Episode 8: Behind the Ears: Our Disney World Recap, Part 2

On this episode, we hear about Olivia's trip to Orlando, where she visited family, strolled around Disney Springs and a few resorts, and enjoyed a day at EPCOT. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Come on, everybody.

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Hi everybody, welcome back to Chasing Disney Dreams. I'm Olivia Allward. And I'm Andrea Tolino. And today we're gonna be talking more about our trips to Walt Disney World. Walt Disney World has a way of overlapping stories without ever being the same one. And this week that was especially true. We both went to Disney on the same exact week, just on different days. And we ended up having completely separate experiences, but in the exact same place.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

So today we're going to talk to Olivia about her trip, which was the same week that I went, just a day later. And we're gonna hear where she went, what she did, all of the exciting things about that trip. If you haven't heard about my trip, that was released on Tuesday, so go back and listen to that. But without further ado, grab your Mickey Ears and pick your spot for the three o'clock parade. The show is about to begin. Olivia, tell me about your trip.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

So me and my friend, we booked, so actually, rewind a little bit. I have a family that lives in Orlando, Florida, and we used to go and visit them all the time, they'd come to see us, and I have just really been feeling like I wanted to go see them. So we booked a trip a while ago, and we were supposed to leave on Monday and go through Friday just because that's what the airline we did like went through. But we went to see them and we had a great time just being able to experience them. They just moved into a house together, so that was kind of fun to like actually see and just be able to spend time with our pool. But you can't go to Orlando without going to Disney, so we picked one Epcot day, or I guess I should say one park day to Epcot, and then we also did Disney Springs and Summer Resorts. They were nice enough to be our Ubers, so that was great. But they dropped us off and picked us up, and it was very easy, and we had a great time, really. But when we got there, we got there on Monday, just kind of hung out with them and went to some of their like local spots, their local restaurants, and they have like a walking path around where they live. We saw three alligators and that's like sideways but I've never seen an alligator before. Like in the wild.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

I was gonna say, yeah, in the wild. Were they pretty far away? Uh no. No. But they didn't bother you? No.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

I was it was kind of like yeah, it was kind of intimidating. Were they big? Yeah, they looked pretty big. And I it there was like multiple of them because there's like a pond, and this is also again not part of our Disney conversation, but there was just like people like walking and children walking, and they were on land, they were in the water, but it was still scary. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

I just like I wouldn't I think they're one of those if you don't bother them, they won't bother you types type deals.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

I just wouldn't be scared that because they have like docks that you can go on, and I would just be scared that I I would fall in. Or like my kid would fall in.

SPEAKER_02 3:24

That's not something I want to mess with.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Well, and so that's something anyways, so we did see alligators.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

Going back to that, keep in mind there are alligators on Disney property.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Yeah. And there has been an incident there, and that's why they have signs everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

There's signs everywhere, correct, because there was an incident a couple years ago. And so if and Disney does everything they can to to kind of monitor the situation. Take them out. I mean, obviously you can't take all of them out. But there have been times, and you'll see pictures posted, that there would and and this happen this used to happen more when Tom Sawyer Island was open, is you'd see them in that water around Tom Sawyer Island. I have seen them, again, pictures not me personally, but in the water also over by Tiana's Bayou Adventure. Like actually in the ride. Like after you come down the hill and you loop around.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Oh heck.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Yeah, I've seen them there before.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

No, absolutely not. No. Okay. Anyway, so off of that. No, it fit perfectly. It was like moving. Yeah. Yeah. I that would be crazy.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

Uh-huh. Yeah. It was when I saw that, I was like, whoa. But again, he was just there chilling. How did he get in there? Well, I'm sure he walked. Yeah, but how like probably when the park closed, I would think.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

That's insane. Anyways.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

Well, how do they ever get there? You know?

unknown 4:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

Anyway, neither here nor there. Okay, so you saw alligators. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Alligators are terrified. They have a great um little layout.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

You said you saw some of their like like local things. Did you go somewhere like local to eat? Yes, but the problem is I can't remember the names of the places.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

We also went to like a local coffee shop where they um have like a walking path, and then they have a local coffee shop, and it has like Nutella waffles and like avocado toast and all these different things. And I have so my aunt is named Kathy, and she's married to Arden, and then Paige and Stephanie also live with them. I love being there, obviously, but when you go there, like I truly, truly mean this from the bottom of my heart. Like, they just make you feel like you're home. And it's like, especially right now, just because like with some of the things that like my family's kind of going through, it was such a great way to like go and like be able to still be with family and like still feel like home, but like I'm just I'm not thinking, you know. Yeah, so I truly had the best time, and if I could go right now again, like I would. Oh, that's great.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

