Auntie N, Auntie N!

     I got to see my aunt, Natalie today!  She was in town with some friends, and I was lucky enough to get some spend part of the day with her at Epcot, for the Food & Wine Festival.  As if the festival couldn't get any better!

     I met up with them first thing in the morning.  We headed into Future World, and hopped on Spaceship Earth, before making our way to Soarin'.  I love getting to take people on Soarin' for the first time, it's so unlike any other ride ever!
    Once we'd done our rides, we headed to the main event, the festival!  We made our way around the World Showcase pretty quick, which was great for me, as I still had to go to work this afternoon.
     My passport for the festival has already been stamped for every country, so I continued to try new things to check off.  Some good (rice pudding!), and some not so good (potato leek waffle with braised beef).  It was pretty sad to leave and say goodbye, but it was a fun morning, and was wonderful to see a familiar face from home!

xoxo

Baers at The Boardwalk

     On their way back from their own vacation, my parents made another stop in Orlando, for a mini-vacation with me!  We checked into The Boardwalk Resort yesterday, and I headed straight there after work (in costume and all!).  We had a sweet room with a water view, right above the boardwalk, which is filled with places to grab a bite and little shops.  We were also given MagicBands for the first time, which was pretty sweet!
     We walked downstairs and got some dinner from The Boardwalk Bakery.  They had the best lobster roll sandwiches!  This time, we had purchased the Quick Service Dining Plan, which turned out to be a really great value.  Anything to help make dining in Disney cheaper can't be bad! We snagged a table outside, right by the water to eat, and strolled up and down the walkway a bit.  It's such a nice place, I'd definitely love to stay there again!

      In the morning, we got up pretty early, and grabbed breakfast at The Boardwalk Bakery.  Another good meal, props to you Bakery!  We then took advantage of possibly the best perk at The Boardwalk Resort, the walkway right into Epcot.  It took us about 10-15 minutes to walk right into the park, smack between the France and the UK pavilions, perfect for Food & Wine attendees like us!

     We made our way around again, tasting and collecting stamps from around the World Showcase.  This time however, I completed my passport!  I tried at least one thing from every country!  The best thing from today's venture was definitely the Warm Chocolate Pudding with Bailey's Cream from Ireland, pretty decadent!
     We didn't stay into the evening this time however, because my parents still had a drive home in front of them.  So, after stalling for as long as possible in the hotel lobby, I had to say goodbye to them yet again.  I don't know that it will ever get easier!

"It's not goodbye, it's see ya real soon!" - Mickey Mouse

xoxo

Berries Take On Food & Wine

     Today, Brooke and I had the day off, so we grabbed our new strawberry ear hats, and hit up Epcot for The Food & Wine Festival.

     We stopped in to see Duffy (as usual!), and then I got Brooke to try snails! Don't let her face fool you, she liked them!

 

      As we tasted our way around the world, we stopped into the Japan pavilion.  I've been wanting to do the "Pick-a-Pearl" in the department store.  You pick an oyster, and you get to keep the pearl inside.  They have lots of setting you can chose from to wear it in.  It was pretty cool!

 

     We even bumped into Pooh bear and Tigger, so sweet and cuddly!    

 A couple plates later, we headed out, and popped in to see Mexican Donald on our way out.  He was so full of character!

 

 The food & Wine Festival is quickly becoming my favorite Walt Disney World event!

xoxo

Mama & Papa & Food & Wine

My Parents are here, my parents are here!!!     

     I've seriously missed my parents so much, and now they are finally here to visit! I, unfortunately, was unable to get any days off while they are here.  So, we are spending our evenings together.  We went to the movies last night.  We went to the Fork & Screen AMC at Downtown Disney, to see Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  It was so cute!  

     Tonight, for the first time, we all hit up the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival!  It was so great!  We tried so many things from so many different countries.  My favorite part however, was getting spend a whole afternoon and evening with two of my favorite people in the world!  We had so much fun together, so much so, that I think I've even convinced them to come again at the end of the month!

                                 

     They will be leaving tomorrow morning, and are going to stop by to see me on my break at work before they go.  

I'm already dreading having to say goodbye!

xoxo

Food & Wine Preview

     Tonight, Alyssa and I headed to Epcot to grab dinner at Nine Dragons in China.  Today was also the first official day of The International Food and Wine Festival.  We were not expected for the crowds of people packed in there, shoulder to shoulder.
     We made our way past the delicious-smelling booths, to the restaurant.  I wanted to wait to start sampling, until my parents get here tomorrow (yay!).
     On our way out, we made a quick pit stop into Character Spot, and headed home, since Guy and Seth were coming over to hang out.

I can't wait to see my parents tomorrow!!!

xoxo

La Finca, Deliciouso!

     Last night, Brooke, Bonnie, and I went out to a nearby Meaxican place, La Finca.  We've had our eye on it since we moved in, and finally got around to giving it a whirl!  When we walked in, we were the only other people in there.  It was a little bit awkward, and was pretty sad to see right at dinner time.  We were somewhat concerned as we ordered, thinking maybe there was a reason for the low attendance. 
     When the food arrived, we realized how very wrong we were.  The chips and salsa, and my plate of Chicken Enchiladas Mole, were absolutely fantastic.  It arrived quickly, was affordable, had two-for-one $5 margaritas, and was such a high-quality dinner.  We are already thinking about when we can go back!

 Ole!

xoxo

The Duffy Salute

    Had a long day at Disney University yesterday, finishing up my last day of classes for concierge training.  So right after class, I headed to Epcot with Brittany, to meet up with our friends for a bit.  We rode Test Track, met up with Duffy (as usual), and caught Illuminations.   Gotta love Epcot!

 

      I will be back at Disney University tomorrow, to learn some of the new technology that we will be introducing to guests (magicbands!)  I don't know how I'm going to retain all this information, my brain feels like a soggy sponge!

xoxo

Princesses in Epcot

     Today was another one of those fantastic days.  Brooke, Alyssa and I decided to spend the day in Epcot.  We donned our tiaras and headed over first thing in the morning.  

      We met Chip and Dale right away, then rode Soarin, my first time!  It's easily one of the coolest rides in Disney World.  I totally understand why it always has such a long wait!

     We stopped in to see Aladdin and Jasmine, and Belle.   

      And of course, couldn't pass up a chance to see Duffy!  He even acted like I was a princess, so sweet!

     We decided to grab lunch in Italy, at Via Napoli.  It was delicious!  I had arancini, which is a ball of fried risotto, filled with mozzarella and meat ragu.  That first bite blew me away, they were so unlike anything I've had before, the texture and taste were so much better than I had expected.  The atmosphere feels authentically Italian (from somebody who's never been to Italy at least), and all the Italian staff was friendly and attentive.  The cast member discount wasn't too shabby either!

     We spent the rest of the day strolling around the World Showcase, and stopped in to see Mickey and Pluto.

      As evening came, we headed to Hollywood Studios, to meet Guy.  We rode Tower of Terror, and Rock'n'Rollercoaster before our reservation at Sci-Fi Dine In Theater.

      Sci-Fi Dine In, is such a cool place.  It's designed to look like a big drive in movie theater, with old sci-fi movie clips showing, and everybody sits in booths designed to look like cars.

 

     It really did feel like a fun night out at the drive in!  The food was good, burgers and such, nothing to write home about, the setting, and company was really what made it!

xoxo