Sue's Quick 2024 Flower & Garden Festival Trip

Congrats to SB on his retirement. Does that mean you are close to doing that too so you can spend even more time at Disney? Have fun this trip. Always love Flower and Garden.

Congrats SB!!!!

Have fun on your F&G trip!
You get Jo Dee Messina the 12th & 13th for the Garden Rocks Concerts. I have not seen her at Disney before, might be worth seeing.
Boathouse is one our favorite Disney Springs restaurants. Since you are going on a weekend and early, you get their brunch menu too.

Would love to hear about your upcoming HAL trips too. We love Disney, but we still like to see and do things outside the Disney bubble too. We have not sailed on HAL yet, maybe one day. Right now, we have two Disney cruises and two Norwegian cruises in the coming 16 months.

Enjoy your trip. Congratulations to SB on his retirement.

Congrats to SB. Disney is Disney, but this is a major life step. When you join him and are both there, it will be that much better

Cheers.

DAY 2 – Friday 4/12/24
Who: Sue (65), DVC Member
SB (66), my husband

Plan: Epcot/Flower & Garden Festival

Actual: So last night SB really wanted a cookie or something sweet but did not want to get dressed to go downstairs. He kept hoping I wanted a cookie, which I definitely did not – even if he was going to go down to get it. In the end he got up and reheated part of his chicken dinner and poured a small diet coke he’d brought from home. It sure smelled good – and definitely better for him than a cookie. I told him if we were talking Gideon’s cookies I’d make an exception and eat it, but the cookies at Beach Club Marketplace are nothing special (not worth the calories).

It was a quiet evening. People were out at the pool, but we didn’t hear any noise inside the studio. Around 10 before 9 we could hear fireworks, but I knew it was too early for Harmonious at Epcot. We’re also facing away from Epcot, so I knew we wouldn’t see any of them. I stepped out onto the porch and was surprised to be facing what I assume were the fireworks at Magic Kingdom! What a nice surprise. I watched for a little while but then headed back inside before they finished. We turned in around 9:45 and slept really well. Despite being close to the elevator we didn’t have any noisy people walking by, and everything was quiet. I was up around 4:45 and took the coffee maker into the bathroom to make my cappuccino. When I came back out SB was still sleeping, so I brought the cappuccino and laptop to bed but didn’t turn on the lights or tv just yet.

SB was up by 6 and we hung out doing online stuff while watching the local news. The weather looks to be fabulous for the rest of the trip! I got up to take my shower around 6:45, and he followed when I finished. The roll-in shower is not ideal for us, but we managed not to soak the bathroom floor. After dressing and drying my hair, I assumed he’d want to get the bounty platter for breakfast and bring it up to the room. He did want the breakfast but wanted to eat it down there. I did mobile ordering and immediately pressed the button for “I’m here – prepare my food”. By the time we got downstairs it had just been put in the bag.

Rather than eat outside in the morning dampness I led us to the Solarium, where he insisted on the very first table (why walk any further than that – ugh). We shared the breakfast, but still didn’t finish it. I had the Mickey waffle and a piece of bacon, while he ate some of the potatoes, eggs, biscuit, sausage & other bacon. He drank all of his NesQuick chocolate milk. It was early when we finished but we walked over to International Gateway anyway.

SB had trouble getting into the park, same as last night. They had to call a cast member over to reset his band & fingerprint. I’m not sure what he’s been doing wrong, as he’s never had these issues before. Of course, it can always be a Disney glitch – their technology has challenges at times.

Once into the park we were held up across from the stage in Canada for about 15 minutes until 8:30. The park opens at 9 for the general public, but 8:30 for resort guests. We passed lots of people who had come in the awful front entrance, no doubt headed to France for Ratatouille. We headed straight to Soarin and pretty much walked into the pre-show. We were in the front row of the center section, so the view was ideal. The set of seats on our left wasn’t used at all – it was that uncrowded at this point.

Soarin’ is back to the around the world version, and we enjoyed it. Afterwards we rode Living with the Land, with only one other guest on the pair of boats. We skipped the movie. SB bought a bottle of water while I took care of a quick work issues, then we headed back outside.

