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Old 20 Nov 15, 09:14 PM  
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Mrs Pumpkin
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[Halloween in the Wilderness 2015] Day 2 - Look At This Stuff

Halloween in the Wilderness 2015 Trip Report Index! (And here is the Pre-Trip Report!)



Day 2 - Look At This Stuff
Resort Tour - Art of Animation | Bahama Breeze (Lunch)
October 24th, 2015

After the fun and games of yesterday's arrival at Orlando Airport, we had a bit of a lie in. We didn't have anything planned for today, other than lunch at one of our favourite offsite restaurants – Bahama Breeze.

We also decided to take a walk around the resort, since this would be the only full day we would have here, so essentially, today's trip report is a tour of Disney's Art of Animation Resort. Not much in the way of words I don't think, but lots of photos (as if you'd expect anything less from me!)

I'll start with The Little Mermaid area, which is where our room was located. As you can expect from Disney, each area (or courtyard) was magnificently themed. There were huge statues of King Triton, Ursula, Ariel (with her sidekick, Flounder), which stood in front of each of the three building blocks.


























There was also Sebastian the Crab, sitting in a clam shell, as well as the statue of Prince Eric that falls the ocean floor in the film.






We overlooked the swimming pool, and the main themeing of this courtyard, which I thought was pretty cool. The buildings had fish, seaweed, and seashells decorating them; and walking around the pathways, there was lots of lush greenery, palm trees, flowers, statues of fish, and even seashells in the plant beds. It felt like every single detail was thought of.






















Then on top of all of that, there were giant models of some of the stuff Ariel had in her collection, like the Dinglehopper (fork) and the Snarfblatt (pipe).




Seeing the area in daylight was amazing, and I know we were all blown away by the attention to detail, and how fun everything was.

On the other side of the building we were in (the 7000s), was a view over to Disney's Pop Century Resort, which looking over from here was also pretty awesome.





Not knowing how far away we were from Animation Hall, which is the lobby area of the resort, and where you'll find the food court, shop, and arcade; we drove around and parked up. Everything looked very different in the daylight, and we would later find out, that it was around a 10-15 minute stroll away.














We took a look around the Ink & Paint Shop – not much Halloween merch was left, and Christmas merch was starting to make an appearance. I bought some souvenir staples – fridge magnet, pins, mug, and a Christmas ornament. No photos of those things, I really should get into the habit of taking photos of merch!




We also nipped into Landscapes of Flavors to buy a refillable mug, which was around $16. Liam drinks a lot of soft drinks, so it made sense to purchase one of these, even if it was only for the rest of the day and the morning!

The food court was big, and there were different zones to choose your meals from. We didn't eat anything from here, as was going offsite for lunch, but the menu seemed varied, and you could also take food away which is handy if you don't fancy sitting down in here.





There was lots of gorgeous artwork on the walls inside the food court – again, all those little attentions to detail.






You enter Landscapes of Flavors from either the Ink & Paint Shop, or from outside, by the Big Blue swimming pool. The pool area was massive! I believe it's the largest pool of all the Disney resorts – and there are speakers under the water to listen to music. Very cool! We didn't actually go for a dip, not really sure why not, but deeply regret that now!






[Continued in next post…]
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Old 20 Nov 15, 09:15 PM  
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Mrs Pumpkin
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From Landscapes of Flavors, we walked over to the Cars courtyard, which I thought was (and I'll be using this word a lot in today's trip report!) AWESOME. I mean, if I was a little kid staying at Art of Animation I would be so excited to see Ornament Valley, Radiator Springs, come to life!








The themeing in each of the resorts courtyard is so unique, that you feel that you're in a completely different resort whilst walking through each one! The buildings here are painted with the huge rock formations, so that you feel like you are in a valley, with blue sky and white clouds painted above them (although, plenty of that in sunny Orlando!)






There are several huge models of the Cars – there are signs saying not to climb, but these seemed to go ignored. Fortunately, the ground surrounding each model is very spongy!

The Cars are… Doc Hudson, Flo, Luigi (by his tire shop, which is the entrance to one of the buildings), Guido, Ramone, and Fillmore.






















Then there was Sally Carrera sitting alongside Lightning McQueen in front of Wheel Well Motel, the abandoned filling station in the film, an entrance to another building.








