Posted at 12:36 pm by taryngirl, on December 8, 2020
Continuing on with our day at Epcot, we finished up our Germany snacks and headed toward Mouse Gears to do some shopping. The entire center where the fountain used to be, is all blocked off and under construction at the moment. They are redoing things in there. That means that Mouse Gears is now moved to a different location. It’s still in Future World East, just a different building. The selection is still really good!
From there we headed to Spaceship Earth. Wait time posted was 20 minutes. We waited 25 minutes. Once exiting there are no games anymore. It’s completely silent! I’m assuming this is because of Covid, and the fact that they don’t want people touching the games and crowding. We went over to Journey Into Imagination with Figment, which had a 20 minute wait time posted. We waited 5 minutes. Also, at the end of this attraction there are no games or anything interactive!
Here you can see they are only seating every other row on this attraction for now.It’s empty and quiet!
Of course at the end of this, we went and enjoyed the DVC Lounge which is upstairs in this building. We sat for about an hour and enjoyed some drinks and snacks while recharging our phones and resting our feet.
While there are no character meet and greets available at the moment, there are characters out and about. We were able to see Joy and Pooh right outside of the Figment attraction.
We headed into The Land and went directly to Living With the Land. Wait time posted was 10 minutes, but we walked right on.
Plexiglass barriers up in between the queue rows.Only sitting every other row on this attraction. But you can also see the dividers up between seats.
After this, Alex went to ride Soarin’. The wait time posted was 35 minutes. She was on and off in 35 minutes.
Barriers up between the rows.
Here’s a picture of Garden Grill. The characters are there, but walking in the row of tables behind the patrons.
From there, we went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, where there was no wait. We also stayed to explore the SeaBase since we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation at Coral Reef.
It was finally time for our dining reservation at Coral Reef! I hadn’t eaten here since my husband and I went for our anniversary many, many years ago…pre kids I think.
The entrance may be hard to find. If you are standing facing the entrance to the Nemo ride, go right around to the side of the building.
You can see the one way enter/exit, as well as markers on the ground.
There are (for the most part) no paper menus anymore. You have to scan the QR code at the table or outside of the restaurant to see the menu. The menus have all been paired down for sure! Offering less selections than normal.
Note…I don’t eat any seafood! At all!
Warm rolls with butter. SO GOOD!Side Caesar SaladSeared Mahi Mahi (Alex’s meal). She has a shellfish allergy, that’s why there’s an allergy pick.My meal! I ordered the Caesar Salad with Chicken as my meal. It was delicious!Of course we had to get the Chocolate Wave for dessert to share!View of the restaurantView from our table! We were right next to the gigantic tank.
Our reservation was for 7:15 p.m. We were in and out and at the bus stop to the resort by 8:25 p.m.
I would definitely eat here again, and would recommend anyone who needs a break from the countries to give it a whirl! When I travel with our big family, we always eat in the countries. This was a nice break from that since we had all of the food booths in the afternoon. The staff here was very friendly and accommodating.
Posted at 9:46 am by taryngirl, on December 1, 2020
11/14/2020
Recapping a little bit from my previous post, Disney After Covid (which focused mostly on safety and Covid procedures)…
I was presented an amazing opportunity to visit both Disney World and Universal Orlando. I am a Disney Vacation Club member and had several points available to use thanks to a canceled trip back in May, I’m an Annual Passholder, and had a free flight thanks to Southwest Airlines points. That covered the Disney portion of my trip. Universal Orlando invited me to stay on property and experience the parks for a few days, so I could see how they are keeping guests safe while still having loads of fun!
My travel day started off with a 2:50 a.m. alarm to wake up. (I am NOT a morning person unless I’m traveling!). My cousin Alex was my travel partner. We left around 3:40 a.m., and drove to the Philadelphia Airport, arriving around 5:10 a.m. at our parking lot. We went with Smart Park on this trip. I really just look around to see who is cheapest! Upon arriving at the parking lot, we were picked up in a shuttle with two other travel parties. We felt very safe. Everyone was wearing masks and the driver was wearing gloves.
