Eating our way around EPCOT

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I was in such a hurry to get the last post out that I neglected to mention that when we got back to the room, these cute washcloth puppies on our bed greeted us. We even saw in someone else's window that they had a whole range of animals...including a turkey. =)

BTW, I am feeling better now...thank you for the well-wishing comments. I was sick pretty much from the day I got off work until just before Christmas, so it was a real bummer. The day of our church's Festival of Lessons and Carols, I stayed in bed all day until it was time to go sing (and do a short solo). I made it through, somehow!!


Monday before Thanksgiving, we started off by heading to EPCOT. We weren't going to try and ride Soarin' or the new Finding Nemo additions to The Living Sea...we were just there to hang out. And eat. Here, Michael enjoys schoolbread, from the Norwegian bakery. What's schoolbread, you ask? Oh my...it's a sweet bread filled with custard and topped with coconut icing. Fantastic!! He's sporting a hat because direct sunlight completely drains him. It's like reverse solar energy!



For lunch, we ate at Tokyo Dining (and I actually liked the seaweed salad! I think it was nazhiki...don't ask me how it's supposed to be spelled.) They've just redone the restaurants in the Japan pavilion, and the food (and service, natch) was splendid. Take a look at that roll covered with unagi (eel)!! I've never seen eel so thick on a roll before. Our waitress suggested this one, since we couldn't decide. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Always trust your server, people. They know the food. My favorite part was watching all the cute Japanese girls' eyes grow wide as I thanked them with polite Japanese. ("Arigato gozaimasu!") They don't expect English speakers to learn Japanese and taking that extra step to learn the "proper" form of thanking a stranger always impresses.

While we were in the World Showcase, we did get to stop by and listen to a couple sets from one of my favorite a capella groups, The Voices of Liberty. They are absolutely amazing. I always get there early and plop down at the very front of the "red circle" on the floor of the American pavilion, ignoring the stares of people sitting on comfortable benches. The circle's directly under a dome, so the acoustics are phenomenal. We also wandered to the Mexico pavilion to ride the updated Rio del Tiempo, now Three Caballeros themed. It was very entertaining, but not as entertaining as the cast members loading the ride when they saw my Three Caballeros pins! "¡Los quiero!" they all exclaimed (I want them!) several times.

Two points if you know where the zeppelin below comes from (or if you remember any of the symbols on the banners in the background):
EPCOT has a cool retrospective stuffed away in a corner of Innoventions right now (near the Coke refreshment stop). They even had original uniforms.

In the afternoon, we headed to Disney-MGM Studios (soon to be "Disney's Hollywood Studios") to try and catch the High School Musical Pep Rally. I know...but what can I say? We're suckers for cheesy musicals. We didn't make it in time, but we did get to see it later in the week. Well..."see" is being kind. Michael was standing behind a 6'5" man with a child on his shoulders, who kept telling his other child (who was just in front of me, on my knees, beside the behemoth...I dove down to the ground in the only hole I could find), "Ryan! Get in there!" everytime crowd participation was called for. "Ryan" did not want to participate, and no amount of his dad's "Come on, Ryan! Sing!" whilst clapping his hands could move him. Michael told me later it was a good thing I dove in the hole, because the only chance the kids behind the jolly green giant had to see anything was over my head.

Ah, but the real reason to go to MGM is the Osbourne family Christmas lights.

Several of the streets are covered with them, and every few minutes there's a show where they are coordinated with music blared from speakers. The best is Christmas Eve/Sarajevo by TransSiberian Orchestra. HARK how the bells.... And, and appearance by Fabulous Cast Member #2...random security guy walked up to me and handed me a Disney pin! It was from the millennium celebration, but no matter! I could trade it for any pin on a cast member's lanyard!

When we arrived back at our hotel room, our terry puppies greeted us with a bound!

JiffNotes
Food, glorious food! Woefully late, I continue to slog forward with blogging about the Thanksgiving Disney trip....