Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Tag: Sunshine Seasons

• Epcot Morning Touring

  Posted at 12:29 pm by taryngirl, on April 9, 2019

  2/27/19

  After breakfast at All Star Movies, we headed to Epcot.  We got there around 11:30 a.m.  We were in no rush.  We had some FP+ scheduled and were really having a leisurely day.

  

  We noticed that Spaceship Earth had been down all morning, but when we walked through the gates they must have just opened up.  So we hopped right on it with no wait!  It was my most unusual ride this time.  Our car was very jerky and squeaky, and our little interactive screen on the way down wasn’t working correctly.

  From there we needed to head to our Frozen Ever After FP+.  We cut through the walkway to the left and got some good views of the scenery being set up for the Flower & Garden Festival.

  

  It really was a perfect day weather wise!

  We didn’t eat here, but I snapped a quick picture of the current Quick Service Menu at La Cantina de San Angel.  This is located right on the water outside of the Mexico pavilion.

  

  This is the menu for the Mexico table service restaurant that is open for dinner, La Hacienda de San Angel.  This is located outside of the Mexico pavilion on the water, and is only open for dinner.

  

  Much to our delight, some of the topiaries were up!  In Norway:

  

  After riding Frozen Ever After, we were deciding what we wanted to eat for lunch.  We planned to snack around at some quick service places, but we weren’t TOO hungry yet.  We had eaten in China last time and I LOVED IT!  So that was on my mind…

  

  We took a quick jaunt through the shops here.  It’s one of my favorite…maybe because I am part Chinese?  Maybe because I love what they offer?  I’m not sure!

  When exiting out the back, we came across this neat find:

  

  I was trying to ask the man questions, but he was taking pictures and trying to get people to purchase.  I didn’t know if it was a temporary thing, part of Flower & Garden that would be starting, etc.  Later on, he actually was carrying one through the Lotus Blossom and showing people who were eating there.

  Of course I decided I wanted to eat at the Lotus Blossom Cafe. This was the current menu at the time.  It had different things on it since we had eaten there in January!

  

  I went with the Beef Noodle Mongolian Style.  This has a little kick, so be aware!  But it was so good!

  

  After that, we continued through the countries until it was time to head to our Nemo FP+.  We took the boat back to the other side.

  

  We had time before our FP+ and wanted to shop, so we went to MouseGear first.  This is one of my favorite shops anywhere!  (I made a purchase but had absolutely NO room left to take anything back since I only had a backpack.  I had it shipped directly to my house for somewhere around $7!)

  After our Nemo FP+ we went over to the Land pavilion for a snack.  On the way down to Sunshine Seasons, we stopped at this little counter area at the exit of the Living With the Land ride.  They had these super cute plants!

  

  If I had space in my luggage, I would have purchased one of these!  It’s the perfect gift for my youngest daughter, and so neat to think we have a piece of “the Land” in our home!

  We were in the dessert mood, and couldn’t decide between these two things:

  

  A fabulous piece of Carrot Cake.

  

  A Whoopie Pie.

  The Carrot Cake was the for sure winner!  It was SO GOOD.  Moist and amazing frosting.  The Whoopie Pie was just ehhhh.  I doubt I would get it again.

  We had one more FP+ to use here at Journey Into Imagination With Figment.  As soon as we used it, Chrissy was on the app securing another FP+.  We decided to head over to Hollywood Studios because she was able to get SLINKY DOG DASH!!!

  In case you wondered…here are three different flavors of popcorn located near the entrance to Figment!  To my knowledge, you can get the refills in your bucket with these flavors.

  We stopped at Guest Services on the way to the bus to Hollywood Studios to see if they still had any Figment magnets for Annual Passholders…SCORE!  They did.  We did have to show our AP and he did look us up online.

