woke up all soaking wet from last night's fever

LISTENING TO: Neon Trees - Text Me In The Morning

So my premonitions yesterday afternoon were correct - we did end up at the Enchanted Rose last night for dinner and drinks. One of the last times I was at Disney before this trip we stayed at the Grand Floridian, and entering that hotel off the monorail is still absolutely breathtaking. It never fails to amaze me (or give me "Rose entertaining the dining room down the stairs" vibes from Titanic), and the Enchanted Rose has become one of my favorite cocktail bars in just a single night. It was still raining so we weren't able to eat on the porch outside, but the atmosphere was super inviting and intimate, and I had one of the best tequila cocktails I've had in a very long time, so I can't complain.

The other thing I had forgotten was the water light parade that happens after dark - we had a perfect view of it off our balcony right as we got back from dinner. The last time I had seen it so up close was when we stayed at the Grand Floridian, so it was a really unique little callback that I wasn't expecting. My dad would have definitely gotten a kick out of it.

We woke up bright and early (again) this morning and spent most of the time pre-festival at the Sea. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy aquariums, and this made me realize how long it's actually been since I've visited one. From there, my sister and I were able to catch on ride on the new Guardians of the Galaxy rollercoaster, and honestly, it was well worth the hype. It's one of the more unique coasters I've ever been on - I feel like I should be able to better explain it than that, but you really do have to ride it for yourself.

And then it was back to Food & Wine - this time starting off in Hawaii with some absolutely fantastic sushi and pork sliders, followed quickly by some amazing lamb from Australia. The thing I think I love most about the festival is how much they incorporate from other countries outside of the core Epcot World locations - its like finding a little something extra around every corner. Canada had a little bit of everything, including a fantastic cidery (where they normally show the "O Canada" movie). Unfortunately, we hit England right around the time that the news broke of the Queen's death, so it made for a really interesting experience. It almost felt like no one really knew how to take the news yet, so they were kind of ignoring it. It was a weird little microcosm of the day.

From there, we made it back to France, where we actually got to eat some food this time (unlike yesterday, when it was a dine and dash out of the rain). They had some of the best offerings of the entire festival, and Ratatouille the ride was super enjoyable and cute. Brazil was after that, which I really, really enjoyed as well - until it started raining again. Unlike yesterday, we decided to just start powering through, stopping for a brief time in Morocco and China before getting back into Japan. I was finally able to try the apple sake cocktail that was on my list right before we got to watch them start to set up for the fireworks show. I know I must have seen video or photo of them lifting the bridges to let the barges through sometime before, but it was kind of cool to be there in person. After that small detour, I had some of the best samosas and a mango lassi cocktail from India that were the perfect thing to tide me over until the end of the rain. 

We decided from there to just stick to the park for the rest of the day, so we were able to catch Hoobastank while waiting for dinner in France - which was not a sentence I ever thought I would write about when talking about my trip to Disney World. Dinner at Les Chefs de France was really enjoyable, and late enough that we were able to catch the fireworks. I'm kind of glad I spent the money on a magic band - it was fun to see it light up in time with the show. It's the simple things that amuse me, I guess.

Which leaves us to now - we walked most of the way back through the Boardwalk Villas (another place I didn't realize I want to now stay at) to the monorail due to the lines, which is why I'm both exhausted and yet still awake enough to write this. I can't believe the trip is almost over. It literally doesn't seem real.