Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby Feed the Force!! A May 2015 TR - Update 10/29 Trip Epilogue!

[chunkymonkey]

Day 7 Part 2: Lunch! Rain! Habit Heroes! More LWTL! Characters! Just a usual Epcot Day.

When we last left off we had just left the Duffy line to jump on a ferry to take us to the other side of the WS so we could go to Japan to eat lunch.

Here was the line we left behind at Duffy:

SPOILER ALERT: my sister managed to get his picture later.

When we got off the ferry we walked over to Katsura Grill in Japan. I love it since it's renovation. It's really pretty outside with the traditional Japanese gardens but inside it's cool and modern.

Since it was quite warm out we opted to sit indoors. Here's the menu:

I got a beef udon with an iced green tea and my sister got the tempura udon. I definitely have a soft spot for noodle soups and after not having any for almost 2 weeks it definitely satisfied my craving.

My beef udon:

My sister got the tempura on the side so that it didn't get soggy in the soup. Definitely the best way to eat tempura udon since the fried shrimp is still crunchy.

We were full from lunch and I wasn't planning on getting any dessert, but we stopped at the Kabuki Cafe on a whim just to check out the menu.

I noticed that they had strawberry azuki ice cream which I had really liked when I tried it last year at the China Pavilion. But the one at Kabuki Cafe was even better...it was in the form of a soft serve as opposed to a hard ice cream! It looked so creamy and good that my sister and I both looked at each other and decided we had to try it.

We got one of each flavor, green tea, and the strawberry azuki.

They were really good! I love soft serve and the strawberry azuki was my favorite dessert of the trip so far (not counting ohana because that is a given)!

We continued to walk around the World. We got a PP pic at Italy:

At Norway, we lamented the loss of the Maelstrom, but we met a photopass photog who took one of our favorite pictures from the trip:

#sisters #frozen #olaf

So it was all good.

She actually took a lot of pictures of us. We had about 11 pictures which is the most I've ever gotten from any PP photographer. Only one with Olaf though. She was probably really bored since she didn't have a line.

We continued walking along the WS back towards Future World. We were going to meet Steve at Innoventions West for our Visa Character Spot pic. As we were walking back, it actually started to rain! This was the first rain of the trip. OK, maybe we can actually use the ponchos we'd been carrying with us.

Oh but the problem was...DH was carrying my poncho in his backpack and I had nothing.



Chunkysis though, had hers, although she didn't bother to actually put it on.

In actuality the rain caught everyone by surprise because it hadn't been raining all week and the skies were pretty clear that morning. So no one really had a poncho or umbrella and everyone was just kinda walking around in the rain. We ducked into a store in Africa to wait it out a bit.

My worries were short-lived though because the rain stopped just as quickly as it had started. So we went back on our merry way to Future World.

At Innoventions West we met up with DH at the Visa Meet n Greet. Here's our picture!

After the picture we decided to go on Mission Space. I only can do the green side and there is never any line for it so it was a walk on.

DH and I always play that game you see in the big room as you exit Mission Space. It's a team game for getting resources to your spacecraft. It was really fun and our team won. CS went to get more character pics, obviously.

Then DH and I went over to Innoventions East. We got to play Habit Heroes.

It's a little series of games which get you attack bad habits and adopt good ones. Everyone is assigned a good habit, like drinking water, exercise etc. Ming Na Wen from Agent's of Shield is the host. I really like little games like this. In fact I am really sad that everything in Innoventions West is gone. Waaah. I hope they build some new stuff soon!

Little keepsake games from Habit Heroes. You also get a rubber band bracelet with Anaheim Blue Cross Blue Shield on it who are the sponsors of the game.

Now it was time for our FP+ for Spaceship Earth! Hmm, I can't remember if CS was with us...I think she went back to get Duffy's pic.

In the future, we apparently like snow. A lot.

