A “Food and Non-Alcoholic Drink” Festival For Me! Aug. 30-Sept. 6, 2017! *COMPLETED 10/1/17*

First, great pic with Kylo!

And, I've been meaning to ask, how is taking the Minnie Van? They are so darn cute! I kept trying to get a pic of one of them. Who ever thought of calling them a Minnie Van and decorating them like that is a Marketing genius!

Wow! What a day - a fight first thing and last thing! And, your comment “Welcome to the Food & Wine Festival everyone” just cracked me up!

Too bad about us not getting a pic at Epcot. I thought about it a few times that day, but never found the right moment.

And, looking at your pics of the crowds that day, I definitely don't remember it being that crowded!?! Maybe it got more crowded later in the day, after dh and I went to HS? Or, maybe because you are so tall, you see more of what is coming? That is definitely not the view I had. Ha ha! :laughing:

BTW, your Boeuf Bourguignon looks delish! Yum!

I did not take the Minnie Van on this trip. I got the Lyft app to try the Minnie Van, but they currently don't service at the All-Star Resorts. They are mainly going to the Deluxe Resorts as of right now I believe.

EPCOT got a lot more crowded after you left. The after-church local crowds started to role in I think.

That dish was delicious. It was just so loud in that restaurant, it was really hard to enjoy it.
 
wow just wow. Not your typical Disney day. Good for you for reporting the bad behavior. After the crowds and drunkenness we have seen during the festival (which I love by the way ), we now avoid weekends if at all possible.
Going to F&W on a weekday is the best way to do it. The crowds are a lot less especially during the day. Every time I have been to F&W on a weekend from years past to this trip, it has always been that crowded or worse.
 
It's too bad you had to end your day with a fight. At least you kept your humor!

Have fun on your return trip!
It was hard to keep my humor. I'll say that lol.

Thanks! I'm starting to get my intro ready for my next trip report. I won't make that trip report live until I have finished this one. I am hoping to have this trip report done on Sunday now.
 


Day 6: Back to Hollywood!

It was now the 6th day of my vacation to Walt Disney World, and this is the day where I said we would sleep in so that is what we did. My Dad and I would eventually head to Disney’s Hollywood Studios for some fun!



There’s nothing like entering a Disney Theme Park and being greeted by Captain Phasma and Stormtroopers marching right past you!



So, my Dad and I entered Disney’s Hollywood Studios around lunch time. That means we were hungry so we headed to the Backlot Express to grab some lunch.



I had no idea that the Backlot Express had a menu themed around Star Wars, so that made me really excited!



I would end up getting the 1/3 Ib. Angus Bacon Cheeseburger. It really tasted just like a normal Disney burger. I would say it was more on the bland side thought. I definitely was unimpressed.



After a quick lunch, my Dad and I decided to walk towards Muppet Vision 3D when we stumbled upon the construction for Star Wars land! I really can’t wait for this to open!



We then made it to Muppet Vision 3D! I really like this film. Part of me still wishes they had it at Disney California Adventure.







My Dad and I would then make our way to Star Wars: Path of the Jedi. I’ll be honest and say that we only went to see this just to get inside some air conditioning. It was really hot outside that we were finding any excuse to stay indoors. I think the movie is just ok. I definitely wouldn’t see this on every trip.



I really like the banners around the Star Wars Launch Bay. It also has the Star Wars 40 Years logo.



We would then go inside Star Wars Launch Bay where I would get my picture with Chewbacca. That was he only Star Wars meet & greet I didn’t do the previous day.





We would then make our way over to the Toy Story part of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The rain was beginning to fall as well. As we made our way closer to the area, we saw the picture of Toy Story Land. As a Toy Story fan, I am really excited for this as well.



I really like this PIXAR Studios sign.



My Dad and I would use our first fastpass of the day which was for Toy Story Midway Mania. I really like the queue, and I also enjoy getting the best score in the vehicle. The score I got on this round is actually a lot less than I normally get.









It was then time for our dinner reservation. We would be traveling back to the 1950’s, because we would be dining at 50’s Prime Time Cafe!

Of course I would have to order a chocolate shake. Part of me wishes that the shake came in a nice glass instead of this though.



As my entree, I got the fried chicken. I only like legs so they were nice enough to bring me all legs. I also don’t like gravy on my mashed potatoes so I got the mashed potatoes plain. You really can’t go wrong with getting fried chicken here.



