Beet Lollipop

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The TCD gang was overdue for a visit to the World.

 

And the TCD girls had a random day off of school on Monday, April 29th.

 

So we went.

 

I found the elusive beet lollipops that they introduced for the Flower and Garden Festival.

 

They were only served at the station in the old Wonders of Life pavilion.

 

This is the menu:

 

 

It was easy to see why I was the only customer.

 

Even though we were there early, the CM on duty said she would have to go and check and see if they had any beet lollipops when I ordered three.

 

She went in the back and came out with them.

 

I had no idea what a beet lollipop was.

 

Here's what they look like:

 

 

It's more like one of those push-pops than a lollipop.

 

Here's a closer look at one:

 

 

That's cream cheese there on top.  Then beneath that were two small cubes of beets.  Right out of the can.

 

That's it.

 

It sounds kind of gross.

 

And that's exactly what it was.

 

Kind of tasted like a spoonful of dirt with some cream cheese mixed in.

 

I have a few more photos to share, but since I was so excited about the beet lollipop, I started with that.

 

TCD

 

 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm first!!!!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I love beets ... thought beet lollipops sounded great ... I was wrong!

[PixieB 0]

Sounds interesting... But not in a good way.. :)

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Beet lollipops SMB. 

[Beckers 1,136]

Gross!

[Family of Bears 98]

You know, we did the food and wine a few weekends ago when we were camping and loved it so much we planned to make sure we got back again to do another round. A full round took two days, and that's only eating the stuff we picked out beforehand. We are going back this weekend to do the whole round again. I think I may do a report this time. I think the food is so excellent and I don't know how many people really know about it. The warm biscuit with salmon carpaccio is just killer. And the margarita with the rose petal. And the pancake taco thing. I'm excited to see how you guys did :)

[Family of Bears 98]

I actually love beets. But that thing looks really bad. Like smb bad. I love that someone (I think Aaron) referred to something in their TR as a beet lollipop without even explaining what it means. Cause it's a beet lollipop. It's bad. Even if you don't know it's a real thing.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Sounds as gross as it looks.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I guess you did not get the memo. It was not just any random day off. It was to honor my son's birthday which happened to be the day before. Of course since there obviously wouldn't be school on Sunday they had to give the students Monday off. Too bad for my son it was your daughters' school and not his that honored his birthday. :rofl3:

Oh and I like beets too. Especially the candied ones my mom would make for us growing up. The beet lollipop does not sound appetizing at all.

[ajcjmom 8]

I am along for the ride.

I llike beets but the cream cheese on top sounds awful!

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

I'm along for the day off, but I will graciously pass on the beet lollipop.

[BuckeyeFortMama 43]

Where is the picture of the face you had to have made just after the beet and cream cheese push pop?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Beets = good

Cream Cheese = good

 

Beets + Cream Cheese = yuck

 

 

... We are going back this weekend to do the whole round again. I think I may do a report this time.

 

Yes please!  :)

[Beckers 1,136]

You really took one for the team by wasting money on something that had no potentional for anything but to SMB. Did you buy more than one?

[caveat lector 181]

Wow, for a man that comes up with some crazy TR titles, this one really had me fooled. I'm sorry to admit its the first I've ever heard of a beet lollipop.

Chalk another up for the rockstar

[caveat lector 181]

I wonder if Schrute Farms is their beet supplier?

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I made comments after my initial post, but I don't see that second post now.

 

Good job getting the beet lollipop. I'm calling BS that they were sold out the day I went. I think they just didn't make any that day. Did you make the girls eat one too? It looks like you did.

 

Looking forward to reading more!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

That looks as disgusting as it sounds.

[blm2003 2]

There are many things on the "must do" list for our next visit to WDW, nowhere on that list will any one find "eat a beet lollipop"!

 

Bring on the next update  :pc:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm first!!!!

 

Bragging Rights!  Good job!

 

I love beets ... thought beet lollipops sounded great ... I was wrong!

 

I didn't know what to expect, but somehow I thought it would be a lollipop, not a testtube full of beets and cream cheese.

 

But, if you like beets, it isn't bad.

 

It's just two small cubes of beets and some cream cheese.

 

No big deal.

 

Sounds interesting... But not in a good way.. :)

 

 

Whoa!

 

Hang on.

 

This is your first post?

 

And you just joined on April 8?

 

WELCOME!!!