We got ready to head to The Land for our early dinner ADR at Garden Grill.
We passed by a PP Photographer so we got one last picture with Spaceship Earth. Sigh.

Then of course, as we got closer to our dinner at Garden Grill, we had to ride on LWTL one last time!

Is it a miracle when fruit actually grows on these bushes?

Meanwhile...

CS did get her Duffy picture!

And Pooh and Tigger too!

And random solo pictures on bridges:

We all met up before our dinner at...the Garden Grill! Stay tuned...


​

 

[kastoney]

SPOILER ALERT: my sister managed to get his picture later.

Now there is a shocker

I got a beef udon with an iced green tea and my sister got the tempura udon. I definitely have a soft spot for noodle soups and after not having any for almost 2 weeks it definitely satisfied my craving.

These look great, I had no idea they had udon in there. How were they?

I noticed that they had strawberry azuki ice cream which I had really liked when I tried it last year at the China Pavilion. But the one at Kabuki Cafe was even better...it was in the form of a soft serve as opposed to a hard ice cream!

And again, yum. Gonna have to get me some of this

At Innoventions West we met up with DH at the Visa Meet n Greet. Here's our picture!

Great picture. I always forget this is here. Gonna have to make a mental note

I really like little games like this. In fact I am really sad that everything in Innoventions West is gone. Waaah. I hope they build some new stuff soon!

Us too. My daughter especially loves all the games. Haven't had the heart to break it to her that they are now gone.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Now there is a shocker

Totally. It's more of a shock when she doesn't get a character pic.

These look great, I had no idea they had udon in there. How were they?

They were pretty good! A bit on the salty side but I find that mostly the case with most fast-food type udon.

And again, yum. Gonna have to get me some of this

Soooo goooood.

Great picture. I always forget this is here. Gonna have to make a mental note

Thanks! I can't resist anything free...and a free Disney picture is like hitting the jackpot...

Us too. My daughter especially loves all the games. Haven't had the heart to break it to her that they are now gone.

LOL, well there is still Innoventions East, and I will kick and scream my way through Epcot if that ever closes. What will we do when it rains?

 

[chs27]

Love renting points! I've stayed twice at OKW and once at BWV. Fantastic way to experience the resorts. I like pricing my vacation thru Disney to actually see my savings. I buy my tickets thru undercover tourist, so there's that savings too.

 

[Dugette]

My beef udon:

I have to admit I didn't have a clue what this was, but it looks really good.

Oh but the problem was...DH was carrying my poncho in his backpack and I had nothing.

Naturally, the one time you need it, it's elsewhere.

Then of course, as we got closer to our dinner at Garden Grill, we had to ride on LWTL one last time!

But of course!

CS did get her Duffy picture!

Yay!

And Pooh and Tigger too!

Wow, she was really productive! Cute meets!

Looking forward to hearing about your Garden Grill experience!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Catching back up!!!!

Such fun updates! ANd the last two has me wishing I could be in Epcot!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Love renting points! I've stayed twice at OKW and once at BWV. Fantastic way to experience the resorts. I like pricing my vacation thru Disney to actually see my savings. I buy my tickets thru undercover tourist, so there's that savings too.

Hi and welcome!!
Renting points seems like a great way to stay at Deluxe resorts without the deluxe price! I'll probably be hooked after this trip! I'm most likely going to buy tickets from Undercover Tourist too!

I have to admit I didn't have a clue what this was, but it looks really good.

It was good! My noodles were thick and chewy in a savory broth with some teriyaki beef on top.

Naturally, the one time you need it, it's elsewhere.

Yup...the only time we ever needed it on the trip too!

Wow, she was really productive! Cute meets!

Haha, yes she was...she complained about having to walk all the way back to WS to get her pictures it later on during dinner, but it is really entirely her fault for doing so.

Looking forward to hearing about your Garden Grill experience!

Coming soon!

Catching back up!!!!

Such fun updates! ANd the last two has me wishing I could be in Epcot!

Yay!!

