Eggstravaganza

Right around Easter there is a fun event called Egg-stravaganza which is basically an Easter egg hunt around the World Showcase at EPCOT (there is actually a version over in California, too). What you do is buy a map with stickers. It is really reasonably priced, especially for Disney! Then you go around the World Showcase to find the eggs and place the correct character egg in the country it was hidden in. Then you go back to a shop and you get a prize (you can actually get the prize without finding the eggs, but what is the fun in that?)

 I really wanted to do the event and heard that it was really popular in the past and last year they sold out of the maps. Therefore, my roommate Allie and I decided to go on the first day it was offered. So we met at EPCOT after work and the park wasn't too awful since it had been raining so a ton of people had left. 

We had a ton of fun talking and looking for the eggs. We really struggled with the first two in Mexico and Norway, but once we knew what we were looking for we found the rest pretty quickly. I stopped in America to get some food from the smokehouse (a pulled pig slider that was delicious) and Allie got some food in France. After we found all the eggs we headed to the Port of Entry shop to redeem our prize. We got to chose from a selection of eggs that had characters on them. I was looking at the Thumper, Goofy, and White Rabbit eggs, and ended up going with the Thumper one in the spirit of Easter (there was also a Tink, Pluto, and Mr. Toad to chose from). I don't think the cast did it completely right since I had read that we were supposed to participate in the "shell game," but it was the first day so perhaps didn't know exactly what to do and figured it out as the week went on (they were even tallying off which eggs people chose when I think they were supposed to be ringing into the register). 

It was a ton of fun to spend the end of the week and I totally recommend it. Here are some pictures form our adventure.

The Map

Allie and I with our maps and our prizes

A few of the eggs that we found: 

Looking at Places to Live

I have loved living in Falcon Square. It is nice not having to worry about paying rent, safety, I've had great roommates, etc. But I especially love the area of Independence. So I've been looking and it is actually pretty reasonable to rent homes in this neighborhood. All of the outdoor stuff is taken care of, cable and internet are included, still have access to the pools and gyms (which I honestly haven't used yet...). So I think that if I end up staying in Florida I would like to see if I can find roommates that would be willing to stay here. I'm open to moving elsewhere, but I just love the serenity of the neighborhood and not being in a super touristy area. Well, I guess now I just have to keep getting my name out there, cross my fingers, and hope that I can find a way to stay down here, because I love working for Disney, I love my job, and I love the people. At least now I have an idea that it could be reasonable to stay in this area. :)

Sandhill Cranes around one of many of the ponds in Independence

Fun Group, Fantastic Day Part 1: Hollywood Studios

Nick and I met up with Mike, his sister Allison, and his friend Hannah for a fun day at the parks. Nick had a long night out the night before downtown with his roommates so I ended up driving since he wasn't up for it. Hannah had never been to studios or epcot so it was fun to do things with someone seeing the parks for the first time. I also love going to the parks with people who know a lot of fun facts about the park, so hanging out with Nick and Allison was a ton of fun.

We got to studios and headed to Starbucks to get some drinks and get food for nick. It was crazy seeing the park without the sorcerer's hat. I was skeptical about the park without the without the hat, but it really was nice theming without it so I hope they don't ruin it by constructing something annoying there or else I might miss the hat again. We finished the goods and headed over to start at the great movie ride. it was a fun one. we got got the western robber scene which was fun since it is not done all the time. Then we got stuck in the final scene. Our guide showed us her favorite starts which was funny. We started to move but got stuck again partway through the doorway so the other guide started if you want the car to move clap your hands.

no hat!!!! no way! There's been a theater back there?!?!!

Then we headed over to Rockin' Roller Coaster for our fast passes. Then they had reservations for 50's prime time. I got a chicken Caesar salad. I love milkshakes but wasn't hungry enough to get one. I finished my salad so I got a clean plate sticker. Nick only got onion rings and didn't finish so he only got half a sticker. Nick treated me so we agreed I would buy dinner (but I forgot...). 

You could say that we enjoyed it

After lunch we were walking by Indiana Jones and there was a show starting soon so we decided to go. We had a few minutes before our fast passes started so we walked by the Cinderella carriage on Streets of America. There was a super long line so we didn't wait for a picture but we did run into Nick and Mikes friend Spencer who I had met at the 4th of July. Afterward we headed to our fast passes at Star Tours. To end our trip at Studios we headed over to Tower of Terror so Hannah could see how it was different from California (which was fun since she didn't realize it moved forward). 

Wait?!?! this ride moves forward AND is random!?!?!