 

Glad that you jumped right in!

 

There's a thread over on the Community Board called Introduce yourself.  You should find it and let everyone know a little bit about who you are and what you're doing here.

 

Most people will be nice to you.

 

Beet lollipops SMB. 

 

Not really. 

 

A testube full of monkeybutt juice would be way worse than a beet lollipop.

 

Everything is relative.

 

 

You know, we did the food and wine a few weekends ago when we were camping and loved it so much we planned to make sure we got back again to do another round. A full round took two days, and that's only eating the stuff we picked out beforehand. We are going back this weekend to do the whole round again. I think I may do a report this time. I think the food is so excellent and I don't know how many people really know about it. The warm biscuit with salmon carpaccio is just killer. And the margarita with the rose petal. And the pancake taco thing. I'm excited to see how you guys did :)

 

I agree with you about the food.  The portions and quality are better than Food and Wine.  But, it doens't seem to be bringing folks out like Food and Wine.  I think you are right about people not knowing about it.  I don't think it was properly promoted.

 

We will be venturing out into World Showcase as soon as it opens.

 

And we tried some of the popular items.

 

And I remembered to take photos of most of them.

 

So if anyone wants to know more, keep reading!

 

I actually love beets. But that thing looks really bad. Like smb bad. I love that someone (I think Aaron) referred to something in their TR as a beet lollipop without even explaining what it means. Cause it's a beet lollipop. It's bad. Even if you don't know it's a real thing.

 

If you love beets, you should give it a try.

 

How many times in your life will you get a chance to eat a beet lollipop?

 

Sounds as gross as it looks.

 

It wasn't that gross, really. 

 

If you can eat beats, you can do it.

 

 

I guess you did not get the memo. It was not just any random day off. It was to honor my son's birthday which happened to be the day before. Of course since there obviously wouldn't be school on Sunday they had to give the students Monday off. Too bad for my son it was your daughters' school and not his that honored his birthday. :rofl3:

Oh and I like beets too. Especially the candied ones my mom would make for us growing up. The beet lollipop does not sound appetizing at all.

 

 

Sounds like your son needs to transfer schools.

 

Candied beets?  Never had those.  My grandmother used to make pickled beets.  Those were the bomb dot com.  It's been a long, long time since I've had a nice pickled beet.

 

I am along for the ride.

I llike beets but the cream cheese on top sounds awful!

 

 The cream cheese was an odd addition.

 

The best we could figure is that it was there to keep the beets from falling out.

 

I'm along for the day off, but I will graciously pass on the beet lollipop.

 

Ah, come on.

 

How do you know you don't like it unless you try it?

 

I'm sure you've said that before.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Where is the picture of the face you had to have made just after the beet and cream cheese push pop?

 

You are right.

 

There are photos.

 

Not of me, but of the twins.

 

They will be displayed at the appropriate time.

 

First, we are going to hit rewind so we can begin at the beginning.

 

Then we will get to those.

 

Probably in the second update.

 

Beets = good

Cream Cheese = good

 

Beets + Cream Cheese = yuck

 

 

 

 No.  Not yuck. Not the first thing on my list of things to eat.  But, it wasn't that bad, really.  As I said, if you like beets and cream cheese, you won't really hate a beet lollipop.

 

You really took one for the team by wasting money on something that had no potentional for anything but to SMB. Did you buy more than one?

 

Yeah, I bought three.  Everybody had to try one.  Two of us ate ours.  One of us spit it out.  Any guesses who?

 

Wow, for a man that comes up with some crazy TR titles, this one really had me fooled. I'm sorry to admit its the first I've ever heard of a beet lollipop.

Chalk another up for the rockstar

 

I had never heard of a beet lollipop either, and really had no idea what to expect.

 

I believe the idea behind this was that it was a clever way to make a kid eat vegetables.

 

I would have to say if that was the plan, then this item was a massive fail.

 

I wonder if Schrute Farms is their beet supplier?

 

LOL.  Is that what Dwight grows on his farm?  I haven't watched The Office much, but catch bits and pieces every now and then.  I wish I had started watching it in the beginning.  What I've seen, I've liked.

 

I made comments after my initial post, but I don't see that second post now.

 

Good job getting the beet lollipop. I'm calling BS that they were sold out the day I went. I think they just didn't make any that day. Did you make the girls eat one too? It looks like you did.

 

Looking forward to reading more!