So, at this point, we still had fastpasses for two attractions. However, I turned to my Dad saying if he wanted to stay or go to Disney Springs. My reasoning to him was that “I was so bored.” Disney’s Hollywood Studios has really lost a lot of interest for me. It is really hard to stay in that park with it only having 4 attractions. So, my Dad and I made our way to the bus stop and headed to Disney Springs!
 
Day 6: Disney Springs!

Welcome to Disney’s Shopping District called Disney Springs! This part of Disney has a number of different types of shops, restaurants, and entertainment that can make for a nice getaway from a theme park at some point during your
vacation.



Since a lot of the construction here has mostly finished (there is still some), I am really beginning to like this area more than I ever have. It’s a really nice place to go shopping.

Since my Dad and I came here without really knowing we were going to come, we just started to walk. Eventually we came across the Coca-Cola store. So, I turned to my father and mentioned that we should go to the top floor.



Did you know you can take your picture with the Coca-Cola polar bear inside the store? I didn’t get my picture with him, but I was able to sneak into the line and take this quick snapshot of the polar bear.



We made it to the top level, and I got my Coke in a bottle!



The view is really nice up here, and you also have a nice view of the new Planet Hollywood.







After getting refreshed with our soda, we began to walk around Disney Springs some more. We would listen to some of the live bands, and then I came across one of the Star Wars stores. Of course I had to go in it. I found it to be interesting since a lot of the Star Wars: The Last Jedi merchandise had just come out so I wanted to buy it all. I also came across this toy that made me wonder who this character is going to be. If anyone has any idea, let me know. I found it interesting how Disney is selling a toy of this new character when no one has any idea what it is yet (I did not buy it).



You can see the DVC Resort, Saratoga Springs, across the lake from Disney Springs.



The balloon was not running on this day. I have still not gone up in it either. Personally, I feel like I would be to scared to go up in it.



We would then stumble upon the largest Disney Store in the world, World of Disney at Disney Springs. I believe the one at Downtown Disney at Disneyland is still the second largest Disney Store.



SQUIRREL!!!



It was a beautiful evening in Florida while my Dad and I were at Disney Springs. The rain that happened earlier definitely cooled down the area for the rest of the day.





Florida sunsets will never get old! They are definitely beautiful.



My Dad and I would then begin to walk back to the bus area.





After an interesting day of “going with the flow,” my Dad and I made our way back to All-Star Music. It is rare for us to not go to a park and see a nighttime show each night, but we really needed to make this an easy day.

We would then enjoy our evening in our hotel room before getting ready for our last day at the Food & Wine Festival!
 
Day 7: My Final Day at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

It was time for our last full day at Walt Disney World and our last day at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival! So, we made our way to the bus stop at All-Star Music to get on the bus to EPCOT.

We would arrive at EPCOT! Every time I see the “golf ball,” I always wonder how they built this.





We would arrive in the later morning hours so the booths for Food & Wine were already open. We headed straight for our first booth of the day!

My first booth of the day was the Coastal Eats.



Here I would try the Lump Crab Cake. This was a pretty good sized crab cake. I really liked the sauce that came on the dish. I thought this dish was a good value.



I would also get the seared scallops. Now, they weren’t as good as going to a restaurant like Flying Fish, but they were reasonable to the price I paid. I liked the garnish with the corn. The sauce on the scallops complimented the dish well. I would get this again.



While I was in this area, I also decided to try the 3rd “Eats” booth which was Earth Eats.



Here I would try the Grilled Beef Skewer. I will say that even if this dish was good, it was towards the bottom of the dishes that I tried during my 3 days at the festival. I really enjoyed the greens underneath, but the beef that I had was very chewy. It wasn't as tender as I would have hoped. It was still good, and it is possible I just got a rough piece of beef since the CM assured me when I ordered that it is very tender.



It was time to make our way around World Showcase!



I would try one more booth on this trip. That booth was the Italy booth.



Here I would get the calamari. This was close to the most expensive item I got at this years festival, and I would easily buy this again! This was so good. The sauce had a spice to it that kicked in as you ate it more. This was a great dish of calamari. It is in my top 3 dishes that I tried at the festival for sure!



It was time for me to get out of the Florida heat and listen to the Voices of Liberty for the rest of my afternoon!



After a great afternoon of listening to music, my Dad and I made our way to our dinner reservation. We would be going to my Dad’s favorite restaurant, the Rose & Crown!



