Disney Weekend (part one)

I love Disney World. I have a seasonal pass (1. It’s cheaper than the annual. 2. The blackout dates are for times when I would not want to be there anyway. Summer? No thank you!) I live pretty close, so I often make a day trip to The Happiest Place on Earth. This past weekend I actually stayed on property, a rare treat. My Disney buddy, Chip, moved away and came back for a wedding. But, really, I’ll take any excuse to go to Disney.

As soon as we arrived at Walt Disney World, we went straight to Disney’s All-Star Music Resort. As resort guests, we were able to participate in extra magic hours at the parks, and I didn’t want to interrupt the fun to check-in later. I wanted to see if they could issue us our resort ids. Of course, this being Disney, the Cast Member at the front desk offered to check us in to the hotel room instead, 6 hours before check-in time. The room had wash-cloth monsters in the window and a towel Mickey on the bed. The shampoo in the bathroom had Mickey ears. I love the extra magic that comes with staying at a Disney hotel.

October is a great time to visit the parks. The weather is a little nicer and the parks are a little emptier. This is also the time of year that Disney makes an extra effort to entice out-of-towners to visit with the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

Naturally, first stop was Epcot for lunch. Chip is a vegetarian and this is the first year they had an all Vegan option. She ordered the Chili (ho-hum) and the Chocolate Cake with Passion Fruit Sorbet and Coconut Foam (so good!). The Berry Smoothie was also a big hit.

My favorites of the day were the Bacardi Frozen Dragon Berry Colada, Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce, and the Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. The biggest miss of the day was the Bohae Black Raspberry Wine, it tasted like part raspberry, part vinegar.  Chip wanted to try it because she remembered the name from years past, but couldn’t remember if she liked it or not. The good news is, the colossal wine failure inspired us to pick-up a tasting notebook so we could keep a record for next year.

I have had a smart phone for a few months now, and cannot remember what life was like without one. I checked Facebook while we were drinking and shopping, and saw that Fay, a sorority sister we had not seen in years, was in the next country over. I messaged her and we met up. We ended up spending the rest of the day together.

I recommend that anyone who spends as much time at Disney as I do apply for a Disney Chase Visa. There are discounts and perks that come with the card. My favorite perk is that you can get a private meet and greet session with characters, and a free photo. The line was pretty short, so we did that before leaving Epcot.