Once at the airport, security was a breeze. Everything is still normal…shoes and coats off, everything on the belt and through the scanner. Everyone in the seating area was social distancing. Our flight was scheduled for 7:05 a.m. and we landed and had our luggage by 9:45 a.m. A note about Disney’s Magical Express…it is not the same! They no longer send you yellow tags in the mail or get your luggage and deliver it to the resort. YOU must get your own luggage from Baggage Claim and take it to the Magical Express with you. We flew Southwest, so our terminal was the A Terminal. We had to get our luggage from there and head over to the B Terminal to get on the Magical Express.
A fun thing I overheard at the Magical Express desk while we were heading to check in…they were expecting 6,458 passengers on the Magical Express on this particular day. The supervisor I guess?? was filling in the workers behind the desk so they knew what to expect. We got in line at 9:57 a.m. Be aware that they are using assigned seating from back to front, and using only every other row. The person checking us in told us where to sit. We were on the bus by 10:08 a.m. and departed at 10:20 a.m.
We arrived at Bay Lake Tower at 10:48 a.m. and were the first stop. We may have actually been the only stop as it seems everyone got off here… We headed into the lobby. We wanted to check our luggage with Bell Services and head to Epcot. We also wanted to change into our shorts because it was hot!
This is one thing I did comment on the survey they gave me. Because there is no luggage delivery anymore, Bell Services is CRAZY! Be prepared for longer than usual waits to actually check the luggage with them.
Bell Services line
We finished changing and got organized, checked our luggage, and then were at the bus stop at 11:35 a.m. There is no monorail to Epcot at the moment. The bus arrived at 11:45 a.m., and we made it to Epcot at 11:55 a.m. We were hungry for lunch and decided to start with some food booths! We decided to go counter-clockwise starting in Canada because we knew we wanted to eat something from there!
One of my favorite restaurants is Le Cellier (in Canada), but it’s on the pricey side. The items at this food booth are some of my favorites!
These did not disappoint and were tasty as usual. I absolutely LOVE the soup with the pretzel bread dipper! We continued on and our next stop was the World Showplace Events Pavilion, located between Canada and the UK. I have never seen this open for this particular event, but they do have other events there. I was interested to check it out, and it housed several food booths!
The Liquid Nitro Cake Pops came highly recommended to me from friends who had already been there, so of course I had to try one! I went with the Twix version.
This was really good and different! By this point I was already full, but I still had some items on my list that I wanted to try. Here are some pics from along our way.
FranceView from between France and MoroccoMorocco
Our next stop was in Germany at the little caramel store, Karamell-Kuche. This is a must do for me every trip! It has some of the best snacks. There were some new offerings this trip, possibly just seasonal? I had to have the Gingerbread Salted Caramel Buttercream Cookie Sandwich!
IT WAS AMAZING! My favorite snack from anywhere in the world. And possibly the single best thing I have ever tasted! The cookie was soft, but had a crispyish layer outside. It was perfect. The buttercream and caramel was so good together! I wished I would have bought more to bring home. We found a table next to Mexico in the area where the band usually performs so we could stand and eat our snacks.
What you can see in this picture is the line just to get inside the Mexico pavilion. The man holding the sign actually had to cut off the line because it was too long. The wait from here was about a half hour. I think they cut it off because they didn’t want too big of a crowd blocking the sidewalk.
While we were standing there, some cast members came rushing by telling everyone to get to the side, and that a horse and carriage were coming. We had no idea what was going on! All of a sudden, this went by:
It was brief, but exciting to see! We decided that they do not announce times for these little cavalcades because they don’t want people gathering and lining up. We were just out of Mexico when this one came by:
Short and sweet! It was nice to see the characters out and about since there are no real meet and greet experiences at the moment.
Next up will be the rest of our day at Epcot with dinner at Coral Reef!
Posted at 8:08 pm by taryngirl, on November 23, 2020
11/14/20
An opportunity arose for me to do a quick trip to Florida to visit both Disney World and Universal Orlando, and I couldn’t resist! Several things fell into place…I had DVC points to use from a canceled trip in May, my Annual Pass was expiring on November 17th, and Universal Orlando offered me an amazing deal that I couldn’t pass up! Throw in the free flight I was able to get with my Southwest points, and that was just the cherry on top. I was excited to check out how things are running post-Covid since I have clients scheduled to travel within the next couple of months.