I'm glad to hear you had a good time.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Yeah, it like even I didn't even and I know I love Disney, but I truly don't think I needed to go to Disney to like yeah. I just like genuinely had like Kathy always had fruits and pastries and all like she made guacamole, we made some drinks, she loved the drinks that we made, like we genuinely had an amazing time. So I love that and their house is like a Florida, obviously a Florida home, and they decorate it so well. Stephanie, I think, is does most of the decorating, and then Paige does all like she is a plant fanatic, like she loves plants, so it just really feels like a little oasis. Like it's they did a great job, so and then Arden, Kathy's husband, was our Uber. So he drove us everywhere and picked us up, and it like seriously, I if I could say it again, I had an amazing trip. So that all being said, we're gonna talk about a little bit about the Disney stuff that we did. So we did spend a couple days with them not going to Disney, and we really again had a great time, but we did go to Disney Springs, so I went with my friend Andaria, and we went to Disney Springs because we had a dinner reservation, and we kind of wanted to do some shopping too. We didn't really buy much, but it's just fun to like walk around and see stuff, especially at Disney Springs. Right. We went to eat at the boathouse, and it was amazing. Side note on this Andaria is gluten-free, so they we were able to experience obviously they have their like normal rolls, but we also were able to experience their gluten-free bread. I wouldn't say it's as good because they don't put the glaze on it, which I thought was weird. But I'm wondering if it's like cross-contamination because they do like glaze all the bread, and so they don't want to like cross-contaminate the other bread, which I do understand, but they didn't put the glaze on it, so I don't think it was like as good, but they still had the butter and like all the things, and it was like a huge roll, like the size of like two, so it's pretty good. But we both we shared some like fries, got some salads and drinks, everything was so good, and we had like the best seat because we were right by if you know anything about the boat house, obviously, boat and is in the name, so lots of like fishing and like it looks just very like your it looks like a dockhouse almost. Like you got yeah, and so it is themed very well. Yeah, um right now they have the cars, and I don't think they're ever gonna take these away, but again, I'm not gonna speak for them. But they have the cars that transition into boats. I don't know if that really makes sense, but once they hit the water, they're a boat, and it looks like a car, but it drives on land, so it's just kind of the strangest thing, but it's so yeah. And so, anyways, we had the best seat because we were right next to where they launched. Oh, the laun the dock. Oh, that's fun. So, and like literally the corner seat, like you could not get any closer to them. So, I have some really great videos of them like launching into the water, and just like all these families are having a great time, but we got two different drinks. I'm not gonna tell you what they are called because I don't really remember. One was like a pineapple drink, and then the other one was like a it was like a blue duck or something like that.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

It looked almost like if I think I'm thinking of the th the what you had, which the it's a almost like a real pretty, almost ocean color blue for the drink, and then they put the little rubber duck in it.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Yeah, and funny story, my cousin just had a baby, well, I guess not just her, but she had a baby like a year and a half ago, and he's obsessed with ducks, so it was like a little miniature duck, and so I brought it home to him, and he loves it. But side note, but yeah, so we had a great time at the boat house. We didn't get any desserts because we knew that we were going to some resorts afterwards, and so we didn't really want to do that because then we could get other things. We got some like salads, chicken, stuff like that. It was all great food. The waiter was so good. He also had the manager come out just because Andaria was gluten-free, which is normal. I don't know if anybody worries about this, but it is very normal if you have any type of allergy intolerance or anything request-wise to your waiter, they usually or waitress, they usually have the manager come out just to check with you, just because they want to have a conversation with you and they care, and so it's not something that they're bringing attention to you or making you feel any type of way, it's really just that they're yeah, they want you to be be safe and and let you know exactly what's in yeah, what what is safe to eat and that type of thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

