Sharing the Disney Magic with Family & Friends-DL Diamond Anniversary-DCA F&W Fest Kiosks & The End!

[franandaj]

Oh I'll have some, I love quinoa, I'll just have everything else too! I am an equal opportunity eater

LOL!

Well the quinoa was nixed last night. I am getting two of their mixed sushi plates instead. My mom liked that idea better.

Worker bee at the ready!

I'll need to wrap up that list!

I've had that Costco chicken, it's pretty darn good! I've actually used it a few times to make homemade chicken noodle soup.

Seriously, that was ridiculous, like ships passing in the night. I can't wait!

At least there is another vote for the chicken!

DO IT

What Jill said

Well, there are worse shows

At least she's not watching "Here comes Honey Boo Boo!"

You will LOVE it! And it won't be during the horrible crowd season, sounds fabulous

That's what I'm counting on .

Really good point!

I thank Magdalene for that one.

All things considered, that's not bad at all

I thought so.

Fingers crossed!

Me too!

I had the chicken one in August

I'd probably vote for the lamburger. I mean, it's your birthday and the chicken may be too healthy...it'll still be there.

I am leaning towards the lamburger, I would probably get the kefta meatballs instead of the chicken.

I had the Body Polish at Mandara in FL a few years ago. AMAZING. Scrub and Rub. Can't say enough good things about it!

I've had the Body Polish quite a few times which is why I'm thinking of doing the other.

All of the soups look amazing!

His soups are always amazing.

Wow!

That's probably one of my most favorite dishes he makes.

That looks insanely good, all of it

That's why we keep going back to Marcel.

Jeff will be SOOOOOOOOOO jealous

We may not have room for cheese

I don't think we will.

Chocolate Death Star. That is pretty darn cool

I went ahead and asked for that. It was just too cool not to.

WDW at Christmas time is so magical.

Love SSR. One of our faves.

Definitely take a day and visit the resorts.

I can't wait to experience it, and it's about time to go back to SSR.

Both of those choices for food looked good.

The 5 courses sound delicious.

The Death Star sounds like fun. Ask for that. LOL.

Definitely doing the Death Star if he'll make it for us.

Oh my Sebastian was on the plate! Love the food porn and the five courses sound great.

Now we just wait. Requests have been made!

 

[eandesmom]

Well the quinoa was nixed last night. I am getting two of their mixed sushi plates instead. My mom liked that idea better.

oooh me too!

At least she's not watching "Here comes Honey Boo Boo!"

OMG I totally almost had a water spewing moment when I read that. Too funny!

I am leaning towards the lamburger, I would probably get the kefta meatballs instead of the chicken.

I should try the meatball version at some point.

I've had the Body Polish quite a few times which is why I'm thinking of doing the other.

wraps wierd me out. Granted I've only had one once but I got soooooo cold towards the end just lying there, all wrapped up....

I went ahead and asked for that. It was just too cool not to.

COOL!

 

[franandaj]

oooh me too!

I went to Costco, (and Sam's and Walmart) on Friday and was looking around at various options, the sushi looked good and I figured it was a much better call than quinoa salad.

OMG I totally almost had a water spewing moment when I read that. Too funny!

I should try the meatball version at some point.

It's really good, but I can only eat one of the meatballs.

wraps wierd me out. Granted I've only had one once but I got soooooo cold towards the end just lying there, all wrapped up....

I never have a problem with getting too cold, I'm usually always warm.

COOL!

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted one.

 

[franandaj]

Of Libations

It wouldn’t be a party without festive beverages. I have plans for many of them. So lets begin with the basics. It is fair to say that there will be alcohol consumed over the course of the weekend, so the first and most important libation for the weekend will be water. Lots of it.

There will be 11 people staying in the room, and as many as a dozen other folks who will joining us at various points throughout the weekend. I’m planning on bringing 4 cases of water, and I’ll bring three of them up to the room, we’ll reserve the fourth in case we end up needing it.

We’ll be bringing a supply of Diet Mtn Dew for Fran, Pepsi for Darcy, and an additional supply of Diet Sodas for everyone else. Recently we purchased this beverage dispenser from Costco, we had been talking about getting one since we saw a similar one at Sur la Table. But this one is acrylic and not glass, therefore not as heavy and not as breakable! We’ll fill this with Costco lemonade.



Then there are the adult beverages. At Sam’s Club the other day, I picked up six magnums of wine, three Chardonnay, three Pinot Grigio. I like Barefoot as a “house” wine. They are supportive of the LGBT community and it’s a very affordable and drinkable wine.



