Grown ups only! 10 year anniversary trip with lots of drinks, food and selfies-COMPLETE 2/22/16

[cheryllarsen]

Great read! thanks for posting!

 

[nco91590]

Day 7: Final full day Magic Kingdom, Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian, Narcoossee's

Knowing that I would be pretty sad about our last day in Disney, I decided to save the really fun stuff for last. Instead of dreading our last day, I was really looking forward to Tea and Narcoossee's. Both firsts for us!

We were in high spirits as DD was back to her old self. Her tummy bug went right through her and I knew that I would see her the next afternoon. I just kept thinking to myself that I had better enjoy this last day because it's gonna be a LONG time until we take a solo trip again!

It was another cold morning so we bundled up and thought we could use our last QS for breakfast at Les Halles in France. It was nice to be in an empty France. That area is always mobbed with people.



I opted for the quiche and a strawberry tart. In retrospect, I should have ordered a different dessert. That ended up being a bit too much pastry shell for me. I live for pie crust, but I ended up eating the middle. Scott ordered the ham and cheese croissant and he ordered the chocolate croissant. This breakfast was an excellent way to start the day!



We hiked over to the Monorail station at Epcot at around 9am and shortly after we were in Magic Kingdom. We went straight over to our first FP for Peter Pan. Funny story: My mom is terrified of heights and never goes on rides. In 2014, I managed to convince her to ride Peter Pan with DD and me. She reluctantly agrees. The ride ends up getting stuck above the "city" scene for 10 minutes or so and my mom just about loses her mind LOL. I was like -- "Mom...it's like, 5 ft down. You *might* twist an ankle". Her palms were sweaty she was totally panicked. I'll probably never get her to ride that again.

Our next FP was for BTMRR, but it was down when we went over. We were in the neighborhood, so we hopped on the Liberty Belle for a little cruise. I've never actually been on that boat. It's lovely!



We ended up sitting next to this guy who just got back from an African safari! He was telling me all about it, so I missed a lot of the landscape! When we got off, BTMRR was still down and we decided to do Tom Sawyer Island. Again, something we've never done. It was a fun little jaunt. I saw a couple families having a picnic lunch out there which I thought would be a great idea on a hot sunny day as it's very shaded over there. I hope I didn't unleash a huge Disney secret or anything!





After Tom Sawyer Island, we did Jungle Cruise, Main Street to hear the Dapper Dans and it was just about tea time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Words cannot describe my excitement for Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian. My dad is from the UK, so I was practically raised on tea. I've done teas in England a few times and always really enjoyed them. 2pm is always my tea time at home and at work. Gives me just enough of a boost to get me through the rest of the day. I had seen Afternoon Tea on the boards and really great reviews so I was really super psyched. Plus I've never been to the Grand Floridian---can you believe it?!?!? Never. Not even for dinner. I was excited to check it out.

After a COLD boat ride, we arrived at the Grand Floridian around 1:30p.





How very posh! This hotel is gorgeous. I would love to stay here someday. I heard there was a shop that sold Lilly Pulitzer, so I went to check that out while Scott sa in the lobby. After a little walk about, it was time for our reservation.

We were the first ones seated. Our waitress gave us a 2 top in the corner of the room by the windows. Not the best seat in the house, but we didn't really care. Both of us got the Bedfordshire Tea:

First Course
Medley of Finger Sandwiches accompanied with Berries, Cheese and Lavosh
-
Second Course
Buttery Scone and Jam Tart
-
Finale
Choice of delicate House-Made Pastries, Strawberries and Creme, or English Trifle

Accompanied by your choice of tea
(charge for additional pots of tea)
$30.00

There are a few other options that were more expensive that included caviar/overpriced champagne. Believe it or not, I did NOT feel like drinking alcohol! Plus, it was cheaper to buy a glass of champs by the glass than to order with the tea package. Weird.

The tea allows both people to select their own tea. I chose an English Breakfast and Scott ordered the Oolong.





Next came our finger sandwiches/fruit and cheese: There was a watercress, egg salad, curried chicken salad and golden beet with goat cheese. These were all delicious. The watercress and the curried chicken salad was my favorite.






More on the next post. Maxed out pics!

 

[nco91590]

Look at how fancy I am!

Next came the scones and desserts. Look at this tower of deliciousness!



The scones came with lemon curd and apricot jam and they were dynamite. The trifle was also delicious but I was too full to eat the whole thing. One thing I would recommend is to request that they brew the tea a bit longer. My tea was pretty weak, but I overheard the other waiter tell a table that they can make the tea stronger upon request. So if you're a tea drinker, you'll probably want to ask them to steep it longer. By the time I realized I had the option, we were almost done with tea.