So we had a great time there. After we left there, we wanted to stop, and I don't remember what like I guess you could call it a booth, but there's a Dole Whip booth, and it's right by Rainforest Cafe, like kind of directly across. It's right if you're coming from the boathouse, it's right across the like bridge. Okay, okay. And they have Dole Whip there, all different kinds. I think they actually have like six or eight flavors, and they also have alcoholic beverages with Dole Whip, and I've seen it on I think probably TikTok or something like that. But there is a margarita and then like a rum drink, okay, like a pineapple rum drink, I think it was, and I think it had coconut malibu. Okay, that is the one that we got. We decided to get that, so we shared it just because it was a huge, like it was a pretty big glass. But they put the drink in first and then they put the dole whip on top. And we got the pineapple coconut rum, whatever it was, and then we got raspberry dole whip. It was the best thing ever. I probably could have ate three of them. Like, and I don't really like Dole Whip because I'm not a big fan of coconut, and so also in that drink, I couldn't taste much coconut. It's pineapple that's in it. I don't think it's coconut, right? I thought it said coconut and pineapple. Okay, I think it was both, but it's not a little bit. Well, if you if you had the coconut, the coconut rum, you would have gotten the coconut there. But Dole Whip is pineapple, dole whip. Yes, but the Dole Whip wasn't pineapple that we got, the it was raspberry, and then they put pineapple juice in it. Got it, okay. So it was kind of like all three, but it was so good. Um, and you could mix and match, you could have got two different flavors, whatever. Oh wow but it was really good, and I would definitely get that again. So after we left there, we went and got on a bus and we went over to the Polynesian. We were just kind of experiencing the Polynesian. This kind of sounds really bad, but we got laid, which sounds awful. But when we walked in, um, they laid us, like they put the lay put a lay on you. Yes, and so it's really funny because my family in Florida is like really bad, like they just like say like off-the-wall things, but they're really funny, like it's not really like bad or anything. So when we got in the car and when we were coming home, I was like, Kathy, you will not believe what happened tonight. We got laid, and she like, What? It was so funny, but then I showed her like our actual lays, like the flower necklaces.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

But there was an amazing cast member, and she I asked her if she would mind taking our pictures, just because we were taking pictures the entire time, just for obviously content, but also just to experience and like memories and stuff like that. So we got our picture taken and we got it outside because if you've ever been in the Polynesian, it looks like a Hawaiian oasis, like it's amazing, or I guess you could say Polynesian, because you know it is called the Polynesian, but it looks so amazing. And when we were taking our picture, she was like, Would you guys like Lay's? And I was like, Oh, like sure. I was like, We're not staying here though, and she was like, Oh, it's totally fine, and so she went in and got us, she asked us what colors we wanted. She got yeah, and then she took our picture in front of the building, and then I think inside too. So then we went out and we were like at the beach, we got to see the um water pageant, which was really cool. My phone was about to die though, and I usually bring a fuel rod with me, which, if you don't know what fuel rods are, they're kind of like a battery pack for Disney. You get to like swap them out, stuff like that. Anyways, I was on my way to go get a fuel rod. I got asked three times, and again, this does not bother me at all. I just think it's funny. But I left the beach, went inside, which is not that far of a walk. I got asked three times to take three huge family pictures. It was so funny. Like, I like I took one, I went went a little further. I don't know if they saw me taking it, I don't know if it just like happened, but they were like, Could you take our family picture? I was like, Oh yeah, of course. Like, I don't mind, like it's a great, you know. Yeah, so, anyways, I got a fuel rod, we saw the water pageant, we were gonna wait for the fireworks, but then they were pushed back a little later, I think till like 10 instead of like being at 9. So I was just like, we can walk around. So we ended up walking to the Grand Floridian, which I don't know if anybody is obsessed with having a Disney wedding, but I've always been obsessed, and that's why I said I started working early. It's never gonna happen, but you know, it's a thought that counts. But we got to walk by the wedding pavilion, which drooling, like sure, literally, if I could have I touched the gate of the wedding pavilion, that's the closest I'll probably ever get.

SPEAKER_02 15:18

I looked at it when we were planning our wedding. I actually priced it. Yeah. Cause also my dream.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

And it's actually I mean, it's expensive, don't get me wrong. But for the what we paid for my wedding here, we could have gotten married down there. The difference was is how many people I could have had there.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

And we have I FaceTimed my dad, and I'm like, Dad, guess where I am? And he was like, Where? Like, he's like, you know, not You're being goofy, what are you doing? And so then I showed him, and it's because he sent me a video one time of him shaking his finger in front of the gate. Well, my mom actually sent it to me, but anyways, so he was like shaking his finger like, no, you're not getting this type of thing.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

So, anyways, I told him you put a deposit down for that.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

