A Quick Dole Whip with Rum and Rapunzel Restrooms TCD TR (NBD)

[ajcjmom 8]

We just blame the ghost of KFK.

I did consider that.

[LONE-STAR 370]

We were at Epcot Friday and I have to agree there were no butterflies in the tent. We saw about 3. As far as dole whip we have found a new ice cream treat we prefer. In the tomorrow land ice cream shop it's a French vanilla coffee ice cream float and it is good.

[kampfirekim 260]

You are welcome to come along for the ride.

But, Por Favor, no Fuego.

You do realize that may no longer be possible right? I doubt that will be the final one in this TR even if it's not from me. ;D

I smell "Dave's Official SMB Thread" :clint:

Ummmmm... Ewwwww!!!!

We just blame the ghost of KFK.

I did consider that.

It's ok. I can own it.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK- let's get to work . . .

 

Dave I thought it was a rat tail too!

 

Rat Tail?

 

When's the last time you saw a good rat tail?

 

Mullets I still see on occasion.

 

But it's been a while since I've seen a rat tail.

 

 

Not having a fairy meet and greet with a fairy themed butterfly house SMB.

I don't think I would get my kids to hold each other up either, but kuddos for asking them. :D
I thought it was a ponytail too. And I'm as old as the rest of you.

Looking forward to more.

 

I think the fairies were around in the past couple of years because they had been booted from Pixie Hollow.

 

I guess they aren't that popular, so they left them in the MK.

 

 

Andrew, I'm bummed that you won't be at the fort for spring break. I was finally hoping we could drink a few instead of catching each other at the end of one of our trips or when I'm coming out of my daughters school. If you make a surprise stop next week, look me up

 

Will do.  Trust me, I would rather be at the Fort.  With all the girls graduating in a couple of months, and moving on to new schools, things are a bit crazy at the moment, and we will be working on housing and other things during the break.

 

 

I am 2 for 2 on page 2 of TCD's TRs. This one may cost me some money though as my wife is trying to figure out how we can get down to see the F&G show. Looking forward to the next installment.

 

You are the undisputed king of page 2.

 

Spring is a great time to visit.  We were lucky though, and hit a day with light crowds, and it wasn't hot or humid.  The F & G isn't too pleasant when its crowded, hot and humid.

 

 

We went to Epcot on Sat, snooze fest. I only went because we have relatives staying with us and they wanted to go.
I'm not into flowers and plants unless I can eat them.
Butterflies, what butterflies? I have more in my back yard.

As for the poor kid with the clip board. They've been around for two or three years, but only at certain resorts. They record the buses that show up so that the resorts know that they're getting what they're paying for.
They can't call for buses if people have been waiting for a long time. All they can do is find out when the next bus is coming. However if they call, it's a clue to the bus dispatcher that a bus is needed. They're great kids and do a great job.

One greeter in particular stands out. He tells the crowd that it's the bus driver's birthday, so as people board, they all say happy birthday to the driver even though it's not. I turned the tables on him this week and just before I pulled out, I went outside and told the waiting crowd that it was the greeter's birthday and quickly got on the bus, see ya.

 

Yeah, the Flower and Garden Festival isn't all that exciting.  Even with the new stuff they added this year.  We are going to try to get back for at least one more visit, though.

 

Thanks for the info on the CM's with clipboards.  I have never seen one at the Fort.

 

 

Oh goodie, a Food Flower & Garden TR!

I'm with Marty... when do we get to the rum?

 

We will get to the rum next.  Sorry to leave you hanging.

 

Knowing our trip is just days away I'm torn when it comes to reading this report.

Do I want to know what's up or experience it first hand and be surprised?

Decisions, decisions....

Well, it's TCD. I guess I'm reading.

 

I'm not sure I'm going to spoil any surprises, so read on.

 

And, have a great trip!

 

 

Ok, Andrew. The natives are getting restless. Better get to the rum quickly, or you'll be faced with a Trip Report Mutiny.

 

You called that one.

 

But, I've seen worse.