This post is going to deal with everything specific to Disney World and the protocols in place at the resorts, the parks and the restaurants, as far as my personal trip is concerned. My cousin Alex traveled with me.
We started off with a a 7:00 a.m. flight on Southwest from the Philadelphia Airport. We booked offsite airport parking at Smart Park. Starting there, the attendant at the booth was wearing a mask. The shuttle bus driver was wearing gloves and a mask. There were two other parties on the shuttle with us.
Once at the airport, we did the self-service check in. The workers behind the counters were wearing masks. All security workers were also wearing masks. They still are doing regular security. Shoes off, coats off, and everything goes on the belt through the scanner. Once we got to our gate, people were definitely social distancing and not sitting next to one another. There were constant announcements about mandatory mask wearing, and what types of masks were permitted. They did have some available if needed. Southwest is currently not utilizing the middle seats on their planes, unless there are family members that sit right next to each other. They are seating every row.
As always (pre-Covid I did these things!), I had my Clorox wipes to wipe down my seat, tray, etc., and my hand sanitizer. The only beverage available on the flight was water, and they had prepackaged snacks.
In summary, I felt super safe in the airport and on the flight! Everyone was being respectful, wearing masks and social distancing.
Once in Orlando, we were using Disney’s Magical Express transportation from the airport to our resort. This service has changed! They no longer send you the yellow tags in the mail to attach to your luggage. You are responsible for getting your own luggage from baggage claim and taking it with you to the Magical Express bus!They do not deliver the luggage to your room anymore! Since we flew on Southwest, we arrived on the A side. The Magical Express is located on the B side. This means that we had to go to baggage claim on the A side, then go back up and across the entire airport to the B side and downstairs to the Magical Express location. (They also are not doing airline check in at the resorts. So you also bring your luggage with you when leaving the resort and getting on the Magical Express.)
Here you can see the plexiglass up at the counters, as well as some signage.
The lanes are numbered and the cast member will tell you which lane to enter. There are signs all along the lanes with these social distance markers.
The cast member scanning our bands to enter the bus assigned us specific seat numbers. He had a map of the bus with a dry erase marker, and was marking off the seats he assigned. They are utilizing only every other row and are filling the bus from back to front. We were first in line so got the very last seats! (As a side not, there was a girl next to us who was assigned to another bus. She asked if she could sit near the front, and the cast member told her she could sit on a bench until the bus filled up and then could sit in the front. She didn’t like that answer and proceeded to the bus.)
The Magical Express delivered us to Bay Lake Tower with our luggage. The lobby is small and it was chaotic! This was mostly due to Bell Services and luggage. People who did not have a room ready or were checking out but not yet leaving the resort had to check their luggage with Bell Services. Our room was not ready (as indicated by the text we had received while at the airport). So our plan was to check our luggage with Bell Services and then head to Epcot. A note! The monorail to Epcot was not running at the time so we had to take a bus.
We waited for a bus and once it arrived, the bus driver assigned us seats using a seat number. He was wearing a mask.
There are dividers up between seat numbers.
Standing is not permitted so the handles were zip tied up.
None of our buses were ever even nearly full. I felt very safe on the Disney bus transportation!
Once we arrived at Epcot, signs were everywhere!
Everyone has to pass through a temperature screening.
They used handheld thermometers.
Everyone also has to pass through security which is very different! They no longer go through your bags. You walk through a metal detector with your bag on you.
These signs on the ground are EVERYWHERE! Spaced 6 feet apart! Every ride, every kiosk, every store check out, EVERYWHERE!
Up next are attraction queues. The above signs are all along the ground/floor. Also, they are not using every seat/row! This is Journey Into Imagination with Figment. They did only one row per car. This was the same for Pirates, Mine Train and Small World as well.
You know the fun area once you exit the Figment ride? It’s CLOSED! It was so quiet. Normally it’s chaotic with people everywhere. We found this to be a trend for every interactive attraction. (At the end of Spaceship Earth, all activities closed. Pretty much any interactive piece at any attraction is inaccessible.)
