3 generations on the Fantasy & cruising concierge: PRINCE & PRINCESS DINNER! [4/23]

[emmebear]

updated 2/9/13


DINNER @ ANIMATOR'S PALATE






our dining rotation was AERAERA & we had second seating which is 8:15. we arrived at about 8:10 & there was a line to get inside. our table number was 74. another perk of concierge is that your family gets to sit at their own table, which i thought was nice.






animator's palate was located on the 3rd floor, aft. it was pretty rocky this night and i felt slightly queasy. upon entering the dining area, a cm hands every single person a hand sanitizing wipe. they did this before every dining opportunity minus when we had brunch at palo.

we were shown our table which was close to the large projection screens (they are all over the place) but directly in front of the area where the cm's place drinks, food etc. it was a really busy area but we didn't mind because we ate quickly this evening as the rocking of the boat was really getting to me. i wish i had taken a bonine earlier!

our servers were mr. o'neil from jamaica and his assistant was mr. ninja. (yes ninja). they were both very efficient and very nice. i don't know how they manage to serve all the tables & get the orders right but they did.



loved the chair!


...now to the fun stuff.



menu!


we ate at AP three times & each time there is a different menu for the night. on the 3rd night (which is the animation night), there is a picture of sorcerer mickey which moves.


every meal in the main dining rooms came with a bread service & a special spread in addition to butter & whipped butter.









such a cute butter knife!
tip: you can buy these knives in the gift shops to take home with you.



and for our appetizers, we had:



Black Truffle Pasta Pursettes - pasta purse filled with truffle scented cheese and coated with a delicate champagne sauce

this appetizer was recommended by our server. it was ok. it didn't blow me away or wow me. but out of the three that we ordered, it definitely was the best.



Wild Mushroom Risotto and Porcini Twist - served with Parmigiano-Reggiano

this tasted as bad as it looks. it didn't look pretty & i found it to be pretty bland. i didn't get much mushroom flavor despite appearing as if there were a ton of mushrooms in this. overall, unappetizing.



Sesame-flavored Rock Shrimp and Caramelized Onion Cheesecake - with Asian barbecue sauce and topped with micro greens

this item really intrigued me when i saw it on the menu. unfortunately, it did not deliver. it lacked flavor. a lot of the food on the ship was underseasoned and bland. the texture of the cheesecake reminded me of cold quiche. i didn't get much sesame flavor from it. i gave it three bites and was done with it.



so far, we were disappointed in the meal.


the lights dimmed during appetizer service & our friend crush appears!






emme had no idea what was going on!


crush was pretty cool as he would communicate with different people in the dining area. it really took people off guard and one little guy ducked under the table as crush was talking to him. overall, great entertainment!



emme was really amused by crush as were all the kids.



our entrees arrived pretty quickly.



the kids meal.



Grilled Pacific Black Cod: With sautéed Morel Mushrooms on a Sweet Potato Purée

this was what my mom ordered. my mom loves seafood & wanted to try this. this fish was actually good but kind of dry. we always ordered a fish entree and for the most part, the fish was really fishy but on this night, this cod was tasty for the most part.



Marinated Angus Beef Tenderloin carved to order on wasabi mashed potatoes with bok choy and a tamarind-barbecue reduction

this was my entree. the tenderloin was tender and the mashed potatoes didn't have much wasabi in it but was good. there wasn't much bok choy on the plate and i thought the carrots were cute. after the disappointing appetizers, AP redeemed itself with a tasty entree.


now to dessert (emme's favorite part of any meal).



Vanilla ice cream with mickey sprinkles

my daughter is pretty simple in her needs for dessert. vanilla ice cream & sprinkles is the perfect dessert for her. and she enjoyed every last bite of it! mr. o'neil was really accommodating when we ordered this. i was very thankful.








i'm not much of a dessert fan but was very curious with this:



No sugar added: Citrus Lemon Mousse With Mango Coulis

the mousse was more like a very airy & light cake. it wasn't overly sweet & i really enjoyed it. two thumbs up!


overall, our first meal in rotational dining was a good experience. the dining room was very very busy. i did request any kind of hot sauce (minus tobasco, texas pete etc) with our meals. they did not have sriracha on board but they did have sambal. with our other meals, they made sure we had a bowl of sambal at our table. it was very thoughtful.

the appetizers were somewhat disappointing but the entrees were good (minus the semi-dry cod). the atmosphere was great but the rocking of the boat made me queasy. our servers were amazing & we had a great experience.



after we left animator's palate, we ran into some friends.







tiana & emme.


we have never met tiana at disney world. when she's out and about, the lines are tremendous & i just don't have the patience to wait. but tiana was out in the lobby atrium right as we were exiting dinner. perfect timing! she looked beautiful in her dress. out of all the character pictures we had taken, tiana took the most time with the children. it was very heart warming to see the faces of these little girls light up.




goofy!!



sleeping beauty.



up next, day 2 & emme's big birthday!