I’ve picked a dozen red wines from my cellar to bring for Friday night in the room and Happy Hour on Saturday. There’s a lot of wines from Beaulieu as I’m in their wine club, Petit Syrah, Zinfandels, Merlot, Dulcet. Also a few from Cakebread, Merlot, Rubiyat, Syrah and Zinfandel.





For Saturday night, I am bringing wine to pair with the Bison course, it will be a 2002 Beaulieu Georges de Latour Cabernet Sauvignon. The remaining wines to pair with dinner will be provided by the restaurant.

I also have several bottles of Rosa Regale sitting around waiting to be drank.

I will be bringing an assortment of beers, probably a 12 pack of Heineken and a 12 pack of Corona.

Then there are the other spirits. Of course we will be bringing Tequila and Margarita Mix! Vodka and Bloody Mary Mix, Whiskey, Rum, Vermouth and other mixers. I think that will be plenty!

 

[jedijill]

I am resting my liver in advance. Vodka will pair nicely with the Costco lemonade and all that wine has my name on it!

Jill in CO

 

[KathyM2]

Now it's a party!!!

 

[rentayenta]

Ugh having to post from my phone as our wireless is being so choppy.

I'd love to try the lamb burger. It's always on my list but never get around to it.

The wine list sounds fabulous.

I was a mean bartender in my day and will be more than happy to help mix drinks if anyone is interested. I make a crazy good homemade Bloody Mary.

I'm resting my liver with Jill's aside from the Pacifico I'm drinking right now.

 

[eandesmom]

I am resting my liver in advance. Vodka will pair nicely with the Costco lemonade and all that wine has my name on it!

Jill in CO

I'll need to dry out after Hawaii, LOL!

The wine list sounds fabulous.

I was a mean bartender in my day and will be more than happy to help mix drinks if anyone is interested. I make a crazy good homemade Bloody Mary.

I'm resting my liver with Jill's aside from the Pacifico I'm drinking right now.

I was a mean wine bottle opener in my day!

I didn't rest my liver today...there was a beer garden at my half marathon. LOL! Tomorrow is a rest day.

 

[Leshaface]

Woah!!!

It looks like our property on 1st street will be rented

Yay awesome!

Disney canceled the Food & Wine Festival out West.

I was so so sad when this happened. I only went to 2 of them, but was so excited to go to the next one and then it was canceled. Wonder if they'll ever bring it back??

That view from the couch!

I can already see you mixing up those cocktails

There is a pool table on the landing at the top of the stairs.

So much fun!

Definitely the best view in all of the GCH for sure!

Happy hour will begin in the room around 4PM. Around 5:30, we will all head over to Steakhouse 55 where we have the private dining room reserved, for a special meal cooked by Marcel St. Pierre (at least I hope he is there that night!). If we’re not in a food coma after dinner, we can head back to the room and enjoy the view some more!

The first one was Jill

next up Is Cynthia

This is me with Jenny

So excited to meet all of them and your family and band members too!

And the last two party attendees are Alicia & Daniel. Based on the good news that she posted on her TR, hopefully they will be able to make it down for the Saturday night part of the festivities.

Definitely coming

So I have some good news on the real life front. First off, David's Vacation Rentals was able to rent out the bulk of my points yesterday. There wasn't much left there, so I let some friends use the rest towards a weekend getaway at DLR through the Disney Collection. We ended up getting about three grand for the points so I was satisfied with that. Now all the points have been used and they won't go to waste.

That's awesome news, glad to hear they didn't go to waste.

But if any of you know, my idea of simple is most people’s idea of a big production.

This is true

Who doesn’t love a Costco Chicken?

They do have great chicken!

I just made a very delicious tri tip yesterday for dinner. Unfortunately it was cooked to Medium well/Well done and not raw like yours Still ate it though!

But what about the vegetarians you ask?

What are those??

Very very cool!

If you haven't had Costco's Mac and Cheese, give it a try, it's so tasty and creamy!

I actually haven't! I'll pick one up next time.

It will be a 10 day trip with one day basically wasted with travel, the day traveling back at least we will still have a half day at WDW before returning.

So here’s the plan: We’re going to fly to Orlando on December 6 and stay at the Hyatt inside MCO for that night. Getting off the plane and going directly to the room sounds pretty appealing and the room rate was not bad at all. Thanks for this idea @Leshaface!

Yay glad you got this all figured out! And you'll love the convenience of the Hyatt for sure.