 

 

 

We saw lots of butterflies last year in early April. I vote you come back sometimes between March 29-April 7. You know you want to. That SMB list is growing and growing..... In all seriousness, I thought it was a pony tail too.

 

You are right, I do want to get back ASAP.  I'll see what I can do.  At best, it will be another day trip.

 

You are right about the SMB list.  It might be easier to list the things that old grumpy Dave does not think SMB.

 

Funny how everyone sees a ponytail.

 

I think I need to create an official SMB list. Could be a way to keep me occupied this week.

 

When you started this never ending rant, I was going to make a list, but it seems like you hate everything, so no need for a list.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well I made it. Page 2, not bad. I will enjoy the Dole Whip but don't drink rum. Who wants the rum?

I think it is page 3.

 

Yup, it was page 3.  But, that's still good.

 

Don't get too excited about the rum.  I'm sure nobody will be very surprised to hear that there wasn't that much rum.

 

 

 

 

I smell "Dave's Official SMB Thread" :clint:

 

I haven't caught a whiff, and I hope the wind doesn't change direction.

 

 

We were at Epcot Friday and I have to agree there were no butterflies in the tent. We saw about 3. As far as dole whip we have found a new ice cream treat we prefer. In the tomorrow land ice cream shop it's a French vanilla coffee ice cream float and it is good.

 

What?

 

Friday?

 

Did anyone know you were in Florida?

 

Are you at the Fort?

 

 

You do realize that may no longer be possible right? I doubt that will be the final one in this TR even if it's not from me. ;D

 

 

Yeah, I know.

 

But, that doesn't mean I have to like it.

 

TCD

[HappyRedhead......Betsy 16]

Yay! Better late than never! I had my first Dole Whip Float in January and I'm hooked. I'm also hooked on TCD trip reports....more please.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time to move on.

 

We left off at the butterfly garden.  Minus the butterflies.

 

We looped back to the main walkway to the World Showcase and headed that way.

 

Just past the Lion King topiaries, we ran in to the Pride Rock Fun Spot:

 

 

The only problem was there was neither a rock or any fun to be found.

 

What they had here was a picnic table with some of the masks on sticks that they used to have for kids to color before the Duffy invasion along with some photocopied coloring sheets.

 

We had picked up free Flower and Garden passports at the Festival Center (Wonders of Life Pavilion), and the CM offered to stamp the girls passports.  We hadn't planned on dealing with that foolishness, but the CM insisted, so the girls obliged:

 

 

I mentioned that we had studied the map and plotted our course around the World Showcase.

 

There were two items that I definitely wanted to check out.

 

One was the Dole Whip with Rum.

 

The other was these Beet Lollipops that had been mentioned in a previous post here on ff.net.

 

Beet Lollipops.

 

I'm not making that up.

 

But the thing was, I couldn't find a listing on the map for where those could be had.

 

We all looked on both the map and passport, and saw no mention of these beet lollipops.

 

I wasn't really looking forward to eating a beet lollipop, but I've never seen one, and I was curious.

 

I have since learned that the Beet Lollipops are served in the Festival Center.  Where we had already been.  We studied the map and passports right outside of there, and there is no mention of food being served inside there.  But apparently there is.  I reckon they haven't sold very many beet lollipops. 

 

We did, however, see where the Dole Whip stand was, so we headed that way.

 

Do you know that there's a Monsters Inc. prequel coming out in June?

 

It's called Monsters University.  It apparently tells the story of how Mike and Sully met.  The girls are pumped.  Twin #2 likes to point out that the timing is perfect, as it comes out just a couple of days before she will start college.

 

Since there is a new movie to pimp, I'm sure you can guess what topiaries they have on display at the entrance to the World Showcase:

 

 

I actually thought this was a great display.  Much better than they have done in recent years.

 

The twins tried to recreate Mike and Sully's poses in this photo:

 

 

And then gave us a regular pose here:

 

 

There are lots of other Monster bushes in this area:

 

 

 

Here's a look at the backside of the topiaries:

 

 

As luck would have it, the Dole Whip stand is the first one you come to if you head towards Canada from here, so we went that way.

