Christmas at the World (Days 5. A Little of This and a Little of That)

Christmas Tree at the American Adventure.

By Day 5 we had hit all the Theme parks at Walt Disney World at least once.  Days 5 and 6 were spent either revisiting attractions that we enjoyed or experiencing ones that we had missed because of on thing or another. We also on Day 5 swang past Downtown Disney. Instead of catching a bus this morning we caught the boat to Downtown Disney. Like most of the mornings we have had on this trip it was pretty cold that morning and you could see the steam rising off of the canals as we went along.  One of the advantages of taking a whole week at Walt Disney World during Christmas is the crowds are not so intense that visitors can't have enough time to more thoroughly explore all the attractions in the parks and still have time to enjoy some of the other Disney offerings   Many of the resorts have delightful restaurants and dinner shows that visitors to Disney World might not get a chance to visit on a more condensed vacation. We did so many things on our Christmas trip that my memory sometimes has a little trouble keeping up with the time line.  For major events and meals I had developed a spread sheet that listed dinner and show reservations along with a guess at what park we would be spending the bulk of our time.  This actually worked out quite well for us, keeping us from being late for dinner reservations.  We didn't list everything we wanted to do on the spread sheet and we used it as a guide rather than a schedule.

Worlds Biggest Disney Store

My Spread sheet for day 5 showed lunch at Teppan Edo's in the Japanese pavilion, so my wife and I decided it would be fun to explore the world show case, or at least parts of it.  We arrived at the World Showcase opened. For a guy like me, the walk through Epcot and through the world showcase is not a short one.  I'm sure you have heard how important good shoes are to your enjoyment of Disney World.  Almost every guide I have read about Walt Disney World stresses how important your shoes are when exploring any of the Disney Theme parks. I cannot agree more with how correct the guides are about shoes.  I bought mine about two weeks in advance to allow the shoes to break.  Brand new shoes can be almost as bad as Bad shoes if they haven't been broken in properly.  Some of the worse blisters I got have been from good shoes that I hadn't allowed to break in and used to walk long distances.  Also, good supportive socks make a huge difference when walking the Disney Parks  An experienced Disney visitor soon learns is how to take advantage of the many benches and shade trees scatter though out the Disney Parks.  As the weather was cool, well maybe cool is not a strong enough word for the temperature, the shade was not as important, but I have been in the Central Florida sun visiting Disney World when a few moments sitting under a shade tree can make a world of difference and any time, however brief, sitting on a bench and not standing on concrete is welcome.

Bonnie In Japan (Disney Style)

Our lunch reservations for Teppan Edo were for 12:30 so we pretty much made our way to the restaurant as soon as we arrived at Epcot.  We arrived on time and after a short wait we were seated at one of the many Teppanyaki grills. Teppan Edo is the sister restaurant of Tokyo Dining and shares the same floor.  Tokyo Dining serves Sushi, Sashimi, Tempura, chicken and steak. After we were seated we expected to see the Teppanyaki chief do his flair and then we would enjoy his cooking.  Unfortunately, whether he was not so inclined or some moratorium had been placed on Teppanyaki flair, our chief came in and immediately stated to cook.  We got no spinning spatulas nor did we get cooking forks arching gracefully through the air.  No eggs were juggled.  Nothing was caught in pockets or chiefs hats.  I while I've seen Teppanyaki flair before many times, I would like to have seen the Volcano or a spinning egg split by a spatula.  The restaurant was saved by the quality of the food.  It was good. I had my favorite Steak and chicken with a side of Yakisoba.  However,  I really don't want to revisit a restaurant where I can get the same quality of food and a better show at home. Teppan Edo has good memories for me because my wife and I ate there when we went on our first vacation together. Since then, Teppanyaki restaurants have spread from the original Benihanas and good Hibachi grilled food is now available even in the smaller cities of the country.

Candy Sculpture in Japan.

After lunch, we walked around the World Showcase.  As we left the pagoda where the Japanese restaurants were, a woman molding figures from rice candy caught our eye.  Using scissors, needle noose pliers and other tools she skillfully recreated the form of a crane from the candy.  She worked quickly because the candy would set as it cooled.  With hands that had obviously done this many times, she finished  a lovely candy sculpture.  Later in the day, we found a stand with shaved ice near the Japanese Pavilion.  Even though the weather was cool, the shaved ice with the fresh fruit was refreshing. We had already spend a day in Future World, so our goal for the day was to enjoy as may of the offerings of each country represented in the World Showcase as we could. We watched the film at the French pavilion and enjoyed Caramel covered treats at the Karamell Kuche in Germany. By the way, for people on the Disney Dining plan, the Karamell Kuche is a great way to spend a snack credit. The treats are large and delicious. An amazing juggler was doing his chair balancing act in France. We saw kids playing drums and watched a cast member tell a Christmas story in Italy.  Many of these things events were part of the Christmas around the World celebration in Epcot. I've read in some of the guide books where the Maelstrom ride in the Norwegian pavilion is a "not to miss" attraction.  I guess, I don't get it.  The attraction was fun.  There are a few minor Thrills, I mean, how can being in a viking ship be bad?  But, well, I will just say that its only something I will do again if line is short and I don't have something else more pressing to do.  In Canada we watch a panoramic 360 degree film that surrounded us with visions of urban and rural Canada.  I enjoyed being surrounded by the images of our northern neighbor.  Perhaps, even more fun than the film, Canada boasts a band called Off Kilter. Until I had seen Off Kilter I had never heard a bagpipe used in a rock band.  The effect wasn't entirely out of place and unusual and fun to watch.  I picked up a new hat in England. I bought the drivers cap with the Union Jack on it with a gift card my wife had given me the previous Christmas in anticipation of This trip to Disney.  I love the hat and wear it when ever the weather is cool enough to justify it.  We purchased tea at the Twinings shop in England where they also had an assortment of English sweets that might have been fun to taste.

