Monorail Tour, Part 2

The second stop on our resort tour was the Grand Floridian. Last time Ted was here it was night, so it was nice to be able to explore it in the daytime.

 Love the view.

 

We did a circuit around the second floor before heading down to the ground level. There's a few neat shops on the second level, including a second Basin location.

 

 

 There's a nice view overlooking the property behind the staircase, but it was still raining.

 

Don't let anyone step on me!

 

Ted found another couch to rest on in the main lobby.

 

I could get used to this.

 

We were also able to check out the giant bird cage opposite the staircase.

 

Talk about an eye-catcher.

 

After we had checked out the lobby, we went outside where there was a carriage parked in front of the entrance.

 

I think I'd prefer the monorail, though.

Monorail Tour, Part 1

Ted hasn't been out much lately, so we took him on a tour of the resorts that the monorail is connected to this afternoon. It rained for most of the time we were there, but thankfully everything is covered once you get to the monorail. 

Now I can actually see out the windows!

The first stop on our tour was the Polynesian Resort. There's a neat display of lanterns hanging over the main lobby, and since the monorail stops off at the second floor, you get a nice view of the lounge area below.

Shame it isn't dinner time yet. Or lunch time. Or snack time.

The first/ground floor is where most of the stuff is, and since we weren't there to shop, we bypassed the lobby store and headed downstairs.

Now if only I had a lei, I'd be all set.

Ted very quickly ferreted out a free couch to rest on.

Come back to get me when the Luau dinner show starts.

There's another shop with more Hawaiian stuff rather than just Disney souvenirs, although we didn't go in to browse.

Forget the lei, I need a Hawaiian print shirt.

We went around the corner to see if Trader Sam's was open, but unfortunately they don't open until 4 pm.

Denied.

Surf's up! ...I'll just watch on dry land, from where it's safe.

 We had a few minutes to take a quick photo-op while waiting to get back on the monorail, and I was able to get a really nice picture of the pond area in the rain.

Thank goodness we're under cover. I'll appreciate the scenery from where it's dry.

There was a lot more, all of which will be posted in future parts. :)

Bear Hugs and Autographs

This past Sunday we headed back to Animal Kingdom for the morning. Since Ted's already been twice, he brought along a friend to show around.

Slowly but surely, us bears will take over the parks.

 

He's another old family stuffie, and since I never really got around to naming him I've dubbed him "Cuddles" for the time being.

 

We couldn't get fastpasses for the Safari, so we headed over as soon as we got in, which was just after opening. As luck would have it, it was only a 10 minute wait!

 

No, Cuddles, you can't hug the animals.

 

There was some sort of construction going on in the warthog's area, but there were plenty of animals out and about before it got hot. The elephants were especially active-when we were driving up to them they were running around in their section!

 

 

After we got off the truck, we decided to check out the Pangani trail since we hadn't done it in awhile.

 

 Here, I'll hold the map. Can't say I'll be any good at navigating...

 

We didn't have any fastpasses, so once we got out of the Pangani Trail we headed over to the Maharajah Trek. Unfortunately, it started to rain about halfway through so we had to make a beeline for the exit and called it a day.

 

If we don't come back out in 30 minutes, send a search party. With salmon.

 

You may remember our plans to get Ted his own autograph book. Well, I'm glad to say it's finally happened!

 

 

While we were walking through Asia, we spotted a couple of familiar faces at one of the meet and greet spots. So, we hopped in line and I raced back to a kiosk to get a book for Ted. Then I raced back to get a pen, because I apparently cannot think ahead.

 

Bear hugs from a fellow bear!

 

So Ted now has his first autograph to kick off his collection!



Gators, Frogs, and Bad Ocarina-playing

It's been another month since our last post, and now that finals are over I can take some time to update!

We haven't really been back to the parks with Ted since March/early April, but this morning I took Ted with me when I went out for my walk. There's a gator that hangs out in the two ponds up the street from us, and I've seen him/her a few times when I've walked by.

Unfortunately he wasn't out this morning-figures.

Nice spot for a picnic though. Maybe next time we could bring some salmon and make a day of it.

 

I also received an ocarina yesterday that I ordered off Amazon; it's a basic 6 hole pendant and I'm fairly sure it's an alto pitch (the listing didn't specify). I've been wanting to learn how to play an instrument again and I can already play a semi-coherent version of Lugia's song from Pokémon 2000!

Just don't expect us to put on a concert anytime soon.

 

I have another ocarina on its way-this one is a 12 hole ocarina in the soprano pitch range. Let's hope I won't be damaging anyone's ears while I practice.

