Beet Lollipop

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

What does turnip do for you? Or how about Brussels sprouts? Sauerkraut? Liver? Stop me when I come to one you like......

 

In addition to liking beets, I also like turnips, Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, and liver.  But none of them go with the cream cheese in that lollipop!

[caveat lector 181]

Putting lame stickers on the monorail is not sabotage, but this is.

 

 

A submarine monorail. Now Captain Lou is thinking outside the box

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

In addition to liking beets, I also like turnips, Brussels sprouts, sauerkraut, and liver. But none of them go with the cream cheese in that lollipop!

I actually like liver wurst with cream cheese on rye

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

A submarine monorail. Now Captain Lou is thinking outside the box

Didn't they try that already?

10,000 leagues under the sea

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great hijack!

 

And it gave me an idea.

 

The DIT scale . . .

 

A universal ranking system for use by all Fiends.

 

Check it out:

 

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Hmm, I like the DIT ranking system.  But I might move some things around a bit.  For instance, there is no way I'd rank Lou higher than Disney Fries.  But I do like how you have the dirndl off by itself.  It really has no competition in the DIT ranking system. 

[Lou... 3,118]

Hmm, I like the DIT ranking system.  But I might move some things around a bit.  For instance, there is no way I'd rank Lou higher than Disney Fries.  But I do like how you have the dirndl off by itself.  It really has no competition in the DIT ranking system. 

 

I'm must be interpreting the scale differently than you are. I'm reading it as best to worse, so steak fries are the best and Dirndl as in a class by itself.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hmm, I like the DIT ranking system.  But I might move some things around a bit.  For instance, there is no way I'd rank Lou higher than Disney Fries.  But I do like how you have the dirndl off by itself.  It really has no competition in the DIT ranking system. 

 

 

Good point.  It does need some work.

 

But the absolutes are good- we can now rank things on the scale of SMB to Dirndl.

 

I thought Lou would be a good middle score.  Just a little better than Snow White, but not quite as good as Melvin.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hmm, I like the DIT ranking system.  But I might move some things around a bit.  For instance, there is no way I'd rank Lou higher than Disney Fries.  But I do like how you have the dirndl off by itself.  It really has no competition in the DIT ranking system. 

 

 

Good point.  It does need some work.

 

But the absolutes are good- we can now rank things on the scale of SMB to Dirndl.

 

I thought Lou would be a good middle score.  Just a little better than Snow White, but not quite as good as Melvin.

 

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

 

Just a little better than Snow White, but not quite as good as Melvin.

 

 

 

When you're right, you're right.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great hijack!

 

And it gave me an idea.

 

The DIT scale . . .

 

A universal ranking system for use by all MALE Fiends.

 

Check it out:

 

 

TCD

 

I think you left out a word.  I added it above in red.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I think you left out a word.  I added it above in red.

 

No.

 

I didn't leave out any words.

 

That is the universal scale.

 

Are you trying to tell me ladies don't like dirndls?

 

That's crazy talk.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Ok, I guess I can accept Lou being better than Snow White.  And regular Disney fries DO suck.  And as grouchy as Lou can be, I wouldn't say he sucks.  So I'll accept the scale as is.  You might say your new universal scale is DW....Dirndl Worthy. 

[Lou... 3,118]

And as grouchy as Lou can be, I wouldn't say he sucks. 

 

I must be doing something wrong.

I'll have to restart my street cred program again.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Ok, I guess I can accept Lou being better than Snow White.  And regular Disney fries DO suck.  And as grouchy as Lou can be, I wouldn't say he sucks.  So I'll accept the scale as is.  You might say your new universal scale is DW....Dirndl Worthy. 

 

 

I must be doing something wrong.

I'll have to restart my street cred program again.

 

OK, this is good.

 

So if something is really bad, It SMB.

 

If it's really great, it's DW.

 

If it's so-so, then it's Lou.

 

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

If it's so-so, then it's Lou.

 

 

 

I've been told that before.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm agreeing with Gwen. DW would not be at the top of my scale. How about CTW? Channing Tatum Worthy?

[Lou... 3,118]

 Channing Tatum Worthy?

 

Is that an animal, vegetable, or mineral?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm agreeing with Gwen. DW would not be at the top of my scale. How about CTW? Channing Tatum Worthy?

 

No.

 

Who is Channing Tatum?

 

Miley Cyrus's old boyfriend/fiance right?

 

How great could this dude be if the best he could do was Hannah Montana?

 

No offense to the Hannah Montana fans reading along.

 

Yeah, I mean you Billy Ray.

 

If Channing Tatum were to be included in the scale, which he will not be, he would be ranked between MSEP and Disney Fries.

 

Far from DW.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Ok, I had to google Channing Tatum.  I can assure you, he would be nowhere near the top of a DIT scale.  He wouldn't even be on the scale at all.  Tatum O'Neal might rank in the middle of the scale.  Stockard Channing maybe slightly above that.  But that dude?  No.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

No.