I know...me too. Total Disney withdrawal.

 

[LindseyJo22]

Can't wait to read your Garden Grill review - I'll be there in 2 days!!!

Love this trip report and the other mini-reports throughout

It's always sad to be on the last park day, but at least it seemed like a really fun one!

 

[Elevationist]

I definitely have a soft spot for noodle soups and after not having any for almost 2 weeks it definitely satisfied my craving.

I looooove noodle soups, and I'm particularly partial to udon!

My beef udon:

OMG That looks AMAZING!!!

My sister got the tempura on the side so that it didn't get soggy in the soup. Definitely the best way to eat tempura udon since the fried shrimp is still crunchy.

I wish that I had thought of this when I ordered the same noodle bowl there back in 2009! It was delicious, but I didn't love sogginess of the tempura shrimp. Your sister is a FREAKIN' GENIUS!

We got one of each flavor, green tea, and the strawberry azuki.

Ooooh, these both look delicious! I'm really curious about that green tea one! Might hace to add that to the 'Must Eat" List...

We continued to walk around the World. We got a PP pic at Italy:

Awww, I LOVE this photo!!!!

My worries were short-lived though because the rain stopped just as quickly as it had started.

Welcome to Florida.

After the picture we decided to go on Mission Space. I only can do the green side and there is never any line for it so it was a walk on.

I go Team Green too, girl!

We passed by a PP Photographer so we got one last picture with Spaceship Earth. Sigh.

Awww! I love this photo too! So much!

We all met up before our dinner at...the Garden Grill! Stay tuned...

Mmmm, yum! I LOVE Garden Grill! Looking forward to the next installment!

 

[natebenma]

My, no shortage of girls in your family!

I'm pitifully behind on your trip report, but I had to skip ahead and check out your Boston road trip. You were in my neck of the woods- sort of. But since it seems like I was away more than I was home in August, I probably was not around at the time you were there. And I haven't seen the Pixar exhibit yet, either

What fun visiting some of your old college day haunts and to share some of Boston's attractions with your nieces. I love the New England Aquarium!

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

ahahaha Duffy was saluting, love it.

Aww I am so sad that Living with the Land is going to be closed for our trip next week. It literally is only closed the exact amount of dates we will be there.

I've never seen that snow scene in the SE video, and I thought I'd seen them all!

Maelstrom come back...

That ice cream looks delicious! I can't believe I didn't know that was there. Brian and I always enjoy the green tea ice cream at China but that is not soft serve. We are going to have to try this.

Habit Heroes was a very short lived game, wasn't it? I think my favorite was the piggy bank game, did you guys ever play that one?

I always enjoy photographing Mission Space. I actually haven't been on it in a while. I remember that I really like the queue, how they have that great rotating space capsule thing. I really wish they would just update the in ride video, that shouldn't be that costly. I also think the ride should have different endings depending on everyone pushing their buttons correctly.

 

[KathyM2]

We visited the aquarium...highly recommended!

I love Boston and that aquarium - the penguins are the best!! You are so lucky to have gone to school in such an awesome city!! We took our DD there last summer and there are so many fun things to do! We also loved the swan boats!

I love soft serve and the strawberry azuki was my favorite dessert of the trip so far

That looks really good - I may have to add that to my list of "must eats"

 

[dmlovullo]

So much good looking food! That soft serve green tea and strawberry look delicious! I just really noticed the necklace you wear and I love it! I need to get to the Disney Visa character picture too! Can you just line up for them or do you have to book a time ahead of time?

 

[smilerjones]

Just found your TR and read it all today! Looks like you guys had an awesome trip! my husband is a big Star Wars fan and you guys had so much fun, I might need to plan a trip for SWWs.

Enjoyed all your reviews, we have ADRs for for Ohana that we are super excited for and your pictures have made me wish we were there right now!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Can't wait to read your Garden Grill review - I'll be there in 2 days!!!