This is the queue for Living with the Land. Barriers are up between the rows of the queue.
On the boats, you can see the dividers up between seats. They also were not seating every row on this ride, but there was no line so they were spacing us out.
Here you can see Soarin’.
These signs are all around the popular photo taking areas. There are also cast members carrying handheld signs that say this same thing. They were approaching people who were removing masks for pictures.
Moving onto dining now…
This is Coral Reef Restaurant, which is a table service location. Everything is one way in, one way out. Every dining location, shopping location, etc. Doors are specifically marked ENTER or EXIT only. They have limited indoor seating and are not using every table. If you want a table service meal, it’s very important that you have a reservation! I saw them turning people away if they didn’t have a reservation.
Another very important note, all quick service locations are MOBILE ORDER ONLY! This includes resorts and parks. Even if you only want a muffin or an orange juice. It’s all on the My Disney Experience app, or you scan a bar code located at the location.
There is no grab and go section that is self-serve at the moment. Drinks are not self-serve either. Once you scan the QR code, it takes you right to the menu for the dining location. Here you choose your pick up time. You do not have to be AT the location to order. You can be in your room, somewhere around the resort, in a ride line, etc.
After that, the menu will pop up and you can scroll through and click on what you would like. You pay right through the app with either you credit card on file or you can add a different card.
Once you arrive at the location you can click that you are here and they will begin preparing your food. Just a note…we found that it took a good 10 minutes or longer for the food to be ready once we clicked we are here. So we began clicking it as we were walking on our way before we got there. Once the food is ready for pick up, the notification changes and it tells you what number table to go to to pick it up. They have multiple stations so people aren’t picking up at the same station at the same time. They are marked with big numbers on the floor.
After you pick up your food, if you ordered a drink, you move to a different station, and someone will get it for you. This is the Contempo Cafe drink station area:
The food is served in bags that are sealed, and packaging that is sealed. I removed my sticker before I remembered to take a picture!
Next up is the resorts. This was in our Villa at Bay Lake Tower.
You will notice that they are back to individual serving sizes of the toiletry items.
The remotes are packaged in plastic stating that they have been sanitized.
One last picture I took was at the monorail located inside the Contemporary Resort.
We did have our temperature screening and security done here on our way to the Magic Kingdom. This allowed us to bypass those things at the Magic Kingdom.
Overall, we felt very safe during our entire stay. There are hand sanitizer stations everywhere for use at your discretion. No one is spraying it on you. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone was complying with the mask mandate and social distancing. The only time you could remove your mask was if you were stationary off to the side eating or drinking. If a cast member saw someone walking and eating or drinking, they did remind them of the rule.
Capacity at the moment is maybe 1/4 of what it is normally. So there were so many less people. Many of the ride queues went way out onto the walkways. Adding to capacity will definitely affect this. What seems like a crowded area really isn’t, because the line is continuously moving. It will be interesting to see what happens once they expand the capacity!
Posted at 11:21 am by taryngirl, on October 29, 2020
March 10, 2020
Call us crazy, but everything fell into place perfectly for a day trip to Disney! Super cheap flights on Frontier Airlines out of Philadelphia, an existing Annual Pass for the Disney parks, a fun group of agents that also can fly by the seat of their travel pants, great weather, and MY BIRTHDAY! all led to the booking of a quick day trip. I drove to our office which is kind of close to the airport, and we all drove to the airport in one car.
My flight was $60 total, but had I booked sooner, it would have been cheaper! Our flight down was 5:50 a.m., which had us landing at 8:30 a.m. (Traveling is probably the only reason I ever set my alarm!)
I also want to note, it was around this time that Covid was starting to explode around the country. There weren’t restrictions in place yet for anything, so we felt completely safe going.
We met up with a few other agents at the airport, and upon landing in Orlando, we rented a car to drive directly to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Because we had an Annual Pass, parking was free at the theme park.
