Review - Florida - Orlando - Easter Decorations at Grand Floridian

Something fun to do at Walt Disney World during holidays is to check out the decorations at the Disney resorts. At Christmastime you will see lots of holiday decor, chocolate-covered art works, and decorated holiday trees. For Easter, four resorts display bakery-created Easter Eggs made from chocolate and other ingredients. This year, I was able to check out the Grand Floridian, Beach Club Resort and the Yacht Club. The eggs will remain on display until April 11th, 2024.

Grand Floridian:

Grand Cottage on the ground floor of the main resort building sells Easter treats and goodies to stuff Easter Baskets.

First look when you enter the Grand Floridian resort from the Resort Monorail. You can then take stairs or elevator down to the ground floor.


The Art of Cocoa Butter Painting:

Mickey and Minnie and Sword in the Stone:

Tiana

Bunnies on pink chocolate curls

Daisy and Donald Duck


Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railway

Koi Pond

Snow White

Carton of Villain Eggs

Sleeping Beauty:

Main Street Electrical Parade:

Aladdin

Beauty and the Beast

Al's Toy Barn from Toy Story

Animated Characters

Munchling

Elemental

Onward

Emperor's New Groove

More Chocolate Bunnies

Disney World Snacks

Baby Dragon

Bambi Spring Scene

Alice in Wonderland

Moana

James and the Giant Peach

Cinderella

Grand Cottage and Treats

For more info, https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2023/03/an-inside-look-at-how-disney-culinary-cast-craft-egg-stravagant-easter-egg-displays

Question of the Week - Can I Bring My Own Drinks on Carnival Cruises? - #WonderingWednesdays

Carnival (and other cruise lines as well) are happy to sell you a Drink package which includes certain drink options for every day of your cruise. But, they can get expensive. And they don't always include your favorite drinks. So, the question for this week is: Can I bring my own drinks on board the Carnival Cruise? So I hope I can clear this up with the following answers:

Bottled Water - No

Canned Water - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cans per person or less

Bottled Soda or other Drinks - No

Canned Soda - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cans per person or less

Energy Drinks - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cans per person or less

Juice or Milk - Yes, one 12 pack case of 12oz cartons per person or less

So a family of four can bring four cases.

I've seen people tie these cases to their luggage or bring carts specifically for their drinks.

Keep in mind, I've also seen a lot of people carrying those same cases back off the ship at the end of their trip because they didn't drink it all.

Prefer to buy from Carnival instead? Here are their current pre-purchase drink prices: $11.95 USD (plus an 18% delivery fee) for a 12-pack of bottled water (16.9-ounce bottle/500-ml bottle)
$4.50 USD (plus an 18% delivery fee) for 1 large bottled water (50.72-ounce bottle/1.5-liter bottle)
$24.95 USD (plus an 18% delivery fee) for 8-pack of bottled water (50.72-ounce bottle/1.5-liter bottle)

Hope that helped!

Review - Florida - Orlando - Epcot - Flower and Garden Festival 2024 - Garden Spots and Photo-Ops

Today's post is a follow-up to my review on the topiaries from Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival (which runs through May 27, 2024). Not only are there fancy topiary works of art throughout Epcot, but there are also little areas of themed garden spots (such as the Spice Garden or the PBandJ Garden). If you're patient enough, you will spot butterflies and other wildlife in addition to the vast colorful plants. Don't miss the limited-time photo-op props for selfies.

Playground:

Spice Garden:

Fragrance Garden:

Songbird Meadow Garden:

Other Spots:



Eastern Bluebird Info:

Inside the Odyssey:

For more information, https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/epcot-international-flower-and-garden-festival/

Disney World Tips - Magic Kingdom - Meeting Characters and Printable Checklist

One of things we always do on our Walt Disney World trips is try to meet as many characters as we can and get them to sign our autograph boards. This has become more challenging since Covid times as the human characters meet for shorter periods of time and with less meet times not to mention the long lines. In addition, I found out (the hard way) that some human characters don't have backups. So if they take the day off, the meet-and-greet is closed for the day. I always recommend picking your favorite characters and just focusing on meeting them rather than try to meet everyone. That will make your trip a lot more enjoyable and less hectic.