Love this trip report and the other mini-reports throughout

It's always sad to be on the last park day, but at least it seemed like a really fun one!

Wow, lucky you!! I'm sorry that I didn't get to post about Garden Grill before you actually get there but it was a DELICIOUS and FUN meal! You definitely will not regret it!

Thank you!!

I know...trying to keep the magic alive with this TR as long as possible!

I looooove noodle soups, and I'm particularly partial to udon!

It's so yummy!

OMG That looks AMAZING!!!

It was quite good, yes!!

I wish that I had thought of this when I ordered the same noodle bowl there back in 2009! It was delicious, but I didn't love sogginess of the tempura shrimp. Your sister is a FREAKIN' GENIUS!

Hahaha, it's amazing what a small change can make to a dish...it's so much better when you get to taste the texture of the tempura shrimp and soup separately!

Ooooh, these both look delicious! I'm really curious about that green tea one! Might hace to add that to the 'Must Eat" List...

They were both really good! We have a japanese restaurant near us that does the green tea soft serve and it was really good! But it was the first time I saw the strawberry azuki one. They were both delicious!

Awww, I LOVE this photo!!!!

Thanks!!

Welcome to Florida.

I know right...frizzy hair central for me.

I go Team Green too, girl!

I just can't take all the spinning rides, hence you never see me on the teacups.

Awww! I love this photo too! So much!

Aww, thanks!!

Mmmm, yum! I LOVE Garden Grill! Looking forward to the next installment!

Sooo yummy!!

My, no shortage of girls in your family!

Nope, although I am expecting a nephew in the next month!!

I'm pitifully behind on your trip report, but I had to skip ahead and check out your Boston road trip. You were in my neck of the woods- sort of. But since it seems like I was away more than I was home in August, I probably was not around at the time you were there. And I haven't seen the Pixar exhibit yet, either

What fun visiting some of your old college day haunts and to share some of Boston's attractions with your nieces. I love the New England Aquarium!

Yeah, I remember you lived around there! We had a great time! It's been a while since we all have been away together, just us siblings. The aquarium was awesome and the Pixar Exhibit made me which I was in WDW again!!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

ahahaha Duffy was saluting, love it.

Haha, didn't even notice that!

Aww I am so sad that Living with the Land is going to be closed for our trip next week. It literally is only closed the exact amount of dates we will be there.

Oh too bad! Can't believe you're going again next week! JEALOUS.

I've never seen that snow scene in the SE video, and I thought I'd seen them all!

I think it's a first for us too. I try to pick really different answers each time we go so we can get a different scenario.

Maelstrom come back...

RIP Maelstrom.

That ice cream looks delicious! I can't believe I didn't know that was there. Brian and I always enjoy the green tea ice cream at China but that is not soft serve. We are going to have to try this.

I had no idea it was there either. It's delicious. Sooo creamy and good... Oh wait you get to try it in a week...JEALOUS

Habit Heroes was a very short lived game, wasn't it? I think my favorite was the piggy bank game, did you guys ever play that one?

We loved the Great Piggy Bank Adventure. We have a lot of piggy bank selfie pictures. I mean, you can't help but not when you're clutching a cute pink piggy bank.

I thought Habit Heroes was decent. I mean, it was interactive enough but there was a lot of dashing around, and I was sad they didn't try to throw in a pink piggy somewhere. There isn't much else to play now that Innoventions East is closed off, so I'll take what I can get!

I always enjoy photographing Mission Space. I actually haven't been on it in a while. I remember that I really like the queue, how they have that great rotating space capsule thing. I really wish they would just update the in ride video, that shouldn't be that costly. I also think the ride should have different endings depending on everyone pushing their buttons correctly.

I cannot remember the rotating space capsule thing. Is it only on the orange side? I only do green now. I do wish they made the scenarios more interactive too so that it feels like you accomplished something when you press (or not press) a button.