I was like touching the gate and I was like FaceTiming them, and then he just like was laughing at me. But then I walked over and they have like where you plan your wedding, they have like a separate building. I don't know if you've ever looked in those doors, but there is like three or five wedding dresses, cakes. It is literally so amazing. Like, again, drooling, taking pictures, like I was like just obsessed. So after we did that, we kind of walked to the Grand Floridian. What we went through there, and Daria is not as she didn't grow up going to Disney as much as like we did, and so I wanted her to experience like all the things that like I love too. So and she kind of was just open because she doesn't know much, so she was just like, whatever you want to do. So we went to the Grand Floridian and we got on the monorail there, and we just walked through, enjoy kind of like what it looks like. She was taking pictures because obviously, like, if you've never seen it, like that's amazing. Yeah, so we walked through, went to the monorail, we took the monorail and we got off at Magic Kingdom, and we sat outside of the park right in front of where like the train is, if that makes sense, and we watched the fireworks there. Really? Yes. Oh, that's awesome! Yeah, and so it was like really cool because it was going obviously right over, we could hear it, like it was a great spot. I mean, and we were sitting down, so it's just kind of chill. After we watched the fireworks, we went over and we walked the walking path. So we literally did the loop of like um but we walked the walking path to the contemporary? The contemporary, and when we got to the contemporary, we knew Kathy and Arden were gonna meet us back at Disney Springs, so we just waited for a bus there. Um, we didn't really walk through the contemporary uh just because we were waiting on a bus, so it just didn't work out that way. But uh we got on the bus at the contemporary, went over to Disney Springs, and we got we wanted something sweet, and I was like, oh, Summerhouse. Summerhouse closed in five minutes from the time that we were getting dropped off at the bus. And I don't know if you've seen, but I was also in a dress, and you best bet I just ran there and I got a cookie, and it closed like literally five seconds after I walked in the building. Oh my gosh, that's so funny. Have you ever had Gideon's cookies? I have, but I didn't well, I don't know if there was even a line there, but I don't care to wait in the line, I guess is what I should say.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

I normally send somebody to wait for me. Yeah. Normally my father. Yeah. Um how does it compare? Like, I've never had Summerhouse cookies. I've seen them and they look delicious, but I love big.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Have you ever had Crumble cookies? Okay, I would say Summerhouse relates a little bit to, or I guess I should say compares a little bit, to Crumble. Okay. But I just think Summerhouse is a lot better because I think it's less artificial tasting. I think sometimes Crumble puts in too much that's like artificial. Okay. Um, but I think like even how the cookies are set up, the icing, that type of thing, I would say that's the most comparable one. Okay. I feel like Gideon's are kind of like cake cookies almost. Like they're like very dense and thick.

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Yep, and they're huge.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

Yeah. And so I feel like they're not necessarily comparable. Like it's like a cake cookie versus like a Right.

unknown 19:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

I don't know how to explain it, really, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 19:37

Well, I mean they're like half pound cookies, and I mean you don't you definitely don't try any one in a sitting. I mean you can. I would have a big tummy ache if I did that, but okay.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

So we got picked up and we went home and we had a early morning the next day. So we went to Epcot the next day, and right as we walk in the park, we hear Wool. Um and he is talking about Epcot and how it's the prototype for tomorrow and all the things. Like he was just he was talking right when we walked in. And when I tell you, like, I literally had chills, like down my entire body, and I don't know what it was, it was just like again, I think like with everything that was going on with some of my family members, or I guess my great-grandma, um, I think that like this trip was just such a getaway in a way, and so it just kind of made me feel different.

SPEAKER_02 20:37

So, what's interesting, just getting your opinion on this, or or something that I find very fascinating, again, because I think Walt Disney's fascinating, is he was talking about Epcot Center, the experimental prototype community of tomorrow when he was alive. Walt Disney died in 1966, and Epcot opened, I believe, in 1982. So it was a solid like 13, 14 years, maybe longer than that, because I don't know math, between him coming up with this idea, he passes away. They still move forward, Roy still moves forward and opens that park in '82. It's just fascinating to me.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

It's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 21:22

It's fascinating to me.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

So we hear that, and it was like, okay, like a breath of fresh air, like we're ready for our day. Um, we immediately so we didn't buy any lightning lanes for this day at all. Absolutely actually, I'm so sorry. We bought one. You bought Guardians? We bought Guardians.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

Wise decision. I I completely it was 1982. Epcot opened, by the way. So it was 15 years between well dying and Epcot opening. Anyway, so you bought Lightning Lane to Guardians.

SPEAKER_01 21:47

And that was very wise decision. That was later that night. We knew it was at like between seven and eight. So what we did was We immediately entered the gate and we went over to like head over to town. Track test track took about 30 minutes, which isn't that bad. Um, and we got to experience that, and it is the new one, but we've experienced it because we went in October, so we already knew what it was about, but it was a great time. And we actually most of the rides that we rode that day, we rode twice. So we rode test track in the morning and then we rode it in the afternoon, and it was like kind of crazy because we were walking like walking on some rides. Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 22:27

Yeah, um do they still have do they still have the single rider line at Test Track? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

So one of them we rode together, and then one of them we rode separate and did single rider. So that was really fun.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

Great way to do it if you don't mind separating.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

Yeah, and it was the just the two of us, so it wasn't like a huge deal.