  

  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Epcot, Quick Service, Snacks, Touring Plan, Uncategorized, World Showcase | 0 Comments | Tagged Dining Review, Epcot, Flower & Garden Festival, Lotus Blossom Cafe, Quick Service, Sunshine Seasons, The Land, Touring Plan, World Showcase

• Disney Vacation Club Moonlight Magic at Epcot

  Posted at 9:55 am by taryngirl, on February 5, 2019

  8/15/18

  Being a Disney Vacation Club Member does have some perks!  There are some special events held throughout the year for us.  We were lucky that one was happening while we were there!  I also was luckily able to get tickets…these events sell out quickly!  It’s a free event, but they limit the number of people.

  The event time was 9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m., however attendees could start entering at 6 p.m.  Upon arrival, we were given our food vouchers (a quick service meal was included), a wristband and a map/schedule of events through a special check in line.

   

  

  Each person was given a voucher for a quick service meal available at one of the locations listed above.

  

  We headed straight for Sunshine Seasons!

  

  Mongolian Beef–Mongolian Beef and Vegetables served with Rice (You can pick from fried or white rice). $13.49

  This was my meal.  I never really get to eat lunch here.  Usually only breakfast because I am waiting while people are riding Soarin’.  This was good!  The dessert was the Key Lime Tart, and one of my favorites!  I did pay out of pocket for the dessert here.

  

  (I have no idea which this is!)

  

  This was a special for the evening I believe, as I can’t find it on the regular menu!

  

  Slow Roasted Pork Loin–Slow Roasted with Mashed Potatoes, Barbecue Sauce (she got it without) and Corn on the Cob $13.99

  I think this was just okay.  A little bit dry if I recall.

  When we were finished eating, we headed towards Spaceship Earth.  (We had FP+ for this evening!  We were able to make them for regular park hours before the official party started.)

  After our Spaceship Earth FP+, we headed to our Test Track FP+.

  

  It was really hot and muggy this evening.  Another perk for the party was unlimited fountain beverages.  We stopped in Electric Umbrella for some drinks and for Kinsey’s meal of Chicken Nuggets.

  

  Mousegears is one of my favorite stores!  So of course I had to check it out and see what seasonal merchandise they had.

  

  They have really stepped up their game!  It used to just be a few t-shirts.  If you happen to come unprepared for the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, don’t worry!  They have plenty you can choose from!

  From here, my cousin and her family wanted to meet Sebastian.  He had one of the longest lines!  Kinsey and I rode Nemo while they waited.  There was a steel drum band for entertainment while waiting in the line!

  

  We went from there to the dance party that was happening with a live DJ.  Kinsey couldn’t get enough!

  

  It was soon time for the fireworks, so we walked to the edge of the World Showcase.

  

  After that, we were pretty tired, so we headed back to the resort.

  

  Overall, it was a really fun time!  There were other rare characters to meet but that wasn’t our focus.  We just wanted to have a good time and hit a few rides.  Oh, and have a Mickey Bar!  I would definitely do this again if we happened to be there during these special events.

  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Epcot, Quick Service, Sunshine Seasons, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged Disney, Disney Vacation Club, Epcot, Moonlight Magic, Quick Service, Sunshine Seasons

• Epcot Morning Touring

  Posted at 3:51 pm by taryngirl, on November 16, 2018

  I’m SO SORRY for the delay in getting up my next blog post!  Once back to school hit, so did SOCCER SEASON!  I’m slowly reclaiming my life back…

  Continuing on with my trip report from August…

  Today was Epcot day.  We were at a very convenient location to walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and hop directly on the monorail to Epcot.

  

  Here you can see where they are building the new Guardians of the Galaxy indoor roller coaster.  When facing Spaceship Earth, this is on the left hand side.

  

  A perk of having an Annual Pass, is there is a separate Annual Pass line which usually moves much faster.  We always arrive here by 8:30 a.m.

  

  It was another gorgeous day…but HOT!