We also have another bear in the household! Hallmark apparently has a (new?) line of plushies called "Itty Bitty" that I think is their answer to Disney's Tsum Tsums. We couldn't leave their kiosk without bringing home a Kermit and Fozzie.

Now how could you resist these faces? They're almost as cute as me. :)

 

We might be going back to the parks again soon, and there's some new attractions that recently opened up over in Orlando. With any luck, Ted will have more stuff to post in the near future!

Happy Easter/Passover

Happy Easter everybody! Or Passover, or whatever you celebrate-hope you all have a great weekend. No pictures for this post, but hopefully I'll be able to post some later next week. :)

Around the world in 2 hours, part 2

After Japan and at the middle of the World Showcase is the United States pavilion. It was reaching lunchtime, so we took a break outside the quick service restaurant here.

From Canada to Britain to Japan to the U.S. Let's hope the jet lag doesn't catch up.

 

Italy is next to America, and since there's not that much to see there we usually pass it. There's a flag demonstration that started up while we were eating lunch, but it seemed to have ended by the time we came up.

I wonder if we can get some tiramisu.

 

Fourth to last on the rotation is Germany.

 

I smell pretzels!

 

We had a lot of time to kill, so we went into Der Teddybar and admired all the Steiff plushies.

 

More cousins!

How long until our fastpass times?

 

China is practically across from Japan on the other end of the Showcase, and it's store is another fun place to browse. There's a whole room full of panda stuff, and of course the silk dresses and shirts are always neat.

 

I don't think they'll have any in my size, though.

Look who we found!

 

I always knew Mulan made appearances at Epcot, but I'd never really seen her actually out and about. That'll teach me to forget the autograph book.

Do you think she'd autograph a pair of mickey ears for me instead?

 

Right next to China is Norway. Normally, they have a short water ride running called the Maelstrom-but it's currently being refurbished to feature characters from Frozen. While it was in need of a bit of an update, I'll miss the older animatronics. Something about the older designs really worked for the whole theme of the ride.

 

There's a pastry shop? You guys go on, I'll catch up with you later.

There also used to a life sized replica of a Viking ship outside the bakery, but it was dismantled back in 2008 and a kiosk took its place.

 

Finally, the last stop on our tour was the Mexico pavilion, although I only went in to the front area. There's another ride in here, which was basically a sort of Mexican Small World before it was redone to feature the Three Caballeros. The inside plaza of the pavilion is beautiful.

 

Quiero un churro, por favor.

 I don't care what you say, I'm staying away from the water ride.

 

After all this, we turned around and headed back the other way. I stopped at Japan again and got some green tea ice cream-another favorite of mine.

 

If I could find a way to recreate their recipe at home, I'd be stashing it in bulk.

 

By the time we finished at the Showcase, we were already wiped and doubting we'd make it to our Soarin' fastpass times, so we called it a day and left. We have morning fastpasses for next Saturday though, so we will be returning! If anybody is going to be there that day, keep your eyes peeled for an old teddy bear taking photos. I'm always happy to chat about the blog!

Around the World in 2 hours, part 1

We finally returned to Epcot this morning! Since last time we didn't get to show Ted the World Showcase half of the park, we bypassed Future World. Unfortunately we couldn't get fastpasses for Soarin' until late in the afternoon, and we ended up leaving before our time slot came around. However, it was surprisingly slow in the park, so we were able to take our time without fighting the crowd.

Our usual tour begins at the Mexico pavilion and goes clockwise around the Showcase, but this time we started over in Canada and went the other way.

Maybe we can get some Canadian bacon.

 

While I was taking Ted's photo here, a little boy was busy hiding behind the cutout. We got to explain about Ted's blog afterwards to his dad.

Next up is England/Britain. I love checking out the Doctor Who and Sherlock stuff they have in the Toy Soldier, although I do miss the old fashioned stuffed animals they used to carry.

It's not the TARDIS, but it's close enough. Unless I just found the Ministry of Magic.

When is tea-time exactly?

 

 

Both Britain and Canada are connected to the Showcase by a bridge that puts you right in France. Sometimes you can catch Kitten Marie here if you're lucky-but we didn't see her this time.

 

No escargot for me, I'll just have salmon.

We did, however, see Belle!

 Why didn't we bring the autograph book?

 

Right after France is Morocco. I haven't really explored that pavilion in awhile; not since I was a kid.

 

 If we find a lamp, I call dibs.

 

 Fourth up on the tour was Japan, one of my favorite pavilions. They have a huge department store with several sections. I could spend all afternoon just browsing.

 

I wonder if they still have candy sushi...

Is it time for lunch yet? I hear they have tempura shrimp.

 

I also spotted a pressed penny machine outside the store and snagged one before we went in.



 

There's a lot more photos, so they'll all be posted in part 2!