Day 6: A Mouse Chef, Hippos and a Tapestry of Nations

I apologize for my delay in getting my post up- I was swallowed up by the world of Panem. E loaned me her copies of the Hunger Games, and frankly, I couldn't put them down. I've finished all 3 books and saw the movie on opening night. I guess I need to get back to the real world. Well, sorta. I'm ready to recount day 6 of our vacation!

We had some EARLY reservations at Chef Mickey's in the morning. I think we needed to be there at 8:05 or something. So, instead of trying to work out transportation (the parks weren't even open yet, so we weren't sure when the buses would start running) we decided to drive to the Contemporary ourselves. We piled into our little Kia Soul Rental Car (which I completely fell in love with by the way) and made our way to the resort.

Breakfast was AWESOME. We got to see the Fab 5 again, which was great. And the buffet was so huge! They had pretty much everything I could possibly think of for breakfast. I had a croissant, fresh cantaloupe, and a sort of hash brown casserole thing. I even treated myself to a breakfast brownie :). I really loved the food there, and while I was absolutely stuffed, I felt like I had gotten well worth my money. Especially since it was only 1 point on the Disney Dining Plan.

The chairs at Chef Mickey had a cutout. Couldn't help myself.

We went back to the hotel briefly to drop off the car, then headed to Animal Kingdom so we could do some of the things we didn't get to do the first time we were there earlier in the week. We did Dinosaur- which scared the crap out of me back in 2001, but I managed to not be scared this time around. Good for me :).

By this time, the walking and knee cap issues had really started to get to me. My feet were so swollen I no longer had ankles. I probably should've listened to Hubby, E, Z, my mom, and pretty much every single person who told me so, and gotten a wheelchair. But, I was determined to remain wheelchair-free. I don't know why, since I'm not sure what I was trying to prove, but I was really having difficulties. I was moving slow, but still feeling really guilty that I was obviously slowing us down. E's feet were killing her too though, so we all agreed a slower pace wasn't exactly a bad thing.

We did the Maharaja Jungle Trek, which I had never done before. It's all walking trails, so we did it all slowly, but I'm so glad we did it! We got to see the most adorable fruit bats. I learned that if they were stand upright, they would get the same reaction as a human would if we stood on our head for too long! They were super cute though- there's something about those little faces!

We also saw Tigers, gazelle-type things and a number of animals I rarely even see in zoos! It was a really neat walk, but by the end, I was pretty sure my feet were going to fall off. E really wanted to see her Hippos (she loves her some hippos), but it required a little more of a walk toward where the safaris. Reluctantly, I gave in and told E and Z we would wait at some tables for them to come back. I felt like poop because I really wanted to see the hippos with E.

My horribly swollen foot.

We waited at some tables in the shade, when a family of French people arrived. We had 4 chairs at our table, and Hubby and I were sitting in 2 of them. The others were very clearly at our table. They just walked right up and plopped themselves down at our table in the 2 chairs which we had been holding for E and Z. I was honestly shocked. They just made themselves at home right there at our table, looking at us like we were inconveniencing them! Chad got up for a moment (stretch his legs or something) and the Dad just jumped right in and took his seat! I couldn't believe it. I mean, I know rude people are everywhere, but I couldn't see how this would be acceptable anywhere. I would NEVER walk up to a table, even if there were extra seats, and simply sit down and start squeezing the people sitting there out. It made me laugh that the stereotypical view of Americans overseas is that we're brash and rude. The shoe was certainly on the other foot.

When E and Z returned we decided that since we no longer had a table of our own, we should hit the road and head over to Epcot. Luckily the bus wasn't packed and we were able to sit. For anyone who's been to Disney, it's like Christmas and your birthday wrapped all into one when you're able to sit on the bus.

At this point, the Flower and Garden Festival was in full swing. It was like spring had arrived at Epcot over night. It was seriously amazing to see how much they did in only a matter of days. The topiaries were breathtaking and it smelled like heaven. If you ever get a chance to head to Epcot during this festival, do it. You will not be sorry. Unless you hate flowers.

We decided to dedicate our day at Epcot to the World Showcase. We started off over at Mexico and grabbed a bite to eat at the Quick Service place. It was super crowded, but E and I managed to pounce at a table (and no, no one was sitting there at the time). I ordered shredded beef tacos with nachos. I also got a dessert with my meal, which turned out to be this cantaloupe Popsicle. It was delicious! I was losing a battle with time though since it was hot a hell outside, so more was ending up dripped on my hands than in my mouth. I ended up having to throw some of it away, but seriously, good stuff.

Z in a tiny sombrero in Mexico

We hit up pretty much everything we possibly could. We went on the Malestrom, went into the shops in Japan, did the museum thing in China, and caught another show of the seriously talented Voices of Liberty until we finally arrived in France. It's always been my favorite place. I got my croissant (a little tradition my mom and I have had since I was a wee one) and happily ate it as I met up with E, Z, and Hubby who were waiting to get a drink from the French alcohol stand. I was happy to see that the delicious ice cream cart was right next to where they were standing, so used the "in for a penny, in for a pound" mantra to get myself the most delicious ice cream cone of my life. We chilled for awhile, then went looking for my enchanted rose, but to no avail. It was dark and there appeared to be bad weather looming, so we decided to finish up the loop and head back to the hotel.

The Beauty and the Beast statue at Art of Disney that I have been lusting over for 5 years. It's only $125. Anyone wanna get it for me? Anyone?

We decided to meet up at our usual spot in the little area in front of our rooms to hang out and talk like we had the previous nights. We didn't have dinner reservations that night, and found ourselves to be pretty hungry. So, when E suggested the "Emergency Pizza" we all jumped on board immediately. The cool thing about the Caribbean Beach is that you can order a pizza and have it delivered right to your room in a golf cart type thing with a light on it (it looked like something an emergency vehicle would have!) Surprisingly, it was reasonably priced and seriously delicious. We had another fantastic night filled with lots of funny stories, laughs, good food and great company. Once again, it was pretty much the best part of the vacation.