SPEAKER_02 22:45

Yeah, if you're going in a group, it's a little bit different. You know, you might want to wait and ride it all together. But you know, when when we did out in California and did cars, there were six of us, so we all waited because we rode in one car. Whereas, you know, had it have been just me and my husband, we might have split up. So anyway, moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Moved from Test Track after we rode that all the way across to Remy's. Remy's is my favorite. That's a favorite ride. I love that ride.

SPEAKER_02 23:12

How long did you wait for that? That normally has a bit of a wait.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

So for that one, we only waited like 30 minutes. Well, that's not bad. No, so we waited 30 minutes, we got on that one, we got off, and we're like, again? And so we got in the single rider, and we Someone has a single rider too? I didn't know that. Yeah, so we got on the single rider, we jumped right on the ride, like literally got off, got on. Funny story about that one is there was a family and they were on the ride. Well, I don't know if they haven't been to Disney before, but they didn't realize that like people sometimes do a single rider, so I'm like getting on with them, and they like looked at me and like flipped their head back, and they're like, Are we on the wrong ride? And I was like, Oh no, like I'm a single rider, and I had to like explain it. It was so funny, but he was like, Wait, what are you doing here? Like, he just kind of is funny, and then the guy behind me was also a single rider, and the girl accidentally shut the door, which you're not even supposed to shut the Remy cart doors, anyways. They shut themselves, but she shut it, and so then he was like, Oh, uh, and he couldn't get on either, so but it got figured out, but so we ended up writing that twice right then. Then we went to the France bakery. Sorry, oh the France bakery. We both got something to eat. I love their like breakfast sandwiches, you could call them. But it was like ham and cheese on like a baguette, and I literally could eat. I actually think I did eat the whole thing, it was so good. I never knew I asked for it to be heated up too. Okay, sometimes they don't heat them up because I guess that's how they eat them there, but I asked for it to be heated up. So after that we left there, we went and rode, we kind of like bounced all over the park and we got our steps, like because then we went to Living with the Land and Soren.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

That is also on the other side of the park.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

So we went to Living with the Land and Soren. Did you write Soren? Yeah. Oh, it was still so do you know what?

SPEAKER_02 25:03

Soren with It was the original, it was around or not the original, it was around the world, right? So I've seen video now because they just started Soren over America. Have you seen the video for it yet?

SPEAKER_00 25:18

No. Is it good?

SPEAKER_02 25:20

So my husband has heard California was the best, which I don't think I think you've said you didn't get to do California. California was the best. He has heard California's the best, this is the second best, and then the world was the third best.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Really?

SPEAKER_02 25:33

The video that I was watching of it, I was like, I don't know how I'm going to feel about this, but the first scene, spoiler alert here, so turn us off if you don't want to hear this. Don't turn us off, just turn us down for a second. Spoiler alert. The first scene is you're it's a rocket launching into space. So probably from Kennedy Space Center. And uh you feel like where it's raising you, you feel like you're going up with a rocket. So that was you know, it i it looks good.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

I mean, I love Soren and so funny story about that too with a rocket. So they live close to where they want. Yeah. And we saw a rocket. Oh, very cool. Yeah, so when we were at their house the first night, we were all just like sitting out there talking, and it was like dark, it was night, and we were looking around, and I was like, What the heck is that? And mind you, when I said that, because I didn't think about them being close, I was like, something is flying at us, like we're about to blow up. And I was like, What the heck is flying at us right now? And they like bust out laughing, and they're like, Oh my gosh, that's a rocket. But they haven't seen a rocket at their house since they've been there. So they were like, Every time that we see a rocket now, we're gonna think, You saw the first one here. So that was kind of cool. Oh, that's fun.

SPEAKER_02 26:51

Yeah, but apparently they go up pretty regularly, yeah. They like Since Elon Musk.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

This one was a satellite one or something. Oh nice, okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

So the new Soren's out. We haven't rode it yet, but there we have it.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

So we haven't rode that one because we rode Soren around the world. But I love that ride. It's just and it was really hot today that we got to Ebcot, so we were really enjoying like getting to we we were fine with waiting in line for some of the time because it was just really hot.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

It's great line to have to wait in too. Yeah. So the pre-show, just so you know, I've also seen this. Patrick, who I adore. Yeah. I just love I've I've said this before. I love uh The Emperor's New Groove. I love Patrick. He does the pre-show again, obviously, from now versus when Soaring Over California came out, has been quite a long time. He has obviously gotten older. You can see where he's aged. So the way he does the pre-show is he starts it as Captain Patrick, which he wasn't ever Captain Patrick in the earlier ones. And he kind of says a little bit about you know, you're getting ready to board or whatever. And then he says, But we have some safety instructions to go over first. He goes, and the this handsome young man is going to read them or whatever. And it cuts to the video from when he first did all of these from California. And it's if you've ever seen that pre-show safety thing, it's the funniest thing. Yeah. Because he like he tells the guy to take off his Mickey ears, and when he removes his hat, he's like bald, and oh my god, it's it's just one of my favorite things ever. So anyway, side note, go on.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

