Kimpup and MLinDisney went back to enjoy the FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL!~COMPLETED 10/28

[WDWaddictt]

I have yet to go to Beaches & Cream. It looks so yummy...I would love to go.

Great reviews!

 

[MLinDisney]

Loving all of your reviews. The No Way Jose looks soooooo good!!

DD loved it!!

That cake cup looks so good! I can't wait to try a mocha one!

Also, that Beaches and Cream meal looks great! We have never eaten there but it is something I want to add to my list. Do they take the DDP?

I was thinking of the Mocha one! Let me know how it is! Yes they are on the DDP! They dont take reservations though.

Hi! Joining in! I am loving all your pics and reviews so far! We will be at BC on Sunday. (Our first on property stay)

I thought my 11 year old was going to go through my laptop to get to that milk shake you had at B & C. Definately putting that on my list. I also now really want to work in Raglan Rd. That looked great too!

Can't wait to read more!

Beaches and Cream will be so convenient when you stay at the BC! Your DD can get that chocolate malt!

I have yet to go to Beaches & Cream. It looks so yummy...I would love to go.

Great reviews!

Beaches and Cream is a short walk from the back entrance to Epcot. The bad part about it is no reservations.

 

[MLinDisney]

We left the room very early. We wanted to grab breakfast at the Beach Club Marketplace and get to Animal Kingdom by 8:00 EMH. When we arrived at the Marketplace, we noticed it didn’t open until 7:00 am. This would be too late to wait. A few guys who were passing by with coffee in their hands told us that the Yacht club lobby has coffee, bagels and Danish and is open at 6:00. So we walked there and just picked up some coffee. We walked over to the Yacht Club bus stop and had our coffee while waiting for the bus.
I wanted to go to AKL at 8:00 am because I rarely see the lions awake. This time we not only saw the lions awake, we actually saw them romping around! These are not the older lions. I have many photos and a video of them in action! Here is one of the photos.


I was so happy I saw them up and running around. I have a video that shows more of their activity. After the safari, we saw Kusafiri Coffee Shop and Bakery, walked up to the window and looked at the menu. We decided to split breakfast.

Hot Breakfast Sandwich Egg, Ham, and Cheese Flatbread

This was very tasty and we were hungry. DD doesn’t eat ham so I ate that. I rated this 7/10 and DD said it was very simple, nothing special and rated it 5/10. It was $6.92 with tax, paid for with the rewards card. We needed that so we could head for Dinoland!

NEXT REVIEW: SNACK: HARAMBE SAFARI POPCORN KIOSK

 

[MLinDisney]

After Dinoland and Pangani Trail, it was 9:30 so we took the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. I’m always trying to catch the veterinarians working on an interesting animal. We always seem to go when they are working on a bird, and this time was no different We saw a goose getting a physical.


He was awake, unlike the other birds we saw. Maybe next time we will see a tiger or lion.
When we took the train back to Harambe, we were on our way to Asia. We stopped for a snack at the Harambe Safari Popcorn Kiosk.


Our snack; glazed pecans and Jungle Juice Slush. Here is a photo of the pecans.


I really like jungle juice and liked this too. Very refreshing. The pecans had some cinnamon. They were good too. I rate the jungle juice slushie 9/10 and the pecans 8/10. DD also rated the pecans 8/10 but the slushie 7/10. This snack was $8.93 with tax, paid for with our Disney rewards card.
We were ready to go on EE and Kali River Rapids! This time we tried the lockers. They are free for one hour. We put on our flip flops and stored our backpacks and sneakers. We had dry things to change into when we returned.

NEXT REVIEW: LUNCH AT THE FOOD AND WINE BOOTHS

 

[MLinDisney]

After leaving AK, we made a pit stop at our room, then headed to Epcot for lunch.


We had our passports in hand and our trays that we bought at the Festival Center. Our First stop was Ireland.


Lobster and Seafood Fisherman’s Pie, Warm Chocolate Pudding with Bailey’s Custard, Chilled Irish Coffee featuring Bunratty Potcheen. Notice the little trays that carried our food and drinks. They were very helpful, especially when we had to use the tops of garbage cans to lean our trays. We were able to get a table this time though! Also those little booklets are our passports. Each time we ordered something, we checked it off. The cashier also stamped our booklets with a unique stamp for each country. I enjoyed the Fisherman’s Pie. Lots of seafood inside. It was served very hot too. It was like a seafood shepherd’s pie. I rated this 8/10 DD rated it 6/10. She said the mashed potatoes were great, but she doesn't really like lobster or shrimp. The pudding was very chocolaty but the Baileys Custard cut the deep chocolate flavor. I thought this was great. It was served very hot. I rated this 8/10. DD rated it 9/10. I didn’t taste the Irish Coffee but DD rated it 7/10.
The cost of these three was $16.25, paid for with the Disney rewards card. For some reason tax wasn’t added onto any of the food and wine booth orders.
The next booth we tried was Canada.



