Ooh-de-lally! A dining heavy October '13 Trip Report *update 2/23-We're Going Back!*

[spiritsim]

Great update! Been so busy lately hard to keep up on the boards but eventually I get them read!

 

[guinness408]

A little late but joining in....great dining reports!

 

[Leshaface]

Yay for getting all the signatures! I'm sure Olivia was slightly happier about this than you

I agree with you about the lobster roll. There was a good amount of lobster, but I didn't think there was enough mayo or butter.

Didn't get a chance to check out the Chase lounge. Looks like I didn't miss much. But really glad to know that they allow you to charge your electronics there! That's a definite plus!

I thought the Africa booth was pretty amazing and took me by complete surprise! Not the prettiest presentation, but it makes up for it in taste

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Great update! Been so busy lately hard to keep up on the boards but eventually I get them read!

Thank you! It is a darn shame how life keeps getting in the way of important things like the DISboards!

A little late but joining in....great dining reports!

Thanks for joining - and glad you like the dining portion of this TR

Yay for getting all the signatures! I'm sure Olivia was slightly happier about this than you

Well, I was pretty happy too. I actually liked setting up that sort of goal than wanting to meet every character that ever existed or something.

I agree with you about the lobster roll. There was a good amount of lobster, but I didn't think there was enough mayo or butter.

Didn't get a chance to check out the Chase lounge. Looks like I didn't miss much. But really glad to know that they allow you to charge your electronics there! That's a definite plus!

I thought the Africa booth was pretty amazing and took me by complete surprise! Not the prettiest presentation, but it makes up for it in taste

Yeah, I was satisfied by the Lobster Roll - wasn't amazing but hey, it's lobster and was real chunks of it.

You didn't miss too much, but it also had AC which was nice, so it was a good place to get out of the heat, get something to drink, charge your phone and just kinda catch your breath.

I was glad that I liked the African offerings as I was looking forward to it so would have been bummed if it was less than stellar. Glad you liked it

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Day 7 - Part 10: EPCOT - Mexican It's A Small World and more F&WF Fun​

After noshing on the great food and getting our sample of beer on, we decided to ride the 3 Caballeros ride (again for the kids) - or, more accurately, The Mexican It's a Small World.

Having fun in line:

Not sure if it was the lighting, but didn't get a ton of great photos of the ride, but here are the best of the bunch:

This scene always cracks me up:

While this was the kids second trip it was my first of the trip and this is always a must do for us ... plus the kids didn't mind as they are yet to experience a Disney boat ride they didn't love.


After all that excitement is was time for some more food and beverages.

First up was Singapore where we got:

Lemongrass Chicken Curry with Coconut and Jasmine Rice - $4.25
Singapore Sling featuring Hendrick’s Gin and Cherry Herring (garnished with Cherry Man Farm-to-Market All-Natural maraschino cherry) – $8.00

The chicken curry was one of the items Judi was most looking forward to and unfortunately it was only ok. Nothing bad, just not as flavorful as we were hoping. As far as the Singapore Sling, not sure what else to say that hasn't already been sai - it was definitely strong. It had decent flavor and I normally don't mind drinks that are super strong but I think after a while it became more about finishing it than enjoying it - but still fun to get.


Next was Australia where we got one of our past favorites:

Grilled Lamb Chop with Mint Pesto and Potato Crunchies - $6.00

This definitely lived up to our memories - lots of flavor and enough crunch from the, well, crunches (hey, at least they are accurately named). As in the past we wish there was more meat to it - a couple of bites and it is gone - but they are good bites.


Then to Brazil for one of the new items I had to try:

Crispy Pork Belly with Black Beans, Onions, Avocado and Cilantro - $5.25

This was super yummy - probably my second favorite food item we tried. While not huge, I think there was enough of it and having the beans helped too. Definitely a winner.

At this point is was starting to get late so we just spent some time enjoying EPCOT:

Olivia loved these light-up walways (sorry for the blurry pic - We did twenty takes, and that was the best one .... bonus points to those who get the reference)

up next will be some of our last memories from this trip - at least the Disney portion.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hmmm, I will neither confirm nor deny at this point if I rode Mexican Small World recently.

I just KNOW you wanted to say "This scene always quacks me up".