These plates are DELICIOUS! These would be good choices for sure.

I love his soufflés, but that might be a little much for a party of 20+

Oh no it wouldn't!

5 courses – in any order: Soup, Salad, Seafood

Main Course – Bison with accompaniments (no truffle mashed potatoes)

Dessert – Something “cakeish”, doesn’t have to be cake, but would prefer that it’s not Crème Brulee, or another custardy based treat.

Your menu looks wonderful. So excited!

I picked up six magnums of wine

Rosa Regale

Oh my gosh. Your bday weekend is going to be so much fun, i'm excited for you!

 

[franandaj]

I am resting my liver in advance. Vodka will pair nicely with the Costco lemonade and all that wine has my name on it!

Jill in CO

Hmmmmm we may need more lemonade....

Now it's a party!!!

Ugh having to post from my phone as our wireless is being so choppy.

I'd love to try the lamb burger. It's always on my list but never get around to it.

You gals may be "parked out" by Saturday, so please come along for lunch! We could split one, that way I would be sure to still be hungry for dinner!

The wine list sounds fabulous.

I was a mean bartender in my day and will be more than happy to help mix drinks if anyone is interested. I make a crazy good homemade Bloody Mary.

I was hoping to use the Bloody Mary Mix that Fran bought when Ralphs when out of business. But I might think that mix is gross. What ingredients would you need?

I'm resting my liver with Jill's aside from the Pacifico I'm drinking right now.

Resting ones liver. That's an interesting concept.

I'll need to dry out after Hawaii, LOL!

I was a mean wine bottle opener in my day!

I didn't rest my liver today...there was a beer garden at my half marathon. LOL! Tomorrow is a rest day.

We'll have to see, my Dad usually likes to have that honor....

 

[franandaj]

I was so so sad when this happened. I only went to 2 of them, but was so excited to go to the next one and then it was canceled. Wonder if they'll ever bring it back??

Probably not, California is so strict with their food laws and such, it's way difficult to have anything like Florida does at Epcot. Evidently they make way more on the Mad Tea Parties selling watered down booze to millenials than they did with all the staging and hassle of the F&W. I would be happy if they just brought back the Cooking School and Wine Dinners, but then Andrew Sutton is now spread so thin he probably doesn't have time to do the Cooking School in his own kitchen anymore.

That view from the couch!

I hope you guys make sure you can make Happy Hour to enjoy it! I have all the fixings for a Manhattan!

I can already see you mixing up those cocktails

Jenny is going to be the bartender! I forgot to post a picture of the glass I bought myself! I'll have to do that tomorrow!

So much fun!

I'm sure that pool table will be seeing some action!

Definitely the best view in all of the GCH for sure!

I'm looking forward to seeing WoC from that view!

You guys will definitely be there, right?

So excited to meet all of them and your family and band members too!

It will be great for so many DISers to actually meet, and my band friends are really crazy fun. I think everyone will have a good time!

Definitely coming

Awesome!

That's awesome news, glad to hear they didn't go to waste.

'

And we got some cash from them, so that was nice too.

This is true

Sad but true, I'm not in denial that I'm a major production type. Sometimes it creates problems for Fran and I at home. What I think is an "easy dinner", she thinks is a total production. I don't get it, I want to eat good food and don't mind the prep it takes to make it, but evidently sometimes she thinks I do too much. Like tomorrow, I'm going to make a Prime Rib, mushrooms slow cooked in a red wine broth and roasted vegetables. I don't think it's too much, but maybe the rest of you think otherwise. I was going to make that tonight, but decided that Chicken Enchiladas Rancheras took more work, so I made that tonight when I didn't have work to do today. Tomorrow I chose the easy thing for dinner.

They do have great chicken!

Yay! Another vote for the chicken!

I just made a very delicious tri tip yesterday for dinner. Unfortunately it was cooked to Medium well/Well done and not raw like yours Still ate it though!

Mine wasn't raw! But I am particular on how it is cooked, I will probably want to oversee the cooking. I'll maybe make two my way and cook one a little longer. They will cook a little more in the warming tray.

What are those??

Very very cool!

The Mickey cake will hopefully still be in tact when you guys come for Happy Hour.

I actually haven't! I'll pick one up next time.

I have actually literally cut the tray in half and froze half of it so that it worked for two servings. You have family that you can serve it to and could actually make the whole thing at once. You really should try it, so good!

Yay glad you got this all figured out! And you'll love the convenience of the Hyatt for sure.

