Saturday, March 31, 2012

A Return from My Blog Hiatus...

Well, it has been awhile.  Now, one of my friends does a monthly resolution to follow, so my April resolution is to blog more.  No this isn't a April Fool's joke!

So what I have been up to? Well since my last blog post, I've been to Disney again.  Mom had a meeting in Disney and was gonna be down there for 5 days and I just couldn't let her (and my Dad) be there without me so I flew down for a little more than 48 hours.  I know - why bother for such a short amount of time, but that is just enough for me to get my "Disney Fix".  I had never been down to WDW in February so I was interested to see how the crowds were and what the weather would be in the "middle of winter"!  Well I stepped off the plane about noon to a balmy 92 degrees.  The temperature did set a record high that day, so I can't promise that it will always be that nice in February.  Personally, I thought the weather was perfect.  Friday was a little hot, but not humid, while Saturday and Sunday were in the mid 70s and sunny. It was perfect.  

After a dip in the pool, we headed to EPCOT for the evening.  The EPCOT Flower and Garden Show had not started yet, but the Horticulture Staff had started placing the topiaries.  They are simply breathtaking.  Everything on the topiaries is strictly alive, sans the support wire.  





For dinner, we tried a new restaurant, Nine Dragons in China.  It was very good.  Most of us chose the prix-fixe menu with a soup course, main course, and dessert.  I had chicken consomme with pork dumplings, honey-sesame chicken, and red bean ice cream.  It was delicious.  And if you ever go there don't shy away from the red bean ice cream.  I had had it before at the Quick Service Restaurant in China and it will remind you of Strawberry Ice Cream.  I would argue that Disney World has collectively the best food in the world.  It is easy to find your favorite restaurants and always book reservations there.  (I'm guilty of that).  But most of the times that I try different restaurants, I am amazed how great the food is, so if you don't get into your first choice restaurants, don't get discouraged.

After dinner, we watched Illuminations and then did all the rides since it was an Extra Magic Hours night.  The next morning, Dad and I got up early to head to Animal Kingdom.  We love to go on the Safari and then trek through the walking areas to see the animals.  One of the reasons we love AK so much is because it is different every time we go.



After Animal Kingdom, we headed to Magic Kingdom.  Awww...It felt good to be home!  We did a couple of rides, but it was actually very busy.  It was a "half-marathon" weekend and there were tons of people there.  Disney does several half-marathons throughout the year and one marathon in January.  I wasn't aware of how large a draw that is for people! I need to get on the marathon band wagon.  By the time we had done our Adventureland rides, caught the afternoon parade in Frontierland, and waited more than a half an hour (twice) for The Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World, it was time for dinner.  Again we were trying a new place - Tony's Town Square which was at the very front of the park.  We were amazed again by another new, delicious restaurant.  We tried the "Toasted Cheese and Garlic Bread" as well as the "Chicken Parmigiana."  Tony's was a little loud, but what can you expect from a Theme Park restaurant.


The Flag Ceremony in Main Street USA

After dinner, we boarded the train to view (or at least try) the progress being made on the New Fantasyland.  Well I saw a lot more of the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad refurbishment, than Fantasyland, but oh well!





 After a few more rides, we decided to call it a night.

Sunday was dedicated to Downtown Disney and Wolfgang Puck, who never disappoints!  All in all, it was a great weekend getaway.