It does work up an appetite though, so good call there.

I guess the main point of F&W really is the small sizes enable one to enjoy more offerings. So it does make sense.

Hmmmmm... Simpsons reference? You know, back when the show was good.

 

[emmysmommy]

More F&W samplings... the ravioli and the Mongolian beef stand out! That silky spun ice looks very interesting. I can't quite picture what it really is like. It almost looks like Styrofoam packing materials. Glad you enjoyed most of those items.

How adorable that Olivia is dancing among the twinkly lights. I have no idea the walways reference. But now you have me curious.

Your beer flight photos reminded me of when Em was little and she asked my DH what beer tasted like and he told her liquid bread. She said she loved bread and wanted to drink it!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Hmmm, I will neither confirm nor deny at this point if I rode Mexican Small World recently.

I just KNOW you wanted to say "This scene always quacks me up".

It does work up an appetite though, so good call there.

I guess the main point of F&W really is the small sizes enable one to enjoy more offerings. So it does make sense.

Hmmmmm... Simpsons reference? You know, back when the show was good.

but, but inquiring minds want to know!!!!!

Must admit didn't think of using "quack up" ... wish I had - feel like I failed myself

guess I need to make the bonus point questions a little harder. While Simpsons was better back then I still think it is better than most of what is on TV - just not up to the high standards it set years ago

More F&W samplings... the ravioli and the Mongolian beef stand out! That silky spun ice looks very interesting. I can't quite picture what it really is like. It almost looks like Styrofoam packing materials. Glad you enjoyed most of those items.

How adorable that Olivia is dancing among the twinkly lights. I have no idea the walways reference. But now you have me curious.

Your beer flight photos reminded me of when Em was little and she asked my DH what beer tasted like and he told her liquid bread. She said she loved bread and wanted to drink it!!

Yeah, kinda hard to describe the texture of the spun icecream - really wasn't that crazy or anything - I'd say the closest thing I can think of is a cream Italian ice

Well, Peter is always interest in my beer and reaching for it. One time I figured I would dip my finger in and give him a small taste and he would realize he hated it and that would be that ... nope, he loved it and now wants it even more

 

[JulieODC]

We love the mexico ride! The music is fun -- always gets stuck in my head!!

We were "eh" on the curry too....but loved the pork belly!

We also discovered the light-up walkways on our last trip and DD could have spent hours running around chasing the lights. I took about 60 photos --- and they just didn't do it justice!

 

[herb102211]

All caught up! Glad you had such an awesome time at the F&WF!! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

We love the mexico ride! The music is fun -- always gets stuck in my head!!

We were "eh" on the curry too....but loved the pork belly!

We also discovered the light-up walkways on our last trip and DD could have spent hours running around chasing the lights. I took about 60 photos --- and they just didn't do it justice!

Definitely a fund ride - one of the better ones that mixes humor and fun with actual information about the country

yeah, the light up pathways are fun ... hopefully it will be more than a repeat of these that gets built as part of the Avatar Land

All caught up! Glad you had such an awesome time at the F&WF!! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

We love F&WF ... actually, we plan our trips around it!

Another post coming up - unfortunately we are nearing the end though

 

[Leshaface]

That's exactly how I felt about the Singapore Sling! More about trying to finish it, than enjoying it.

Walways? I would guess The Simpsons? I've seen lots of Simpsons episodes but quotes from that show are not my strong suit. I'm usually an American Dad/Family Guy/Bob's Burgers gal..

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That's exactly how I felt about the Singapore Sling! More about trying to finish it, than enjoying it.

Walways? I would guess The Simpsons? I've seen lots of Simpsons episodes but quotes from that show are not my strong suit. I'm usually an American Dad/Family Guy/Bob's Burgers gal..

haha - yeah, I think it would have been great if they sold the Sling in 2 sizes - like a shot glass size just so people could try it. It was just a bit too big to be enjoyed along with trying a bunch of other things from the festival.

and Rob got it right straight away - I was referencing The Simpsons - a scene from this fantastic movie within the show:

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Day 7 - Part 11: EPCOT - Dessert and Illumnations​

After having fun in future world we hit up Spaceship Earth since Judi and her mom had missed it last time we went (they were at the Taste, Shake, and Induldge like the French F&WF event) and no trip to Disney World is complete without a trip inside the Giant Golf Ball - considering some people think all of EPCOT is contained inside said sphere.