“Le Cellier” Wild Mushroom beef Filet Mignon with Truffle butter Sauce. We started digging in before the photo was taken. We had been to Le Cellier last September and tried this. I enjoyed this. DD didn’t like the mushrooms, so I devoured them. I rated this 8/10. DD rated it 5/10 because of the mushrooms. When we dined at Le Cellier last September, DD had this filet but asked for no mushrooms. She loved it then. Notice how we are using the top of a garbage can. It was getting pretty crowded in that area.
Next at Canada,


Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. Notice that we dipped into this one too before the photo was taken I enjoyed this when I had it at Le Cellier and I enjoyed it again. I wish I had the pretzel bread to dunk in this. I rate this 8/10 DD rated it 5/10. She said it was ok.
The Cost of these two goodies were $11.25, paid for with our Disney Rewards card.
We walked up to the Greece booth next.


Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey. Yet another bite before photo!!! I really enjoyed this! This was one of my favorites at food and wine. I rated this 10/10! DD also rated it 10/10. I highly recommend this. DD described it as "yummo - sweet cheesy nutty!" I located the recipe for this one too! This was $3.50, paid for with the Disney Rewards card.
We stopped at the refreshment port.


Orange Dole Whip with Crème de Cacao white. I had a pineapple dole whip on one of our trips. I thought it was too sour and didn’t enjoy it. This one was different. I liked the orange taste. Sort of like a Creamsicle with Crème de Cacao added. They happen to add quite a bit of cream de cocao to this one. I rate this 9/10. DD rated it 5/10. This was $6.17 with tax, paid for with the Disney rewards card. I just notice tax was added on this order.
Next we stopped at Desserts & Champagne Booth


We ordered all three: Chocolate Orange Cupcake, Hazelnut Chocolate Cheesecake, Morello cherry Pistachio Mousse. These were good, but I liked the Cheesecake the best. I rated the cheesecake 8/10. DD liked the chocolate orange and the cheesecake and rated the choc orange cupcake 8/10 She said it was very flavorful,
the hazelnut choc cheesecake 7/10 and the cherry pistachio mousse 4/10. She said it tasted like there was jello on top. I noticed that there was a Frozen S’mores under beverages that I wanted to taste, but didn’t get the chance. These three were $4.00 for all three. You could have purchased them separately but it was cheaper to get the trio.
Next we stopped at Hawaii.




Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet and Sour Dole Pineapple and Aulani Sunrise featuring Ocean Vodka. The slider was very good! I rated it 8/10. The pineapple was a great pairing with the pork. I remember tasting the Aulani Sunrise, but don’t remember how it tasted. DD rated the slider 6/10 And the Aulani Sunrise 8/10. These two treats were $10.75, paid for with the Disney rewards card.
Next stop Scotland


We ordered:


Vegetarian Haggis with Neeps & Tatties (Griddled Vegetable Cake with Rutabaga & Mashed Potatoes.) This was just ok. The Rutabaga was good. I never tasted that before but it reminded me of mashed cauliflower. There was some spice in the Haggis that I didn’t like. I rated this 5/10 because I liked the Rutabaga. DD rated it 8/10. She enjoyed the spices and different flavors!
We also ordered this from Scotland:


Scottish Banoffee Tart with Bananas, Scotch Whiskey Toffee, Walkers Shortbread Crumbles and Sweet Cream. I enjoyed this. It was a little dry on the bottom. I rated this 7/10. DD also rated it 7/10 The cost of the Haggis and the tart was $6.50, paid for with Disney Rewards Card. Total cost for lunch $58.42, which included 3 drinks/desserts with alcohol.
At this point we could no longer eat or drink!
We headed back to the Beach Club to rest up a little for our evening at Epcot and MK.

NEXT REVIEW: DINNER EPCOT FOOD AND WINE AND WINEWALK!

 

[vettegirl]

Holy moly do those cupcakes look amazing at the MK. I swear I need to plan a trip were all I eat are desserts

 

[Terrie..]

I have to try that Jungle Juice slushie! It looks so good and I love the jungle juice.

All the food at Epcot F&W looks great (except the Haggis). Those little trays really seemed to come in handy to hold all your food!

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

loving your reviews and pics...you mentioned something about taxes, did you notice it was mainly the booths for F&W that didn't add tax?

