Holiday Hootennanies with Scarlett and the Fam Damily! Thread 2 - Day 4, Part 4, Updated 7/30! About This Page:

[Disney_Scarlett]

This is Thread Two of my never-ending TR. If you're looking for the beginning, try the dinosaur era. Or here: Holiday Hootennanies with Scarlett and the Fam Damily! Day Two, Part 4, Updated 4/25

Also, there aren't many pictures in this update, but I promise there are a LOT more for this "day" so if you're into lots of photos, just suffer through this as more are on the way.

I slept like a rock through the night and was awaken at 7:00 by a phone call from Mickey himself. Unlike yesterday, there was no preceding Evil Alarm Buzzer, which made enjoying the wake-up call even sweeter. I had set the call for Mama and Dad, since they have dibs on the bathroom first, but once I had my bearings, I realized that Mama was already almost ready and Dad was not too far behind her. After clearing out of the bathroom area, they decided to go over to Goods to Go and get some breakfast, leaving me in the room to myself. I took my time getting ready and really relished in having the room to myself for a little while. Not that I don’t love my parents, but even though I live with them, I used to having my own living areas and being by myself a lot – so I definitely didn’t mind any alone-time I could snag.

I had just finished drying my hair and was watching a little TV when they returned, and Mama had brought breakfast for me. She had ordered a platter and had not eaten even half, so I finished off her leftover eggs, potatoes, bacon and a biscuit.

We met Krista and Jeff down in our little courtyard at the agreed-upon time, and as we all walked towards the bus stop, we saw an Epcot bus pulling to a halt. Jeff and I took off running and were able to catch it, and the driver was kind enough to wait a few moments as Krista, the girls and the parentals brought up the rear. Now that I’d gotten my blood running with a little morning sprint, I was ready to take on the park.

It’s a very short ride to Epcot, and soon we were disembarking, going through the turnstiles (by now, everyone had their security assignments down pat – Dad and Jeff take the girls in their strollers through the no-bag lines while the ladies get their stuff poked through). We were about 10 minutes early for opening, and waited just before the Fountain of Nations for the rope drop. There were quite a lot of people here this morning, and we were far enough back that I couldn’t really hear or see any of the pre-opening shenanigans. However, I did catch on when everyone started counting down, and I chanted along with them – “Five…four…three…two…ONE!” and then, like a herd of cattle, we moo’ed our way with the rest of the crowd over to The Land and Soarin’ (yes, I actually did moo – no, you can’t take me anywhere).

We didn’t lollygag, but by the time we got there, the stand-by line was already posted at about 30 minutes. Jeff and I took everyone’s tickets and went to get Fastpasses first, and we had to wait in about a five minute line to do that. Once we returned with the FPs, the rest of the fam-damily was nowhere to be found. We walked around for a bit, looking pretty stupid, waiting outside of the bathrooms and such. Then we tried to get Krista or Mama on their cell phones. The bottom floor of The Land is one of the only places in The World that I don’t get a good signal (Jeff doesn’t either, and we have different carriers), but finally after multiple attempts, one of us was able to get a hold of somebody. They went on through the line of Soarin’ without us, those suckers!

Okay, I will admit it – I was a little peeved. I didn’t care that they had gone ahead (I’m not of the belief that it is healthy or beneficial to stick together for an entire trip), but you can tell a sister something so she doesn’t wander around like a moron looking for you.

Jeff and I camped out on the benches just outside the Soarin’ exit, and I tapped my foot impatiently for about twenty minutes before everyone emerged. Reportedly, they had a good, albeit not Row 1, flight over California. Dad and I got into a little argument on whether or not they told Jeff and I that they were going on ahead. It went something like this:

Scarlett: “Hope you didn’t have any turbulence on your flight, ______” <<insert me calling my family an inappropriate name in the plural>>
Dad: “We told you that we were going on ahead and riding.”
Scarlett: “No you didn’t.”
Dad: “Yes we did.”
Scarlett: “No you didn’t.”
Dad: “Yes we did.”
Scarlett: “No you DID. NOT. If you did, why did neither Jeff or I hear you and why did we spend fifteen minutes trying to figure out where y’all were?”
Dad: “Yes we did.”
Scarlett: “Please remove yourself from my general vicinity before I need to kill you.”