[rachel09985]

I love the pics of Emme from dinner. She has the cutest little smile ever!

What are those round chocolate things in the concerige lounge? chocolate covered oreos?

[lucyem]

LOVING your trip report! Especially Emme - she is beautiful!

We are in cat V and you are making me want to upgrade to a 1 bedroom

[Linda67]

Oh wow, your photos are lovely

It looks like Concierge is amazing - it's sure going to spoil you for future cruises!

Emme is such a cutie

[Nikki'sMommy]

I wanna go back!!! I am loving your TR- we were in a cat t in Sept. with Julia and Kamisha also- they were so wonderful to us and our dd! I can't wait for more!

[emmebear]

Originally Posted by rachel09985

I love the pics of Emme from dinner. She has the cutest little smile ever!

What are those round chocolate things in the concerige lounge? chocolate covered oreos?

thanks rachel! i have no idea what those round chocolate things are. i know someone mentioned it was chocolate moussey thing on the inside. i never tried it.

Originally Posted by Linda67

Oh wow, your photos are lovely

It looks like Concierge is amazing - it's sure going to spoil you for future cruises!

Emme is such a cutie

thank you for the compliments! concierge definitely spoiled us! i can't wait to return again but next time, it won't be the one bedroom suite since it will just be me & emme.

Originally Posted by lucyem

LOVING your trip report! Especially Emme - she is beautiful!

We are in cat V and you are making me want to upgrade to a 1 bedroom

thank you!! the 1 bedroom was tremendous. it was so much space but we used the space well. it was really nice to have all that space as we did spend a lot of time in our rooms to just relax. we had a great view & a jacuzzi tub...can't beat it!

Originally Posted by Nikki'sMommy

I wanna go back!!! I am loving your TR- we were in a cat t in Sept. with Julia and Kamisha also- they were so wonderful to us and our dd! I can't wait for more!

thank you so much! julia & kemisha are wonderful. alice was also super great. they excelled in customer service & were such assets on our vacation. they really made our entire family feel super special.



one last picture of the day...


*drumroll*






i received my costco cash card in the mail today!! i booked the disney trip using costco travel and received a $710 costco cash card just by booking with them. this definitely beat the obc offered by travel agencies as well as the $25 offered by disney. what a fantastic way to end my day.

now time for some nyquil induced sleep. i'm going to beat this cold!


and here's a teaser picture for my next few postings about emme's 3rd birthday spectacular while on board the fantasy!



happy 3rd birthday emmebear!!

[KarenMP59]

Great trip report! Your daughter is adorable!!! I was surprised that you said that concierge cruisers get their own table for dinner. When we cruised last year, we did have our own table (74!) but we thought we just got lucky!! That is pretty cool. I feel kind of antisocial but I must admit I was pretty excited to just sit with my husband. Now that I think about it, the only time we shared a table with another family was our first cruise, when we didn't use concierge....After that, our family always had our own table. Wow, how did I not know that?? LOL

[boundfordisney]

what a beautiful family, your daughter is adorable! love all your pics only problem is now after seeing them I REALLY want to do a 1 bedroom. We are booked on the fantasy in a few weeks and was thinking of rebooking onboard for 2014 better plan on having a stash of cash on the credit card to book this one!:b anana:

[emmebear]

Originally Posted by KarenMP59

Great trip report! Your daughter is adorable!!! I was surprised that you said that concierge cruisers get their own table for dinner. When we cruised last year, we did have our own table (74!) but we thought we just got lucky!! That is pretty cool. I feel kind of antisocial but I must admit I was pretty excited to just sit with my husband. Now that I think about it, the only time we shared a table with another family was our first cruise, when we didn't use concierge....After that, our family always had our own table. Wow, how did I not know that?? LOL

i had asked for our own table because i figured no one really wants to socialize with a 3 year old at second seating & the on shore concierge team let me know that we would be at our table. it worked out great for us because there were moments where we were all anti-social, especially after port days!

Originally Posted by boundfordisney

what a beautiful family, your daughter is adorable! love all your pics only problem is now after seeing them I REALLY want to do a 1 bedroom. We are booked on the fantasy in a few weeks and was thinking of rebooking onboard for 2014 better plan on having a stash of cash on the credit card to book this one!:b anana:

thank you for the nice words about my family! the one bedroom was awesome! by no means is it cheap but it was well worth it in my opinion. so much room & very comfortable.



i just wanted to wish my disboards friends a very happy (lunar) new year.

i'm korean and today we celebrate "seollal" which is january 1 on the lunar calendar which falls on february 10.

for more information to those who are curious, you can click here.


just wanted to share some pictures of emme i took this morning before she headed out to spend the day with my parents as i'm a bit under the weather. she's wearing a traditional korean dress called a hanbok.

[Linda67]

Happy Lunar New Year

Emme looks like a real princess n her beautiful dress

[emmebear]

Originally Posted by Linda67

Happy Lunar New Year

Emme looks like a real princess n her beautiful dress

thank you so much!!

we wore the hanbok to disney once & everyone thought she was mulan.

