Coming to you Live from Disney World! SEE NEW THREAD

[jabead]

Japan, here we come...











Katsura Grill







Kabuki Cafe

Home of the Kaki Gori...






quietgirl said, "As an afternoon snack, we decided to try the kaki gori- I say every trip I want to try them, but never do!! DGF got the rainbow, and I got the tangerine..."












"Very good, and very refreshing! DGF did say she wished she had gotten all red though, it was her favorite!"






Then moving on to the United Kingdom...










Rose & Crown Lunch







Rose & Crown Dinner












And finally, located just inside World Showcase (by the Rose Walk)...

Now you understand why I was in completely awestruck when I received this update from quietgirl yesterday. I'd say it's worth about a million points, give or take a thousand. But according to the rules of the game, I will go back now and try to count the menus and award the points
accordingly.


1 January Game Point Earned for Snack Update (Kaki Gori) + 34 Bonus Points for 29 menu pics and misc. other pics


Thanks so much, quietgirl...you are truly AWESOME!!!

[Linda67]

Thanks quietgirl for the awesome menus

[jabead]

So from all the menus, which one do you think appealed to quietgirl and her DGF the most, when deciding where to have lunch on Thursday (their last day at Disney World)???









Electric Umbrella








I'm just kidding ...although an update from Electric Umbrella would be worth 5 points. Any takers?








But actually, quietgirl and DGF had lunch that day at a much more popular Epcot restaurant...








quietgirl said, "On Thursday, we had no lunch plans originally. I checked online to see who had openings at Epcot and was shocked that everyone did- including Le cellier! After some thought, we decided to go with Via Napoli, as we both thought pizza sounded good."






"The restaurant is absolutely beautiful..."























"And I really liked the fact that I didn't feel like I was having lunch with the people next to me- which can sometimes be a problem at Disney, especially at the 2 person tables."









"DGF was hungry and ready to eat, but was used to having to wait for me to take pics..."










Complimentary Bread & Oil





"We got the salad to share..."




"Family Style" House Salad
Served Exclusively with Pizza - $7 per person, minimum 2 people; leaf lettuces, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms, olives, peperonicini, red wine vinaigrette











"I ordered the Quattro formagio..."





Quattro Formaggi - Four cheese pizza with mozzarella, parmesan, fontina, provolone






"And DGF ordered the sausage..."





Piccante - Italian spicy sausage pizza



"These were both excellent!"






Now on to desserts...







quietgirl said, "The zeppole fryer wasn't working, so even though that was my first choice, I went with a gelato frizzante, and DGF got the tiramisu."







Gelato Frizzante - Ice Cream Soda "Italian Style"
Made with San Pellegrino's "Aranciata" and vanilla gelato








Tiramisu
Mascarpone cream, espresso coffee, lady fingers, and chocolate




"DGF said the tiramisu was good- I don't like coffee flavors so I shouldn't have tried it, but I had to try a bite- and I was reminded I don't like coffee flavors- blech.

My dessert was absolutely fantastic for lunch on a hot summer day. It was very refreshing, and I loved the flavor."








quietgirl & DGF enjoying their lunch at Via Napoli



"Via Napoli was very good, and the service was fantastic- very attentive!"

2 January Game Points Earned + 4 Bonus Points for dessert menu, pic of quietgirl & DGF, and misc. restaurant interior pics

[jabead]

Now it is time to reveal our mystery reporter, who I received this surprise text from yesterday...

"Hi! It's Couchy from the DIS. DH and I just landed in Orlando for a very last minute short trip. If you need a live reporter, I am more than willing to help out."

This worked out perfectly, because sadly emmebear decided on Thursday to cancel her trip this weekend, so Couchy is now pinch hitting for her at the Disney Dining Plate and her first time at bat, she hits a home run!





Because Couchy's first update last night was the first one for the live thread from Downtown Disney's...


Portobello







Couchy said, "We started with an extra dry Hendricks martini...Perfect!"







House Salad - selected greens with balsamic vinaigrette
& Mozzarella Stuffed Rice Balls - crispy fried risotto, fresh mozzarella, marinara sauce




"Then we moved on to a house salad (the dressing was excellent) and the mozarella risotto balls.
This was the highlight of the meal. More please."






Quattro Formaggi - four cheese pizza with mozzarella, gorgonzola, parmigiano, fontina, and sun dried tomatoes


"We split the four cheese pizza and it was so good that we almost forgot to take a picture.
FYI - If you don't like lots of cheese, you won't like this".







