September 2024 Trip Report - Day 6 - Hollywood Studios and EPCOT
On this day, we breakfast at Riviera, head to Hollywood Studios, take a swim, and head to EPCOT. There is also lots of rain.
We weren't in a hurry to rope drop this day, so when we woke, we walked to the Riviera to get breakfast at Prima Piatto. Mom had her eye on some lemon blueberry pancakes she had seen. I got the plant-based platter in the meantime. The eggs on the plant-based platter were really good, but the sausage was what I called, and continued all morning to call, an abomination. I've had some really good plant-based sausages, so I can't give Disney a pass on this one. I don't know what happened here, but it was an overcooked, chewy, salty chunk of terribleness.
We took the skyliner to Hollywood Studios and did Star Tours (again), and Rise of the Resistance (again). I enjoy how Rise of the Resistance is slightly different depending on what car you're in. This time we were behind a dad and son and they were loving it. I think it might've been their first time. Our Imperial Cast Member was also really great this time. She told us to remove our bags and hold them in our hands, and mom was distracted and didn't, so she just stared until mom did. Then she said to me "Is she with you?" and glared. LOL.
Storm Troopers looking at the Docking Bay 7 menu
We made a circuit around Galaxy's Edge after this looking for some sort of large shop that I'm not sure exists. We never did find it to our satisfaction, but while we were meandering, we saw some storm troopers patrolling in a pair.
We headed back toward the theater, and I needed something to get the taste of abomination out of my mouth (yes, it was still lingering). This, even after we ordered Joffrey's coffee again. I thought maybe Gertie's Ice Cream of Extinction would have sundaes or something, but I learned they only had soft serve cones and twist, so I ordered a Mickey bar instead.
Gertie's ice cream
We made our way out of Disney Hollywood Studios around lunch and headed back to the Riviera to Prima Piatto again for lunch. I believe I just ordered some fries with parmesan and herbs which were just ok. While there, it started to rain, so we decided to bide our time in the gift shop and La Petit Cafe, where mom got a sweet (a chocolate and orange confection of some sort).
The rain finally let up enough for us to walk back to the Caribbean, so we did, through puddles. It continued to rain on and off all afternoon into the early evening on this day. We took a rest in our room, but mom got restless, so we went for another swim. Unfortunately, this resulted in the second injury for mom.
As thunder rolled in and it started to rain harder again, we left the pool, and mom was in a hurry and forgot to put her rubber sandals on. The floors of the outside corridors at Caribbean Beach Resort are slippery when wet, and she fell again. This time, it was worse. We got more ice and she decided, after deliberation, that she could go back to EPCOT again but just wouldn't leave her ECV at all this time. Later she learned she actually chipped her kneecap. Ouch.
We were in pretty sour moods after this, I have to be honest. Mom was in pain, it was raining, and it was our last night. What an incredible bummer. But we headed back to EPCOT around 5ish to try the Food & Wine situation. I decided to do the Emile's Fromage Montage. This is where you need to purchase 5 cheese dishes from a list and get a stamp for each one. If you fill out the stamps, then you can redeem it for a prize (also a cheese dish).
My Emile's Fromage Montage passport, with the snacks I planned to try circled, and then numbered in the order I was going to get them. It's a bit beat up because of the rain and damp.
Here are the dishes I chose, and their ratings:
Pao de queijo (Brazil) - Really yummy. 5/5.
Griddled cheese with pistachios and honey (Greece) - Nothing wrong with it, but it's just cheese. 4/5.
Schinkennudeln (Germany) - Where I come from, this is a basic hot dish, but there's nothing wrong with it. 3/5. As a Germany bonus, mom had apple strudel, which she said was amazing.
Raclette (Alps) - This smelled as horrendous as I remember it smelling last year. The amounts of melty sharp cheese at this stand really put out an odor. But when it came to taste, it wasn't bad. 3/5. As a bonus, I also ordered a Stiegl Brewery Key Lime Hard Radler which was very delicious and I would drink again in a heartbeat 5/5.
Pumpkin Mascarpone Ravioli (Forest & Field stand) - I was getting full, but very yummy. 4/5.
THE REWARD! Blueberry cheesecake soft serve topped with cheesecake and graham cracker crumbs in a souvenir cup from Shimmering Sips. 5/5.
At around about Germany, the rain stopped as well, and we found a place to sit near the water while dining from Germany and the Alps, which was nice. Begging ducks came by. I know it's hard to imagine a duck putting on a sad face, but they can and they do.
Food & Wine ducks, begging
As we headed to World Celebration from Mexico, we went via the Odyssey path which offers some lovely views as well. We saw a very large bird in a tree fanning its wings (probably to dry off?) and got some shots of the monorail passing overhead with the Imagination pavilion in the background.
The monorail passing near the Odyssey pavilion toward Imagination pavilion
We took another good swing of Creations. Although this is one of my favorite shops on property, none of the merch was really screaming at me this time. Then, we found a nice place to sit outside of Creations near The Dreamer statue. I do love all the seating EPCOT has added in this area. And it was very quiet this night, so I got to enjoy some of the new EPCOT loop music which I think is amazing.
Short, less than a minute, snippet of music in the World Celebration area and the ambiance. I quite like this part of the park.
We also managed another ride of Soarin' since the wait time was only 10 minutes, and this time we got a nice few toward the center where the images are not distorted. Then, I redeemed my reward and we exited EPCOT just before the fireworks started, so the night ended much better than it had begun.
Next time, we have a super early morning at the Magic Kingdom before checking out at 11 AM, grabbing lunch, and eventually flying home.
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