Seeing as though we drank a full pot of tea each, we were buzzing with energy! We took the monorail back to Epcot and hoofed it back to our hotel to try and relax before our 8pm reservation at Narcoossees. I think we both just laid on the bed wide awake watching King of Queens (have you noticed that show is ALWAYS on in your Disney room?!?!).

Coming up: The last supper

 

[Chelley00]

Can't wait to hear about your Narcoosees dinner! It's the one I'm most looking forward to

 

[LinderInWonderland]

That is one gorgeous tea! When I was still living in Boston, I used to have tea at the Ritz Carlton once a month. Then I started collecting tea outings in Philadelphia, New York City and Seattle (as I lived there). On my bucket list: tea at GF and at the Empress in Victoria, BC.

I also hate weak tea. At the Ritz, it was always perfect (you got a full pot per person that I would drink at least 5-6 cups from and still barely make a dent), but the Four Seasons had the little tea for one pots that they would keep filling with water and not adding more tea so it just kept getting weaker.

Have you seen the Alice in Wonderland Tea Pot at the parks? It's my favorite set!

 

[pumba]

thanks so much for such great reviews and photos... We are also northerners and wondered why these people think that 60 is cold..that is shorts weather here and t shirts...We had reservations for rose and crown in April/May..but I didnt think i could do dinner at 8 pm...we are those 5;30 eaters..so we cancelled...anxious for our trip to the House of the Mouse...thanks again

 

[suse66]

Great review of the tea! I would love to do that one day. I can't wait to hear what you think of your dinner at Narcoosees. We are eating there in March. Glad to hear your little one is feeling better too!

 

[DisGin]

Waiting anxiously for Narcoosee's. You've got a lot of things I have scheduled for our next 2 trips.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Really enjoying your review!

 

[auntfrannie]

It's so sad to see you both so bundled up at Disney! I want warmth on my Disney vacation! But it looks like you still had a great time. I've been enjoying your reviews; sad to see them come to an end!

 

[Vernie822]

In any event, we were hungry, it had started to rain and they were running behind. We wedged ourselves at the packed bar and waited for our pager to go off. Out of all the meals, this one reminded me of what it's like to eat at Disney in high season. It was loud, chaotic and people were getting pushy and shovey. I was super glad to have the pager go off right as I was about to throw up my hands and give up on eating dinner.

I had the same experience there! I thought maybe it was just the time we went (right before St Patricks day).

LOL. Look at the size of this thing! How is this ONE dessert? I must say, I barely made a dent in this, which felt really wasteful. But good grief, it's like an entire pan of bread pudding! It was as good as everyone says it is. But just way too big for one person to tackle.

THE BEST! I love this stuff! You're right though it is SOOOOOO huge.

A cold front had blown in and temps were only supposed to hit 60 as a high. Now, normally where I live, everyone is in shorts having picnics when it's 60. But in FL it just feels colder. Maybe because it's damp or because you're out in the weather all day but I was really glad to have some cold weather clothes packed! In the mornings and at night it was only like, 48 which is chilly no matter where you live!

Lol, I hear ya. I was listening to the radio the other day and some woman was like "here in California, we wear our pea coats and scarves when it hits 60" and I'm thinking well in Pennsylvania, 60 is shorts and flip flops season!

Not only did a cold front come in, but so did the crowds! There was a National High School Cheerleading competition of sone sort in the parks. If you ever want to feel old, fat and ugly, make sure you book your trip when they're down here LOL! I have to say, despite the throngs of teenage girls, they were VERY well behaved. No chanting or ridiculousness. There was just a lot of them.

LOL. Sounds about right! That is so good to hear that they are well behaved. I was wondering how busy it gets around that time. I used to cheer, and coach HS cheer, and I hear people ask about on the boards whether or not the girls are behaved/how busy it is. I was hoping to hear that they were well behaved (unlike some crazy Brazilian tour groups we've encountered).

We have a Starbucks in our office building, so I don't DIE over their coffee. I'm kinda over it to be honest.

I hear ya! It does nothing for me anymore. If anything it's just stupidly expensive.

So while he did single rider, I went over to try the infamous Carrot Cake Cookie. Now that Writers Stop is closed, they started selling them at Sweet Spells right on the corner.

These are SO GOOD!

But for us, HS is a 1/2 day park.

Us too.. at the moment, anyways!

English Rose: Beefeater Gin, Apricot Brandy, Sweet Vermouth, Pineapple Juice, Orange Juice, and Cranberry Juice served in a Souvenir Cu. I didn't really read the description because I certainly was not expecting the drink to come in this giagantic cup!

OMG this looks so delicious! And huge, haha.