Not that I have a temper or anything.

A calming ride on Living With The Land sounded like a good idea right about then, so we hustled over there and through the nonexistent line. Mama separated Dad and I by making sure we were sitting on different rows in our boat. By the time we had oohed and aahed over Mickey-shaped pumpkins, everyone (me) was copasetic and in a better mood than before. Once our lesson in agriculture was over, our Soarin’ FastPasses were ripe, so we headed back over there. Of course, now the standby line was down to 20 minutes or so, but we still used our FPs to breeze on through. We were able to snag Row 1 this time, and had a funny CM who asked us about our green cards and passports before we loaded the ride. Of course, Row 1 rocks the face off the other rows, and I was able to immerse myself in flying over California.

Now that I had one of my favorite attractions under my belt, I was really in a better mood, and we were off to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. This was my first time visiting this, and I was definitely looking forward to it. We had about a fifteen minute wait, during which I enjoyed the theming of the queue area (most especially the “butt” ). I snagged Kenz as my ride-along partner before boarding our clam-mobile, and we had fun pointing out all the different fishies (and of course, Nemo!). This ride is cute – I want to do it again soon, as I feel like I didn’t catch a lot of little details.

After exiting, we decided it was time to go our separate ways – Mama, Dad and I had an ADR at San Angel Inn coming up, while Krista, Jeff and the girlies had some more extra time before their lunch date with Princesses at Akershus Royal Dining Hall. We agreed to meet back up with the Millers once they were done at Akershus. Even though we split up, however, we all ended up staying in The Seas for a little bit longer, exploring the aquarium exhibits. I had one mission in mind – to see my favorites, the manatees. The last few times I’ve been at WDW, they have not been out, so I definitely wanted to try and catch them on this trip.

I was in luck, as they were out and doing lots of swimming and eating of leafy greens. I observed them some from the side of the tank before going upstairs to watch them from above the water.



Didn't get really good pictures, but trust me, I was enthralled. I spent a good ten or fifteen minutes just hanging out, watching them play and have lunch. While I was standing there, I ran back into the Millers and we watched together for a little while before I headed off to check out some other tanks. I saw the stingrays and most of the fish downstairs before finding my parents.



Once I had tracked them down, we made our way over to the World Showcase, specifically the Mexico pavilion. We had a little time before we needed to check in, so Dad went off in search for a couple of margaritas for Mama and himself. I have a note that I called Karen (zacksmom_1993), but I don’t have any memory of what we talked about. Anyway, Dad came back with two margaritas, although he had two regular lime ones, and Mama had requested a mango margarita. Apparently, even though I had directly pointed to the margarita stand as the place to get margaritas, Dad had wandered over to the cantina, where they do not serve the mango or other flavors. Sigh.

We made our way into San Angel Inn, where I immediately made a pit stop in the restroom before we got checked in. The place was pretty busy, but were still seated in just a few minutes. I looove Mexican cuisine, and I know I’ve said before that while this place has really good food, it’s not the absolute-best Mexican I’ve ever had. However, the atmosphere is what keeps me coming back, and as we got settled into our table, I was reminded of this once again. You really get into the feeling of being outside, at night, next to the water, without all the hassles of bugs and unpredictable weather and whatnot.

We ordered our drinks, and I got my old standby, Diet Coke (you thought I was going to say, “my old standby, beer” didn’t you! ), and Mama and Dad both continued on with their margaritas for the time being. We ordered our appetizers first thing as well: Mama got the Ceviche - seafood marinated in lime juice with tomatoes, chiles, onions and cilantro. I had tried that last time and wasn’t crazy about it, so I went with the Sope Tradicional - grilled soft corn shell filled with chicken and refried beans covered with a fresh green tomato sauce, fresh cheese and onions, served over a bed of lettuce. Dad also got the Sope Tradicional. It was delicious! Between it and the chips and salsa (also excellent), I was about half-full when our entrees arrived a little later.