Chicken Pizzaiola - chicken breast, mozzarella, tomatoes, capers, garlic, basil, anchovies


"We then split this and it was ok. Too much oil but the chicken was moist."

5 January Game Points Earned

[jabead]

And now for our last update sent yesterday, and the final one from Mr. DonaldDoleWhip.


He said, "Hi Barb! Just wanted to send in my last update from our dinner at Kona Cafe."


KONA CAFE



"First, here are some menu pics."



























DDW said, "The sweet bread with macadamia butter is great! For some reason, the flavor of the butter reminds me of popcorn (in a good way)."





"Next up, entrees. Here's the caterpillar roll..."




Caterpillar Roll
Inside out Tuna roll, Shrimp Salad, Tempura crunch topped with a layer of Avocado





"And the coconut-almond chicken. I got to have a bite of the salad, which brought me straight back to 'Ohana."





Coconut Almond Chicken
Breaded and baked chicken breast served with a salad of Asian greens fresh fruit and almonds





"Finally, my choice - the steamed littleneck clams. Who knew that clams and macadamia nuts would go so well together? Not me. This dish was full of vibrant flavors - clam, macadamia nut, lime, garlic, and maybe even some lemongrass.
I really enjoyed it."




Steamed Littleneck Clams
with Winter Squash, Spinach, and Macadamia Nuts





"For dessert, I chose the jasmine tea-infused cheesecake. I was excited to try this, but it let me down. It didn't taste like jasmine or cheesecake to me."




Jasmine Tea-infused Cheesecake
with Orange-Ginger Balsamic Glaze
(A Low-Glucemic Dessert Option)







"In addition, here are some pics from the recently-reopened Gasparilla Island Grill at the Grand Floridian. (It was formerly known as Gasparilla Grill & Games, but they changed the name after moving the arcade games elsewhere."








"The menu hasn't changed much, but everything looks so much nicer! The expanded seating area is now elegant and soothing (and a lot quieter)."













"Overall, Gasparilla now feels like a suitable quick service location for WDW's flagship resort.
(Plus, very few quick service locations can compete with this view)..."











"The last pictures I have to share are from Magic Kingdom, where we headed for our final night. Here are some pics from the new nighttime projection show, Celebrate the Magic."














"And one last pic of Cinderella's Castle..."








"That's all I got!
Thanks for sharing all these updates for me - it's been so much fun being a contributor to your awesome thread."

3 January Game Points Earned + 5 Bonus Points for menu pics and misc. pics from Gasparilla Grill and MK

[bigbabyblues]

Wow, great updates! I love all the pics on this thread!

[jabead]

Sadly, that was DonaldDoleWhip's final update of his December trip, so it's now time to say...




Thanks so much for being a Live Reporter...Excellent Job!!!





DonaldDoleWhip's Total January Game Points Earned = 54

[jabead]

And now for quietgirl's final update of her trip, which was also our First Update of the Day today.


quietgirl said, "Before leaving Epcot, and Disney, we stopped by..."


Sunshine Seasons





Here are just a few of the entrees they had to choose from...









And some display case pics...























"We got Mongolian beef..."




Mongolian Beef with vegetable fried rice





"Potato bacon soup..."








"And cheesecake..."







quietgirl said, "The Mongolian beef was kind of dry, the potato soup was good , and DGF thought the cheesecake was the best of the trip- I thought it was good, but not THAT good."







"DGF did enjoy eating with chopsticks!"




quietgirl said, "Sadly, those are all of my updates and the trip is over. Thank you so much, this was a lot of fun! I also think it helped our food karma, because this was some of the best we've ever had at Disney! Thanks for all your hard work Barb, and all you do with this thread! Sorry for all the technical difficulties!"

2 January Game Points Earned + 3 Bonus Points Awarded for First Update of the Day, pic of DGF, and misc. pics from Sunshine Seasons

[jabead]

Since that was quietgirl's final update of her trip, it's now time to say...




Thanks so much for being a Live Reporter...Fantastically Excellent, Spectacularly Awesome Job!!!





quietgirl's Total January Game Points Earned = 137

[jabead]

While I must admit that that is a hard act to follow, all of our current live reporters are doing an excellent job with sending in their updates. A great example of this, is an update received today from Amanda (MissPrice).



She and her DH had lunch yesterday at Magic Kingdom's...