I love Boston and that aquarium - the penguins are the best!! You are so lucky to have gone to school in such an awesome city!! We took our DD there last summer and there are so many fun things to do! We also loved the swan boats!

Boston is wonderful! It was definitely a great place to go to school, a true college town with so many things to do, and it's only gotten better over the years. So many great updates to the city and lots of new restaurants. Maybe your DD can go to school in Boston too!

That looks really good - I may have to add that to my list of "must eats"

They were delicious!

So much good looking food! That soft serve green tea and strawberry look delicious! I just really noticed the necklace you wear and I love it! I need to get to the Disney Visa character picture too! Can you just line up for them or do you have to book a time ahead of time?

The soft serve was delicious! Soo creamy and smooth. Thank you! The necklace is by Disney Couture. I have different ones and I interchange the charms a lot. I had been using the Snow White one quite a bit this year, but now I'm using a tinkerbell one.

The Disney Visa Meet n Greet is in Innovenetions West, you just have to line up between the hours of 12 and 7pm (I think, just double check)...ususally there will be a couple of people on line at any given time but it moves quickly. They check that you have a disney credit/debit card and they give you a voucher to pick up your photo later. The photo can be viewed and printed at the Photo center right where spaceship earth is. You get a free 5x7 print. I found that their photo printers aren't that great though so our prints came out darker than they look like on a screen but it's free so you don't really mind!

Just found your TR and read it all today! Looks like you guys had an awesome trip! my husband is a big Star Wars fan and you guys had so much fun, I might need to plan a trip for SWWs.

Enjoyed all your reviews, we have ADRs for for Ohana that we are super excited for and your pictures have made me wish we were there right now!

Thank you and welcome!

We had an amazing trip! The SWW was definitely a highlight. We prefer to go to WDW when it's less crowded but we're happy we got to partake in SWW this year! I would definitely like to return even if it's just for a weekend.

Yum! Ohana! Have a great trip!!! Will you be doing a TR?

 

[LindseyJo22]

Wow, lucky you!! I'm sorry that I didn't get to post about Garden Grill before you actually get there but it was a DELICIOUS and FUN meal! You definitely will not regret it!

We had such a good time! It was a great way to start our trip, and the food was really yummy. Plus, the character interaction was fabulous! Can't wait to read about your experience

 

[chunkymonkey]

Mini Trip Report! Berkshires/Tanglewood, MA

Trying tor prolong this TR for as long as possible...LOL, so I thought I'd share some mini TRs of our travels in the final weeks of summer.
A few weeks ago Steve and I took what we're now calling our annual trip to Tanglewood. Tanglewood, located in the town of Lenox in the Berkshire mountains, is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. If you love music and being outdoors, it's the perfect place to be. We went for the annual Film Night where they play scores from various films, both new and old. Each year also features John Williams, composer extraordinaire (he did the soundtracks for Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Superman, Harry Potter, Jaws, Schindler's List and so forth). Unfortunately this year, he had an injury so was not able to conduct it personally, but it ended up still being a great night.

The town of Lenox is rather ritzy with sprawling estates and fine hotels, but we stayed outside it in low-key Great Barrington, at this little place called the Briarcliff Motel. It really is just a roadside motel which the owners had spruced up and made more hip. This is our third stay here and it's very basic and simple (no deluxe amenities!) but makes up for it with it's cool mod design and wonderful locally-sourced produce and homemade baked goods during breakfast (included). We love it!

Here's pictures of our room, and look, they still have room keys! No Magic Bands here...far from it.

Breakfasts are served in their main room/reception area every morning.
It always includes homemade goodies like cheddar and chive scones, banana bread, orange muffins, and granola, plus local honey, yogurt, milk, and hard boiled eggs. Oh and freshly roasted coffee too!

Diagram of locally sourced foods served during breakfast.

Breakfasts were always delicious! My favorite were the cheese and chive scones made with chives from the garden in the back.