It was another cold morning so we bundled up and thought we could use our last QS for breakfast at Les Halles in France. It was nice to be in an empty France. That area is always mobbed with people.

I love that you could just walk over and have breakfast there!!

 

[nco91590]

That is one gorgeous tea! When I was still living in Boston, I used to have tea at the Ritz Carlton once a month. Then I started collecting tea outings in Philadelphia, New York City and Seattle (as I lived there). On my bucket list: tea at GF and at the Empress in Victoria, BC.

I also hate weak tea. At the Ritz, it was always perfect (you got a full pot per person that I would drink at least 5-6 cups from and still barely make a dent), but the Four Seasons had the little tea for one pots that they would keep filling with water and not adding more tea so it just kept getting weaker.

Have you seen the Alice in Wonderland Tea Pot at the parks? It's my favorite set!

Ooh! Tea at the Ritz! Sounds amazing. I love all things Alice in Wonderland. I have one of the mugs! I almost bought the kitchen towels!

 

[nco91590]

It's so sad to see you both so bundled up at Disney! I want warmth on my Disney vacation! But it looks like you still had a great time. I've been enjoying your reviews; sad to see them come to an end!

Thank you so much for reading! I think because we had 3 gorgeous hot sunny days in February we were winning! Plus even though it was cold, the sun was shining. Up here, it's grey and cold all winter long. The last couple times we've been have been brutally hot, so this was actually a nice change.

 

[nco91590]

I had the same experience there! I thought maybe it was just the time we went (right before St Patricks day).



THE BEST! I love this stuff! You're right though it is SOOOOOO huge.

SOOOO GOOD! Just insanely big. Scott doesn't have a sweet tooth, so I was all on my own with this. After a big meal I'm not sure how anyone can eat this whole thing.

Lol, I hear ya. I was listening to the radio the other day and some woman was like "here in California, we wear our pea coats and scarves when it hits 60" and I'm thinking well in Pennsylvania, 60 is shorts and flip flops season!



LOL. Sounds about right! That is so good to hear that they are well behaved. I was wondering how busy it gets around that time. I used to cheer, and coach HS cheer, and I hear people ask about on the boards whether or not the girls are behaved/how busy it is. I was hoping to hear that they were well behaved (unlike some crazy Brazilian tour groups we've encountered).

They were really good. But they travel in packs. So, it was hard to navigate around them. They were on Tom Sawyer Island with us, and they took up 90% of the raft over there!


I hear ya! It does nothing for me anymore. If anything it's just stupidly expensive.



These are SO GOOD!



Us too.. at the moment, anyways!



OMG this looks so delicious! And huge, haha.

It was! I was afraid Scott would have to carry me home.

I love that you could just walk over and have breakfast there!!

That's the best part about Beach Club. Walking over to WS and HS is no big deal. We were in WS almost every single day.

 

[nco91590]

Day 7 (cont) Narcoossee's

You guys are dying to hear about our dinner at Narcoossees and I gotta give the people what they want!

Back at the room, we had packed all of our stuff up as our flight was EARLY the next morning. After, we got all gussied up for dinner. It's amazing how fast you can get ready when you don't have kids running around! Our reservations were at 8 and we thought we would take one last stroll around WS, grab one last margarita from La Cava, and take the monorail over to the Grand Floridian. We said our tearful goodbyes to Pepe at La Cava by enjoying one more Blood Orange margarita. These are STRONG. Even the foam has booze in it. Worth the money and they're delicious.

We clean up pretty nice!





We arrived at the GF and still had about an hour before dinner. I had been told by my friends who were just down there the week before that Mizners has an awesome cocktail menu. It was Superbowl Sunday so there was quite a few people in there. I don't think that's the best place to watch the Superbowl. There was one tiny TV in the corner. We could give two hoots about football, so I kinda felt bad taking up a table in there. Anyway, they have a bartender and a server there. So we took a couple chairs by the window and shortly our waiter came over. He was a nice guy. Scott ordered a Crown and Gingerale and I ordered a Mizner's Cooler: St-Germain, Nolet’s Gin, Lime Juice, Simple Syrup, Soda Water, and Fresh Mint



Lol at Scott in the background. He couldn't possibly care less about the Superbowl. That's why I love him This was probably my favorite cocktail of the whole trip. There's a local restaurant that serves a Lady Sybil cocktail. It's Hendricks gin, St. Germain and champagne and it's one of my favorites, so I was really interested in this particular cocktail. St. Germain is a tricky flavor. If your bartender is heavy handed with it, it can taste like you're drinking perfume. This cocktail had the perfect amount. It was very refreshing. Didn't taste overwhelmingly strong either, but you could taste the gin. I think this is most likely one of those creeper drinks that sneak up on you.