Casey's Corner





Amanda's Hot Dog topped with sauerkraut and mustard







Dan's Hot Dog topped with pulled pork


"Dan had ordered the chili cheese dog but they ran out of chili so he had barbecued pork on top instead."






Then Amanda and Dan had dinner at...


Be our Guest



Amanda said, "While in line to check in, I heard the CM say they are fully booked for 5 months."



Here is what they had for dinner...





French Rolls and butter with sea salt







Charcuterie Plate - Cured meats and sausages served with cornichons (the French word for gherkin), pickled onions, and a sliced baguette






Thyme-scented Pork Rack Chop with au gratin macaroni, green beans and red wine au jus






Grilled Strip Steak with garlic-herb butter, green beans, and and pommes frites







Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake - vanilla sponge cake, strawberry mousse filling, and cream cheese icing







Lemon Meringue Cupcake - Vanilla sponge cake, lemon custard filling, flamed merinque icing and crunch





And this complimentary dessert for the anniversary...






Amanda said, "Be our Guest was the best meal of our trip so far. The service was excellent and the atmosphere was amazing. I really felt like I was in the ballroom!"

5 January Game Points Earned

[jabead]

Two of our current live reporters ran in the Half-Marathon this morning.


Here is what Lauren (Giselle22) said after the race...



"Here's the snack box the runners got at the end of the race, in case anyone is interested."







I asked her how the race was?



"It was fun! Lots of characters out along the route. And we ran through new Fantasyland a little, I was so excited to get my first glimpse of it! We got to that part and I saw the new castles and just got this huge smile on my face the whole time I ran through - everyone else probably thought I was crazy."

3 Bonus Points Earned for a Special Event

[jabead]

Just a couple of minutes later I heard from our other runner and live reporter, butiflfeet.


She said, "The half marathon is done! Let the vacation begin!
Here's my breakfast. Sorry, I was starving so I cut into it before I remembered to take a picture."


From the Contempo Cafe...





Mickey Waffle topped with bananas and turkey sausage



"It really hit the spot!

3 January Game Points Earned

[CaliBear]

More great updates this weekend! And thank you so much for all the Epcot menus!!

Still on for 9 days from now, jabead.

[jabead]

Next we received an update from a new reporter, Niki Andiokno.


She arrived at Disney World yesterday and today sent us these pics from her lunch at Downtown Disney's...


Cooke's of Dublin





Georges Bank Atlantic Scallops & Chips


Niki said, "Loving Cooke's of Dublin right now. Excellent scallops, 6 huge pieces."







"Doh-Bar" Donut Battered Snickers



Niki said, "After having such great scallops, I was so disappointed by the doh-bar. It was soggy and fell off the stick.
The one at the county fair was so much better."

3 January Game Points Earned

[jabead]

Next we received another update from butiflfeet.




She said, "Good afternoon! Here's a mid-day update for you! After running the half marathon, we needed something to help ease the pain so World Showcase was our destination. The park was nearly empty back there.

First we stopped at the Rose & Crown Pub for these..."





Pimm's Cup - Pimm's No. 1 and Sprite
& Welsh Dragon - Peach schnapps, melon liqueur, creme de menthe, orange and pineapple juice





"Then we went to France for these..."




Grand Marnier & Grey Goose Orange Slush
and Grey Goose Citron Lemonade Slush




"And finally we made our way around to Mexico and La Cava de Tequila for our margaritas..."





Blood Orange Margarita
Exotico 100% agave premium silver tequila, orange liqueur and sweet-tart mix of blood orange, topped with wild berry foam, served on the rocks with a Tajin chili powder rim.








Cucumber Margarita
Exotico 100% agave premium silver Tequila, orange liqueur, caramelized pineapple juice, fresh basil, cucumber and agave nectar, served on the rocks with a Tajin chili powder rim.








Pineapple Margarita
Rancho Alegre 100% agave premium reposado tequila, ginger liqueur, caramelized pineapple nectar, agave nectar syrup and fresh lime juice, served on the rocks with a Tajin chili powder rim.




butiflfeet said, "All were excellent and helped take some of the edge off of the muscle soreness.
Now it's nap time and tonight we have dinner at Be our Guest."



Then she said, "I forgot! My sister and I split some nachos from La Cantina de San Angel. Maybe we were just super hungry but these were demolished. Everything nachos should be!"

3 January Game Points Earned + 4 Bonus Points for new cocktails