I've written a few times now about the new 2011 Disney rrefillable mugs and available colors. I first saw the new Disney mugs in March and noted 4 available colors (pink, blue, yellow and black).
A few weeks later, however, it seemed like the black color may have been in very limited supply because it was very difficult to find. We finally found just a handful of the Disney refillable mug in black in late April while at the Pop Century resort.
I commented a few times that the yellow color seemed to be extremely unpopular. Imagine my surprise when we again visited Disney's Pop Century and found no trace of the yellow mug - not a single one. And now, there was a very large number of the refillable mug in black:
I also mentioned that the past mug only had 3 color options and I had a theory about the Disney mug colors offered for 2011. Could Disney vacationers be back to only 3 colors?
Anyway, it was a hot day and it felt really good to chill out at the Everything Pop food court at the Pop Century resort. Among other snacks, we ordered up some cheese fries:
While the order was hot and had a good amount of cheese, the portion of fries was skimpy compared to other orders we have had - especially since they cost just under $4. Compared to the Disney chili cheese fries we had at the Caribbean Beach resort, I'd definitely have to say today's order had more cheese but less fries.
I've noticed at the different Disney resorts that portion control seems to be hit or miss - between resorts, shifts and servers. At times we've seen over-generous portions offered to one guest followed by a skimpy order given to the next. In rare cases (we mostly see this at Disney's Port Orleans) the cast members carefully measure portion size on a scale. They seem to measure mostly on the dinner items like the carved meats, however, we have seen the Pop Century nachos be put on a scale.
It's love bug season as Disney World. One word... yuck! If you're driving, you're going to need a car wash.
My husband actually spent the last week at New Smyrna Beach, FL at an oceanfront condo. New Smyrna is about a 90 minute drive from Disney World. While it is close, I wouldn't want to make a daily commute between New Smyrna and Orlando for my Disney vacation days.
If you're looking to split your Florida vacation between Disney and the beach (and you're not interested in Disney's Vero Beach), New Smyrna offers a beautiful wide beach (with on-beach parking) for relaxing in the sun. If the beach is your priority, this is your place. If you're looking for lots of quality restaurants, shops and entertainment, you may want to expand your search.
Love bugs appear twice a year in Florida... now and again in the fall around September. Some areas of Florida are worse than others. Coming home from the beach, we drove through some of the worst of it. It sounds like rain as the bugs hit your windshield and splatter. After about 30 minutes on the road, our windshield was completely covered and it became difficult to see.
If you get love bugs on your car, do not wait to remove them. Dead love bugs plus Florida sun equals damage to your car's paint - as soon as 24 hours. Love bugs are very acidic. Driving through huge swarms can clog radiators and overheat cars. I wouldn't want to be on a motorcycle this time of year...
On our way back home, we remembered there was an automatic car wash at the Hess station near the back side of Disney's Boardwalk Resort (across from Disney's Hollywood Studios). If you go to this car wash, please note that you have to pay in advance and receive a code to activate the car wash. During our visit to the car wash, the dryer was not working. The important part was that the wash worked.
Our windshield and most of our car was sparkling after running through the wash. We still had many bugs on the front bumper of our car. Living here as long as we have, we expected that.
Love bugs are sticky and very difficult to remove. A local's tip is to remove them using one of those dish washing sponges that have the soft scrubbing netting around them.
The mesh netting helps to lift the bugs from your car without damaging your car's exterior. Just be gentle. It takes a lot of elbow grease. I prefer the mesh scrub sponges with a built-in handle like the one above. Remember, don't delay... it takes very little time before your paint begins to suffer the effects.
Tow Mater has finally arrived at the 2011 Epcot International Flower and Garden Show in the form of a super adorable topiary.
We began our search for Mater at Epcot a few weeks ago, but only the Lightening McQueen topiary was in position. We were told by a Disney cast member that Mater was still racing around the World. That was on April 15. Mater made his highly-anticipated and long-awaited debut as of April 22, 2011.
It is worth a visit to Mater and his Disney Pixar Cars 2 pal Lightening McQueen. The detail of the tow truck's mechanics are awesome.
There's even a license plate on the back of the tow truck. Tow Mater has to be one of the most detailed topiaries I've seen throughout my years of visiting Walt Disney World in Orlando - and he is definitely my favorite topiary. Great job Disney horticulturalists!