Our goal as soon as we got there was to meet up with a few agents that live in Florida. One of the main reasons we were taking this trip was to check out the new Minnie and Mickey’s Runaway Railway attraction that had replaced The Great Movie Ride. Everyone was hungry so the first thing we did was find some food!
The Baseline Taphouse is one of my favorite places to grab a snack and just sit. The outdoor seating atmosphere is really neat. It was close to opening time there, so we grabbed a seat and waited, then ordered this!
I have to add this because it was so funny to me! My daughter was messaging me on Snapchat and wanted to know everything I was doing. She does not look thrilled that she was missing this trip!
This is my true partner and crime! This is the last day I’ve seen her because of the virus and quarantining, etc.
It was finally time to check out the ride! I was a little bit cautious, because to me, The Great Movie Ride was iconic for this park. I don’t like change, so I didn’t know how to feel!
My opinion…it was fantastic! I was pleasantly surprised! It was so much fun!
We also decided to meet Darth Vader since there was little to no wait time.
From there, we headed out to Epcot to check out the Flower and Garden Festival. On the way out of Hollywood Studios, this sign was already out.
Posted at 12:10 pm by taryngirl, on September 21, 2020
1/29/20
From Disney Springs, we took the bus to the Grand Floridian and then the monorail to Magic Kingdom. I think it’s super important to know your options for transportation ahead of time.Sometimes there is more than one option, sometimes things are not operating, etc. Also, don’t underestimate how long it will actually take you!
This is the view of the train station from just inside the entrance gates.Getting ready to walk down Main Street U.S.A.One of my favorite sites!Main Street Philharmonic Band
I can honestly say in all of my trips to Magic Kingdom, I have never seen the Main Street Philharmonic band performing! This was quite a treat. Maybe because we always hit rope drop at Magic Kingdom, and they don’t perform until the afternoon? We are usually heading back to room at this time or busy on rides. This was a pleasant surprise!
If you have Snapchat, be sure to check out your place on the map if you have your location turned on!
We had a FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, so headed there first thing. That’s my favorite ride in Magic Kingdom! From there we headed to Country Bear Jamboree since we had to wait a little bit for our next FP+ at Pirates of the Caribbean.
Country Bear Jamboree–corny, but classic Disney!Dance party in the street!
When we exited the show, these characters were all out on the street having a dance party! I have never seen this happening, but have seen just random bear characters walking down the street.
Our next stop was the Enchanted Tiki Room. Also a Disney classic! A great spot during a rain shower or a super hot day!
Have I mentioned that I LOVE my iPhone 11? These pics were taken in very dark conditions with no flash. From there we headed to our Pirates of the Caribbean FP+. After leaving Pirates, we made our way toward Tomorrowland. The Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It! Street Party was going on.
We had a FP+ at Peter Pan, so I think we rode on the People Mover then made our way to Fantasyland. After Peter Pan, we went to the Haunted Mansion. I just LOVE how my pictures turned out here!
After that, it was time to make our way to a spot to watch the Happily Ever After fireworks. Of course we had to walk past the Tangled bathrooms! This area is so gorgeous at night!
Our view for the fireworks!
Fireworks tip…to start, people seem to stay on the sidewalks and out of the streets. You CAN stand in the street. My tip is to stand either to the right or left of the castle on the street about mid-hub. Make yourself big, because people will start filling in and you don’t want to be squished! (Although with Covid right now we don’t really have to worry about this…but when things return to normal!). If you know you want to go to a ride in Tomorrowland, stand to the right. If you want to go to Adventureland stand to the left. It’s a complete mob scene right when they are over. We tend to stand still for a little bit until the crowd starts to disperse.
After this amazing display, we did head back to our resort. We were checking out from All Star Movies and heading to the Contemporary Club Level! <—————–Up Next!
Posted at 4:55 pm by taryngirl, on September 10, 2020
1/29/20
Upon leaving Animal Kingdom, we hopped on a bus to Old Key West so we could get to Disney Springs for our highly anticipated lunch at Enzo’s Hideaway. Usually when I go to Disney Springs, I like to eat at the same places because I have my favorites! Before the huge expansion, my favorite place was Wolfgang Puck Express. Then I tried Raglan Road and that was yummy and entertaining. And then I tried Morimoto and that was super delicious and just beautiful inside. And finally Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’, which has become my #1 favorite restaurant at Disney Springs. The appetizers, main courses, and desserts are SO GOOD!