When you go to the Rose & Crown, ordering Fish & Chips is definitely the way to go!



It was time to leave EPCOT and walk by the big “golf ball” for the final time on this trip!



My Dad and I would then walk up to the monorail station and get ready to take the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center.



My Dad and I were on our way to the Magic Kingdom!!!
 


Day 7: Our Final Evening at Walt Disney World!

My Dad and I would then take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom from the Transportation and Ticket Center!

Our first stop would end up being the Main Street Train Station where I would get a couple pictures of Main Street and then take the train to Frontierland.







We would make our way to our first fastpass which was Big Thunder Railroad. When we arrived, I noticed something that I have never seen before. There was a sign at the entrance to the ride showing where people can get a fastpass. This was also the only attraction I saw at Walt Disney World that had this sign posted.



So, it was then time to ride one of my favorite attractions at Walt Disney World, Big Thunder Railroad!



Up next, my Dad and I had a fastpass for the Haunted Mansion! I still wish that Walt Disney World would get the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay during the Halloween/Christmas season, but I also do like how it is only at Disneyland. I just really miss it when I’m at Walt Disney World during this time of the year.



My Dad and I would then take a cruise around the world on It’s a Small World!













I saw my name on the screen!!!



My Dad and I would then use our last fastpass of the day which was for Peter Pan’s Flight!



At this point, it was time to head to Main Street to get a spot for Happily Ever After. On the way, I would capture this side shot of Cinderella’s Castle.



Here is a picture of Main Street from the spot I decided to watch Happily Ever After from.



Right before Happily Ever After, the projection show, Once Upon A Time, had a performance. I actually enjoy this projection show a lot.







It was then time for Happily Ever After. I’ll be honest and say that this is a great show to see as your last nighttime show at Walt Disney World. The message behind the show saying to go and find your "happily ever after" is a message I think everyone should hear. That can mean to go find a job you are happy with, find someone special, or find a place that you might want to live. This show can mean so much to so many people based on the message alone. It definitely has grown on me since it debuted, and I really like this show for that reason.













After a great show, it was time to say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom. :(



We would make our way to the bus stop where we would be greeted by the long lines that typically happen at any of the parks closing times. The value resort bus lines can get really long as well.



It was then time for the one moment that no one likes on a vacation. It was time to pack. We would spend one final night at All-Star Music since the next day was our final day at Walt Disney World. We would travel to one more park the next day before catching Disney’s Magical Express to MCO.
 
50s PT is easily one of my favorite places to eat. It's delicious!

I agree, I wish HM got the overlay at Halloween at least.

You never stop! Love following along!
 
Bad News: My next update won't be out until tomorrow. :D

Good News: It's a really long story. I'm not going to get into the reason why, but I will be at Walt Disney World again next week. It is a solo trip for me. If you see me, feel free to say hi. I want to say that I am doing some extras on this trip that I have never done before that I am really excited about along with many extras I have done before. With all of the bonus extras that I have booked, I feel like I will do a separate trip report. Stay tuned to this trip report for when my next trip report goes LIVE! :)

With the announcement of this trip, I promise I will get through Day 7 by the time my next trip comes around. :)
Woohoo! Way to go! You sure have given me a lot to catch up on!
I walked up and the wait time was 13 minutes. The very classic wait time for this attraction when there is basically no wait. :)

This is a great picture. I love that they set the wait time to 13! So spooky!

If you ever wonder what crowds for the Food & Wine Festival are like on a weekend, here you go:

:scared1:

Up next was Living with the Land. My Dad and I had a fastpass for this attraction, but I would like to point out that this had a 40 minute stand-by wait. It had been years since I have seen this attraction have that long of a wait.

I would not think, even on a busy day, that Living with the Land would get a line that long.

This is when I am going to say something as a warning to any of you that might be going to the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival and choose to drink alcohol. Please drink responsibly!!!
Amen! I hate being at theme parks with disorderly people. Especially parks like WDW that are very family friendly.

As my entree, I got the fried chicken. I only like legs so they were nice enough to bring me all legs. I also don’t like gravy on my mashed potatoes so I got the mashed potatoes plain. You really can’t go wrong with getting fried chicken here.

Yum. No frills, just classic food. Looks so good. I can't wait for 50s PT on my upcoming trip!