There was Sarge, with his Surplus Hut, and finally, good old Mater! He's sitting in front of his towing and salvage shop – another building entrance.














In the centre of the courtyard was a big sign for Cozy Cone Motel, which rotated around. The entrance here lead into the swimming pool for this area. I wished I could have bought a few of those postcards in the window of the lobby there!

Around the pool were tall white grasses, and you felt like you were in the dessert, and there were huge cones, which were cabanas for the pool.

















Having already been blown away with The Little Mermaid, which, with its lush greenery, and blue buildings, made you feel like you were under the sea, The Cars courtyard, blew me even further away (if that's a thing!), and I LOVED it here. Like I said earlier, if I was a little kid who loved the Cars movies, this would be AWESOME!

By now, we were all getting a bit hungry, and decided to head over to our favourite offsite restaurant – Bahama Breeze – on W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway (192), near the villa where we'd spent our first two holidays to Orlando.

Having stayed onsite in 2014 too, this was our first time back in this part of Orlando since 2013 – it's amazing how different it feels being outside of the Disney bubble! The souvenir shops, the restaurants, the signs, they all felt weird… but so familiar at the same time!

Seems there is a new road, as I really don't remember one being called Inspiration; it's something I know I would have taken a photo of in the past! And I know we have never seen cows in the fields before!








We pulled up, parked, and went inside. The restaurant had a few customers, but it wasn't busy. We were given a (huge) menu, which the boys looked at, but I already knew what I was having! Steve spied a sharing platter, so we ordered that, alongside my favourite, Firecracker Shrimp and shared them between the three of us.

Appetizers…

Us: Firecracker Shrimp - Buttermilk battered and crispy fried with Sriracha aioli. ($10.99)

Island Hopper Combo - A combination of Island favorites. Jamaican chicken wings, crispy coconut shrimp, onion rings and conch fritters. Served with citrus-mustard, jerk barbeque sauce and roasted pineapple chutney. ($19.99)

Our server was friendly, and on the ball - our glasses never went empty – refills were brought before we'd even finished the drink in the glass we had! Soft drinks (Coke for the boy, sweet tea for us, were $2.99 each)The food, as it always is when we visit, was delicious… Those firecracker shrimp though… *drools*






I picked my favourite lunch time dish – a Cuban Sandwich, which, instead of fries, I had a cup of soup on the side. Steve did the same with the sandwich that he ordered. Liam had fries with his burger.

Entrιes…

Me: Cuban Sandwich - Ham, roast pork, salami, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, hot-pressed on Cuban bread. With cup of Chicken Tortilla Soup - Chicken breast, fresh carrots, roasted corn and avocado in a light broth with a hint of lime. ($10.99)

Him: Ropa Veija Sandwich - Tender shredded beef braised with tomatoes, sweet peppers and topped with cheddar cheese, served on toasted Cuban bread. With cup of Cuban Black Bean Soup - Slow-simmered and drizzled with cilantro-crema. ($12.49)

The Boy: BBQ Bacon & Cheeseburger - Glazed with our signature sweet and smoky barbeque sauce, Applewood-smoked bacon, melted pepper-jack cheese, cole slaw and crisp fried onion strings on a toasted brioche bun. ($11.49)






The Cuban Sandwich is heavy going, and after just a couple of bites, I was actually full. Totally letting the side down there! I had been looking forward to this meal for, uhm, years, haha! But I took it back to the hotel, and ate it for dinner that night. Steve and Liam had no problem finishing off their food.

Despite the aforementioned fullness, there was no way I was missing out on my favourite Bahama Breeze dessert of Banana Nut Bread Supreme! The portion was a lot bigger than I remember, and after a couple of polite mouthfuls, I also boxed it up – ice cream and all! Steve's cheesecake was divine! This was new to us on the menu, and it was a great choice. Again, it was a huge portion – enough for two to share easily.

The only thing that put me off, was that next to each item on the menu was a calorie count… there are no calories on holiday man!