 

[princess aleya]

I'm really enjoying your reviews!! Can't wait to hear more, oh and I loved your retired princess shirt. Too cute!!

 

[MLinDisney]

Holy moly do those cupcakes look amazing at the MK. I swear I need to plan a trip were all I eat are desserts

If you love desserts, wait til you see the Dessert Party photos!!

I have to try that Jungle Juice slushie! It looks so good and I love the jungle juice.

All the food at Epcot F&W looks great (except the Haggis). Those little trays really seemed to come in handy to hold all your food!

DD loved that Haggis for some reason. Try that JJ Slushie in Jan!

loving your reviews and pics...you mentioned something about taxes, did you notice it was mainly the booths for F&W that didn't add tax?

I was confused too. None of the booths charged tax except for one. I noticed I was charged tax on the Dole whip drink. Now that is really confusing. All of the restaurants and counter serves charged tax though.

I'm really enjoying your reviews!! Can't wait to hear more, oh and I loved your retired princess shirt. Too cute!!

Thank you! I bought that for my retirement trip September, 2012. I made it on Zazzle! I'm posting more reviews right now!

 

[MLinDisney]

After we returned from Food and Wine, we looked around at the quiet pool, hot tub and Stormalong Bay. We went back to the room for a little bit before heading back to Epcot. We decided to try the World Showcase Wine Walk. We have been trying to go to this Wine Walk for the last 3 trips. We bought the Wine Walk passport in Germany, but they are also sold in France and Italy. For the two of us it was $39.99. It is supposed to be $20 each, but that is what the total was on the receipt. The three countries where we had tasters were Germany, Italy and France. We decided that we would go to the booths in those three countries for dinner.


Here is the passport we received. When we received each flight, they stamped it. We started in France.


Boeuf Bourguignon (Braised Short Ribs in Cabernet with Mashed Potatoes. This was good. The piece of short rib was so tiny. It was the size of the end of a teaspoon. I rate this 7/10. DD rated it 9/10. She said it was really good and a nice combo with potatoes.

Next at France I was brave and tried for the first time:


Escargots Persillade en Brioche (Garlic & Parsley Snails in Brioche) My first time ever tasting Escargots. I really liked this. I didn’t know I was eating snails. The spices in the bread with the snails were very tasty. I give this 9/10! DD didn’t want to try this. So I ate them all!
Next also at France:


Crème Brulee au Chocolat au lait (Chocolate Milk Crème brulee topped with Caramelized Sugar.) This was very good. It looked very light and you can taste the chocolate in it. I rated this 8/10. DD rated it 7/10. She said it was not bad for burnt cream. DD is not a fan of Crème brulee.
All three of these dishes from France were $14.75, paid for by the Disney Rewards Card.
We went inside Aux Vins De france and gave our passport to the cashier. Here are the two samples we received, red and white:


We sat in a little table right outside Aux vins De France. I don’t remember how these were, but I know I finished both of them.
DD enjoyed the French wine. Next, we walked to the Italy booth.



Ravioli de Formaggio all’Emiliana (Baked Cheese Ravioli with Creamy beef Bolognese Sauce, Parmesan & Mozzarella.) As you can see we were digging in before the photo! I thought this was great, cheesy and creamy. The only thing I didn’t like is the meat on the bottom. I rate this 8/10. DD rated it 6/10. She said it was very creamy but very plain.

We also ordered this from Italy:


Cannoli al Cioccolato (Chocolate Covered Cannoli filled with Sweet Ricotta, Chocolate and Candied Fruit) Cannolis are just ok so this one was the same for me. I rate this 6/10. DD rated it 5/10. She said being from New York, we have amazing cannolis.
The Ravioli and Cannoli were $9.50, paid for by the Disney Rewards card.
We went inside to Enoteca Castello and had our passport stamped.


I’m not sure where this was taken. It looks like it was on the ground. I remember drinking all the wine from here too.
DD drank the white wine but does not like rose wine, so she gave it to me!

Lastly, we went to Germany for our Dinner/winewalk.


Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll. The Pretzel roll was great! Every bit as good as Le Cellier’s. The bratwurst was ok. There was a lot of it and I left half of it. I rated this 8/10 mostly for the pretzel bread. DD did not taste this.
We also ordered:



Schinkennudeln (Pasta Gratin with Ham and Cheese). This was almost as good as the one that Sommerfest sells. Not as creamy but I enjoyed this. 9/10. DD rated it 6/10. She loved the one at Sommerfest much better. Good thing I have the recipe for that one!