 

I didn't leave out any words.

 

That is the universal scale.

 

Are you trying to tell me ladies don't like dirndls?

 

That's crazy talk.

 

TCD

 

Have you ever worn a dirndl?  I doubt it.  Neither have I.  But they look cumbersome and uncomfortable.  So why would I like them?  Certainly not for the aesthetic value.  :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Have you ever worn a dirndl? 

 

I don't feel comfortable answering that question.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, let's see if I can get this update posted . . .

 

After our 2nd ride on Test Track, we had a bit of time before our Soarin' Fastpasses would expire.  Since we were on that side of Future World, that is when we hit up the old Wonders of Life pavilion for the beet lollipops.

 

Since some of you wanted to see Beet Lollipop faces, I'll share those now.

 

I took this photo to show the long line that we had to wait on to get our beet lollipops:

 

 

Actually, I lied about that.

 

There was no one in line when we got there.  And, after that guy left with his bottle of water, no one else came.  That CM had nothing to do.  I wonder why?

 

Here is TCD Twin #2's beet lollipop face:

 

 

And Twin #1's:

 

 

Twin #2 ate hers like a man.

 

Twin #1 spit hers out.  Which is weird.  That girl will eat any kind of sushi that is put in front of her.  Including a lot of stuff that would make a billy goat puke, but she could not handle the beet lollipop.

 

So much for encouraging the kids to eat their veggies.

 

But you know what?

 

That was the best three bucks I've spent in a long time at Disney.  The beet lollipops weren't good to eat, but they ended up being a lot of fun.

 

Here's a photo of my receipt- I wish they were all like this one:

 

 

After all that fun, we needed to move on.

 

The TCD twins had already upgraded their passes to the new RFID ones on a trip they took with their school, so I was the only one left with a paper pass.

 

As has been reported here on ff.net, they had an area set up in the old Odyssey restaurant for passholders to come in and get their new passes.

 

So we headed over there.

 

This topiary was outside the Wonders of Life pavilion:

 

 

The TCD twins said that this Goofy was used in a prior year's display.  The big one in front of the golf ball.

 

I agree with them, but I can't remember when.

 

Getting the new card was quick and painless.  By my count, there were at least 20 castmembers being paid to stand around in the old Odyssey restaurant. 

 

If I was in charge, I would send a couple of them over to the pool at Fort Wilderness to check ID's, but, alas, I am not in charge.

 

They had dug up some cool old stuff to display in the area they had set up for the passholders.

 

Like this old Figment:

 

 

There was an old prop from the Food Rocks show that was replaced by Soarin' in there too.  But, I didn't get a photo.

 

Ironically, Figment was staring right at this display:

 

 

 

Those are the new Magic Bands that we have heard so much about.  The only thing we haven't heard is when the heck they are going to start using them.

 

I apologize to all Disney Kool Aid drinkers reading along, but I don't get what will be so great about these Magic Bands.  I guess they will be great for people that visit once in a while and like to plan every minute detail of their trip far in advance.  For regular people though, they are going to be a huge source of problems.  Just wait.

 

Whoever set this display up was really going for the irony factor.  I already mentioned how Figment was looking right at the Magic Bands.

 

And, this display was right next to the Magic Bands one:

 

 

 

This is a display of all kinds of old WDW tickets.  I guess they wanted to contrast these old fashioned paper tickets with the new, cool Magic Bands.

 

Well, look at those old tickets.

 

Do you see the River Country and Discovery Island tickets?

 

The dummy who set up this display probably doesn't realize that those two attractions were way cooler than some stupid wristband.

 

Did you think that ticket display was boring?

 

Well, then you don't want to look at the next two photos which covered the thrilling topic of Castmember name tags:

 

 

 

To keep with the random theme, the next item on display was a Small World doll:

 

 

Why?

 

I don't know.

 

Last time I checked, the attraction was still open.

 

But maybe they are trying to tell us something?

 

Next to that was this old Jungle Cruise boat model:

 

 

And that was that.

 

They had a mock up of one of the new entrance scanners in there for us dumb guests to try.  Of course, since this one was just a mock up, it actually worked.

 

Some day, those new scanner will read the Magic Bands too.

 

I can hardly wait.

 

Another piece of technology that will fail and increase the wait times to enter the parks.

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  when they unfreeze Walt's head and attach it to a robot, and he sees what is going on, there will be a lot of idiot managers looking for work.

 

I hope that happens soon.

 

Fortunately, there are a few managers around WDW who are not idiots.

 

Like whoever it is that is in charge of all the flowers for the Flower and Garden festival.

 

Take a second and look at this view:

 

 

That is pretty awesome.