We got to ride Living of the Land in Soren, and then we just kind of took a break because at this point, I mean we waited in all the lines, so at this point it was probably 12 o'clock. Ish, ish. We then headed over to the Mexico pavilion, and we were enjoying like the food there. We got some guacamole, which was so good, and chips, and then we had these tacos, and the only way I can describe it is if you've ever had like what you think of like a crunch wrap, a Taco Bell, it is like the middle of the crunch wrap, so like the flat part of the like tortilla, if that makes sense, and then they have like all the stuff stacked on top, and they don't have the wrap, so it's like thinking of like the inside of the crunch wrap without the outer wrap. Huh. It was really good, and it was at where you get the margaritas in Mexico.

SPEAKER_02 29:19

Oh, okay, okay. I was gonna ask you where you got all that.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Yeah, so all of that came from there, but we got to just kind of hang out there, relax a little bit. We did ride the Mexico ride.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

Yeah, what is it called? I don't know. I call it the Mexico ride. It's in Mexico, so I ride it in Mexico, it's a Mexico ride.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

So we rode that ride. Um, I just think that ride's super fun, and just it just kind of we call it so my friend is Hispanic, like her dad is Hispanic, so her name is Andaria, which is not Hispanic at all, but we call it Landaria when we go by the like all of the things through the Mexico pavilion. So, anyways, that's just really fun to do. We did go back at this point to France again, just bouncing all the way around, and we got the frozen drinks, and I think they're called frises. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_02 30:14

No idea, but sounds delicious.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

We got so she got an orange one, and then I got the lemon one, and then we were Gran Fiesta Tour starring the three caballeros. That's it. There we go. So back to Mexico really quick, that's what it's called. But we got so we got the lemon and the orange, and then we got a new one, and it's pink, and it is cranberry, I think. So after we got those drinks, we kind of bounced around, we did some of the rides again. So we did Fast Track and the Single Rider.

SPEAKER_00 30:46

You mean Test Track?

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Yep. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. We did Test Track and the Single Rider, we did Remy's and the single rider, we did Soren and Living with the Land again. After this, again, mid-afternoon, we didn't really eat dinner, we kind of bounced back and forth based on what we were feeling. So at one point we went back to France, we got ice cream there. Um they have like an ice cream shop in there that you can get the ice cream sandwich. We didn't get the ice cream sandwich, but we did get ice cream from the pavilion, so that was really good. We did try Club Cool, that was something that we really liked doing, and I my friend has never been there.

SPEAKER_02 31:27

So she doesn't know about the Beverly?

SPEAKER_01 31:28

No, so that being said, I didn't tell her about that. Bad friend, but you know, whatever. But so we went in, we tried different things. Well, I would get it first, and then she would get it, and then we tried together. And I got the Beverly, and I just like held it next to my mouth, and she got it and drank it, and she's like, uh, what the heck? And like she was like so grossed out, and I was just busting out laughing because I think it's so funny.

SPEAKER_02 31:52

But it's fun to do that to people who don't know what they're expect or don't know what to expect from it because it's so awful. And if you don't know what Club Cool is, it's it's actually pretty neat. It is it's owned by Coca-Cola, or at least it used to be. I'm not sure if it still is.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

It still is because I think Disney only uses Coke products.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

That's probably very true. That sounds exactly correct. And you walk in and they have different like soda, they have ten different sodas you can try from different countries around the world. Yes. And you get the little like you know It's like a shot. It's like a little shot. Yep, and the and then it's just like fountain beverages, and you just you know, you follow the colour. And it's completely free. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 32:25

That's something to also keep in mind. And it's something that like if you needed like a quick maybe drink or want to get out of the heat, like it's something that you can definitely do. So after all this, again, like we rode all the rides again. I wanted to go to the Moana area. I've been to Epcot three times, and uh for whatever reason I always forget. I always say going in, I'm gonna do Moana, I'm gonna do Moana, I'm gonna do Moana. The problem is I want to do it at night because it's all never done it at night, so that's when it's all like lit up and stuff, and so I've always wanted to do it at night, but then I always forget. So, anyways, we headed over, we did Moana, and that was really fun because it was lit up. We got a great picture of Tafiti with the ball and the Epcot ball in the back. So we got some pictures also. Uh, there is a little statue of Walt Disney with the Epcot ball in the back, spaceship earth, and we got pictures there, and again, just a great time. After all that happened, we headed over because our lightning lane was ready for Guardians, and so we went over and you know how they have like VIP tours of like and you can pay for it and it's like pretty expensive, but you can do it. There was a group of like, I don't know, I'd say probably 18 women, and we were with them on Guardians. Oh, that's super fun! And it was funny because they were all dressed the same, they all had pink skirts on with a white shirt.