We also had:


Apple strudel with Werther’s Original Karamel and vanilla Sauce. I liked this but there was not enough Karamel or vanilla sauce on it. I rated this 7/10. DD rated it 2/10. She had one bite and did not like it.
All three of our choices from Germany were $11.75, paid for by the Disney Rewards card.
We then walked into Weinkeller to get our wine and passport stamped.


I drank all of my wine, and so did DD. She enjoyed Germany's wine. Our entire dinner and the wine walk for the two of us was $75.99.

At this point, we walked (or in my case staggered) through Epcot and took the monorail to the TTC. From there we went to MK to see the MSEP and Wishes. We ended up watching the MSEP and shopped during wishes. On the way back on the bus we saw part of wishes, part of Fantasmic and part of illuminations from the bus!!!

NEXT REVIEW: BREAKFAST CRYSTAL PALACE

 

[MLinDisney]

Crystal Palace is a great buffet. We were there for the first time last September, 2012. We arrived very early.


There were a few people there for various early morning reservations.




Empty. Just a few people and a few CMs.


Approaching Crystal Palace.


We arrived! We checked in at the window and took a few more photos.


After 20 minute wait. Someone came out and called our name. We were the family of the day again!! First to be seated and first at the buffet!










Breakfast Lasagna!!! Love this!


I love the selection here!


DD’s plate. Breakfast pizza, Pooh’s puffed French toast, potato casserole, eggs and at the top orange juice, coffee, croissant and a Cinnamon roll.


My first plate. Pooh’s puffed French toast, eggs, cheesy potato casserole, breakfast pizza, bacon, and biscuit with gravy.



The two of us with Piglet.


DD with Eyore. We never got to see Eyore last visit. Notice the Magic Bands in these two photos. We bought charms/jibbets? to put on the bands. Most of them fell off and were lost!



Me with Eyore. My second plate was Breakfast lasagna, which I forgot to take a photo of. Love that breakfast lasagna! If you scroll up to the buffet you will see a photo of it. We took lots more photos, some with Pooh and others with these two. This trip we missed Tigger.
We asked for the check when they served coffee so we could get out and into the park early. I really enjoy this buffet for the choices and that we get into the park to see an empty Main Street, plus we get a little head start at the rides. I rate this buffet 9/10 second only to Tuskerhouse Buffet, which we didn’t do on this trip. DD rated this 9/10. The buffet was $48.97 which includes tax. We paid for this with our Disney rewards card.
We headed out of Crystal Palace and toward Adventureland. I wanted to try Jungle Cruise. It was opening that day after a refurb.


This is where we sat to wait for the Adventureland rope drop.



NEXT REVIEW: SNACK EPCOT FOOD AND WINE

 

[MLinDisney]

We covered quite a bit of ground at MK. When it started to get crowded, we took the bus back to the Beach Club. We were going to go in the quiet pool/hot tub and also do some laundry, which was right there by the pool. We were still full from the buffet. After resting in the room for a while, we headed for Epcot. We had a Culinary Demonstration scheduled at 4:00. When we arrived, we were headed over to the Food and Wine Festival Building and saw the Florida Local Booth. We ordered:


Florida Grass Fed Beef Slider with Monterey Jack and Sweet & Hot Pickles. This was very small, but good. I got to eat both pickles. I rate this an 8/10. DD rated it 9/10. It was $3.75, which was put on our Disney rewards card. By the way, in past DRs, I mentioned how many dining credits I used and how much the actual cost of the meals were. This time, I’m so happy to be getting all this free food, I have to put it in each review!
We now headed over to the Food and Wine Festival Building to pick up our tickets for Kevin Dundon’s Culinary Demonstration.

NEXT REVIEW: KEVIN DUNDON’S CULINARY DEMONSTRATION!

 

[MLinDisney]

We arrived a little too early for the Demonstration. We had time to pick up our tickets and look around the festival store. We saw someone line up and decided to be one of the first in. We chose a seat off to the side in front of the screen.


We had a good view of the screen and of the kitchen. There was a camera focused on the stove and counter area so everyone could see on the screen each step as he was explained it. We all received a menu and recipes.


Kevin Dundon, Raglan Road.




As he was cooking, the staff brought little portions of the entrée. He made Roasted round Trout with toasted Almonds, Champagne Lemon Butter Emulsion. He is very cute! DD loved his accent.
Here is the serving we received.



Another view:


On the right is a glass of the wine we were served. Chalone estate Vineyard Chardonnay, Chalone Vineyard, Monterey County, California.
He also showed us how to make Mini Lemon Tarts with Raspberry Meringue.