Met?	PARK	LOCATION	CHARACTER
	MK	Town Square Theatre	Mickey Mouse
	MK	Tomorrowland	Buzz Lightyear
	MK	Cinderella Fountain (on backside of Castle)	Anastasia
	MK	Cinderella Fountain (on backside of Castle)	Drizella
	MK	Ariel's Grotto	Ariel (from Animated Movie)
	MK	Fairytale Hall	Cinderella
	MK	Fairytale Hall	Elena
	MK	Fairytale Hall	Tiana
	MK	Fairytale Hall	Rapunzel
	MK	The Thoughtful Spot (next to Pooh Ride)	Winnie the Pooh
	MK	The Thoughtful Spot (next to Pooh Ride)	Tigger
	MK	Neverland Map (next to Peter Pan Ride)	Peter Pan
	MK	Pete's Silly Side Show (Circus)	Daisy Duck
	MK	Pete's Silly Side Show (Circus)	Donald Duck
	MK	Pete's Silly Side Show (Circus)	Goofy
	MK	Pete's Silly Side Show (Circus)	Minnie Mouse
	MK	Street outside Country Bears Show	Shaker
	MK	Street outside Country Bears Show	Big Al
	MK	Street outside Country Bears Show	Liver Lips McGrowl
	MK	Street outside Country Bears Show	Wendell
	MK	Fairytale Garden	Mirabel
	MK	Agrabah	Aladdin
	MK	Agrabah	Jasmine
	MK	(Seasonal)	Santa Claus
	MK	(Seasonal)	Mr and Mrs Easter Bunny

Note: MK = Magic Kingdom; EP = Epcot; HS = Hollywood Studios; AK = Animal Kingdom

Review - Florida - Orlando - Epcot - Flower and Garden Festival 2024 - Topiaries

Walt Disney World hosts several festivals at its Epcot theme park throughout the year but I think the Flower and Garden festival (taking place February 28,2024 through May 27, 2024) is the prettiest if you like flowers. If you suffer pollin allergies, you may want to either avoid this park as it will be bursting full of plants or take an extra dose of allergy medication. Also, there are bees flying around so be careful if you have allergies to stings. There is a first aid available in the back of the pond to the right of the Odyssey building (next to the baby care center).
In addition to the flowers, there are kid-friendly activities (a free playground, a free butterfly garden, a treasure-hunt with Spike the Bee ($)) and special foods and drinks you can purchase throughout the different areas ($-$$). This post will focus on the topiaries and flowers.

When you enter Epcot from the main gate, you will find the new Wish topiary display which makes an amazing picture right in front of the Spaceship Earth ride (the "ball"). There are several Disney Photopass photographers nearby ready to assist you with family pictures, etc.

Many of the topiaries throughout the park feature our Favorite Disney characters:

Other Topiaries feature characters or scenes from our favorite Disney movies. Such as Lion King:
Toy Story:

Bambi:
Peter Pan:

Winnie the Pooh:

Beauty and the Beast
Snow White:

Tiana from Princess and the Frog:

Encanto:

Other Imaginative Characters:

And many of the topiaries are illuminated or spotlighted at Night Time:

For more information, https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/epcot/epcot-international-flower-and-garden-festival/

Question of the Week - Do I Need to Dress Up for Dining on Carnival Cruises? - #WonderingWednesdays

I'm not sure why, but people who want to cruise get a lot of anxiety about what to wear. Perhaps it's because there's a feeling of being stuck in the middle of the ocean without a nearby Walmart? Or perhaps because luggage capacity is limited? In any case, a lot of people ask me about dress codes and I hope this post will be able to answer those questions. I'm mainly focusing on Carnival because that's who I've travelled with so I feel comfortable answering with some first-hand experience.

Buffet Restaurant (aka Lido Marketplace), Eateries Around the Pool (such as Blue Iguana, Pig and Anchor, etc), Casual Cafes - Very Casual Attire - Pool clothes are acceptable but please don't come in dripping-wet (you may fall). Adults and teens should wear shirts/coverups. Shoes are required (and honestly the floors are sticky and dirty so highly recommended).

Sit-down Restaurant for Breakfast - Somewhat Casual Attire - I've seen people wearing pajama pants and shirts. Pool clothes that look like normal clothes seem fine. Adults and teens should wear shirts/coverups.

Sit-down Restaurant for Dinner on a regular night - "Cruise Casual" (not quite Business Casual) - I tend to think about golf courses when I describe this look. Nice shorts/pants/capir pants/nice jeans. Most men wear polos but I've seen nice tshirts. No offensive shirts or anything your grandma would look at sideways. Dresses that are appropriate. You will see diners like to be dressy.

Sit-down Restaurant for Dinner on formal night, Steakhouse Restaurant, Fancier Restaurants, etc - "Cruise Elegant" (Business Casual or better) - I've seen both super-formal and more businessy-style attire, so whatever makes you comfortable. No shorts/capris. Higher-quality shirts are fine. Polos or dress shirts and pants or slacks for men. Nicer dresses or pantsuits for women. Suits or evening gowns are not common. No flipflops or too casual shoes. I personally wore nicer sandals and felt fine.

Caveat - if you are planning to buy photograph packages, they often have photographers going around the restaurants (not the buffets) taking pictures. So keep in mind if you want to wear nicer clothes.

Hope that helped!