And since pics or it didn't happen, this blurry picture proves that we were there:

After that we figured it was a good time to find a spot for Illuminations as we had not yet seen Illuminations yet this trip ... and that is probably my favorite "show" at WDW (there is definitely something special about Wishes but as a complete show I truly love Illuminations).

Unfortunately we probably should have found a spot at least 20 mins earlier as we once again underestimated the crowds. Oh, well. We found a pretty decent spot right by the Friendship Boat dock to the right of the Showcase Plaza.

While everyone got settled I went to get our last F&WF offering from the Desserts & Champagne booth:

Dessert Trio Chocolate Orange Cupcake, Hazelnut Chocolate Cheesecake, and Morello Cherry Pistachio Mousse- $4.00
Frozen S’mores - $3.00
Möet & Chandon Impérial – $10.50
Pyramid™Weiss Cream Beer - $6.75

So, to start with the food, the trio was nice to get as it was small portions of a few things that we each got to try. Nothing was amazing but I think we actually like the cupcake the best. The Frozen S'mores was interesting ... definitely not bad but probably one of those items that I wanted to be even better than it was. Enjoyable though.

As for the drinks, Judi enjoyed the champagne - fun to end the night with that. I was plessantly surprised byt the Pyramid Cream Beer - mostly got it because it was there. Pyramid is a good brewery so I figured it would at least be solid but I really enjoyed it and it worked out well as a bit of a night cap as it was so creamy ... definitely better to have it then vs. the during mid-day heat.

While we were waiting for the show to start we got out the glow bracelets. We had quite a few left and were determined to go through them so we started to give them away to anyone nearby. This included another little girl that Olivia made friends with as well as a group of nuns that were there watching the show - I don't think they knew what to make of them but were appreciative of the gesture.

Here is Olivia all done up with her glow bracelets ... first using flash:

and now without:

Since our view wasn't the best I won't bore you with a ton of pictures of Illuminations ... I will only bore you with a handful:

and that is the last picture I have of our Disney vacation. After Illuminations we made the way back to the car and back to the resort and the next morning checked out with no issues and drove down to Boca to spend a few days with Judi's Grandmother and Aunt who live there.

I plan to have one more post with summary/takeaways from the trip - plus I am working on a video compilation of the best photos and hope to have that complete soon.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Aha, so that's why my last trip felt incomplete. I missed riding Spaceship Earth.

Yup, blurry or not, the pic prooves were indeed there... or know how to use google.

I just love how easily kids make friends. How lovely to pass out your remianing glow bracelets. But seriously.. Nuns?? Like in full habit Nuns???

Not a bad way to end a trip with Illuminations. Looking forard to your final thoughts Phil. I'm sure they'll be a great wrap up.

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[missangelalexis]

Always sad to see a trip come to an end But it sounds like you guys finished up your day at Epcot quite nicely! Can't wait to read your summary and see your video!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Aha, so that's why my last trip felt incomplete. I missed riding Spaceship Earth.

Yup, blurry or not, the pic prooves were indeed there... or know how to use google.

Ok, that is a bit funny in that I almost wrote "and now to prove that we rode the ride - or that I know how to use the internet - a pic from Spaceship Earth"

I just love how easily kids make friends. How lovely to pass out your remianing glow bracelets. But seriously.. Nuns?? Like in full habit Nuns???

Yeah, there were a few times Olivia made friends (I was hesitant to post pictures as I don't know of that child's parents want images of their kids on the internet). Yup, full on habit-wearing Nuns. They were on the older side and I think might not have spoken English (they never spoke a word) which may have added to their confusion as to what is going on ... but I didn't want them to feel left out and felt like I shouldn't not offer them just b/c they are nuns.

Not a bad way to end a trip with Illuminations. Looking forard to your final thoughts Phil. I'm sure they'll be a great wrap up.

Thanks! I think the recap video is coming along nicely and hopefully I can put together some nice thoughts for an ending post.

Great update!

Thank you!

Always sad to see a trip come to an end But it sounds like you guys finished up your day at Epcot quite nicely! Can't wait to read your summary and see your video!

