Our missing disk has arrived from Randy, so I can now post the next installment. As a side note, let me say again how wonderful Randy is. Not only did I get another disk full of photos making the grand total 1787, I also received another 96 prints in a box. This cost Randy $27 to post to the UK. Hows that for service over and beyond whats expected?
On with the report...........
So we all got back into our outfits and made our way to the limo which was waiting for us at the front of the Boardwalk. I also had a bag full of goodies which I actually remembered
. We had requested a 5.15 pick up to get us to the Grand Floridian for our 6pm seating, in actual fact this was way too early and we got there around about 5.30 so we went into the bar next to Citricos for a drink, just to pass the time. When we got the bill it was something like $70
- I had ordered a white wine spritzer as I wanted something light - so did Mel, these were $10 each!!!!!!!!
At about 5.50 I went to check out if the room was ready for us and I really wanted to be able to take some shots before the room got trashed, and to make sure the bits we had given to Melissa beforehand were out on the table. I also wanted a chance to make sure the little deckchairs were in place with all the little bits on the right chairs, because I had made them so complicated ( though I had boxed each one individually with the name on the box! )
They let me into the room......and it was perfect, everything was just as I imagined, the candles were lit, the deckchairs in place, highchair ready for Ellen and booster seats for Maddie and Lewis.
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We were so lucky to get the Chefs Domaine and as it turned out, even luckier as they usually have 2 sittings, the 6pm one that we had and a later one at 8.30. No one had booked the room for 8.30 so they were not in a hurry to get rid of us, but more of that later. We were sure from the very early planning stages that we wanted to eat here, and did everything we could to ensure we got it. We phoned a couple of weeks before the day we could book and spoke to Melissa, the Maitre d', who was lovely, and helpful, and sent us details of their banquet menus. She also pencilled us in for our date. We made sure no one could pip us to the post by booking at 180 days + 10 (thank goodness for this extra 10 day window for Disney hotel guests
) It got a little bit tricky as we were due to sail on the Disney magic the day we could book, but well worth it when our booking was confirmed. It turned out to be an excellent choice.
Anyhow, after I'd taken my photos and seen how good the room looked I went to get everyone else. If any of the staff thought it was strange for the Bride to be wandering around on the own, in her dress, they kept their thoughts to themselves and just congratulated me
( In fact, every time we passed the Chefs, or any of the other staff, we got congratulated, it made me feel really special! )
Everyone loved the room and the favors especially for them, though Mel was a bit scared when she saw the bottles of wine everywhere
We were introduced to our very own waiter, Giovanni (sp?)who was great all night, very efficient without being intrusive. The adults all had personalised menus at their place settings and the children an ammended childrens menu to include the Intermezzo, a Granita sorbet, which was something we had requested. ( On our cruise the adults were served with a sorbet one night and Maddie was upset she had been missed out - the waiter that night ran and got her one, but we didn't want a repeat, hence the request! ) The Adults menu was set, but we still needed to choose for the children off the regular menu.
THE FOOD ( AND FOOD PORN PHOTOS )
We chose the Assorted cheese plate ( $4.00 )as their starter, which came with crackers and grapes. After the sorbet they had Pan roasted fish with roasted potatoes and Broccolini ( $11.00 ), followed by the best childrens desert I've ever seen, called Dalmation Biscuits Eclairs ( $6.00 ), we had no idea as what to expect
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These were a real hit, but they were all so stuffed by this point most of the "bones" went in a doggy bag
We had chosen a Banquet Menu for the adults
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There were a trio of appetisers
Warm Onion tart with walnut vinegarette
Sauteed Shrimp with lemon, white wine and Feta cheese and
Arancini, a crispy risotto with italian sausage, quattro formaggi and white truffle aioli
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These were all delicious, I especially liked the tart. Soon after we finished these, Giovanni brought another starter out. It turned out our menu had been printed with Gateau of Crab with meyer lemon oil and marinated tomatoes instead of the onion tart, so they brought us this as well !!!!
Then Chef came to introduce himself and brought us a "special" starter with spaghetti and prawn, so we actually ended up with 5 starters!!!!!!
The salad was Romaine lettuce with hearts of palm, blue cheese and a Riesling vinaigrette with tomatoes, followed by our Granita Sorbet.
Our main course was a combination of oak-grilled Filet of Beef with house-cured vegetables, quattro formaggi crushed potatoes and veal glase and pan roasted Halibut with pappardelle pasta al olio with crushed olives, black olive oil and basil coulis.
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I can honestly say all the food was wonderful, but by time we had all the starters I was too stuffed to eat much else.
The desert was a trio of three bite size creations. I can't remember what each of them were but they were all good, even though I only managed a bite or two!
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We had arranged for Randy to meet us at 8pm for sunset shots, but he actually turned up before then, so getting some Citrico shots from Randy was a bonus.
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Because of our extra starters, and perhaps because we were just too slow
, we hadn't even got to our deserts and it was rapidly approaching 8pm, but Giovanni let us know that the room was ours for as long as we wanted, so we went with Randy to get some shots outside before desert.............
. The kids had already eaten too, so we just grabbed a sandwich and didn't bother with the champagne.
. The first thing I did was get out of my dress for a bit too, the dressing gowns were a good buy! 
) our total came to near $1000. Luckily we had our DDE card and saved 20%!!!!!Those lanterns are exactly what I've been looking for, do you mind me asking where you got them from??