 

We were heading across Future World to ride Soarin'

 

We stopped by the Butterfly House on the way.  The last time we were here, which was one of the first days of the Flower and Garden Festival, there weren't many butterflies in that house.

 

Well, there still weren't:

 

 

 

 

You know that waterfall that goes up in front of the Imagination Pavilion?

 

It was turned off today:

 

 

I don't think it was because of drought conditions.  They must have had some work to do on it or something.

 

We rode Soarin.

 

We got the bottom level on the left.  Saw a lot of dirty feet.  And dust on the screen.  Not so magical.

 

I would say our Soarin' ride was a Lou.

 

It was a bit past 11 when we finished with Soarin'

 

Time to hit the World Showcase and try some of the new food booths they introduced just this year.

 

The twins wanted to hit the Violet Lemonade stand first.

 

So we walked by the Oz playground.

 

The area where they have had sand sculptures the past few years is a display for Rain Bird sprinklers:

 

 

We got the girls their purple drink and then headed the opposite direction than the one we always go for the Food and Wine Festival.

 

We stopped at the Monster's University display:

 

 

And then we headed to the Florida booth.  Fellow Fiend GDF-Kelly said try the shrimp and grits.  So we did:

 

 

There was nobody in line when we ordered.  The Castmembers were bored, so we chatted about what food offerings were their favorite.  They said they loved the shrimp and grits, and the crab tostado, which, as luck would have it, was being served right next door at the next booth.

 

The Shrimp and Grits were DW+.

 

So, thanks for the recommendation GDF!

 

There may be some yankees reading along gagging at the thought of shrimp and grits.  If there are I say you don't know what you're missing.  I am a former yankee.  In fact, I had no idea what grits actually were when I moved to Florida 30+ years ago.  I had heard of them, but never once saw them served anywhere at any of the diners my family ate at in New Jersey.  Every now and then I still run across a yankee who has never tried grits.  If you are one, then I feel sorry for you. And take it from GDF and TCD- try the grits!

 

As I mentioned, the guy in the grits shack said try the crab tostado next door.  So we did.  That was a good tip.  It was like a big, flat, round, crispy taco shell piled high with lettuce and shredded crab meat.  I didn't get a photo because we all shared it and ate as we walked.  It was good, but not DW.  I would say it was a solid 'Ohana.

 

We kept walking around the World Showcase from there.

 

There were ten guys playing Mexican music right outside the new Mexico quick serve place.  I don't recall ever seeing these guys before.  It was odd to me that they were out and performing today, as it was a Monday and kind of slow:

 

 

So, we saw a bunch of castmembers with nothing to do in the Odyssey restaurant.  And then these guys.

 

Seriously, why couldn't they send a few of them over to keep the locals out of the Fort's pool?

 

Of course, a good number of the locals freeloading at the Fort's pool are probably related to the guys in the band.

 

So, maybe that isn't a great idea.

 

Did I mention that it wasn't busy?

 

Take a look at this- this is the view of the World Showcase standing outside of the Germany Pavilion and looking toward America:

 

 

There are definitely less food stands and way less people visiting them compared to the Food and Wine Festival in the fall.

 

They had a Snow White topiary in Germany.

 

I recall seeing photos of it in another trip report, so I'll just share this one of Dopey.  Something ain't right with that dwarf:

 

 

While you're looking at that photo, take a look behind the Canada pavilion there in the background.  Do you see that big blue curved thing back behind the building?  That's the Soarin' ride building.  It messes up the forced perpective of the Canada pavilion if you notice it.  But, it's supposed to blend in with the sky, and you're not supposed to notice it.  So, please forget that I said anything about it.

 

We were also struck by how empty Italy was as we walked on by:

 

 

Some more beautiful flowers:

 

 

Our next stop was America, where we visited the smoke house.  He had stopped by here on our previous visit, but had already eaten, and did not try the BBQ they were serving.

 

We came back today to try it.

 

Two of us had the beef brisket:

 

 

Notice that you could choose between hot or spicy sauce.

 

I wonder what the difference is between hot and spicy?

 

That is greens and jalapeno cornbread served with the brisket.

 

Greens are another thing I had never tried before moving to Florida.  Again, no New Jersey diner that I'm aware of has ever had greens on the menu, and I had absolutely no idea what they were.  Well,  I love them.  And these were good.

 

Twin #1 tried the pork slider:

 

 

I don't know why they call that sandwich a slider, because it is full sized.  And it was good.

 

We also tried a dessert here.  They called it Rocky Road Mousse, but it was kind of like a brownie.  It was good!:

 

 

 

The BBQ booth is DW.

 

And that is 30 photos.

 

So we need to end this update.

 

We will pick it up from right here in the next one.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

That food looks pretty good....in looking at the menus a month or so ago I was not impressed.  But you made some good selections.  DW selections!

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Greens are a solid Dirndl if they are done right. Done incorrectly, they SMB.