I suggested Spaceship Earth but he’s not a big fan of that and felt it was too far away (excuses). I could have left him on a bench and gone to do it myself but didn’t bother. This is the biggest benefit to solo trips – no having to agree on anything with anyone, just do what you want when you want. He’d already seen the Moana water thing, so we didn’t bother repeating that. He suggested Creations (the store) so we browsed through there. He saw a big Darth Vader head he thought would look good on his bar and was talking about getting 2 of them! He has no room on his bar, though – and these things were big! Fortunately, he changed his mind a bit later <g>.

We didn’t buy anything in Creations and sat outside for a little while. The Jammitors came over and played a couple songs nearby, and when they left, we decided to get up and keep walking too. We headed out to World Showcase and turned left towards Mexico. I expected we’d only be able to get as far as Norway since it was well before 11am but I could see people walking through Germany, Italy, etc.

We stopped in Mexico to ride the boat ride and some painted skulls caught his eye. He decided these would look good on his bar. Best of all they had multiple sizes and he opted for the smallest ones. We decided to get them later, closer to when we’d be leaving the park this afternoon. We did the boat ride with no wait then headed back outside to continue walking. In Germany we walked back to check the Sommerfest menu for that bread pudding and saw that it’s pretzel bread pudding. Earlier I couldn’t imagine how bread pudding would be a Germany thing, but this makes sense. We never did get any this morning but hope to when we return around dinner time.

In Canada we sat on a bench for a while. It was still barely 10:30. Eventually he spotted someone walking by with a margarita in his hand and I reminded him the Cantina in Mexico opens around 10. When we’re here with Tiana & Jonell we’re always sitting in there by 10:30 as the 3 of them drink their margaritas, so I’m not sure how he didn’t know they’d be open. We got up and walked over there and I got us a table while he ordered his mango margarita. We had a couple big fat ducks hanging around in the restaurant, but thankfully nobody was feeding them (yet).

When he finished his margarita is was getting close to 11 so we went into Mexico to get the skulls. They had several and he liked the ones that were painted white and black. He picked the 2 he liked best and also got a couple shot glasses (he has way too many of those already, but he seems to think more is better, lol). The first register wasn’t working, so they took us to another, which also wasn’t working, so they took us to a third. A supervisor had to come by and swipe a card before that one would work, but then things went smoothly. They do a great job wrapping up breakable stuff, probably thinking some of it will be flying home with the guest.

We left Mexico and stopped at the festival stand nearby where they cook ribs behind the booth. He got 2 orders of the ribs (each 2 big ribs) and a chocolate mousse terrarium with matcha crumbles and edible flowers. I got us a bench over by the bbq pits. The ribs were very good, somewhat sticky from a peanut sauce and with chopped peanuts and some peppers on the plate. I ate 1 rib, and he had the other 3. We shared the chocolate mousse – it was more than enough for 2 people to share! It was good, but not something I’d bother with again.

We continued walking and he went to wait on a bench in International Gateway while I continued to France for another goat cheese croissant. Today the line was longer, but it moved pretty quickly. The croissant was outstanding once again! I shared it with SB who proclaimed it his favorite item overall. Once it was gone we left the park and walked back to Beach Club Villas.

Our trash had already been taken, which was nice to see. We changed into swimsuits and headed down to the quiet pool for a while. He spent the time in the pool and I enjoyed a chaise lounge nearby. After about 45 minutes he headed back up to the room and I stayed for another half-hour or so. It was warming up quickly and I didn’t feel like getting all sweaty and gross. I was back inside just after 1:30 and after getting dressed settled down to update the report while watching General Hospital. SB played some horse races online since the baseball games he was interested in weren’t being played until tonight. He fixed himself a ham sandwich and ate some chips – stuff I’d brought from home.

After GH we continued watching some game shows until the 4pm news started. SB heated up the rest of his chicken dinner and added a beer we’d brought from home. I had a glass of wine and did some online stuff. We were thinking of trying for the 5:30 concert tonight (Jo Dee Messina) but in the end SB decided he was too comfortable laying here. With this being my last chance to be in Epcot until next October (upcoming trips before then will all be too hot for me to consider going to the parks) I was still going back to wander around even though I’m really not hungry for more food.

