It's An Old Dog; New Tricks; Pop And Fort TCD Trip Report

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I told you that there would be another trip report coming along.

And, here it is!

This one is a bit different.

The TCD gang slummed it on this trip.

We stayed in a hotel!

Disney's Pop Century Resort.

Why, you ask?

Well, the TCD twins had Monday, March 7 off of school.

But, we had just been camping at the Fort in February, and were planning to return at the end of March for Spring Break.

So, it seemed like the perfect time for a one-night trip.

We do that sometimes.

Sometimes we even stay two nights.

We have stayed at every Walt Disney World resort.

And we like the Fort the best.

But on this trip, it was Pop. We have stayed there before. It's OK. That's not the "new tricks" part of this report.

The "new tricks" part was that we tried the Disney Dining Plan.

We have never tried it before.

But, since we weren't camping, I figured this would be our chance.

We just did the quick serve option.

Which provided us with new refillable mugs.

I needed those anyway, so that was good.

The rest of it was so-so. No big surprise. We got two quick serve meals and two snacks. If we had paid out of pocket for everything, we most definitely would have paid more. But, it is unlikely that we would have ordered the desserts, beverages and snacks that came with the plan, so I'm not sure that we saved money in the big scheme of things. However, I can now say that I have tried the DDP.

Since this was a one night trip, we arrived early. Very early. Like around 8 am. We checked in so we could get our parking pass. The room was not ready, but they took my cell phone number and promised to text when it was.

We headed to Epcot.

The Flower and Garden festival had just begun, and we wanted to check it out.

We had another cold winter in Florida this year, and the landscaping in most places around central Florida was still showing the effects- a lot of brown and dormant plants.

But not at Epcot.

The place looked great!:

Maybe this doesn't look like a big deal to you, but think about how many plants had to be planted all around that lake to create this effect. It really is an impressive sight. Especially considering that everything else outside of WDW was still brown and dead.

For the past couple of years, the Butterfly garden has been over in the area near the Test Track exit. This year, it was moved over to the area near the Imagination pavilion. Also new this year was the Bambi theme. Here we are heading toward the Butterfly garden:

So, have you heard of the Disney Fairies?

In the past couple of years, they set up a meet and greet area in the Magic Kingdom called Pixie Hollow. Then, they invented a bunch of fairies to be friends with Tinkerbell, and hang out there. i never made it over there, but I'm sure that there was a gift shop involved. Well, with the expansion currently underway at the MK, the Pixie Hollow area was closed. They moved the fairies over to Epcot for the Flower show. I'm not sure where they are now. But, as luck would have it, one of the fairies entered the Bambi Butterfly Garden right after we did. Look!:

I don't know.

Somehow, I expected more.

I am not sure which fairy this is.

But, there you go.

Here's a couple of shots from inside the Butterfly Garden:

Typically, our day at Epcot will begin with a ride on Test Track, and then a stop at Soarin'. While at Soarin' , I snapped a photo of this seating chart. I had never noticed it before, and I didn't realize that some of the rows held less passengers than others. Now I know:

As I mentioned, we were visiting Epcot on one of the first weekends of the Flower and Garden festival. This sand sculpture was new, and I wondered whether it was going to be there for the entire festival, or just until it got washed away. The answer is that it was there the whole time. They must have touched it up daily. You can see the men working on it here:

Here's another shot of those flowers around the lake:

We ate an early lunch at the Mexico quick serve as soon as it opened. This place is great. With the dining plan, we each got and entree and an order of churros. That is a lot of churros!

After lunch, we started around International Showcase to take a look at some of the topiaries. Our plan was to duck out through the International Gateway after we passed France and to head over to Hollywood Studios.

But first, we saw these pandas in China:

And some Lion King topiaries at the area you come to after you pass China:

At Germany, we were greeted by Snow White and the dwarfs:

And Germany also had this display from the movie Tangled:

One of the TCD twins said that she had seen a video posted somewhere showing that this display was really cool at night. We did not get to see that on this trip, and we tried on a couple of subsequent trips ,but we never got to see the light effects in this display. Supposedly, they were pretty cool.

We were proud of ourselves for spotting Rapunzel's pet lizard, Pascal, sitting on top of this bush:

In Morocco, we were greeted by a faceless Aladdin:

It was about here that one of the TCD twins received a very urgent text.

A friend of hers was at Hollywood Studios and was letting her know that she needed to get over there ASAP. A big deal was about to happen!!!

As luck would have it, we were almost to the International Gateway anyway.

So, we hurried on over there, and hopped on the boat, and we were on our way to Hollywood Studios in time (we hoped) for the BIG DEAL!

Up next . . .

Did we make it on time?

Was it really a BIG DEAL?

And was it worth it?