 

The flower beds around the lake between Future World and the World Showcase look great:

 

 

All the Wizard of Oz stuff is over there and seems to be attracting a crowd.  As far as I could see, there is no giant sand sculpture in this area this year:

 

 

Just a few more steps from where those last photos were taken, we came to the first of the "Garden Marketplaces,"  which is what they are calling the old Food and Wine Festival booths that they have dragged out for the first time to try at the Flower and Garden Festival.  This one is called the Pineapple Promenade, and here's the menu:

 

 

Ever since I've heard about Spiced Rum on Dole Whip, I knew I had to give it a try.  The girls decided to try the Violet Lemonade.

 

And when they say the Lemonade is violet, they are not lying:

 

 

The rum was sitting right there.  The CM does a free pour of the rum on top of the Dole Whip.  They have some kind of a trick stopper on top of the bottle, because it makes it seem like the CM is pouring a lot of rum on the Dole Whip, but barely any comes out:

 

 

Here's a photo of the Violet Lemonade and the Dole Whip with Rum.  You may notice that there doesn't appear to be much rum on the Dole Whip.  That's because there wasn't:

 

 

I'm used to Disney Prices, but $6.25 for the Dole Whip with rum is a rip off.

 

The taste of rum on the Dole Whip was good, though.  The girls really liked the Violet Lemonade.  It had a violet taste to it.

 

As we enjoyed our overpriced treat, we studied the map for where we would make our next stop.

 

At the Food and Wine Festival, from there are a bunch of booths that we would stop at between here and France.  We love the steak at Canada, the Fisherman's pie in England, and the Coq a Vin in France.  All great choices.

 

But, there was no booth in Canada for the Flower and Garden Festival.

 

The next booth we would come to was in the UK, and was called "The Cottage: Savories, Trifles and Teas."  What the Fort is that?  We wanted some lunch.  What we had to choose from here was a tomato salad, a biscuit with salmon tartare, and baked goat cheese brie and kumquat chutney.  All of these items ran about 4-5 bucks a pop.  That adds up quick.  And none of it really sounded like lunch. 

 

So we walked on.

 

We enjoyed the Peter Pan topiaries.

 

Twin #1 had to do a Gator Chomp by the croc:

 

 

The croc without Twin #1:

 

 

We headed on toward France.

 

That guy who stacks all the chairs and climbs up them was at it again.  I was hoping to get a photo of him falling, but he didn't cooperate:

 

 

Up next was the booth called L'Orangerie.  It was in the same place as the booth that they sell the French food out of at the Food and Wine Festival.  In fact, it was the same booth.  Here we could choose between ratatouille or pate'.  That was it.  Have you ever had ratatoulle?  It's just a bunch of chopped up vegetables.  It's not bad, but that isn't lunch either.  Oh, and it had goat cheese on it.  Pass.

 

It was here that I noticed a subtitle on the map under the headline listing the Garden Marketplaces.  It said "Get a Taste of Spring."  So, what is going on here is they chose a bunch of weird food with a heavy vegetable influence.  Not a lot of meat.  Or popular items.  Just a lot of weird stuff so far.  And it really seems like they were trying to make it all healthy.  So un-Disney.

 

The booths we had passed so far were deserted.  And it was just after noon, when folks would be getting their feed on. Nothing at all like the crowds attracted to the Food and Wine Festival.  I think they've done a bad job advertising these new Garden Marketplaces, and they also did a bad job picking the items they are serving.  I think they strayed too far from what the serve at the Food and Wine Festival.  I'm all for new things.  But, I don't really want to drop $30+ per person sampling a bunch of little things and walk away hungry.

 

But, we've only been to three of the booths, maybe things will pick up at the next one.

 

Next up, we came to the booth called Taste of Marrakesh.  It was in Morocco.  The choices here were a lamb kebab orsomething called harissa with chicken drumettes.  The smell of greasy lamb wafted through the air.  Twin #1 paraphrased a quote from her favorite movie.  She said: 

 

"You smell that?" 