 

Yeah, it's weird how they didn't have these out on display, just on the menu.

 

We were there mid-morning, and were the only customers.  I ordered three, and the CM looked shocked.  She said she had to go in the back and see if they had any available.

 

 

That looks as disgusting as it sounds.

 

 It really wasn't that disgusting. 

 

There are many things on the "must do" list for our next visit to WDW, nowhere on that list will any one find "eat a beet lollipop"!

 

Bring on the next update  :pc:

 

I think you could pencil it in somewhere on the list.

 

Where else can you eat a beet lollipop?

 

Unfortunately, I think these will be gone and never seen again after the Flower and Garden Festival packs up shop this year.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, so this TR started with a trip highlight. I guess I was just excited to proclaim my BLBR. That's Beet Lollipop Bragging Rights.

 

Now, we need to hit rewind and start at the beginning.

 

This was a classic TCD gang last minute trip.

 

Life has been crazy for the TCD gang in 2013.

 

It has all been good crazy.

 

Actually, great crazy.

 

But, it has really limited our trips to WDW.

 

So we go when we can.

 

The girls had a random day of of school on Monday, April 29th.

 

Since things have been go, go, go at the TCD headquarters, there were no plans made for this day off.

 

Maybe the girls would use it for studying for their upcoming AP exams. Or to take care of random paperwork for college. Or something like that.

 

I laid low.

 

Didn't suggest anything.

 

They know how busy we've all been.

 

But sure enough, on Sunday afternoon, one of the twins asked the other why we weren't going to Disney on their day off.

 

Then they asked me.

 

I said we all had a million things to do.

 

But they pointed out that we don't have many more chances to go before they head off to college.

 

So, we had to go.

 

We got up early on Monday morning, and were at the Epcot gates at 8:43 am, according to this photo. It was a Monday, and not a holiday, so I didn't think it would be that busy. Guests were already lined up back to the ticket windows:

 

 

We lined up over by the new scanners:

 

 

I still had a paper pass, but the girls had converted theirs to the new RFID plastic cards on a trip they took earlier in April. They said the new scanners admit guests way faster than the old turnstiles, so this is where we needed to be.

 

I figured since we would be walking past them too fast for a photo, I would snap one of the entrance topiaries:

 

 

So, have you heard about the Monstrous Summer?

 

That's the big promotion about to start at the Disney Parks to promote the new Pixar film Monsters University, which will be coming out on June 21.

 

One of the features of the promotion is a decorated monorail. They've done this a few times now to promote films. Like Tron, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3. The monorail wraps are pretty cool to see.

 

Well here's the Monster-rail:

 

 

 

 

If you've ever read a TCD trip report, you probably have heard about TCDMR. That's TCD Mother's Rule. It is: If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.

 

So, I can't really share what I think about the Monster-rail.

 

But, I will say that somebody ought to be fired over that.

 

That's all.

 

Let's move on.

 

They are letting guests in. We zipped right past the entrance topiaries at 8:52 am:

 

 

The twins were right- those new scanners let the lines move much quicker. Of course, there was some issue with the girls' cards which required a manager type to be summoned, but whatever the issue was, it was resolved, and we made it in much faster than the poor slobs at the turnstiles. My paper ticket was scanned by a CM with a handheld device, and we were on our way in no time. The CM mentioned to me that I could get an RFID card today, and I told her that I planned on doing just that.

 

Our plan was to head to Test Track first. Not because it's our favorite, but because we knew that we needed to beat the crowds. We grabbed Fastpasses on the way in, so we could ride twice this morning, and headed on in. The line moved really quick this morning. Which is much different than how it went the last time we were here at rope drop. So that was good.

 

They made the three of us share one design kiosk, but when they closed the doors, there were about a dozen stations being unused, so I helped myself to one.

 

The design stations are kind of fun. We pretty much just try to make the most ridiculous vehicles that we can.

 

This was mine:

 

 

Yes, I think that is a periscope. Thanks for noticing.

 

This is the girls':

 

 

Oh yeah- this is interesting: they told the girls to use one of their passes to scan the design on. Not one of the generic cards that they pass out. I guess the card design stays on the card for future use.

 

This photo was taken at 9:13 am:

 

 

So that means we had completed our first ride of the day by 9:13, and we had Fastpasses for a second at 9:35.

 

That is how it's done.