We watched the band play for a bit and before you know it, it was time for our last dinner and our only signature dining experience of the trip. I've been to Le Cellier and California Grill a few times, and our last trip we went to the Yachtsman. I was really excited to try Narcoossee's as it has come highly recommended by friends and family and on the boards. We were sat almost immediately at a nice table by the window. Our waitress was pleasant. I wouldn't say she was the best we had on the trip though. Scott ordered the Jai Alai IPA and I ordered a glass of the Cakebread Chardonnay. She left us to peruse the menu




For an appetizer, I ordered a bowl of the lobster bisque and Scott went with the calamari. These were both just OK for us. The bisque fell pretty flat for me. I couldn't detect any sherry and there was literally 2 small chewy chunks of lobster meat. I would not order this again. Scott enjoyed his calamari, but it wasn't the best he's ever had. He was spoiled by Wildfish calamari in San Antonio, TX. If you ever find yourself in San Antonio, and you like calamari, order it from Wildfish. Scott maintains it's the best calamari on earth.

For entrees I ordered the filet and added on the 1/2 lb Alaskan King Crab legs. Scott ordered the scallop dish. My steak was cooked perfectly and was delicious. Scott has never been so happy about a scallop dish EVER. Fun fact is that Scott and I met while we were working at a fine dining restaurant. He was one of the cooks and I waited tables and bartended. So, he's a really good cook. And REALLY good at cooking seafood. It's not often that he is impressed when he orders seafood off the menu. And he said those were the best scallops he's ever had in his life.

We had just started digging into our entrees when our crab legs came to the table. About a minute later, a second plate came with a different food runner. He looked at us eating the crab legs, shrugged his shoulders and gave us the plate he was holding. I don't know if it was on accident, but we totally ate that free order of crab legs! They were phenomenal. Sweet and juicy and very fresh. It was hard to tear myself away to eat my steak.



Stuffed to the gills though I was, I wanted to try the famous almond crusted cheesecake. Scott, of course, declined dessert.



This was a beautiful dessert and I really liked the presentation. I hate to say this, but I didn't love it (ducks for cover). The texture was delightful, and I loved the crunchy outside and the cherry sauce was delicious. But I dislike almond extract and this cheesecake had a LOT in it. There was almost an alcohol flavor because of it. I guess if you're really into almond flavored desserts, this would be right up your alley. I would try a different dessert next time.

Overall, Scott would put Narcoossee's on the top of his list for our dinners that week. I'm not quite sure I would. It wasn't the best complete meal that I had. The service was not memorable (except the goof on the crab legs) and I was not impressed by my soup. My steak was good, but I had good steak at the Wave. I think if you were a seafood lover like Scott, you would really enjoy your meal. But for me it wasn't like, earth shattering. Don't get me wrong. This was a delightful dinner and I wouldn't recommend canceling reservations or anything like that. But avoid the soup is my best advice.

Miles Walked: 10.4

Up next: Final thoughts

 

[pumba]

we tend NOT to order seafood when we are in Disney..because we are from Maine and we have so many great restaurants in our area...but those crab legs looked amazing...our area is more noted for lobster, clams and shrimp...but I love fish of any kind...thanks so much for great photos of your dinner

 

[nco91590]

we tend NOT to order seafood when we are in Disney..because we are from Maine and we have so many great restaurants in our area...but those crab legs looked amazing...our area is more noted for lobster, clams and shrimp...but I love fish of any kind...thanks so much for great photos of your dinner

Right??? The bisque at home is like, chock full of lobster. AND it has sherry in it. There's a much-needed acidity that it brings to the soup so you don't feel like you're eating a bowl of cream with a few little shreds of lobster on top. Regional differences aside, you would expect a high end restaurant that specializes in seafood to have a really killer lobster bisque. I feel like I've had better out of a shack on the Jersey Shore LOL

 

[smiths02]

We just did an adult anniversary trip from Feb 3-6. We had a pretty similar experience at Narcoosee's.

We ate Ohana dinner, Crystal Palace late breakfast, Via Napoli late lunch, Chefs de France lunch, Liberty Tree Tavern lunch...we got the best treatment at Via Napoli

 

[Ava]

Great reviews! Tea at the GF looks absolutely lovely. Were there many children there / do you think children would enjoy it? My little girls love tea (my mom is an avid tea drinker and they love sharing it with her) and I've thought about doing this as a special thing with them next trip but wasn't sure if it'd be too "adult." They'll be 8 and 4 (well, a week shy of 4).

 

[auntfrannie]

I've never been impressed by Narcoossee's (tried it 3 times). Service is off and food isn't all that impressive. I'm glad you had better luck (at least to some extent). Thanks for taking the time to post your reviews!