I ordered the same thing I’ve been ordering here for years - Nachos de Pollo – a border creation of tortilla chips topped with grilled chicken, red sauce, melted cheese, chorizo, jalapenos, tomatoes, and sour cream (which, is not on the All Ears Net menu anymore! I stole this description from my last TR. I see the All Ears Net menu was updated 12/07, the same month we were there, so I hope they have not changed it and taken Nachos de Pollo off the menu). Mama went with the Carne Asada Tampiquena - grilled beef tenderloin served with a chicken enchilada topped with ranchera sauce, esquites and black refried beans, while Dad settled on Plato Mexicano - grilled beef taco, chicken enchilada and cheese quesadilla, served with black refried beans, guacamole and Mexican rice. Everything was really delicious (especially the hopefully-still-present Nachos de Pollo). Somehow it was even better than usual, and ended up being one of my favorite meals of the trip. I was initially a little against revisiting San Angel, just because we have eaten here so often, but glad we didn’t skip it.

I could barely even consider dessert, but since it is included in the DDP, I ordered it anyway – Dad and I both selected Capirotada de Chocolate Blanco - white chocolate golden raisin bread pudding served with Mexican milk caramel (same thing I had last time), and I managed and taste or two. It’s really good, but I couldn’t really do it justice. Mama chose the Flan de Vainilla - vanilla custard in syrup, topped with roasted almonds. While I’m not a fan of flan (heehee), she said it was excellent – I’ll have to take her word for it.

We didn’t rush in leaving, as the three of us were pretty content to rest our full bellies in the comfort of the restaurant. Eventually we did settle up our bill, though (Dad had gotten another margarita somewhere in there [this time on the rocks, which is his preferred type of ‘rita] that he had to pay for out-of-pocket).

Up next: Some World Showcase browsing and getting stopped in our Track(s)

[mestitch]

(yes, I actually did moo – no, you can’t take me anywhere).

You and our Kevin.... can't take you anywhere in public... He moo'd his way through the crowd at the opening of MGM that morning.... very loudly..... so that everyone turned, looked, and laughed
Great update!

[PrincessSharon]

Sorry about the Soarin' mixup. Your Dad sounds a lot like mine, so I was rolling my eyes at him (sorry, Scarlett's Dad). Glad you enjoyed San Angel Inn. That's still on my list of places to try. Hurry back with more!

[disneydani]

Hey, thanks for not totally ditchin us and getting back to TRing! SOunds like a great morning, minus the Soarin' mix-up, and a yummy lunch!

danielle

[DawnDenise]

She had returned!! Glad the TR is going again!! Sounds like a good morning despite the Sorain' mix-up. Your visit to San Agnel Inn definitely sounded good!!

While I’m not a fan of flan (heehee), she said it was excellent – I’ll have to take her word for it.

YAY!! Someone else that is not a fan of the flan!!

[B.M.]

Great update! Glad you got to ride Soarin' and your mexican lunch sounds yummy.

[RobDVC]

That's rotten that they left you on your own and rode Soarin'.
I would have used the FastPasses they sent you ahead for to ride twice, and not given them a chance to use them.
Glad you had an enjoyable meal at San Angel Inn.

[Jillybean]

I'm with you on San Angel Inn - - not the best Mexican food in the world, but the atmosphere just cannot be beat! Now I want to go back!

Jill

[Lemap760]

I love a good "I told you this" "No you didn't" debate. Actually I usually end up getting mad and storming off. I would have confiscated his fast pass.

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry everyone left you and Jeff and went on the ride Glad you all made up though! It sounds like a great lunch More please

[Caldercup]

Yippy skippy -- YOU'RE BACK TO THE TR!! Finally, girl. I was having some serious withdrawal problems.

Very fun interchange between you and your dad over the Great Soarin' Conflict.

Now... I fully expect another update before the end of this month. You hear?!
Eileen

[wayneava81]

Yay! an update! I thought it was never gonna come!

[DyanKJ130]

to hear you and Jeff were ditched by the FamDamily! Sounds like a great day, otherwise! I totally this photo - you captured the hidden Mickey!!

[jpod523]

I caught that hidden Mickey too! The HM in the manatee tank makes me even more jealous that I've not once seen the manatees there. I always visit too early. San Angel Inn is one of those place that I really want to eat at, but I'm not exactly sure why. Probably because of the atmosphere because I'm not a mexican/spicy food fan.

[KandJluvdisney]

yeah you are back
sounds like a fun day at epcot
hurry back with more please
in a more timely manner next time please