I left around 4:45 and immediately noticed Epcot was a lot busier than last night. I’m assuming yesterday was a fluke due to the bad weather earlier in the day, but it sure made it nice for us! The festival booths all had lines, too – although still nowhere near as bad as the horrific Festival of the Holiday lines in November! I turned left into United Kingdom and began my loop.

In Germany the caramel shop was not that busy (line ended at the doorway) so I joined the queue and bought one of the caramel apple oatmeal cookies for us to share later. Since this is considered a merchandise shop for some reason, it’s nice to get 20% off here. Even Italy had a long line, so any thoughts of a possible prosecco were quickly abandoned.

Arriving in America there was just over 15 minutes until the 5:30 concert would begin. The theater was very crowded, but I decided to wander in and take my chances. I don’t know Jo Dee Messina or any of her songs, so it didn’t really matter where I sat. My main priority was being able to make an easy exit in case I didn’t care for the music.

I decided to sit on the wall over on the Japan side of the theater. Nobody had started sitting there yet, unlike on the Italy side where it was already full. I took a spot near the front, and soon the rest of the wall filled in. As expected, a few minutes before 5:30 a cast member came and took a few of us to an empty row of seats in the front row of the 2nd section, which is my ideal spot. As a short person, this works better than being in a row with another person right in front of me (a person who is usually taller).

By now the theater was standing room only, with several standing outside the theater as well. When Jo Dee came out, she didn’t look familiar to me at all, but the audience seemed to all be very excited to see her. Her voice wasn’t familiar, and neither were any of the songs. However, most of the people in the audience knew all the words and were singing along. She reminded me of a country music singer, and I thought she was fine but since I didn’t know any of the songs it was just ok for me. I ended up leaving after around 4 songs, preferring to get ahead of the crowd since the concert didn’t really matter to me. As expected, France had a pretty long line – the longest I’ve seen so far but not the worst I’ve ever seen in the past. I’m glad I got my croissant earlier!

I left via International Gateway and stopped by the room to drop off the cookie so the caramel wouldn’t melt. SB was watching the Master’s and there was a bag on the floor from Beach Club Marketplace. Almost immediately my phone alerted me that his glucose was too high (271) so I looked at the receipt in the bag to see he’d eaten a chocolate croissant, bag of grapes and 2 small whole milks. He will be truly shocked when his A1C isn’t where it should be. He also had a chocolate chunk cookie on the table that he’d bought for me. I added the caramel apple oatmeal cookie and put them both in a ziplock bag.

I went back out and took a walk around Crescent Lake. Hurricane Hannah’s at Stormalong Bay was full of guests having drinks. Over at Boardwalk it was sad to see the former Big River Grill site closed up. The booth that will become Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs is still under renovation, as is the Cake Bake Shop. At least they’ve made quite a bit of progress on Cake Bake Shop since November.

Back in the room I found SB waiting for a baseball game to start (in a delay). I cut up a small plate of crackers and cheese and offered him some of a packaged cheese, cashews and dried fruit thing but he wasn’t hungry. I didn’t want the whole package, so I just settled for the cheese and crackers I’d prepared, along with some wine. By 7:30 his glucose was back within range. The baseball game started a little bit after that, and he used his headphones, so the game wasn’t competing with the tv. We’re both in for the night at this point.

Today was a wonderful day – perfect weather, a great time at Flower & Garden Festival this morning, and we both enjoyed the pool time. I enjoyed my late afternoon foray back into Epcot for another loop around the countries and the walk around Crescent Lake.

Tomorrow, we don’t have park access, and that’s ok. We’ll spend the morning at Disney Springs and have an early lunch at the Boathouse, then enjoy more pool time. I’ll most likely walk around Crescent Lake later – just enjoying being here!

I'm also so impressed with the details you include. Thanks for sharing with us.

I always love reading your reports because you really show how DVC visits can be low-park or no-park and still feel enjoyable.