As we entered the park, the frontside of the 2015 display was already crowded by the masses. We made our way to the backside where another scene was set with my favorite duck, Donald, and my husbands favorite chipmunks, Chip and Dale. We took a family photo and began our day.
Here is Amara and Grandma in front of the trio of butterflies.
We then headed over to the butterfly garden. I typically love to photograph the flowers and butterflies in here. Today there were not many fluttering about, due to the weather I assume. We saw many dead ones along the way. So I took some snaps of flowers and we headed on our way.
I love this Mickey and Minnie take on "American Gothic" as a photo op. We took another family photo and headed to the World Showcase.
Greeting you at the entrance are two new topiaries this year, Anna and Elsa from Frozen. I've had all about I can stand of Frozen, but nonetheless, photos were needed.
Here's a tiny pineapple. It's pretty darn cute if you ask me.
We were still awaiting for the outdoor marketplaces to open up so we swung through Mike and Sully's Monstrous Garden.
We began our trek with beginning on the Canada side. They have topiaries of Bambi, Thumper, and Flower set up here.
In the United Kingdom you'll find Shakespear's Garden with this beautiful bust.
Our first taste of the day! We stopped at Fleur De Lys in France and we got the Confit de Canard, Pommes de Terre Sarladaise. Which translates into: Pulled Duck confit, with garlic & parsley potatoes. This was a really good dish. Very gamey and full of rich greasy flavor. Duck is one of my favorite meats to eat so this is usually a win in my book.
Next up we stopped at Botanas Botanico. Jesse got the Seafood Ceviche-Shrimp, Scallops and Grouper with Mango and Avocado. This, by far, was my husbands favorite dish he's had ever at one of these events. He loved this and hasn't stopped crying for more.
I ordered a Polar Beer. It tasted like regular Bud Light, Miller Light, or any of those same-same beers. It was good and refreshing.
A fountain of flowers in the tables area next to the outdoor kitchen.
Next we stopped at Taste of Marrakesh. This is usually one of my favorite stops because the food is always so flavorful. However, and it's a big however, this Harissa Chicken Kebab was lacking in every way. It wasn't terrible, but Popeyes has juicier and better tasting chicken than this and this is not what I came for. I was sad. I may retry this again with the hopes that this was just a bad batch. It was just dry and bland. The Couscous, a dish I'd really love to love, but just can't for some reason. I want to like it, I really do, but I have yet to have one that hit that mouth watering spot.
One of my daughter's favorites is the Frushi at Hanami. This is her "Must Have" each year.
Next on our path was The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews. This is hands down, one of the best outdoor kitchens. You can smell the beautiful aromas of the barbecue all throughout the American Adventure. From here we got a Floridian Hefeweizen for our brew and I had to get the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash with White Cheddar Fondue and Pickled Jalepenos. I don't remember liking the beer, but that hash was simply divine. I'd love to make this at home sometime. I will definitely be getting this dish again on future visits. So yummy!
Over in Italy you can find topiaries of Lady and the Tramp.
I stopped at Primavera Kitchen for a Fior di Latte, Prosciutto e Pane di Casa. Which in English is, Pinwheel of Mozzarella, Prosciutto, Olio Toscano, and Cibatta Bread. This was just okay. I'm glad I tried it, but it was actually rather plain. I had hoped for a saltier taste from the prosciutto. The bread tasted great and fresh!
Along our way we mad a long stop in Germany at the Florida Fresh outdoor kitchen. We ordered the Watermelon Salad with pickled Onions, B&W Gourmet Farms Baby Arugula, Feta Cheese and Balsamic Reduction, a Shrimp and Stone Ground Grits with Andouille Sausage, Sweet Corn, Tomatoes, and Cilantro, a Watermelon Passion Fruit Slush with Tamiami Florida Gin, and the beer flight. The flight contained the following beers: Blonde Ale, Channel Marker Red Ale, Feast of Flowers Farmhouse Ale, and Jai Alai. The salad is always a safe bet. The mixtures of texture and flavor work wonderfully in this dish and it's pretty to look at. Amara also enjoys this one a lot as well.
The slush was nice and refreshing!
