The Search For My Wits (or, "Toy Story 1-1/8"): a May solo PTR - Page 6 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Great update. It's great you got to go to the line for the DME that was empty. Great photo's of POFQ we are staying there in December and I can't wait!
It didn't take me long to unpack, change, and put my touring bag together. I gathered my wits about me (hey!...I found some!!) and headed out the door with my all-Magical KTTW card. First stop: Sassagoula Floatworks. (amanda: there are NO “clowns” in the pictures to follow!...lol!) I entered the food court in search of my refillable mug. I have a love affair with Disney's refillable mugs....Ok who am I kidding, I have a love affair with ALL of Disney's mugs. More on that later. I grabbed a mug with a yellow handle, checked out, and filled it with Diet Coke. The Disney magic continued because as I arrived at the bus stop, up pulled an Epcot bus! In no time at all I was in the park and gazing at this:
..and this....
and THIS!
Somewhere in there I took these photos....I don't know what these flowers are called (their little ID sign was overgrown and hidden) but I thought they were really neat.
I was headed for my lunch ADR in Mexico, but had time to shoot over to The Land and grab a Soarin' Fastpass. Good thing, because I got one of the last sets of FP's before they ran out, and the Standby line was almost an hour! I took my time wandering over to World Showcase....there was SO much to see, so many flowers and displays....the Flower & Garden Festival is a treat for the eyes and if you haven't seen it and ever have the chance to, GO!
I arrived in Mexico about 20 minutes early and was seated right away. I was pleased to see that they had placed me in a area of empty tables, rather than right on top of other groups of diners. Not that I'm anti-social, but when dining solo at a sit-down restaurant, you just don't want to be surrounded by all those other people and conversations. I was served chips and THE BEST salsa, and was soon treated to THE BEST server......
His name was Sergio and he was fantastic (not to mention adorable...). I bantered in a little bit of Spanish with him, which just tickled him, you could tell. I stopped before absolutely slaughtering the language... I ordered myself a Dos Equis draft lager and, [from the Allears web site]: “Enchiladas Verdes de Pollo - Corn tortilla stuffed with chicken, topped with sour cream, fresh cheese and onions, covered with green tomatilla sauce, and served with black beans.”
O. M. G.
BEST meal I've had in Disney in a long time!!! I love Mexican food, but this was over the top good! And given that I hadn't eaten since the drive into the airport at 5:30am, I ate it all. Every bite. And savored it and wondered how something so good could exist. Did I mention it was really good?!
When my lunch was finished I decided that a stroll around World Showcase was in order. Despite being in Mexico, I headed around to Canada. I always tour WS in a counter-clockwise direction and I just have to start in Canada. On the way I stopped by the DIY Network “Yard Crasher's” exhibit, since that was the show that inspired me to come this time of year in the first place. It was neat to see.
I also got this shot (yes, I waited nearly 20 minutes for the monorail to come by!)...
Now, Canada has beautiful gardens any time of year, but now, during the F&G, it was nothing less than stunning.....LOVED the Bambi garden....
I watched the “O Canada!” movie and moved on the United Kingdom. I loved the Twining's Tea gardens with the giant tea cups!!
I actually spent quite a bit of time in the UK, browsing the shops I never get to go into because the boys would be bored. I wasn't ready to bog myself down with bags full of souvenirs, but I made lots of mental notes in the shop that sells Beatles memorabilia. The next thing I decided I wanted to do was see the American Adventure show. Never seen it. High time I do. I snapped a bunch of photos along the way....there was seriously something neat to look at in every direction!
I did stop briefly in Japan to watch the drummers. They are just fantastic! There are three different people, all playing a drum at the same time, yet each has to play his/her own rhythm. The end result is amazing.
As I approached the American pavilion, the next show was due to start in less than 10 minutes, so I queued up and found myself standing directly under a blast of some of the coldest air ever! It was heavenly at that moment, since we all know that walking around World Showcase in the heat can be brutal. It was also nice to sit inside and enjoy the show for another 20 minutes or so. And I did enjoy it. I thought it was well-done and very patriotic, which I'm all about. I want to make a point to take my boys there on the next trip; it's history, but in a way that captures your attention and imagination.
I continued my counter-clockwise tour of WS and took yet more pictures...
...and as I approached Mexico once again, decided it was time to head back to Future World. I took that neat little pathway from the Odyssey Center over towards Test Track, and was delighted to find the Butterfly House and Fairy Garden along the way!
Now that I had toured WS, taken in all the sights and sounds and wonder of being in Disney, and - more importantly! - had time to digest my lunch, it was time to get some fun on. I headed straight for Test Track, anxious to use the Single-Rider Line. And that I did, only to discover that it's really not a "single rider" line, but rather they seem to let anyone use it, with the admonition that your party WILL be split up at the end.
Well la-de-freakin'-da!!.....Hello?!.....it's no benefit to REAL single riders if you let ANY one use the line!!! Ugh. Now granted, the wait in this line was considerably shorter than the stand-by line, but it was not as quick as it should have been. After my brief bout of disgust with the [non-] Disney system, I relaxed and watched the testing going on in the queue area. As I approached the pre-show area, I discovered that there was no pre-show but instead they were just herding everyone straight through that room and into the loading dock. From here it went pretty quick, and I finally found myself sitting in a front row seat!!.....woot!!!! The ride was awesome, as usual....there's nothing quite like that outside speed run to get the ol' adrenaline running!
From Test Track I made my way over to Spaceship Earth. It was getting late, but I still had quite a ways to go until my Soarin' FP time. I love SE. I hate the new narration. And that's all I have to say about that.
I did take this picture when the ride stopped briefly while I was smack in front of this stylin' gal:
So hip...
From SE I headed back over to The Land. I was starting to feel like I might enjoy a little smackeral of something, and the Sunshine Seasons Food Fair is a good place to find it. I headed to the bakery, and was looking at some treat or another, until I approached the case and the Butterfinger Cheesecake grabbed my eyeballs and pulled them front-and-center.......Oooooh!.....Butterfinger Cheesecake!..... There must have been some force field at work here, since I absolutely could not avert my eyes to gaze upon any other selection. So I ordered the Cheesecake, completely enraptured by my choice. And yes, it was that good.
My equally-heavenly ride on Soarin' wrapped up my day at Epcot, and the first day of my solo trip. I opted to skip Illuminations and instead head back to POFQ; people were already leaving the park and I didn't want to deal with the masses later. I had a full day planned tomorrow and wanted to be well-rested and ready to go early!
Awesome update! Glad you got to see the American Adventure; I love it so much that I saw it twice on my solo trip. (Dad was in the Army; patriotism is in my blood!)
Your food selections sound great! Did it feel weird at all, eating at a TS alone? I only did CS on my solo trip, and was usually taking notes or looking in my PP while eating, so I didn't notice if people stared at me!
I'll forgive you for skipping Illuminations as long as you promise me you saw it later! (Saw that twice on my solo trip, too!)
Best Mother's Day ever? Can't wait to hear about THAT!
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Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince; 05-30-2010 at 10:18 AM..
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I saw that episode of YardCrashers!!!! I was wondering if anyone would post a picture of the display they built!!!! I told DH if he ever sees any of the Crashers (Yard or House) at Home Depot he better bring them home!!!
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Pixie Dust
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
while eating, so I didn't notice if people stared at me!
PassPorter Guide Author
I told DH if he ever sees any of the Crashers (Yard or House) at Home Depot he better bring them home!!! 
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