 

Since I could get new Fastpasses at 9:35, the plan was that I would head to Soarin' and get Fastpasses as soon as we were eligible, and then we would ride Test Track again.

 

The girls volunteered to look around the gift shop while I made that run.

 

I cut through the big gift shop, and saw that they are ready to sell some Monsters University merch:

 

 

 

I zigged and zagged my way through the Land, as usual, and waited a couple of minutes for the clock to strike 9:35. Then I grabbed our Soarin' Fastpasses. They had a 10:35 return time. Perfect.

 

Then it was back to the gift shop.

 

Hey, there's the Monster-rail again:

 

 

 

I looked through the whole gift shop. No twins.

 

Typical.

 

I looked out back.

 

Nope.

 

But, I did get to see the Cars playground and some flowers:

 

 

 

 

The playground had a lot of customers for it being so early in the morning.

 

So these people paid near a hundred bucks a head to come in to this theme park and let their kids play on a playground.

 

TCDMR.

 

I couldn't find the girls.

 

So, I went to the TT Fastpass entrance.

 

Nope.

 

But, I got to watch a couple of CM's drive around on a decorated golf cart and act the fool:

 

 

The girls finally called me and asked me where I was. I said I was waiting for them. They said they were in the gift shop waiting for me. It turns out they saw a kid with a sheet of fairy stickers and found out they were being passed out in the butterfly garden, so they popped over there to get the stickers thinking they would beat me back. Well, they didn't. But, they did get free stickers. So, how could i be mad?

 

All this only set us back a few minutes. NBD.

 

We headed on in.

 

Nobody else had Fastpasses yet, so we were the only ones in the Fastpass queue. That was good. I like to design the cars, but if you stop at the stations in the Fastpass queue, other guests will blow right by you and on to the ride. That bugs me. So, we don't stop when we are in the Fastpass queue. And that means we miss out on one of the new features added to this ride.

 

But today, the design stations in the Fastpass queue were all closed anyway:

 

 

 

Hmmm. That's something new, I thought.

 

There was always a lot of commotion here. They probably decided to shut these down so everybody just moves on through the queue.

 

But, when we got to the CM collecting Fastpasses, we got sent down a ramp and in to the waiting area for the room with the design kiosks.

 

That was new.

 

For today, anyway, they were sending Fastpass people through the design room.

 

That makes a longer wait.

 

But, you get to design a car.

 

I was fine with that.

 

But probably a lot of guests with Fastpasses will object and want to skip right on to the ride.

 

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

 

So, we got to design cars again. This time, we told the CM that the girls were a party of two, and that I was a solo traveler. We had to pretend not to know each other. But, that allowed us two design stations. I let the girls each have one.

 

Here's what Twin #2 came up with:

 

 

That looks like a nice sensible vehicle.

 

And here's Twin #1's:

 

 

If that one ever shows up in a Chevy showroom, let me know that they stole Twin #1's design.

 

Second ride (it looks like I was about to sneeze but I wasn't-not sure what went on here) :

 

 

One of my big beefs with this ride is they have all this interactive stuff that is supposed to show how the vehicle you designed compares to the stock design of the Test Track vehicles and other guests' designs. As far as I could tell, none of this stuff ever worked. We would never see our vehicles in any of the displays, even when it wasn't busy and the images would have been easy to find.

 

Well today, Twin #1's design showed up in the big display at the end as most powerful:

 

 

 

Way to go, Twin 1!

 

Two rides on Test Track was enough.

 

Next up, we went looking for beet lollipops.

 

As you know, we found them.

 

I have a couple more photos from that.

 

Then we got to go in the old Odyssey restaurant to claim my RFID pass. There was some interesting stuff on display there.

 

We will take a look in the next update.

 

TCD

[PixieB 0]

Whoa!

 

Hang on.

 

This is your first post?

 

And you just joined on April 8?

 

WELCOME!!!

 

Glad that you jumped right in!

 

There's a thread over on the Community Board called Introduce yourself.  You should find it and let everyone know a little bit about who you are and what you're doing here.

 

Most people will be nice to you.

Technically it's my second post, but who's counting? :)

 

Thank you.  Anyways, I really like the trip reports on the site, and thought it was about time to come out of lurkdom.

 

Hi I'm Shannon, SAHM from Seattle, who has a slight Disney World problem.  :)

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Wow, Seattle!  We don't get many left-coasters here.  Welcome!!