Our first stop would end up being the Main Street Train Station where I would get a couple pictures of Main Street and then take the train to Frontierland.

Great shot!

I have loved your trip report. Seems like a very relaxed trip with your dad. :D
 
A picture with Chewie!! He is definitely my favorite and we always try to get our pic with him. :love:

When I enter the room, I always tell him, "Chewie, I love you!" And, I say that for him and for our doggie that was named after him. :cloud9: :chewy:
 
50s PT is easily one of my favorite places to eat. It's delicious!

I agree, I wish HM got the overlay at Halloween at least.

You never stop! Love following along!
This was a "calm" trip in terms of many of my other trips. If you want to see me "go, go, and go," tune in to my next trip report. :)
 
Woohoo! Way to go! You sure have given me a lot to catch up on!

This is a great picture. I love that they set the wait time to 13! So spooky!


:scared1:


I would not think, even on a busy day, that Living with the Land would get a line that long.


Amen! I hate being at theme parks with disorderly people. Especially parks like WDW that are very family friendly.


Yum. No frills, just classic food. Looks so good. I can't wait for 50s PT on my upcoming trip!


Great shot!

I have loved your trip report. Seems like a very relaxed trip with your dad. :D

- The only day I have seen Living With the Land longer was on New Years Eve. I do know when I would go to WDW back in the day, it would get a line that long everyday.

- This was a relaxing trip in a way. Even though we were always out, we did a lot less than we normally do.
 
A picture with Chewie!! He is definitely my favorite and we always try to get our pic with him. :love:

When I enter the room, I always tell him, "Chewie, I love you!" And, I say that for him and for our doggie that was named after him. :cloud9: :chewy:

You are too funny! :lmao:


I've never even seen the Coke store before. I must be really out of it! I am definitely going next time so I can go up to the top. Thanks for letting me know it was there! :thumbsup2

I always joke with Chewie by saying, "Hi Chewie! You are the only person I know that is taller than me!"

I'm glad you got a laugh at my inner "Dug" moment. :D

Go up in the coke store! On the top level, you can get coke products from all around the world. They even have Beverly. :D
 
Day 8: Final Morning/Afternoon At Walt Disney World!

Hello everyone and welcome to the final day of my vacation. This day is always a sad one, because I never want to leave Walt Disney World. I’m sure all of us have that feeling.

So, my Dad and I would make our way to the main building, and drop our luggage off with bell services before heading to a theme park.

The theme park that we would decide to go to on our final day was Disney’s Animal Kingdom! It’s really starting to become a tradition of going to this park at the end of my vacation as well.



My Dad and I would quickly make our way to Pandora to just walk around since we didn’t have any fastpasses for the attractions. I had to go into this beautiful land one more time on my vacation, but would it be the last time?





While we were in Pandora, it was starting to rain. So, my Dad and I decided to go get lunch at the Nomad Lounge. We ate here on the first day of our vacation, and I would get the same drink and the wings. However, in-between the week that we had been at Walt Disney World, they added churros to the menu. I love churros, so I had to get them!!! They were delicious! I think I enjoyed the white sauce more than the red sauce (I can’t remember what flavoring the sauces were).



Anyways, while we were eating at the Nomad Lounge, it was raining pretty hard outside. So, I decided to see if I can switch my fastpass to any ride in Pandora. That is if people canceled them if they were leaving the park due to the rain. So, I looked, and I was able to pick up a same time fastpass for Na’vi River Journey! I thought I was the luckiest person ever. My Dad and I would make our way into Pandora to ride the one attraction that I thought I wouldn’t get to ride on this trip.





Up next, my Dad and I had a fastpass for Festival of the Lion King so we made our way over to see my favorite show!











This was one of the best casts for the Festival of the Lion King I have ever seen in recent memory. So, I turned to my Dad afterwards and said that I was going to see it again. I then got in the stand-by line to see the next show. My Dad did not join me for the 2nd show.





I would then make my way over to my last attraction of this trip. While on my way over, I would take the back pathway for the Tree of Life between Africa and Asia. This is arguably my favorite path to walk at Walt Disney World.



My last attraction of this trip would be one of my favorite attractions at Walt Disney World, Expedition Everest. I had a fastpass for this attraction. When I got on the ride though, I would immediately regret it. Why you ask? It was pouring rain. So, I can say I have been on Expedition Everest in the rain now. :)



It was now that time. It was time for me to meet my Dad at the entrance of Disney’s Animal Kingdom as we prepared to leave the park.