For this trip, I was traveling with my cousin. We decided to try something brand new! Enzo’s Hideaway was available, so we grabbed a reservation for it. But first…transportation! There is no direct transportation from a Disney park to Disney Springs before 4:00 p.m. You have to take a bus to a resort for a transfer. We decided to take the bus to Old Key West and then enjoy a boat ride over.
Our boat awaiting us!The boat dock, which was empty at this time of day!
Some views on our ride:
This is an Amphicar on a tour from The Boathouse. You can rent them and take a spin!There is also a ballon ride called Aerophile that you can do!
We made our way towards Enzo’s. Now, it was slightly confusing because there are actually two different Enzo restaurants. There’s Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante, which features authentic Italian cuisine set in a transformed airline terminal. And then there’s Enzo’s Hideaway, which is set underground in a tunnel bar, with a speakeasy vibe! This one was down the steps, and almost hidden. Here are some pictures of the inside:
This area is outside the doors.And this is the entrance! Kind of tucked in a corner. Luckily I had read reviews so I knew where to find the door.This is the check in area. There was no one there, so we just wandered into the restaurant!I also read about this. Feel free to sign it!We still couldn’t find anyone…It was EMPTY! (We probably didn’t need a reservation.)This is the room where we were seated, and this was my view. I think there were maybe three other tables with patrons!I think you could also sign this wall if you wanted.I found this table on my way to the bathroom!
The atmosphere was AMAZING! Really, really AMAZING! I would love to come back on a busy night just to see the difference. There were so many details that were perfect for the speakeasy vibe.
As usual, I checked out the menu before we arrived. Of course I couldn’t decide exactly what I wanted, so made a decision on the fly! One word about the wait staff…very good and attentive. Almost too attentive, I think because there were so few tables. They had nothing else to do but check on us repeatedly!
Complimentary bread with oil.
Of course the bread was warm and perfect.
I knew I had to have some wine, because…how could you not in this setting?! I went with my favorite, which is Moscato.
I ordered the Bucatini Bolognese. This was absolutely delicious! The meat sauce was so tasty. The portion size was normal. The pasta was actually not just your average spaghetti. It was like a thick spaghetti with a big hole running through the center. It is pricey at $25, but alas, we are in Disney at a table service meal. I would definitely order this again!
Classic Lasagna–thin layered egg pasta, braised short rib rag, béchamel, for di latte mozzarella, $26
My cousin ordered the Classic Lasagna. This was also delicious. Super rich and a big portion! I don’t think she finished it.
Needless to say, we were way too stuffed for dessert. Overall, we really liked it here. It was a nice change from what we are used to at Disney Springs. I would definitely return in the future!
Posted at 4:33 pm by taryngirl, on August 31, 2020
January 29, 2020
We arrived to Animal Kingdom in the morning, but not right at rope drop. The first thing I noticed once we exited the bus area, was the construction going on near the tram stop.
The ticket counters The Tree of Life
Our plan was to go directly to Navi River and ride that. We went from there over to Kiliminjaro Safari. There are so many amazing photo opportunities! Here are a few I took on the way over.
Our Safari experience was entertaining. We were riding this standby since our FP+ were in the afternoon for Magic Kingdom. I can’t tell you the last time I stood in this line! It was probably 45 minutes. All I will say is there was a family in front of us with children that were running all over the place…climbing over barriers that they weren’t supposed to, and at one point even sitting in the window ledge over one of the bridges. It was crazy! Anyway, here are some pictures from our ride:
I was really hoping to see the baby!
I always hit Zuri’s Sweets Shop for a snack. This time was no exception!
We made our way over to Dinosaur, which is one of my personal favorites! Again, more beautiful scenery along the way.
After Dinosaur, we took a little break near the stage. While sitting there, Kevin appeared!
We had lunch reservations at Disney Springs, so we decided to take a bus so we could get a transfer since there were no direct buses to Disney Springs. We did wait a longgggg time for a bus here, but once he showed up, we were happy and he was fun!