Yeah, definitely sad to see the trip/trip report come to and end - but I think I have dragged it out enough. Now to start planing the next trip

Hope the video and closing post come out well - workin' on it!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Final Thoughts & Video​

Thus concludes the trip report portion of this, well, um, Trip Report, but did want to share some of my final thoughts about this trip

As this will be a text heavy post I thought I would post an image that pretty much sums up my feelings about the weather at this point:

As mentioned in the very first post, this was a trip of many first for us.

These included:

• Peter's first trip ... I think he loved it (though often had a serious face and only liked the characters from afar ... well, other than Sam the Head Salesman)
• Firt time dining at Victoria & Alberts - love, love, love ... so want to go back, just a great experience
• Did pre-park opening ADRs at all 4 partks - first time we did Tusker House and is a new favorite of ours!
• First time seeing Fanstasmic! - and will definitely not be the last, was everything I hoped for and more. Really does give you those Disney "Feelings" when the ship come out with all the characters on it
• First time we really stoped to "smell the roses" that is the Disney parades and shows - turned out to be one of my favorite parts that totally wasn't planned. Can't imagine not seeing Dream Along with Mickey now.
• First time at the "new" California Grill - this was the meal I was most anxious about as I had read some not so great reviews since the re-opening and I had talked it up so much to the McNamees ... fortunately it turned out to be one of the best meals of the trip and we are definitely keeping it on our "must do" list

One other first was this was the first time we went with another family. While there were definitely some challenges with trying to plan for 10 people from multiple families with different levels of experience with Disney and different goals, all in all I think it worked out great! Everyone got along and had fun. Having Judi's parents there was a so great - not just to watch the kids for our "Date Night" but even just to take the little guys while the rest of us would go on an attraction. Plus, I will always remember that image of Olivia on her Granddad's shoulders watching Dream Along with Mickey with a huge smile on her face


Not everything was perfect - we found it takes a lot longer to get 10 people up and going in the morning which led to some long distance "hustling" to get to ADRs on time adn we spent a little more time that I would have liked waiting in areas for people to meet up and also a while trying to decide what to do "next" .... but it did also teach me at times to not worry about the schedule and "Let it Go!"


As far as our missions went, we were able to meet all of the princesses that were separated in Olivia's autograph book - so she was very excited about that (this also included the best Meet & Greet I have ever been a part of with Tiana and Naveen). Also, by deciding to purchase the Annual Pass (and then the Tables in Wonderland card) we wound up covering all the extra expense and then another $116.06 of savings


While this was a trip of firsts, there were a few "lasts" for this trip as well:

• Last time using FP- .... as we were staying offsite we were not eligible for the Magic Band testing and thus were using regular old paper fastpasses - but those are now gone. I am actually excited to use FP+ as this trip we were unable to go on a number of rides due to length of standby lines and/or that they were all of our of FPs - including Soaring and Test Track .... plus I will not miss having to run around like a crazy person to get Toy Story Mania Fastpasses - but I may just be an optimist on this.
• This is the last trip we will take as a family of four. We are actually expecting our third child (due in July) so the next trip we will take we will be 5 people. Just to be clear, while the timing is close, we will not be naming the child Walt or Mickey ;o)

Lastly, I did put together a YouTube video which is a collection of photos used in this Trip Report ... which was fun to put together as it was as much reliving writing this Trip Report as it was reliving the actual Trip.

It is my first time putting together one of these, so please be gentle with your feedback

Link to video => http://youtu.be/7mVOohpf4-s


And with that, I guess I am done. I really enjoyed writing this report - hope you all enjoyed following along and joining me in the fun. Definitely learned a number of things I will try to do better during the next trip so I am better prepared to write up the Trip Report.

See Ya Real Soon!

 

[Leshaface]

I tried telling DH (who is a Simpsons fanatic) this reference and he could NOT remember it. So he took my computer away for about 20 minutes to try and find it

What a great way to end a trip with the 'Golf Ball' ride and Illuminations!

CONGRATULATIONS! How exciting for you guys!

Maybe i've overlooked it, but have you already said the date you guys were looking at to visit again?

You did a wonderful job with the video. I love making videos when I have the time. It's fun!

Thanks for bringing us along on your family adventure!