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Old 5 Mar 17, 11:44 PM  
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Stewboy
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A Very Disney New Year - Day 5: The Very Many Drinks of Jo

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Sunday 1st January 2017

2017 arrived in style as we were woken up at 2:30am by a fire engine screaming it’s way down International Drive; all those times staying at Saratoga Springs opposite the Reedy Creek Fire Station and not once were we woken up by a fire engine!

As we tried to get back to sleep we were then serenaded by what must’ve been a large group of drunk British people singing very loudly for about 15 minutes. It was obviously on the grounds of the hotel, yet no one at the hotel was doing anything about it. Not the way I was hoping to start the New Year!

Once the idiots had shut up we managed to get back to sleep. We woke up again at about 7:30 and “enjoyed” our usual cup of Mr Coffee.

Isabella was up at about 9am and after Jo and I had showered we all got ready. Jo and Isabella put their ears on - Jo had plumped for her Food & Wine ears (again, from the Merry Ear Market) because even though the Festival is over, food and wine are Jo’s two favourite things!

First things first though, we had breakfast at The Wave to see to, so off we drove to the T&TC. There were quite a lot of cars entering the T&TC, which surprised us as we’d expected it to be quiet today. We parked up, jumped on a tram and headed to the Contemporary via the resort monorail. Due to that surprising amount of traffic we were actually running about 10 minutes late for our 10:45am reservation. We checked in (they were fine with us running late) and were seated immediately.




Isabella and Hank ready for breakfast

After a decent cup of coffee (yes Mr Coffee, you’re rubbish) we hit the buffet; regular readers will know that we are no strangers to a buffet . Our previous experience of The Wave breakfast buffet has been really good and I’m pleased to report that this morning’s was no different; a great first Disney meal experience of 2017, helped in no small part by our server Jorge who was very friendly and attentive.








Yum

Once breakfast was over we headed back to the monorail. Returning to the T&TC then changing onto the Epcot monorail, we arrived in the park at about 12:45pm.

2017 had begun with a scorcher of a day, and Epcot was busier than expected. We thought that everyone would stay at home today, nursing hangovers or just generally doing nothing, like people at home do on a New Year’s Day - we were mistaken.










On our way to Epcot

As we wandered through the park Isabella was enjoying snapping away with her Kidizoom camera. Eventually we arrived at our first FastPass of 2017: Test Track. As usual we let Isabella design the car, and after the ride we messed around in the Chevrolet car showroom for a bit. As well as the obligatory sitting in cars we designed a TV advert for our car which was fun. As far as post-ride entertainment go, I think Test Track’s is actually a lot of fun - it’s not just about trying to get you to spend money.

As we exited via the gift shop (obviously that IS about getting you to spend money!) Isabella spotted a pressed penny machine and spent some more of her hard earned cash…




In the park








Designing the car


Testing Isabella's car








Post-ride fun
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Old 5 Mar 17, 11:46 PM  
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Stewboy
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After flying around the test track we were now flying off into space; our second FastPass of the year was Mission: Space. We’d signed up to the Green Team and Isabella assigned us our roles. She was going to be commander, Jo was pilot, and I was to be in charge of navigation. After landing on Mars, Isabella spent some time exploring the Space Base, while the rest of her crew chilled out.

Leaving Mission: Space we headed round to the World Showcase. As we walked through Mexico the mariachi band, Mariachi Cobre, were performing so we stopped to watch them for about 10 minutes, something we’ve never done before; considering that they’ve been performing there since 1982 that’s rather surprising - this was definitely a holiday of firsts!




Next stop: Mars


Mariachi Cobre

We really enjoyed watching them perform but it was super hot standing in the sun so eventually we continued round the World Showcase until we reached China. No prizes for guessing what Jo wanted from China…? That’s right, a Tipsy Ducks in Love!

While I queued up at the Joy of Tea kiosk, Jo and Isabella went for a wander around the gardens in the China pavilion, getting a PhotoPass photo while they were there. Jo’s drink in hand, I went in search of them. Wandering through the gardens I wondered what had happened to the Chinese Zodiac animals that used to be there. Turns out the last time I’d been there was 2010 during Chinese New Year, which is why they were there!










China

Japan was next on our tour of the world, where we got Isabella a rainbow kakigōri (shaved ice). It was huge and melting fast, so to avoid Isabella getting into a mess Jo spoon-fed her until it was more manageable.

As I was the only one sans drink, we carried on around to America where I was hoping to get a beer from Hop & Barley but unfortunately it was closed. All the way round we’d been discussing whether to go over to the Boardwalk or not, and as we got close to the International Gateway we decided we had the time so we turned left and headed out of Epcot. Another first for us; we’d never been this way before despite saying we were going to do it many times.






Japan




International Gateway

While we were here we wanted to check out the Christmas decorations in the hotel lobbies - first stop: Yacht Club. Along with the tree, the lobby features a spectacular Christmas train set with lots of Disney characters and scenes included in the detail.

Beach Club was next. Their lobby features a full size fully moving gingerbread carousel with each horse representing one of four Disney characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Goofy. Additionally a Pluto carousel horse is part of the display around the carousel.


Yacht Club






















Yacht Club Christmas decorations








Beach Club














Beach Club Christmas Decorations
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Old 5 Mar 17, 11:56 PM  
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Stewboy
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After the Yacht and Beach club and their wonderful Christmas decorations, we headed over to the Boardwalk. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how beautiful these resorts are, it was also a lovely day weatherwise and we were feeling very happy.

But we were thirsty.

So our next stop was AbracadaBar. We had wanted to get a drink here in November when we went to Flying Fish but ran out of time, fortunately today we had plenty of time .