My Dad and I would then head to the bus stop and head back to All-Star Music to catch Disney’s Magical Express.
 
Day 8: Disney’s Magical Express + MCO + Flight Home!

My Dad and I would arrive back at All-Star Music and have about 45 minutes before our Disney’s Magical Express bus. So, we got our luggage and headed to the cafeteria for a quick snack.

Story time!!!

My Dad and I would then walk outside since it was about 10 minutes until our DME bus would arrive. When we got outside, I saw this huge crowd around the DME bus stop. I then looked at their luggage and realized they were a Brazilian Tour Group. I immediately said to myself, “Oh no.” Lets just say that there were at least 20 of them waiting at this stop, and each person (adult and kid) had 3+ pieces of luggage each. I was literally saying that you have got to be kidding me.

So, the bus would pull up and we were going on a Disney Cruise!!! Just kidding…They were using these buses for DME transportation again.



So, the bus driver would get off the bus, and I have to say that the Brazilian Tour Group was so rude to the bus driver to the point that the bus driver was beginning to get aggravated. So, there is 20+ Brazilians to 2 Americans and 3 people from England waiting at this bus stop. Eventually, after waiting outside for 10 minutes, my Dad and I finally got on the bus. We didn’t start moving until 10 minutes later. So, We left our stop 20 minutes after our bus arrived.

The story gets better!

We also still had to stop at the next 2 All-Star Resorts.

Long story short, we didn’t leave Walt Disney World until 40 minutes after our scheduled pick-up time. I was beginning to get a little nervous.

So, we were finally on our way to MCO, and my Dad and I had a friend looking at us through the window.



My Dad and I would finally arrive at MCO. I will say that I was glad that the Brazilian Tour Group did not chant on the bus, or I would have gone crazy.

We would check our bags into Southwest, and make our way to security. So, this was the worst security experience I have ever had at MCO. We were moving so slow. On a normal trip that would take us about 20 minutes to get through security at MCO, it took us more than an hour. Now, I understand that we left about 4-5 days before Hurricane Irma was scheduled to hit Florida. However, it was insane.

After spending over an hour in security, we would finally get on the tram system to our terminal.



We would arrive at our gate 45 minutes before our flight, and my Dad and I were starving since we had not had dinner. We quickly ate something at the food court before making our way back to our gate.

I will say this…At least we made our flight. This airport experience at MCO is a great reason why TSA recommends everyone at each airport to arrive 2 hours early.

We would then fly back to our hometown which we would arrive late in the evening. I always like taking evening flights when we go to Walt Disney World since it gives us an extra half-day in the parks.



My Dad and I would then drive home, and our vacation was over! :(
 
All-Star Music Overview

Here is my overview of our resort for this trip, All-Star Music. All-Star Music has become my favorite All-Star Resort with the main reason being that I’m a musician. So, I will say that I really enjoyed the theming of this resort.

Our Room:

My Dad and I would have a standard room with two double beds.



Here is our table and chairs in our room.



There are two lamps above each bed. There is also an end table between both beds.



I loved this picture from Fantasia in our room!



We had a T.V. in our room, as well as, three good sized drawers, and a refrigerator.



The wallpaper that lined the ceiling of our room. I really liked it with all of the music touches.



There was a clothes hanger in our room.



The restroom was decently sized with a bathtub and a shower.



There was a decent sized sink area with a mirror. This also acted as a closet. There is also a safe in this area.



Our Resort Area:

My Dad and I were in the broadway section of All-Star Music which I was ecstatic about since I love broadway shows! Disney really advertised all of their shows in this section by showing all of the posters for their shows and they also played the music. They also made you feel like you were in New York City in a way with little touches.



















Rest of the Resort Theming:

In the Jazz section, I really liked this theme since I’m a saxophone player.





There was a nice fountain that split the two Jazz Band sections.



This is the biggest drum set I have ever seen!



The other end of the jazz band section had a trumpet player.



Here is the Tropical themed area of the resort.





I really liked how they designed this area that looked like a marimba.



Here is the main pool:



Overall, I really enjoyed All-Star Music. I would choose this resort over any of the others, but I still have never stayed at All-Star Movies. So, I might give that one a try if I ever get a chance. If I was to choose between Sports and Music, I would definitely choose All-Star Music though.
 
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