Thank you for the idea. After reading your TR, I thought that it would be a lot easier to just stay there than go to a Disney Resort and try and get transport. Plus it would be so much easier on Fran.

These plates are DELICIOUS! These would be good choices for sure.

They would be, but I think I'm going to the Uva Bar for the lamburger.

Oh no it wouldn't!

Well I put in the request for the Death Star so we'll see how that goes.

Your menu looks wonderful. So excited!

I'm sure you guys will love it!

Oh my gosh. Your bday weekend is going to be so much fun, i'm excited for you!

I"m so glad you will be joining us!

 

[Flossbolna]

Oh, this is a large variety of drinks!! Seems like you have every taste covered! And I made a mental note of your recommendation of Barefoot. I am always at a total loss as to which wine to buy when I am in the US. I know my way around European wines, but I don't want to buy an Italian Pinot Grigio when I am in the US. Michael is no help at all in that regard, so I usually buy something with a pretty label and that is not the best way to pick a wine! I will keep Barefoot in mind!

 

[PrincessInOz]

What great libations. It's going to be a very fun party.

 

[rentayenta]

Mary mix has a lot of ingredients so pre-mix is fine. If you're wanting homemade, I use Clamato, Worcestershire, celery salt, pepper, horseradish, Louisiana hot sauce (not Tabasco), green olives, celery, lemon. Oh and vodka!

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow... that's quite the list. Both alcohol and non-alcohol.

I can definitely see quite a bit of that lemonade being used under both categories.

 

[dolphingirl47]

That sounds like a great selection. We can now get Barefoot wines in the UK and we rather like them. I may just be a touch jealous about the Rosa Regale. I have one bottle left and don't dare opening it just in case I won't be able to source any more.

Corinna

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I won't even pretend to know anything about wine, but it sounds like you have the bases covered!

 

[ShellB8585]

Allison all of your plans sound wonderful! You will certainly be celebrating in style!

 

[skier_pete]

NOW it's a party! WOO HOO!

 

[franandaj]

Oh, this is a large variety of drinks!! Seems like you have every taste covered! And I made a mental note of your recommendation of Barefoot. I am always at a total loss as to which wine to buy when I am in the US. I know my way around European wines, but I don't want to buy an Italian Pinot Grigio when I am in the US. Michael is no help at all in that regard, so I usually buy something with a pretty label and that is not the best way to pick a wine! I will keep Barefoot in mind!

I have a wide audience for beverages, so I think that it's good to have a variety. I think a lot of people will be drinking wine though. Barefoot is really a decent and affordable wine. There are lots of those sorts of wines here, but I'm liking Barefoot because they have been coming to the Pride Festivals for the past couple years and serving their wines as an alternative to the crappy beers and overpriced Seagrams cocktails that they offer.

What great libations. It's going to be a very fun party.

I hope so! We've got a great cast, great food, I don't see why it shouldn't be awesome!

Mary mix has a lot of ingredients so pre-mix is fine. If you're wanting homemade, I use Clamato, Worcestershire, celery salt, pepper, horseradish, Louisiana hot sauce (not Tabasco), green olives, celery, lemon. Oh and vodka!

Well, no offense, I'm a little afraid of Clamato, don't do olives, so I'm thinking that the mix will be fine, if I don't like it, I will have some V8 in the room. I'm thinking a bloody mary on Saturday morning before hitting the park for a ride. I wonder if Soarin will be having soft openings....

Wow... that's quite the list. Both alcohol and non-alcohol.

I can definitely see quite a bit of that lemonade being used under both categories.

Yeah, I'm thinking we'll need some more lemonade based on these new revelations....

That sounds like a great selection. We can now get Barefoot wines in the UK and we rather like them. I may just be a touch jealous about the Rosa Regale. I have one bottle left and don't dare opening it just in case I won't be able to source any more.

Corinna

Wow! I didn't know Barefoot was available in the UK, that's great! You know I bet you can find Brachetto D'Acquii which is pretty much what Rosa Regale is. They used to have Magicale which was only available at Disney when Michael Jordan was the head Sommelier, but now that he's gone, they don't have that brand any more.

I won't even pretend to know anything about wine, but it sounds like you have the bases covered!

You don't need to know about wine, I don't know all that much, I just know what I like from years of taste testing it and receiving shipments. I have my few "goto" wines and other than that I really don't know much.

Allison all of your plans sound wonderful! You will certainly be celebrating in style!

Thanks!

NOW it's a party! WOO HOO!

Yep it sure is!