Again as he was preparing these and we watched on the screen, the staff brought the already prepared ones around to us.
I thought both of these dishes were delicious. DD loved all the food and the entire demonstration! He talked to many of the people who attended and asked if there were any questions. This was my first Culinary Demonstration and I thought this was very interesting. We paid for this months before we left for our vacation on a credit card. It was $14 each.
We left the Festival Building and walked back to the Beach Club to change. We had a 5:00 ADR at the Yachtsman.

NEXT REVIEW: DINNER YACHTSMAN STEAK HOUSE

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Wow. Thanks for the great reviews. We dine at Raglan Road on every trip. I agree with you about Gers bread & butter pudding, it is so good. Looking forward to reading the rest of your reviews.

 

[celeste.]

Great report so far! All your food looks great!!
Is the breakfast lasagna sweet or is it eggs? It looked yummy!

 

[MUFFYCAT]

As always a great report with detail and pictures! But I'm so behind!

Page one-
The cake in cup is definetly fopr me. I love funfetti!
I want the Ciroc Vodka & Midori Melon drink next month when I go to Raglan. Looks so good!

There is so much food at F & W I like and looked good. Can't wait to try some.
I'm going to get the Orange Dole Whip with Crème de Cacao white.
Wine tour sounds like fun.

We eat at the Crystal Palace for every trip- girls and family! I do like the breakfast!

 

[MLinDisney]

Wow. Thanks for the great reviews. We dine at Raglan Road on every trip. I agree with you about Gers bread & butter pudding, it is so good. Looking forward to reading the rest of your reviews.

One of my favorite restaurants!

Great report so far! All your food looks great!!
Is the breakfast lasagna sweet or is it eggs? It looked yummy!

Thank you! The breakfast lasagna is mostly custard, but it has pancakes, pound cake and waffles in between the layers. It also has fruit so it is a little sweet.

As always a great report with detail and pictures! But I'm so behind!

Page one-
The cake in cup is definetly fopr me. I love funfetti!

I want the Ciroc Vodka & Midori Melon drink next month when I go to Raglan. Looks so good!

Thank you! DD loves One for the Road. Wish I were going to Raglan Road next month!

 

[MLinDisney]

After our Culinary Demonstration, we looked at Kevin Dundon’s cookbooks at the Festival store. He had one out there to purchase, but it wasn’t the one I was interested in. He was going to sign books at that time, but we couldn’t stay. We walked back to our room at the Beach Club and changed for our dinner at the Yachtsman.


When we were being seated, they showed us a room with all the steaks (before they were cut.) DD didn’t like that part. I should have taken a photo. We had a very nice window seat in a round room overlooking the windmill.


We ordered wine to start. The waiter suggested:



Our waiter brought out the bread service:


The pull apart onion rolls were soooo good! It was served with salted butter and a little ramekin of roasted garlic. You can see the roasted garlic on the left. I cannot find the recipe for these, but I’m still looking!
I ordered:


12-oz Prime New York Strip Steak White Cheddar Twice-baked Potato, Peppercorn-Brandy Sauce. This was cooked just right. I enjoyed the peppercorn-brandy sauce. I rate this steak 8/10.

DD ordered:


8-oz Center Cut Filet Mignon Mashed Potatoes and Cabernet Wine Sauce. I didn’t taste hers. She rated it 8/10
We also ordered two sides:


Creamed Spinach Parmigiano-Reggiano and Gruyère. This was delicious!



Truffle Macaroni & Cheese Orecchiette Pasta and Reypenaer. We finished this whole thing. Very good!
We didn’t see any desserts we were interested in.

This excellent meal and service was $156.56, paid for with the Disney rewards card.

We headed out walking towards the Beach Club.

NEXT REVIEW: BEACHES AND CREAM DESSERT

 

[MLinDisney]

After dinner at the Yachtsman, we left the Yacht Club and walked along the walkway until we saw this:


The Beaches and Cream to go door. We walked in and ordered some dessert.


A small No Way Jose and Milky Way Sundae. We carried these outside and devoured them while sitting on tables that were located right outside. These were actually smaller than the one DD ordered when we ate lunch there. My Milky Way Sundae was very good. I rate it 9/10. Tonight DD rated her No Way Jose 9/10. She said the waitress that we had at our Beaches and Cream lunch, made it much better with lots of peanut butter sauce!
These two sundaes were $18.09, paid for by the Disney Rewards Card.
We headed to the Beach Club Marketplace to shop. I bought some Mickey chocolate covered almonds and raisinettes to bring to my Mom. We picked up a few other things and headed for the room. DD had to do some work for her job. I read some email and went on Disboards We then watched parts of Illuminations on the balcony.











NEXT REVIEW: BREAKFAST BOARDWALK BAKERY