TCD

p.s. Don't worry, there will be a visit to the Fort, complete with photos in this report.

This post has been promoted to an article

[Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo..Karla 77]

Full of suspense as usual....can't wait for more :banana:

Tri-B

[stefa70 205]

A hotel?!?! :faceplant2:

Waiting for the BIG DEAL! Though I have a feeling your teenage daughters idea of a "big deal" may differ slightly from mine.

[blm2003 2]

This is like Christmas, how many TCD TR's can we handle in such a short time! We're loving it! Can't wait for more :popcorn: :suspense: :popcorn:

[Lou... 3,118]

Anyone want to bet that Andrew didn't use his duct tape & broom handle surveillance device over at the Art of Automation resort.?

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

More good stuff :banana:

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

I don't know.

Somehow, I expected more.

I am not sure which fairy this is.

But, there you go.

Here's a couple of shots from inside the Butterfly Garden:

I don't think that is a real fairy. Although she is an attractive girl, she's a little chunky and showing too much mammary tissue to be a fairy. With DD 8 and 6 I think I have met them all. Also I have not seen a Disney character carrying a purse like that.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Full of suspense as usual....can't wait for more :banana:

Tri-B

I won't make you wait too long!

A hotel?!?! :faceplant2:

Waiting for the BIG DEAL! Though I have a feeling your teenage daughters idea of a "big deal" may differ slightly from mine.

Good point.

It wasn't like there was a NASCAR driver over there or anything.

But, wait and see . . .

This is like Christmas, how many TCD TR's can we handle in such a short time! We're loving it! Can't wait for more :popcorn: :suspense: :popcorn:

I know.

We will see if there is such a thing as too much TCD.

Mrs. TCD says there is.

Anyone want to bet that Andrew didn't use his duct tape & broom handle surveillance device over at the Art of Automation resort.?

You are a very perceptive man.

But, I keep the broomstick and duct tape in my camper.

You will have to wait and see if I thought of something else.

More good stuff :banana:

Thanks.

I don't think that is a real fairy. Although she is an attractive girl, she's a little chunky and showing too much mammary tissue to be a fairy. With DD 8 and 6 I think I have met them all. Also I have not seen a Disney character carrying a purse like that.

What??

A fake fairy?

Who would dare!?

Have you met the boy fairy?

The one with the hat made out of the top of an acorn.

We ran into him recently.

My DD's are not often speechless.

But they were when they met him.

And so was I.

TCD

[campingpixi 11]

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

Have you met the boy fairy?The one with the hat made out of the top of an acorn.We ran into him recently.My DD's are not often speechless.But they were when they met him.And so was I.TCD

You're referring to Terrance I believe...he is the boy fairy with the acorn hat. Met him. What about him was so riveting as to put TCD at a loss for words?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

As I mentioned, one of the twins had received an urgent text to get over to Hollywood Studios pronto

One of my DD's friends claimed that she was about to meet one of my DD's celebrity crushes.

This was unexpected.

We did know that the ESPN the Weekend event was going on at Hollywood Studios that weekend, and we intended to go over there and check it out. But, none of us had bothered to look at a list of what celebrities were scheduled to appear there. As far as I know, this information was not published in advance. So, we weren't planning to go to try to see anyone in particular.

But all of that changed after the text.

You see, my DD's friend said that Timmy was there!

Timmy!

My DD loves Timmy!

You may know him as Tim Tebow.

You know who I'm talking about Buckeye fan.

Some of us in the TCD gang are Gator fans..

Supposedly, Timmy was about to appear at Hollywood Studios.

When we got there, we asked a castmember if it was true.

Do you ever notice how castmembers can never give you a straight answer?

But, after some specific questions we learned that a parade of sorts was about to begin.

We have been to Hollywood Studios enough to know how things work. I asked where the parade was set to begin, and got stationed there.

And, with just seconds to spare, the parade, or more accurately, the motorcade, began.

We have never been to Hollywood Studios for ESPN the weekend.

I don't know why.

But, we never have.

So, this was our first motorcade.

The way it works is a small group of sports figures comes out and is driven down Hollywood Boulevard to the hat. A stage is set up there, and they get up on the stage and give an interview to an ESPN host. Then they get back in the cars and go back down Hollywood Boulevard. A new group then heads out. Fun.

This group with Timmy is made up of NFL players. Timmy is in the NFL, so he got grouped with them.

First up was DeAngelo Williams:

That is a sweet hat, no?

You can see one of the TCD twins over there across the street all by herself. We had all been there up until the parade was about to start. But, then this crazy-lady Gator fan who we had been talking to bolted across the street. She apparently had inside information about what side of the car Timmy was sitting on, and she said she was going to run out into the street to get his autograph. So, we naturally followed her. The one DD decided to stay put, so we had to wave to her across the street.