Steve loves to look at the owner's garden out back and talk green with the hosts. This time we saw some amazing collard greens. Look how big the plant is!

Before the concert, we went to a really great restaurant called the Prairie Whale. It's a farm-to-table sort of place (which is the norm in the Berkshires rather than the exception these days) with cool vintage-style drinks and delicious modern comfort food. The chef is originally from New York City where he had a popular restaurant.

This was some sort of salty dog drink, and a local cider

Fresh mozzarella with Romesco sauce, fried artichoke and arugula. Delicious!

Fried chicken with cornbread and peach jalapeno butter

Squid ink taggliatele

And some of the best frites I've had ever! I love fries so I appreciate a good twice-fried french fry with aioli dipping sauce.

We were really full but it was a great pre-concert meal!

Tanglewood is basically this giant, and I mean giant lawn with a music shed in the middle. The orchestra is in the shed and there is some seating, but most people choose to stay on the lawn where it is free seating, and the bring blankets and picnic gear. This is great if you have a big group and want to spend all day there to get the best lawn seats close to the shed.

Steve and I brought a blanket so we could enjoy the lawn for a bit before the concert.

This is just one side of the lawn (not facing the shed) but with gorgeous views of the surrounding lake and mountains.

We hung around a little enjoying the glorious weather and views.

When it got closer to the concert start, we headed into the shed where we had tickets. You don't have to buy shed tickets and in fact most people don't, but I like to be able to watch the orchestra, and also if it ends up raining (which it hasn't in the 3 years we've been) we'll be protected from the rain.

Inside the Tanglewood music shed

The concert was fantastic as usual even without John William's presence. The first half was conducted by David Newman (Randy Newman's brother - Randy Newman is the guy who composed the score from Toy Story). This year they played selections from "Forest Gump", "Sabrina", "Stark Trek: Into Darkness", "North by Northwest", "the Godfather", and "Sunset Boulevard". During some pieces, they played scenes from these movies on large movie screens above the orchestra. They even played the entire opening to Star Trek Into Darkness which was awesome and included dialogue as well.

During the second half, Keith Lockhart (of the Boston Pops) took to the podium to perform John William's music from “Jurassic Park,” “Jaws,” “Star Wars” (throne room scene) and “Schindler’s List”.
Famed violinist Gil Shaham played the solo part for the “Schindler’s List” theme, and it was really beautiful. (His violin is a Stradivarius in case you were wondering.)

The encore was the Imperial March from Star Wars.

If you ever get a chance to see film scores performed live, I highly highly recommend it! It's so much fun and it really made me appreciate classical and orchestral music even more.

The next day, after breakfast, we checked out and went for some more good eats. Before we left though, one of the owners of the Briarcliff Motel, Clare, gave me a huge back of collard green leaves to take home! It was so thoughtful. I cooked them when we got home and they were amazing.

I love me some cider doughnuts!! This was from Home Sweet Home doughnuts in Great Barrington.

And we got some delicious ice cream at SoCo in Great Barrington.

And it wouldn't be a road trip without stopping at Cracker Barrel, my favorite road trip pit stop!!

Hope you enjoyed this mini TR to the Berkshires! There's actually quite a lot to do there, lots of art centers, museums, farms, etc. We don't get to do that much since we're only there for 2 nights but we went to the Normal Rockwell museum once which was pretty cool.

Oh and just wanted to share this cake that my best friend, Kelly, made for her daughter's 4th birthday. Its a Frozen themed cake!

Thought it was really cool and the inside was a pink and white marble cake. It was yummy too! No, she's not a professional baker, just worked a long time on it!

Hope everyone had a happy labor day weekend. I'll be back with another mini TR!​

 

[BlvInMagic]

I see what you did there with the picture of the cider doughnuts....HIDDEN MICKEY Love it! Also, that birthday cake is just outstanding! Your friend is super talented. Looks too pretty to eat!

 

[DisneyJo]

Loving your report, it looks like you all have so much fun