  

  We were doing our usual AM Touring Plan:

  • Ride Soarin’
  • Ride Living with the Land
  • Ride Finding Nemo
  • Zip through the Living Seas
  • Ride FP+ Journey Into Imagination with Figment
  • Ride Gran Fiesta Tour
  • Ride FP+ Frozen Ever After

  We always rope drop Soarin’ and save our Tier 1 Fastpass for Test Track or Frozen Ever After.  We headed directly towards the Land Pavilion.  I personally do not ride Soarin’!  I can make it about half way before I have to close my eyes.  It messes with my head… While everyone else rides, I usually check out Sunshine Seasons.  I love the variety for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Look at these GORGEOUS cupcakes that were available this day!

  

  

  

  My plan was to get breakfast while I was waiting.  I went with the Breakfast Platter, which included scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, breakfast potatoes, and cinnamon French toast bread pudding.  I don’t like Disney bacon, and LOVE Disney sausage, so asked to sub and they happily did.

  

  I love this!  Every single thing is so good.  Especially the French toast bread pudding.  I grabbed Kinsey a croissant, which is her usual!

  

  After riding Living With the Land, we headed over to the Seas Pavilion.  I have never in my life waited in a line for the Seas with Nemo ride.  The queue is soooooooo long.  Here’s a view from our walk over there.

   

  

  The Nemo ride ends inside The Living Seas Pavilion.  Here you can wander around (as time permits!) and check out all kinds of cool creatures.

  

  

  

  

  After we explored The Seas, we headed to our next FP+ at Journey into Imagination with Figment.  The ride was down, so we headed to the DVC Lounge for a quick drink and snack.  We checked again and the ride was up!

  From there we headed back to the countries.  Mexico was our first stop.  We wanted to check out the new Kidcot Fun Stops since they had recently changed.

  

  

  Now you get a Ziploc bag, and collect cards and stickers to put in the

  m.  The cards have some facts on them.

  

  

  You can find these stops at each country.  Just look for a table with a cast member to collect a card from each country.

  From Mexico, we headed to Norway to use our FP+ at Frozen Ever After.  A FP+ here is a must if you want to ride!

  Next was China…one of my favorite pavilions!  I love the shop here.

  

  

  Next stop…Germany!  My favorite snack place is here!

  

  I present to you…Karamell-Kuche!  I can never decide because there are so many delicious goodies here!

  

  

  This was also our favorite Kidcot Stop!  He was super interactive and even sang to her.

  

  Next stop was Japan.  This is my #1 favorite country to visit!  I love the store here, and the overall vibe.  Kinsey also loves this because they have a huge Kawaii display set up…which she loves!

  

  (They also have an entire display of Gudetama, which she found awhile ago somewhere on YouTube.).  It means Lazy Egg, and for some reason she loves it!

  

  

  Our next stop was Morocco, which is where I grabbed lunch.  Tangierine Cafe is the quick service location in this country.  There isn’t much seating inside, but there are some extra tables outside.

  

  If you are on the Disney Dining Plan or Quick Service Plan, this is a great value for your credit.  I love the Chicken Shawarma Platter.  It’s served with a side of Hummus, Tabouleh, and Tangierine Couscous Salad with fresh Moroccan Bread.  It’s super filling and delicious!

  

  From there, we decided to hop on the Friendship boat to take us back to the opposite side of the World Showcase, so we could head back to the resort for our afternoon break.

  

  Of course we had to stop and get a picture at one of the famous “Walls of Disney!”

  

  Up next, continuing our Evening Touring in Epcot.

   

   

   

   

  Posted in Dining Review, Disney, Epcot, Karamell-Kuche, Kidcot Fun Stop, Quick Service, Snacks, Sunshine Seasons, Tangierine Cafe, The Living Seas, Touring Plan, Uncategorized, Vacation, Walt Disney World Resort, World Showcase | 0 Comments | Tagged Breakfast, Cupcakes, Disney, Epcot, Karamell-Kuche, Kidcot Fun Stop, Snacks, Sunshine Seasons, Tangierine Cafe, The Living Seas, Touring Plan, World Showcase

• 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:

  

  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.

  

  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!

  

  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!

  

  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!)

  

  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.)

  

  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!)

  

  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.

  

  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.

  

   

   

  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.

  

  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!

  

  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!

  

  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.

   

  

  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.

  

  

  

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

  

  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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