Off Kilter on Stage.

Bonnie Calls Dr. Who.

Voices Of Liberty

 For me, the highlight of our time spent in the World Showcase was the experience we received at the  American Adventure. When we arrived, the Voices of Liberty were singing Christmas carols in the rotunda. They were good. I mean, very good.  The singers were perfectly in pitch the whole time. Their blend was amazing.  They sang Carols that were so moving that I wasn't surprising to find a tear in my eye as I listened. Actually, getting me to tear up is not much of a trick.  I tend to shed tears pretty easily.  Needless to say I loved listening to them. I have written posts on hidden gems before, and the Voices of Liberty certainly qualify as a Hidden Gem.  Visitors may have come to expect good music, but I am constantly surprised by entertainment like the Voices of Liberty.  I doubt that if some of these amazing Street performers were offered, fewer people would go to Disney world. I'm sure that some visitors don't even notice the amazing talented people. To me, these small touches  separate and elevate a Disney experience above most any other. This is one of the reasons I continue to come back as often as I can manage. After the listening to the Carols, the doors opened to the American Adventure and the crowd filed in and took their seat.  The American Adventure is a mixture of film and anamatronics.  Any citizen of the US would be filled with patriotism when watching the presentation.   The show is full of good old flag waving USA history that is tempered somewhat by exposing a few of our less proud moments as a Country.  This is about as balanced as Disney gets, when it comes to reflection on American history. But, there is something for every one during the show.  I enjoyed the show as much, if not more that the Hall of Presidents and the Hall of Presidents attraction is a must see for me every time I go to Disney.

Evening at the Magic Kingdom.

Our dinner reservations for Day 5 were at Ohana's in the Polynesian resort close to the Magic Kingdom, so, we caught the monorail From Epcot. There is something iconic about the Monorail.  I personally would put it on a par with Cinderella's castle and The Tree of life as one of the icons for all things Disney, though long gone are the days when visitors could ride with the operator in the first car.  I had read a lot about  the Castle Lighting Ceremony during Christmas time.  Cinderella's Castle is turned into a magical ice covered Palace in an awesome display of Electrical wizardry.  If you have read previous post or if you have been to Walt Disney World any time between mid November and Early January, you know that Cinderella's Castle is draped with 10's of thousands, if not 100's of thousands of lights. You all know by now that Disney cannot do anything without making a celebration or a story of some sorts out of it. I find this is part of the magic of Disney world.  Anyway, The Castle Lighting Ceremony is no exception.  A short musical sketch involving Cinderella and the Fairy God Mother is prelude to the lighting of the castle.  The lights start at the top and work downward flickering and shimmering till the whole castle is lit.  I can't really do justice to it with words as it quite took my breath away.  Again, the beauty of the castle and the Magic of watching the lighting was another one of those moments that brought a tear to my eye.  I can still tear up a little when I think of castle all decked out in lights and how beautiful it was. To this day i have the fully lit castle as the wall paper for my work computer. and I smile every time i look at it.

This was to be the frist time we had eaten at Ohana's. I have had a fondness for Brazilian steak houses. I guess I have to let me inner carnivore have reign from time to time.  The nearest analog I can find for Ohana's is a Brazilian steak house. Meat is brought to your table on skewers until you tell them to stop, very much like a Brazilian steak house. The difference between Ohana's and say Fogo De Chao's are the sides, certainly, Ohana's gives you wings, potsickers and noodles, while Fogo's gives you fired bananas, Polenta and Popovers, and the larger selection of the cuts of meat available at Fogo's. What Fogo's dosn't have that Ohana's does is a more family oriented spirit.  Diners would be chased from Fogo's if your children pushed a coconut around the room with a broom or if you got up to do a hula.  Ohana's in Polynesian means family and the cast members at Ohana's go out of their way to make you feel like family.  The food at Ohana's is delicious.  My wife and I especially enjoyed the potstickers and I had a fondness for the noodles.  The Turkey, port and steak that was delivered on the skewers was delightful as well.  Please, If you go to Ohana's try everything.  You have to have the Bread Pudding for desert at least once in your life time and all their offerings are delicious,  But be forewarned, make sure that Ohana's is your last activity for the day, except of course watching the fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian resort.  The Cast members keep bringing you food with a relentless precision that can overwhelm you if you don't keep your head.  They will not stop until you tell them too.   All this boils down to the fact that when you are done, you can barely move.  A food induced coma is part of the experience for those who are unwilling or unable to turn away the cast member that has that last piece of steak or turkey. Diners often aren't able to do anymore than go back to their room or sit and watch the fireworks.  Our reservations were set up to take place before the fireworks, but Walt must have been looking down on us that day.  He delayed our seating until just before the fireworks and made sure we had a seat at the window facing the Magic Kingdom.   The lights dimmed and the music swelled and we were treated to a third prospective to the Wishes Fireworks spectacular.  After eating, We rolled our selves to the buses and back to our room.