 

"Take a deep breath through your nose." 

 

"Really let that seep in.  What are you getting?"

 

"Because to me that's part Morocco smell, and the other part is really bad Morocco smell, but overall it just smells like the color brown."

 

And she was right.

 

Not a great smell.

 

Certainly not something we wanted for lunch.

 

So, we walked on.

 

By the way, that quote from Twin #1 is from the movie Tangled.  And she nailed it.

 

Japan comes next.

 

They had a booth there too.  Maybe that will have something for us?

 

I'll stop this update here, as it is getting long.

 

We will pick it up in Japan in the next update.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Based on the menus I've seen, I'm guessing you stop in the good ol' USA.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

It's almost lunch time at our house and i am hungry as I am reading this.  I guess it is good that you are not posting pictures of pood forn that would make me even hungrier, but i definitely sympathize. Hope you found something yummy somewhere. 

 

The Dole Whip with rum does not sound as yummy as the drink in a pineapple I had at the Poly.  But I would still like to try one, someday.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Based on the menus I've seen, I'm guessing you stop in the good ol' USA.

 

I'm guessing they went to Steak and Shake.

[campingdawgs 4]

Beet lollipop? Gag...yuck! Dole whip with rum sounds interesting, but I don't know if its interesting enough for $6.25. So far, I'll stick to my Epcot favorites.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Based on the menus I've seen, I'm guessing you stop in the good ol' USA.

 

That is a great guess.  I was thinking of that too.  But, we didn't quite make it.

 

It's almost lunch time at our house and i am hungry as I am reading this.  I guess it is good that you are not posting pictures of pood forn that would make me even hungrier, but i definitely sympathize. Hope you found something yummy somewhere. 

 

The Dole Whip with rum does not sound as yummy as the drink in a pineapple I had at the Poly.  But I would still like to try one, someday.

 

The Pineapple drink at the Poly is way better than the tiny Dole Whip with rum.  It's worth a try, but it's too expensive for such a small serving.

 

I'm guessing they went to Steak and Shake.

 

That's a good guess too.  If there had been one around, I would have.

 

Beet lollipop? Gag...yuck! Dole whip with rum sounds interesting, but I don't know if its interesting enough for $6.25. So far, I'll stick to my Epcot favorites.

 

I know that beet lollipop sounds gross.  That's why I wanted to try it.  Where else could I have done that?

 

Dole Whip with rum is good, but the price ruins it.  Like I said, I'm used to Disney prices, but that was over the top.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

When we got to Japan, we took a look at the Hanami booth:

 

 

Here, we could choose between Frushi (fruit sushi), A grilled salmon, shrimp and crab stick dish, or noodles on a bun.  The fish dish sounded OK.  But it was $6 and it was small.  As you may have noticed, nobody was buying anything at that booth. 

 

And for a Sunday during spring break, Epcot was kind of empty:

 

 

The guide map told us there would be BBQ at America.  We all like that.  But, we were hungry, and a small serving of BBQ wasn't going to cut it.

 

The girls voted to just go in the quick serve place in Japan and eat lunch there.  We all like that place.  So, that's what we did.  The girls had Beef Udon, which they really like, I had chicken teryaki.  Everyone was happy.

 

It was 1-ish when we finished lunch.  Our TT FP's weren't good until 3:40.  So we had some time to kill.  We haven't been in that museum area in the Japan pavilion in years.  We decided to check that out. 

 

I found another tree with a sign.  I always take photos of those:

 

 

 

You want to know something?

 

Japanese people are messed up.

 

No offense to any Japanese people reading along, but what is up with y'all?

 

There was a big bird man statue in the middle of the museum:

 

 

And a display trying to explain what a "Spirited Beast" is:

 

 

This rabbit girl is a spirited beast:

 

 

So WTF is a rabbit girl?

 

And is that an appropiate thing to have on display?

 

I don't know.