SPEAKER_02 33:52

Oh, how fun. You know, that would be fun to do. Like as a big group. Yeah, as like as we progress with this thing and and whatnot, is to you know, grab a couple of our girlfriends, obviously grab us, and then maybe open it up to anybody that's listening that might want to meet us down there and get a big group of us, like 18, 20, and all split the cost into a VIP tour.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

And if you split the cost, it's it's not that bad. No, it's just more if you're going by yourself and doing it. Like obviously it's expensive. But anyway, so we did Guardians, we got row nine, so that was really fun because row nine is the place that when you're riding the ride, you're going up and you're thinking, Why do you want row nine? Like that doesn't make any sense. Well, you're going up and you're the last car, okay? So there's ten rows, but you're the first row of the last car. Because there's two rows per each car. So you go up the like the first hill, that's when you're meeting all like the characters and guardians, and they're talking to you, like, and then you get up there and your cars flip. And now you are the first row of the ride, so you are front row. As the ride progresses, you're shot backwards, and you have lightning strikes going over your head, and you have a song playing. We got conga, which I know there's a lot of people that say, like, hey, like, I don't want this song, whatever. I don't really care. I love the ride, so like all the songs are whatever. But we got shot backwards, we got the first row, your car then flips around, you go around the planets. It is just an amazing ride. Like, we got off and we were just so happy. So, after that, we were okay with skipping the fireworks because we've seen them a couple times, and we knew that we wanted to do some other things. So we went out front, spaceship earth was lit up, we got some pictures with that, really good pictures, actually. And then we were done for the day. We we took a bus to Saratoga Springs, sorry, because I knew that we could walk to Disney Springs, so I was like, instead of having to get multiple buses, if we just go to another resort, let's go to Saratoga, get off there and walk. And so we got off the shortest like walk and bus stop because it stops multiple times, and so we walked to Disney Springs, we ate a polite pig because we didn't really have a meal that day again, like we kind of snacked, and so we were kind of getting hungry. So we stopped there and we got a snack there, we just kind of got like a small meal, but yeah, we had a great time, and I said, like, I'm gonna say this again, like so. Side note of all of this, my grandma a couple weeks before had a stroke, my great grandma, and she was 92, and she is doing great, she really is, like, she's making great progress, and she is doing everything she can. But the thing to keep in mind is she's 92, and so I think that it's hard because I was at her house every week, I went once a week, and then also she worked at my mom's coffee shop, so we saw her every day. So she came in every day for three hours, and you never guess she was 92. No, she would fold the towels and she would stamp boxes. So if you've ever been to my parents' local coffee shop, it's called Porter's, it's in Pickerington and Potasca, and we have three different locations, but she stamps the stuff for us and she folded our towels, so it's just kind of been hard because when I tell you like this woman walks on water, or you know, she's amazing, like she really is, and she was even living by herself, so it's just like hard to see because it's just complete different. So when we booked this trip, I was kind of none of this has happened yet, obviously, because it was so far in advance, and then when we were getting closer, I was like, Do I go? Do I go? Everybody told me to go because it was like she's doing okay, you know, you have to, you know, experience life. So we went, and when I tell you that, it was literally the best trip and like the most fulfilling, the most like loving. I just like I truly had the most amazing time, and it was like something that if I could go again I would. Yeah. So kind of sounds like, you know. I didn't need to go to Disney to be happy.

SPEAKER_02 37:57

I was gonna say, you know, you going to Orlando, obviously Disney's our favorite thing, and when I go, I we when we both go, we typically go to Disney. I've done Universal, I've done SeaWorld, it's been a really long time since I did that, but I have done it. I've drove to Coco Beach. It's been a long time since I did that. We've you know, so we've done different things. You can really go to Orlando without going to the parks. There's plenty to do. Yes. Again, without hitting the parks. But it's always nice to hit the parks, but it's it's nice. I'm glad you needed that.