Then came Bart Scott:

Then LaDainian Tomlinson (hey LT if you are reading this, I'm sorry if I spelled your name wrong, spell check didn't know either):

And then. . .

And then . . .

He was there!!!!

He looked right at my DD and waved!:

And then looked across the street at her sister and did the same:

By the way, the crazy Gator lady never made it out to get Timmy's autograph. A security guard posted himself right in front of her. She must have tried some antics earlier.

The motorcade then proceeded up Hollywood Boulevard, and the guys got set up on the stage and gave an interview:

As you can see, they posted the players' stats up on the big screen as they were introduced.

Even though this was a session for NFL players, they knew that there were plenty of Gator fans around, so they gave some of Timmy's college stats:

But they also showed an NFL highlight:

I think that was probably Timmy's first and only NFL touchdown, right?

Look how sweet DeAngelo's hat looks up on the big screen:

What is up with that?

The audience was allowed to ask questions.

Unfortunately for the other NFL players, almost all of the questions were for Timmy:

Then they all got back in their cars and headed back down Hollywood Boulevard:

Check out the family in Tebow Denver jerseys! Timmy liked that:

We hung around for a while, and then headed back down Hollywood Boulevard.

These cheerleaders were keeping folks off the street because it was already time for another motorcade:

This time it was MLB stars.

We had Bert Byleven:

Frank Thomas:

And Cal Ripken, Jr.:

Pretty cool!

We didn't hang out in Hollywood Studios for very long.

We were going to head over to the MK.

We were on a mission.

In case you are wondering who else was around for ESPN the weekend, here is the Roster of Athletes and ESPN personalities:

There are some pretty big names on there.

If you are a sports fan, I would say this event is worth checking out.

So, for us, this was a BIG DEAL.

And, an unexpected fun event.

Anyway, we headed out of there, and headed to the Fort Wilderness bus stop.

We were heading to the MK via the Fort.

Makes sense, right?

TCD

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Cal Ripkin & Tim Tebow in one parade and in one TR??? Gatordad is gonna be sorry he's not a member here.

Great score, Andrew!! :bravo:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You're referring to Terrance I believe...he is the boy fairy with the acorn hat. Met him. What about him was so riveting as to put TCD at a loss for words?

Yes.

Terrence.

That's the one.

I guess meeting this fellow was just a bit shocking to me.

Maybe you have met a lot of boy fairies before, but this was the first time any of us had seen one.

He was a just bit overwhelming to us.

Maybe it was the acorn hat?

Cal Ripkin & Tim Tebow in one parade and in one TR??? Gatordad is gonna be sorry he's not a member here.

Great score, Andrew!! :bravo:

True.

But I'll bet Gatordad lurks.

Hi Gatordad!!!

TCD

[ajcjmom 8]

My sons and some friends went a few years ago and where in the crowd during one of the live shows on ESPN. So of course we had to watch and find them in the crowd. Talk about needles in a haystack! :rofl2:

[lklasing 16]

Yay! Another TCD report!

Anyway, we headed out of there, and headed to the Fort Wilderness bus stop.

We were heading to the MK via the Fort.

Makes sense, right?

TCD

Makes all the sense in the world! ;D

[stefa70 205]

Well, I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't a NASCAR driver, but you got some pretty good athletes there!

DeAngelo Williams looks like he just stepped out of the rice paddies :rofl2:

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

:popcorn:

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Glad to see another report going! I ain't gonna knock Tim Tebow because I think he's a decent young man, it's too bad he chose the wrong school! :rofl2: My mama loves the butterfly garden, thanks for the ictures.

[TheLug 10]

SWEET ROUND 3!!!!!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[johnnyb aka John 15]

Tim WHO??? Never heard of him.... and I don't see one dang NHL player up there... Geeze! :rofl2: And of all the Steelers they could of had, they had Rashard???!!!!? Man talk about a bad choice, I love the steelers, but they should fire that $A#$@@#$ after what he said about Bin Laden!!!

Very cool to see another report so soon, love it Andrew!

[We4mickey 6]

March 7th, I was there that weekend with some girls from work. We probably crossed paths we were doing at least 3 parks every day. Great trip report as usual TCD.

[disney4dan 68]

Awesome! Another TCD trip report and I was here to see it!

Did they update the televisions in the Pop yet? We are scheduled for a trip in August with the Disney Dining Plan, so I am really getting into the planning mode again.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Wow another TCD TR already?!

It must be Christmas!!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

My kids walked up when I was reading the EPCOT section of the TR. Now they want to go back to WDW... tomorrow....ouch!

[LONE-STAR 370]

Great report so far. We stayed at the Board Walk for spring break and did the Flower and garden festival. It looks like we took some of the same pics.