISNEY SPRINGS–There are now more than 150 dining and shopping experiences here!

      It was time to start the resort tours.  Watch for individual blog posts highlighting each resort!

      The tours ended around 5 p.m.  My small group had Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom around 7 p.m.  So we freshened up some back at the resort and then headed to the Magic Kingdom!  Sorry for the blurry picture, but this was the only picture I snapped while making our way down Main Street!

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      Liberty Tree Tavern!  I can honestly say that this restaurant is in my top 3 table service in all of the World.  I really try to eat here on every trip.  The restaurant itself is found in Liberty Square.  It has colonial style inn theming.  You can have lunch here, and order a la carte, or you can have dinner, and that is served family style.  I have never eaten dinner here prior to this trip!  Only lunch.

      Here is a pic of the dinner menu (March 2018):

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      For dinner, you get everything listed food wise, and then choose a drink.  You can upgrade your drink and pay extra by choosing one of these:

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      The servings shown here were for four people.  You can request more of any item you wish.  Which we did…for the rolls and the mashed potatoes!

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      The salad was so good!  The dressing was super flavorful and light.  The rolls were warm, right out of the oven.

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      My favorites shown here were the mashed potatoes, the pot roast (which is what I typically order off of the lunch menu), the turkey and the green beans.

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      And my most favorite dessert ANYWHERE…the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake!  I keep saying they need to open up a window and just sell these.  They would sell tons!

      This meal did not disappoint, and I will surely be back again.

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      We passed through here on our way out from dinner.  I love this little area!  Tangled is one of my favorite Disney movies!

      Up next {Day 3}!

       

       

       

      Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged AEP, Contemporary Resort, Disney, Liberty Tree Tavern, Magic Kingdom
    • March Disney World AEP Trip {Day 1}!

      Posted at 6:54 pm by taryngirl, on May 21, 2018

      My first blog post!!!  I’ve been tossing around, “What should I start with?  Which trip should I talk about first?”  Well I decided to start with my most recent!

      I was very excited to be invited to attend my travel agency’s Disney Agent Education Program this past March.  About 40 agents from Mad Hatter Adventures Co descended upon the Walt Disney World Resort!  This would be my very first time meeting ANYONE from the agency in person…including the owner!  To say I was nervous is an understatement.

      My flight was leaving from Philadelphia bright and early at 6 a.m.  I was able to meet some fabulous agents as soon as I arrived to my gate.  Before I knew it, we had landed at MCO, and we made our way to the Magical Express.  Lines were very short, as it was only 8:30 a.m. in the morning!  We were staying at Port Orleans French Quarter and this was our queue:

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      We arrived at French Quarter and to our surprise, our room was ready.  I grabbed a quick breakfast of Mickey Waffles before heading to the room to dump off my carry on and rest for 10 minutes as I was getting a headache.

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      They were in the process of refurbishing the rooms at this resort.  We did not get a refurbed room which was totally fine!  We only spent time in the room when sleeping and showering.  This is probably my favorite Moderate Level resort.  It’s small!  Everything is a short walk away.  There’s a boat to take you to Disney Springs, and only one central bus stop for transportation to the parks.  I like the theming and the grounds.  It’s just beautiful!

      Now it was time to head to EPCOT!  We had free time today until a cocktail welcome party in the evening.  We wanted to make the most of our short time here, and check out the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival!  So off we headed to the bus stop.  This is a nice new addition to the bus transportation areas at the resorts.  It allows you to see when the next bus will be arriving.  Rats…we just missed the Epcot bus!

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      I had to stop at the ticket window to activate my Annual Pass (AP).  I’m a DVC member and they had an amazing Annual Pass special this past year.  I grabbed my passport and we were on our way!

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      Well…almost on our way.  We had to stop for some PhotoPass pictures.  You wouldn’t know it by looking at this picture, but I only met these people for the first time that morning!  (A perk of having an AP…Memory Maker is included!)

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      We all had various FP+ set up for the morning.  We headed for the Land pavilion so some could ride Soarin’.  I personally do not go on that ride, so I spent some time browsing around Sunshine Seasons.  Everyone was hungry, so we grabbed something small.  I opted for the Kid’s Chicken Caesar Salad meal.  This came with 2 sides and a drink.  I chose things I could take with me and snack on later.  This is an INCREDIBLE value!  The grand total for everything pictured was $6.38.  This salad is super tasty and I wouldn’t hesitate to get it again.  (As a side note…adults can order from the kid’s menu at any quick service dining location!  It’s cheaper and typically comes with a drink and 2 sides.)

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      From here, we went to ride Living with the Land.  There was actually a line for this!  We probably waited 20ish minutes.  We had some other people who were meeting up with us at this location, so we didn’t mind the wait.  I couldn’t help but take a picture of this quote on the wall.  (Which I never see because there’s never a line when I ride it!)

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      From here, we headed over to Journey Into Imagination with Figment….which was down!  So to regroup, we headed to the DVC Member Lounge located directly above Figment.  This is a great place to get a drink, snack, charge your phone, get out of the rain/heat/crowds, etc.  We chatted for a little bit and got to actually know each other and then headed back down to Figment.

      Fun fact!  Did you know that there are several photo booths all around?  These are included if you have Memory Maker!  This one was at the end of Journey Into Imagination with Figment.  Typically it looks nice and professional, but we all 3 jammed in the booth so had to push the curtain back out of our way.

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      Now it was time to head to the World Showcase and check out some of the Flower and Garden booths!  (These booths are similar to the Food & Wine Festival booths.  They offer snack sized foods and different beverages.)

      Our first stop, which ended up being my favorite out of them all, was The Honey Bistro hosted by the National Honey Board.

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      We ended up splitting things so we could sample more!  This was the Honey Tandoori Chicken Flatbread with White Cheddar Cheese, Charred Vegetables, Clover Honey Sour Cream and Micro Watercress ($5.25 and DDP Snack Eligible!)  This was my favorite out of everything I tried at the booths!  It had such a good flavor.

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      This was the Roasted Cauliflower with Buckwheat Honey Carrot Puree, Wild Rice Pilaf, Asparagus, Honey Blistered Grapes and Sunflower Brittle ($4.50 and DDP Snack Eligible.)  This was also very good!

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      We made our way around counter-clockwise.  I personally didn’t eat anything at the next few stands.  Besides food booths, there were so many amazing topiary displays!  This was one of my favorites.  We had a FP+ for Frozen Ever After.  I’ve only been on this once before so I wanted to make sure to ride it this time!

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      My next food booth was Bauernmarkt Farmer’s Market.  I tried the Potato Pancake with Caramelized Ham, Onions, and Herb Sour Cream.  ($4.50 and DDP Snack Eligible!)  This was good.  Not great, but good.

       

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      We had a FP+ for Spaceship Earth and had to be exiting the park by 6 p.m. ish, so we started to make our way back to the entrance.

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      I had to make one quick stop before exiting to check out some merchandise!  I completely regret not getting this backpack…

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      Up next… {AEP Day 2!}

       

       

      Posted in AEP, Epcot, Flower & Garden Festival | 2 Comments | Tagged AEP, Disney, Epcot, Flower & Garden Festival, Memory Maker, Port Orleans French Quarter, Spaceship Earth, Sunshine Seasons, Walt Disney World
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