Overall, a great morning at Animal Kingdom! Up next, Disney Springs Enzo’s Hideaway!
After our jaunt on the Skyliner, we rode it back to the Epcot Station and entered through the International Gateway. We had dinner reservations in Mexico at La Hacienda de San Angel, but before that, we made our way through the countries a little bit.
It’s always a joy to listen to Mariachi Cobre located just outside the Mexico Pavilion! They sound really good and are super talented!
There are two table service restaurants in Mexico. San Angel Inn is located INSIDE the pavilion.
(By the way, I love my iPhone 11 Pro! This pic was taken with it. No flash!)
We took a quick ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour before our dinner.
From there, we headed outside of the pavilion and across the walk to the second table service restaurant…La Hacienda de San Angel.
The view from our table (Yes we are inside! We just had a window seat.):
The menu:
(A side note…I have only eaten at this restaurant one other time in my life, and it was several years ago. I absolutely did not find the menu appealing at all, but my cousin wanted to try it. It ended up being my favorite meal of the trip! So I couldn’t wait to get back here.)
Chips and Salsa come complimentary. The salsa was really good!
I ordered the Pollo al Pastor, which was adobe marinated chicken breast with vegetables. It was spicy but delicious!
My cousin ordered the Enchiladas de Vegetales.
All entrees come with family style rice and beans.
Overall thoughts…our server was a little crazy, but efficient. One example, when filling my water, he basically dumped the pitcher onto me and my plate of rice. The meal was so good, and I love the setting right on the lake. If you have dined inside at San Angel Inn, give this a try! I prefer the food here! They only serve during dinner.
From the Beach Club, we walked to the Epcot Skyliner Station. We wanted to take a ride and check it out, as we hadn’t gotten to take a ride yet. This station is located outside of the International Gateway, which is the back entrance to Epcot. Our plan was to ride it to Disney’s Riviera Resort so we could also check that out! That is Disney’s newest resort.
You can see the Skyliner routes in the maps below. These are not my pictures, but I love the satellite aerial view! For our route, we took it straight to Riviera Resort without having to get off in between.
Here you can see the Epcot Station.
(Here’s France in the background, and you can see where they are building the new Remy attraction.)
Once up in the Skyliner, you can really see some “behind the scenes!” This is the construction of the new Remy attraction in France.
Once we land at Riviera Resort, there are signs directing you where to go.
Walking through this area, there are two AMAZING mosaic walls!
The grounds are beautiful here! It’s a very quiet, less bustling atmosphere. You almost forget it’s a Disney Resort.
I thought I took more pictures of the inside, but I guess not! We walked into the lobby and checked out the store there. It came across as a little more upscale than a regular Deluxe level resort. Kind of like a mini Grand Floridian as far as “feel” goes.
If you have an extra half hour or so, check it out!
After the craziness of riding Rise of the Resistance, we headed out the gates and to the boat. We took the boat to the Beach Club for our reservation at Beaches and Cream.
Beaches and Cream had a makeover! The seating area was expanded and the menu received a small makeover. We couldn’t wait to check it out!
The check in podium is located outside the restaurant. Generally to dine here, you must have a reservation. There is some counter seating that may be open for walk ins, but it’s tough to get in here!
The menu:
I can never decide what I want here, because I love this kind of food. It’s usually a toss up between the burger or the chili cheese dog (which by the way is not on the regular menu anymore), and then a dessert decision is also a struggle!
Here you can see he expanded seating area inside the restaurant:
I ordered the chili cheese dog, even though it wasn’t listed on the menu!
Alex ordered the Reuben.
Both were delicious!
And for dessert, we went with the no fail No Way Jose to share.
This is probably my favorite ice cream sundae in Disney! I love peanut butter and chocolate together.
If you are staying in the area of Beach Club, Yacht Club or Boardwalk, this is a great lunch spot. Or even if you are going between Hollywood Studios and Epcot as we were. It’s reasonably priced for a table service, and the desserts available are fabulous!
Walking through this area, there are two AMAZING mosaic walls!
Taryn Travels 