 

I had forgotten that there was an entrance to the Japan gift shop back here.

 

We stopped in for a look.

 

If you ever have a craving for shrimp flavored chips, this is the place to come:

 

 

After we had a good look at the odd stuff the Japan weirdos (no offense) eat, we headed on out.

 

We headed toward America.

 

The sign by the theater there told us Chubby Checker would be performing tonight.

 

How is he still alive?

 

And performing?

 

The Smokehouse area in front of the America pavilion looks good.  But, hardly anyone was there.  Maybe $6.75 for a tiny piece of beef and a small piece of cornbread is too much? :

 

 

The menu is posted here.  I do admit that it all smelled good.  If we hadn't just eaten lunch I would be up for this:

 

 

Make note of all the castmembers just milling around in the back of that photo.  Nobody was buying this stuff.  Totally unlike the Food and Wine Festival.

 

The Toy Story characters are around here again this year.  But, they are up front, not stuck in the back:

 

 

 

 

And, yes, the strawberry scent machine is hooked up at Lotso.

 

We will continue our walk around the world in the next update.

 

TCD

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Yay!

(that is all)

[mmfancipher 31]

Why is the rum always gone!!

 

Page 4 is pretty good for me!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

After America, we continued with our walk around the World Showcase.

 

The next food both after the Smokehouse in America was the Primavera Ktichen in Italy.  Here, they were selling Lasagne Primavera, some kind of asparagus and lobster dish, and a panna cotta dessert.  At least that all sounded edible.

 

Next came Bauernmarket in Germany.  There was no sausage on a pretzel roll to be had here.  Nope.  They had that famous German dish.  Meatloaf.  Yes, meatloaf.  Didn't you know the Germans are famous for that?  Neither did I.  Next.

 

Oh, I did get a photo of the minature Flower and Garden Festival display in the Germany train display.  You can see a mini Lotso and Woody and mini Cars topiaries along with Flower and Garden flags:

 

 

There wasn't anything in the Africa area.  The next place was in China.  No real food here.  The big item was candied strawberries.  These looked pretty good.  But, they were just strawberries on a stick.

 

Twin #1 got a glass of bubble tea here.  She likes it for some reason.  But, you can also get that all year long in the quick serve place here.  We stopped for a moment in Norway so Twin #2 could drink her drink.  We were going to go in Maelstrom, but as we sat there, the line went from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, and people were standing out the door.  It must have been some kind of malfunction.  So we scratched the Norway ride.

 

Next, we walked past the Mexico booth.  Here, they had some decent food- Crab Tostados and Pork Tacos.  Those looked pretty good, but not all that different from what you can get in the quick serve place that is open all year.

 

Last, we passed by the Florida Fresh booth.  This booth was back by America for the Food and Wine Festival.  It is sitting in the place where the Terra (vegan food) booth was for the Food and Wine Festival.  I think Terra was a big flop.  Nobody wants healthy food here.  But, instead of taking a clue from that, that is pretty much what they put in all the food booths for the Flower and Garden Festival.  The Florida Fresh booth features watermelon salad and shrimp and grits:

 

 

That was our Flower and Garden food experience.  Not so great.  The lack of customers at the booths seems to affirm my opinion that they didn't do too good with the choices of what they are serving.  That said, I do want to go back and try a couple of things.  The Smokehouse for sure.  And maybe the Italy booth.  And a beet lollipop.

 

The girls wanted to look at some of the spring break and graduation stuff they have for sale in the Mouse Gears, so we headed there next.  This shirt was interesting:

 

 

Next, we hit up the Sum of All Thrills ride.  The girls had some kind of crazy extreme ride.  I went with the lame bobsled.  It was very lame, even for me.

 

We still had some time to kill, so we headed over to Ice Station Cool, or whatever they call it these days.

 

That gave us a chance for some pics with the Phineas and Ferb topiary.  The girls tried to mimic their poses:

 

 

One more photo, without the twins:

 

 

There is a sign here directing folks to the Festival Center.  Make note that it is only open from 10 to 5, so if you want a beet lollipop, you can't go early or late:

 

 

We got our Beverly and sticky feet, and then finally it was time to hit Test Track.