The bar opens at 4, and we arrived dead on 4. However it hadn’t opened yet so we joined the rest of the alcoholics peering through the door and windows, waiting for it to open.

At 4:07 it eventually opened and once inside we got ourselves a table and perused the menu. I headed to the bar to order but one of the servers came to the table so I sat back down and we ordered the following Curious Cocktails:
  • Jo: Pepper’s Ghost - Ciroc Pineapple Vodka and Habanero Lime
  • Me: Parlor Trick - Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon, Simple Syrup, and a splash of Soda Water








AbracadaBar


My Parlor Trick


The Pepper’s Ghost of Jo

For those that don’t know the background to this bar, the official story is this:

“This little lounge was a former stomping ground for the famous magicians, boardwalk illusionists, and lovely magician’s assistants of the Golden Age. After a show, prestidigitators would gather to “conjure” up new cocktails, swap magic tips and tricks, and stay up all night attempting to “out-charm” each other with their extraordinary illusions. According to BoardWalk lore, it was on just such an evening that every single magician in the lounge vanished into thin air, and was never seen again…”
The theming is fun and the drinks are strong! Isabella played on my phone while Jo and I enjoyed our drinks. Jo finished hers and ordered another: The Conjurita - Gran Centenario Plata Tequila, Cointreau, Simple Syrup, and Lime Juice. It’s served up purple but after a little theatre from our server Chelsea it turned pink. I declined a second drink as I was driving and that Parlor Trick was stronger than anticipated!








The Conjurita of Jo

It was now gone 5 o’clock and we needed to think about dinner. We decided we would head back to International Drive to eat so we walked to the bus stop outside the Boardwalk Inn. After a short wait we got a bus over to Magic Kingdom then took the ferry back to the T&TC and a tram to the car.

It was 6 when we were reunited with the car and, as it was getting late (and we were hungry), we drove straight to the restaurant. We’d decided on Bahama Breeze, so when we arrived back at International Drive we had to try and find a space in the Bahama Breeze car park - which from experience is never an easy task!


Bus stop selfie

We ended up parking in the TGI Friday’s car park next door (we’ve all done it - it’s never full!) and headed into Bahama Breeze which, although busy, gave us a table straightaway.

Jo ordered herself a margarita flight - she wasn’t messing around today! It consisted of the following margaritas:

Hibiscus Margarita - Sauza Silver, hibiscus and pressed sugarcane juice
Tamarind Margarita - 1800 Reposado, Cointreau, tamarind purée and pressed sugarcane juice
Grilled Pineapple Margarita - 1800 Reposado, charred pineapple purée, sugarcane juice with notes of almond, ginger, cloves and lime

I went for something far less extravagant - a pint of Samuel Adams. For our food we ordered the following:
  • Jo: Jerk Chicken Pasta - Sliced jerk chicken breast, fresh asparagus and mushrooms tossed in a Parmesan cream sauce with bow-tie pasta
  • Me: Chipotle beef Bowl - Sautéed beef sirloin, roasted corn and black beans in chipotle sauce served over yellow rice and cheese; topped with sour cream, fresh salsa and ripe avocado
  • Isabella: Bowtie Mac ’N Cheese/Ice cream















It was 7:30 when we finished. The food had been really good but it was very busy in there and the atmosphere wasn’t great. We were very tired by now and glad that we only had a short drive back to the hotel which was just on the other side of the road!

Back at the hotel I got us some decaf coffee from the Starbucks in the lobby, while Isabella got ready for bed. Isabella went to sleep and it wasn’t long until we followed. I wrote up my notes and by 9:30, I and a rather tipsy Jo went to bed - the first day of the New Year had been a lot of fun

Tomorrow: A hot and muggy Animal Kingdom day








Isabella's photos of the day
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Old 6 Mar 17, 12:35 AM  
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Love your trip reports. Jo is my kind of tourist, defo going to get myself a margarita flight when We visit Bahama breeze
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Old 6 Mar 17, 09:03 AM  
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As New Year's Days go, that one seemed pretty awesome!

I was just about to type how unlucky you've been with noise at the Rosen, and how we've never experienced anything like that... then I remembered being woken up on our first night in 2015 by next door having a massive domestic haha. Think I've got those past holiday rose tinted glasses on.

Love Isabella's shirt. In Japan it looks like that's what she's holding and eating! Jo's ears are so cool too.

How lovely is it going through international gateway and strolling round the boardwalk. That little bar sounds so nice, love the way everything at Disney has an elaborate back story too!

As usual cracking photos of the day from Isabella. I do miss her drawings though
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Old 6 Mar 17, 09:07 AM  
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Great day. I always find it funny that there's carpet on the platform at the contemporary for the monorail. You don't see that at Mile End station on the central line! Good girl Jo, my kind of refreshments.
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Old 6 Mar 17, 10:41 AM  
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How do you rate The Wave for breakfast? Its on our list for Oct. And do you know if you can park in the Contemporary and then walk in to MK? Great new years day by the way
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Old 6 Mar 17, 04:17 PM  
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Another lovely day! Jo is a legend, I need to try more cocktails on my next visit
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Old 6 Mar 17, 04:51 PM  
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Sounds like a great day.

In the photo of Isabella in Japan its looks like she is holding an amazing cupcake - then I realised it was on her top 😁
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Old 6 Mar 17, 09:13 PM  
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The Wave looks great, yummy breakfasts!

Haha I love Jo's love of cocktails. Good girl I didn't know about that bar at The Boardwalk - is it a new one or am I just unbelievably unobservant?

All the Christmas decs look amazing, especially that carousel!

Haha, we most definitely parked at TGI's last time we went to BB

Excellent first day of the year! x

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