[close enough i guess].

[emmebear]

updated 2/10/13


DAY 2: EMME TURNS 3!


the big day had finally arrived. my emmebear is officially 3 years old.

even though we were on "vacation" emme showed no mercy & was waking up between 6:30-7am every day. it was pretty rough at times when all i wanted to was sleep in. sleep is such a luxury at home. but alas, no rest for the weary.

we headed to the concierge lounge to grab a "light" breakfast to start our day. our ritual during the cruise was having a "light" breakfast from the lounge which consisted of a flaky croissant, fruit & cafe latte for me and a strawberry yogurt for emme. we ate on the balcony together while my mom slept in. after emme & i did the morning character meet & greets, we'd go to cabanas and take some breakfast to go & have "brunch" with my mom. i guess it was my excuse to eat twice before noon.






i love those croissants & the blueberries were always really plump & tasty.



emme & i enjoyed our mornings together on the balcony.



while we were in the lounge, alice & julia greeted emme & they both sang happy birthday to her. there were some other guests in the lounge & they joined in. emme felt so special!


they also presented her this:





very cute, right?? it's these little things that makes disney so awesome.


after we finished our early breakfast, we got ready to go meet some characters during the first rush at 9am.



emme's special shirt was created by disboard member FRUTO76.


up first, mickey mouse!



it was so cute to see emme run into mickey's open arms!









and next up, donald!







donald was trying to get emme to show 3 with her fingers but she's just not that coordinated yet. is it just me but every donald that i meet in the parks or on the ship are just incredibly great with the kids. every last one of them. donald, you are #1!


we then waited in line to see chip & dale.


emme was unsure of climbing on the seat because she kept saying, "i don't want to fall in." i kept reassuring her that she would not fall in but she didn't believe me for a few minutes.



...and she's officially made herself at home.



hooray for chip & dale. they are so cute!



onwards to minnie mouse!






if anyone notice the white bracelet on emme's left wrist, that is the "mickey band". all children who attended the kids club area needed a mickey band. it's basically a tracker so that they can find your kid in the area. [more on this later in my report].


one last picture before heading to cabanas.


the cinderella mosaic was beautiful. it's even more beautiful in person. i loved it!


after our morning character meets, we headed to cabanas to pick up some breakfast. emme wanted pancakes so off we went.

cabanas is a really nice area. there are two sides to cabanas. it is buffet style with self drink areas but cast members pick up empty plates and are very helpful. in addition to the buffet area, there is a fruit area [you have to let them know which fruit you want], ice cream scoop area, grilled meats area, salad & soup area as well as a "sandwich" area where they had things such as prosciutto, mortadella & buffalo mozzarella. on certain days, there was also sushi. there's also snow crab legs, mussels & shrimp too. all are cold (which kind of turned off my mom) but very fresh.

for breakfast, there is a made to order omelette station which also has egg whites available. there's also krispy kreme donuts as wells! i'm not going to lie, i did indulge a few.

i can say that cabanas can get chaotic when it comes to getting your food. there really is no line and no one to guide you where to start. you kind of just go for it. some people are nicer than others, some were rude but in the end, everyone got their food.

when we sat for lunch, i would scope out which side looked the least busy as both sides had the same food. i really enjoyed my lunch at cabanas. in fact, i preferred it over some of the food we had at the main rotational dining areas. some stand outs during lunch was malaysian fish stew, bbq short ribs, lamb curry with heavy indian spices just to name a few. these 3 things were my favorite items from cabanas and it was DELICIOUS.



i have pictures of all the stations at cabanas and will post them later (i took too many pictures and haven't sorted through all of them yet).


here are some pictures of the breakfast buffet:


assorted breads, pastries & danishes.



smoked fish section.



made to order omelette station.



eggs of all types.


but for our "brunch", here's what we got:



cabanas had different types of pancakes, toppings, in addition to sugar free syrup.



the eggs benedict was quite good. the egg yolk oozed out perfectly. the hollandaise was decent. i think i ate an eggs benedict every day. what's better than an perfectly oozing yolk.


after we finished brunch with grandma, emme said she wanted to see kemisha who starts at 11am. kemisha sang happy birthday to emme & emme got lots of hugs.

kemisha, julia & alice gave emme one more surprise!



a play card to the ARRR-CADE! those 3 ladies are so amazing!



we've had such a good start to emme's birthday morning!

up next, emme & the princesses!!

[Meganyvemarie]

That photo of Emme waiting in line to see Chip and Dale is priceless! She is so adorable!

[rachel09985]

I loveee that picture of her running to Mickey and I really really love the one of her laying in the porthole!!!

I need a kid to take cute pictures of!

That is it- I am going on a cruise next year! I want to take my mom too!

[JackieO]

Wow, these pictures are amazing! I'm going to have to check out concierge on our next cruise. So far it looks like you had an amazing time. Certainly pampering for your mom! I'll be watching for more.