MeghanEmily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
"What do you call that? Downward-facing one-legged dog!"
Aug. 17—Part 1
An update??? Really!? It must be a Christmas miracle!!
And on that note, a very Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays to all of my Dis-friends who are celebrating with their loved ones at this time of year. I'm thankful for many things at this time of year, but especially my nearly-15-month-old niece who made Christmas very exciting for all the boring adults in her life again.
Exhibit A:
Also, by the way: I have three quotes in my notes from this day and have absolutely no idea where they came from, so I'm just using them as titles anyway because they strike me funny. The quote for this particular update, I believe, had to do with a tiny human who was doing some kind of strange acrobatics on the ground with one leg in the air, but I really don't remember the context.
I left off last right before the day of our anniversary. Since we got married at Epcot exactly one year before, we wanted to spend our day at the same place where the magic happened.
We had a pre-park-opening reservation this morning, and we were let into Epcot before rope drop. While we were waiting to be let through the security checkpoint, however, the security guard called me out in front of the other guests and asked whether I had my pirate's license. I was a bit confused and told him that I did not. He shook his head and told that that, unfortunately, only pirates are allowed to operate canons... I looked down to where he was pointing to my camera. Whoops! I did have a canon with me, indeed! *ba dum tssss*
Despite my lack of the proper license () I took the opportunity walking through an empty Epcot to use my Canon to take some pictures on the way to the restaurant.
I had never eaten at Garden Grill before, and was hesitant to do so because of the rotation of the restaurant—I sometimes even get a little motion sick if I'm not looking in the same direction I'm walking, let alone actually riding a spinning restaurant! —but I'd heard excellent reviews about the food and character interactions at GG, and I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate our anniversary. It turns out that, while I definitely did notice the rotation of the restaurant, I managed to enjoy the meal with only mild motion-related troubles. It ended up being N who surprised us both by having a headache by the time we left.
The food at the GG was standard breakfast fare, but everything was prepared perfectly. The hash browns/tater-tots were especially addictive, and N said that the cinnamon bun was pretty sinful. The only thing neither of us were crazy about was the salsa, despite the emphatic recommendation by our server, and N usually likes salsa very much. Maybe my judgement was somewhat clouded by the rose-coloured glasses one tends to wear on their first wedding anniversary, but I thought that this was one of the better breakfasts we've had at WDW, and I'm a major breakfast person!
Insert: *in the style of HIMYM* "Major Breakfastperson." *salute*
We had a good server who was attentive, but not overbearing. Character interactions at GG were also excellent this morning across the board, but by far the best of them all was with Chip! He came around first, and he made a huge deal out of us. N isn't very chatty in the morning, so he mumbled his way through the interaction, but I was basking in the attention! When we told Chip about celebrating our wedding anniversary, and how we got married at Epcot, he wanted to see my rings, and then he asked N to take a sassy picture of us showing them off.
It amazes me how one simple interaction like this can make such a lasting impact, and even as an adult I so thoroughly appreciate these awesome cast members who hang out with these characters and help make special memories for guests of all ages. Chip has since become one of my new favourite characters! The rest of the characters couldn't quite compete with Chip, but they still gave us lots of energy and didn't rush with us, which was highly appreciated!
As fans of Living with the Land, N and I both enjoyed being able to peek over into the ride while we rotated around the restaurant.
We finished breakfast before the park opened, and we were perfectly primed to start our day with an early morning glider ride...