Desserts…

Me: Banana Nut Bread Supreme - Sliced bananas, vanilla ice cream on warm banana nut bread with hot butterscotch brandy sauce. ($6.99)

Him: Dulce de Leche Cheescake - Our special recipe marbled with Dulce de Leche cream caramel served with fresh Island fruit. ($6.99)





**************************************************

Bahama Breeze

Bill Total: $95.13 {Tip: $19.87}

**************************************************

[Continued in next post…]
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Old 20 Nov 15, 09:17 PM  
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After having our fill at Bahama Breeze, we went back to Art of Animation, to continue the tour of the remaining two areas.

We parked back near our room, and went back there to put my leftovers in the fridge, and to have a nap! We were all feeling wiped out, and we hadn't even done much! Liam asked about going in the pool, which we said was fine, but he didn't in the end – too busy on his iPad it would seem!

We then ventured over to The Lion King area, but not before seeing the moon high in the sky above Pop Century!


I love how everything transitions from one resort area to the next. The Lion King was full of jungle greens, exotic plants, and grasses. Loved it!








As you approach from The Little Mermaid area, you are greeted by a Zazu statue, followed by Scar, sitting high atop a rock. Then comes the showpiece – The Elephant Graveyard, being watched over by Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed. There isn't a pool in this courtyard, but it's just a hop, skip and a jump to The Big Blue in the Finding Nemo area.
























You then come across a young Simba, walking along a fallen tree trunk with Timone and Pumba. Followed by Mufasa on Pride Rock, and exiting past Rafiki.













By now, the sun was all but set, and we rushed through to the Finding Nemo courtyard so I could take some photos! There are a few mixed in from during the day too.

At the end of each building were tall posts, with Seagulls sitting on top of them. Mine, Mine








There are two huge statues/models here – Crush, with Dory on one of his Flippers, and Mr. Ray on the opposite side. On the building next to Crush were lots and lots of turtles – riding the EAC presumably! And in amongst the seaweed like plants, were models of fish.
















Squirt was sitting on part of the reef, which was a play area for kids to climb on, and slide down.


Here is a photo of The Big Blue during the day – Marlin and Nemo are hiding within a giant anemone, and just behind that, were some of Nemo's school friends – Tad, Pearl, Kathy, and Sheldon that squirted out water in a splash zone. The whole pool looked like a lot of fun!














During our walk about, we spotted a teeny tiny, real life frog! He was quite happy, sitting on the path minding his own business!









We had planned to hang around to watch the movie under the stars, which that evening was going to be Hocus Pocus… or was it The Nightmare Before Christmas? Whichever it was, we didn't stay, as by now the wind was whipping up, and we were all feeling a bit chilly.

To be fair, we were all still really zoned out as well, so walked back to our room, where we ate leftover pizza and Cuban sandwich for dinner; before watching a Disney movie on the TV. But not before one final photo of the view over at Pop Century, which looked so pretty lit up against the night sky.



Read about the day before:
Day 1 - Animation Station:
Travel Day - LGW-MCO | Check in at Art of Animation | Disney Pizza Delivery (Dinner)

Read about the day after:
Day 3 - In The Wilderness:
Landscape of Flavors (CS Breakfast) | Check in at Wilderness Lodge | Whispering Canyon Cafe (TS Dinner) << Coming Soon!

Read ALL the days!
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Old 20 Nov 15, 10:12 PM  
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Lovely photos- what a pretty resort!

That firecracker shrimp just made my must eat list!
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Old 20 Nov 15, 11:33 PM  
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Sounds like you had a much better experience at Bahama Breeze than we did- it's not made our revisit list!
Sandwiches look good though
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Old 21 Nov 15, 12:04 AM  
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Originally Posted by TinkerSmee View Post
Sounds like you had a much better experience at Bahama Breeze than we did- it's not made our revisit list!
Sandwiches look good though
What a shame, we've always had great food and service there.
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Old 21 Nov 15, 01:27 AM  
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We just got back from art of animation and we spotted a frog almost everyday I very nearly stepped on one oops!
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Old 21 Nov 15, 10:10 AM  
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Wow Art of Animation looks so beautiful. Amazing photos one again! My mouth is watering over the food, loooks so good x
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Old 21 Nov 15, 02:27 PM  
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Fantastic photos.
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Old 21 Nov 15, 07:39 PM  
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That photo of the frog is fantastic! Art of Animation looks so fun, would love to spend a few nights there one day!
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