Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Weekend Wear-abouts: Part 1- All Four Parks + Monorail Bar Crawl + More!

Grab a cuppa and settle in- this one's a doozie. Let's call this the 'Extended Version' of Weekend Wear-abouts, as it encompasses Thursday through Monday. In fact, it's so full, I'm gonna split it into two posts. This is Part 1. You can see Part 2 here. Get ready for lots of pictures. Here goes!

Thursday started out freezing but sunny- and really, not just 'cold' to this Floridian, but 'high in the 50's and wind chill in the 40's' cold. I had plans to meet up with my Lilly-lovin' friend Amanda from Dixie Delights at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but texted her to see if she wanted to move our meet up to an indoor location. She's a trooper, and donned her down jacket and Uggs, and off we went.

Michael by Michael Kors Leather Jacket (old, I got this on super sale at Nordstrom years ago; similar styles here) // Gap Bootcut Jeans 

She had been wanting to try the famed Dawa Bar Bloody Mary, and who am I to deny anybody that pleasure?


We sat in the sun, sipped, and chatted, then made our way over to meet Minnie and Mickey in their safari gear.


We had over an hour to kill before our Expedition Everest FP, so we settled in at the Yak & Yeti bar and ordered another round. Amanda had the Pink Himalayan and I had the Rickshaw Rickie.


Lilly Pulitzer Sweater (old, and I don't know the style name. I found one here on Poshmark for a great price, in green.)

After outrunning the Yeti on Everest (which actually felt like we were in the mountains in the Himalayans- roller coasters + windchill= cold!), we split an Asian noodle salad and Thai pulled pork sandwich for lunch before taking a safari though Africa.


Amanda was running the Princess 5K & 10K, so I took her back to meet up with her friends at theCarribbean Beach Resort, and headed to Epcot to see if anything was going on in celebration of Chinese New Year.

I picked up a latte at Starbucks, and was pleasantly surprised to see they now offer coconut milk. I use this in my morning coffee, so I'm excited to have it as an option at the 'Bucks. I also snacked on a warm strawberry jam filled waffle at Kringla bakery cafe in Norway.


Sadly, I didn't see anything happening at the China pavilion. DCA had a full-on special event running to celebrate the New Year, but Epcot didn't do a thing. You Californians get all the good stuff, I tell ya.


I had just listened to Lou Mongello's WDW Radio podcast (from 2008) about the China pavilion, and heard this tidbit about the details along the roofline, pictured below. Apparently the man sitting on the chicken is Prince Min, a third-century ruler who was hanged due to the cruelty he imposed upon his subjects. It's customary to install and effigy to him among building in China as a warning to other tyrants. The animals lined up behind him are to keep him from trying to escape. Disney details!


On the way out, I snapped some pics of Epcot getting ready for the Flower and Garden Festival. The food booths are up, and the flower beds are planted. Not sure if they were covered because of the cold, or because they were still under preparations. Needless to say, I can't wait! I really love the Flower & Garden Fest. 




Friday was a park-free day, filled with 'real world' responsibilities like grocery shopping, laundry and the like. But I still had School Bread and a Disney plate and mug, so *take that*, reality!


It was another cold day, so I made chili and from-scratch cornbread for dinner, and John and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. We've been working our way through the series (neither of us had seen them all before), and I'm bummed we're almost done! I'm going to read the books though. I've heard, and it always rings true, that the books are better than the movie. 


My brother's family drove up on Saturday, and I met them at the Contemporary for lunch at Contempo Cafe. I don't have a picture of it, but I ordered the tuna salad platter off the kid's menu, and it was tasty and filling for a really good price ($5.99, which in Disney terms is practically a steal). The kid's meals come with two sides and a drink, so if you're a light eater like me (I mean, I love to eat and eat a lot, but I eat little bits all throughout the day), it's perfect. 

We planned to head right back into the Magic Kingdom, but decided to stop by The Wave lounge for a drink before hand. 


While there, I was telling my sister-in-law and her friend (who's first visit it was to Disney!) about the Lapu Lapu's. We decided that we needed to have one, so after finishing our drinks, we monorailed over to the Poly. 


Lilly Pulitzer Nantucket Sweater (old, search eBay or Amazon)

While there, I convinced them that we might as well complete the monorail bar crawl trifecta and hit up Mizner's at the Grand Floridian. We arrived there just before it opened, at 4:30. I've rope dropped a few things in my Disney experiences, but never a bar! As soon as the ropes were opened, people flooded the place. There wasn't an empty seat in the house! 



We enjoyed a drink and some munchies, then finally headed to MK. 

My brother and crew called it an early night (they had been up since 5 am and rope dropped MK at 8 am), so my niece Amelia and I continued on without them.  We met up with my friend Tink (my good ol' '24-hour-Disney-day' pal) and her beau, and slid in on Peter Pan and Space Mountain with their FastPasses. 


Finally, it was time to drop my niece off and head home. John and I had an early morning planned for Sunday. We were rope dropping the Magic Kingdom! Check back soon for Part 2, where we felt like VIP's in the House of Mouse. 

Thanks for reading!

4 comments:

  1. My lapu lapus always leak. I have to keep them in the bowl. lol.

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    1. Too funny! Knock on wood, I've never had that problem.

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  2. eeekkkkk... there's ME!!!!!!! Such a great day! Now, I love your monorail bar hop and totally need to recreate that. Why oh why can't I just live there???????? xo

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    1. Monorail bar hop with you, me, Ward and John in May (it's May, isn't it?)?? Just putting it out there!

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