The shrimp and grits is another favorite of Jesse's. He always looks forward to having this. He also likes to order it from one of the food trucks in Downtown Disney that has it all year long.
Here is the beer flight we got. Jesse enjoyed numbers 1 and 2 while I favored 3 and 4.
After this we were getting pretty full and it was time for a mid day break so we made our way down to Mexico where I stopped for a taco. You know I had to get a taco before leaving. It's kind of my thing. So this was from Jardin De Fiestas and it's the Taco al Pastor. I don't care what anyone says, this taco was damn good. I'll probably have more of these bad boys soon! Very delicious!
As we were making our way out of World Showcase, Duffy was out and it was a short wait. So we took the opportunity for another family photo.
We noticed we had some time before we could check into our hotel so we decided to go catch a ride on Figment's Journey Into Imagination. Along our path we came across some Fantasia topiary scenes.
Also a small potted garden to promote Disney's latest upcoming release "Inside Out". Each color represents a different emotion. Here we are all posing in our favorites.
Green for Disgusted.
Blue for sad.
Red for Angry.
Yellow for Jouyous.
As we're heading to the restroom area I saw this little guy grubbing down on what I can only presume is his favorite Disney snack.
Journey Into Imagination had only been a 15 minute wait. It was my moms first time riding this.
Still left with some time on our hands we checked out the Gardener's Palette where Amara was able to make a free sand art bottle. I like free souvenirs.
Of course I had to get another shot of these two adorable little critters on our way out. I love that they brought out Chip and Dale this year.
After taking a couple hours to relax, we went back for more food and festivities. First up for me was the Pineapple Dog from Pineapple Promenade. I have to say I was pretty hesitant on trying this, but boy am I glad I did. This was a homerun for me. Everything about this was amazing. A red hot hot dog smothered in pineapple slaw and Sriracha mayonnaise. Oh, it was so good!
While I was in line getting my Pineple Dog, Jesse went to the Urban Farm Eats kitchen and picked us up the Quinoa Vegetable "Naanwhich" with arugula pesto and oven dried tomatoes, the Ghost Pepper dusted Tilapia with crisp Winter Melon Slaw and Mint Oil featuring The Original Sauce Man's Kick It Up Rub, and a Crispin Blackberry Pear Cider.
I really enjoyed the naanwhich. It was full of so much flavor. It also had a very earthy taste to it from the quinoa, and that pesto was delicious!
My husband really liked the tilapia. I don't like fish...ever. He forced me to try the tilapia and while I didn't like the taste of it at all, I was able to get past the texture, So in future scenarios I may be more at ease with trying the fish.
The Blackberry Pear Cider was very fruity and I loved it. I love ciders and I would definitely look for this in stores to buy more. It went down nice and smooth.
The sun had finally set for the day and we were back in the France Pavilion.
This time around we got the Gnocchi Parisien a la Provencal. I really loved the flavor of this. It was so good, but the texture made me not want to take another bite. It was just so dry, but mushy all in one. The gnocchi did not taste like it was cooked properly and it made it not worth even trying to force down. Which made me sad because, man, the flavor on this one was really there and so good.
Amara got a Macaron Guimauve a la Fraise. She gobbled it right up and I was unable to try a piece. It looks really good!
I know what you're thinking about this next photo. "What in the hell is that?" At the Hanami kitchen you can get the Teriyaki Curry Bun. This was another "just okay" dishes. For me it was too much bun, and too little meat. I gave it to Amara and she chowed down on it.
Jesse grabbed a Kirin Draft Beer. This is a nice, light beer. We both enjoyed this one.
Back at The Smokehouse we grabbed a Pulled Pig Slider with Cole Slaw and added some bbq sauce to it. We enjoyed this one a lot last year so we had to get it again. Another homerun for The Smokehouse. Just as good as we remembered from the previous year.
We then finished our aventure with a ride on Donald's Grand Fiesta Tour and then grabbed our spot for Illuminations. My mother has yet to experience a Walt Disney World firework show, and since this was one of my favorite recurring fireworks show.
I hope you enjoyed the photos. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and follow through our adventures.
Love you!
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