SPEAKER_01 38:30

I also haven't seen them in a while because again, they moved and stuff like that. And so it was just kind of different because we haven't seen them in a second. And so I I'm serious if I I don't know if they'll they'll listen to this, so I know they'll hear the hear this, but I just truly had the most amazing time with the most amazing people, and they, you know, fulfilled me and like made me feel better, and you know, because Kathy's mom, who is my great-grandma's sister, also had a stroke, so she went through the same thing, but her mom is named Billy, and she was kind of a lot worse than Gigi ever has been through this. Any type of thing that can make you feel happy in that moment, she definitely just kinda alleviated a little bit of the stuff. They filled my cup, they protected my piece, they filled my cup, like they just yeah. So I really had a great time. And all this being said, I would do it again. Of course.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

I uh yeah. I always say do it again. Yeah. 48 hours in Disney was a lot, but I'd do it again. Yeah. If I could do it again tomorrow. We are planning. I don't know when we're gonna get to do this, especially Olivia's got another trip coming up in a couple weeks down there, so cue my jealousy. But she's coming up. We are at some point, we just have to figure out when we are gonna leave on the first flight out on a Saturday, and we're gonna come home the last flight out on a Sunday or on that Saturday, and just spend one day at I don't know which park, one of the parks, we're just gonna go and we're gonna do it. And then if we love it, then we'll go back and do another park.

unknown 40:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

Every other weekend.

SPEAKER_02 40:05

Oh my god, I would love that. It would be amazing. But yeah, those are our some of our plans. But I'm glad to hear that you had such a great time.

SPEAKER_01 40:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:13

And you too. Yeah. What was your favorite part of the trip?

SPEAKER_01 40:17

I don't think it was Disney. Oh, but I think it was just being able to get s time with them. If I have to pick something Disney, I think getting to experience it with Andaria, which is my best friend, and like getting it was first trip together? Yes. So we've got one other time, and we went with a bigger group, and this time was um so really I think my favorite parts of these trips that this trip specifically that I went on is the people that I spent with. Really. Like it it wouldn't have been it it the people that you go with, Disney's amazing, right? But the people that you go with make it so much more special. Oh yeah. And like again, you seeing it through your kids' eyes and stuff like that. Like stuff like that, the people that you go with, the people you choose. Yeah. At the end of the day, again, Disney's amazing. Right. It's always there though. The people that you choose to go with makes it so much better. I completely agree.

SPEAKER_02 41:09

Completely agree.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

And yours? Because of her.

SPEAKER_02 41:12

My favorite part of my trip? Yeah. Probably Phantasmic.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:16

Fantasmic. It's just my favorite. It's all right.

SPEAKER_01 41:18

And also you haven't been there in a while.

SPEAKER_02 41:20

I haven't seen Phantasmic in yeah, like well, I know at least my last three trips because we've had Ev. So it's been at least three, maybe four years since I had seen it. And I have always said and I will always say, if I'm going down there and I only get to do one thing, it is Phantasmic, is the thing I want to do. Phantasmic's just my I've I've cried during it, I laughed during it, I feel this, like my heart is just so full watching it. It's just my favorite thing. And so that's my one thing that I just love doing, and the fact that we had these incredible seats. I will, personally speaking, always do the dining plan or the dining package to go watch it because we had great seats, and I've sat in some not-so-great seats, the show's still great, but the great seats made a kid a lot better. Yeah. And it was just super fun. My my cousin hadn't been in a long time, so we just had a great time, and also going with him was super fun. We, you know, a little bit of a quick story on this cousin is we I I knew of him, but I didn't know him for a majority of my life, and I guess it was almost 10 years, maybe nine years ago. My my dad asked me, and this is my dad's brother's son, asked me to to get a hold of my cousin, my cousin Mark, and we learned that he worked down at Universal. And so I actually found him on LinkedIn and sent him a message. It was the funniest message because I was like, You don't know who I am, but I'm Greg's daughter. And it went from there, and now we are we're very close with them. I've gone to Disney with him before. Actually, the first trip Ev went on, him and his wife went to all the parks with us, which is just such a beautiful memory, in my my opinion, and I love it. But we, you know, him and I getting to go and just really spending this time, him and I.

SPEAKER_04 43:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

And it had been a while since he had been there, and it had been a while since I got to do some of these things that I was doing. So, and then I got to go and stay at their house, which I hadn't done before. So it was just a super great experience. And to your point, you know, going to the parks and everything was great, and I'm glad I did it, and I love it, and I'm gonna do it again. But it was also being with my cousin that really made that trip that incredible. So it's you know, Disney's great, Disney's always great. You could go by yourself, and Disney's gonna be great. Disney's also great though when you get to go with with people that just truly make that difference in your life. And that's what makes Disney so interesting. Even when you're in the same place at the same time, your story is still completely your own.

SPEAKER_01 43:55

We just happened to have two separate experiences in the same week with some of the most important people of our lives. Thanks for listening and we'll talk to you next time.

SPEAKER_02 44:04

Now go out there and chase your dreams.