 

I had been waiting all day for this.

 

The girls didn't know it, but I had my green mullet wig in my backpack.  Right before we crashed through the wall, I slapped it on:

 

 

That cracked them up.

 

They couldn't believe I had been carrying that thing around all day just for that.

 

But I did.

 

There was a guy who looked perfectly fine terrorizing guests in the exit area with his three wheeled scooter.  That thing zipped around fast:

 

 

I don't know why they let people bring these in to the park, but they do now.

 

Test Track was the last thing we planned to do in Epcot.

 

We wanted to head over to the Magic Kingdom to see the new Tangled themed restrooms.

 

So, we headed out.

 

I didn't get any photos of the entrance area topiaries on the way in, so I got one on the way out.  That Goofy is supposedly 14 feet tall:

 

 

Here's a photo of the flag and golf ball:

 

 

And away we went on the way to the TTC:

 

 

I saw something bothersome as we passed the Epcot entrance lanes:

 

 

It kind of blends in with the sky in that photo, but with the naked eye, you could see it plain as day.

 

The Abomination.

 

aka the new Four Seasons hotel right next to the Fort.

 

Here's a closer look:

 

 

So you can see it from Epcot.

 

I hope they go a lot of money for that sell out.

 

I will end this update here, and pick it back up at the Magic Kingdom.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

You've conviced me that we need to do the F&G Festival starting on the Mexico side. I love shrimp & grits, so just that makes me happy.

 

The green wig is GREAT!!!! I'm cracking up.

 

Awwwww don't make fun of the scooter guy who looks like nothing is wrong with him. That's why Jason is so afraid to use one for our upcoming trip (even though he's limping and will have knee surgery when we return). He's afraid of the judgement of others. I'm afraid of his whining and complaining if he walks.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You've conviced me that we need to do the F&G Festival starting on the Mexico side. I love shrimp & grits, so just that makes me happy.

 

The green wig is GREAT!!!! I'm cracking up.

 

Awwwww don't make fun of the scooter guy who looks like nothing is wrong with him. That's why Jason is so afraid to use one for our upcoming trip (even though he's limping and will have knee surgery when we return). He's afraid of the judgement of others. I'm afraid of his whining and complaining if he walks.

 

That's a good idea- turn left instead of right.  I tried some of the things from that Florida Fresh booth during Food and Wine, and it was good.

 

You are right, I shouldn't have judged the guy on the scooter.  What I didn't like was the scooter itself.  It was one of the three wheeled ones that used to not be allowed but now are- the guy was zipping around in a crowded room at full speed, basically being a menace.  If you have a mobility problem, fine, that doesn't give you a right to be an A-hole, which is what that guy was.  I don't see a good reason why they should let people in on these scooters.  To me, they're too fast and people could be hurt by knuckleheads like this guy.

 

TCD

[YodaGirl 13]

I'm putting a beet lollipop on my to-buy list for two weeks from now.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm putting a beet lollipop on my to-buy list for two weeks from now.

 

If I don't get one first, please report back on how you like it.

 

It can't be as awful as it sounds.

 

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

If I don't get one first, please report back on how you like it.

 

It can't be as awful as it sounds.

 

TCD

really.....

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

I'm just going to bring an airplane bottle of rum with me and get a plain jane Dole Whip.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

[YodaGirl 13]

If I don't get one first, please report back on how you like it.

It can't be as awful as it sounds.

TCD

I'll be sure to let you all know.

Worst case scenario, I'll throw part of it away.

Regardless, it'll gross G out, so it's a win either way. :D

[Beckers 1,136]

It's funny, most of the food that you mentioned that didn't sound good is what my parents ate and enjoyed.

These are screen shots from mom's FB.

[Beckers 1,136]

They did say the pulled pig (and why did it have to be called pig and not pork?) sliders with slaw were really nasty.